Westmoreland category, Page 131
Hempfield Area to spend $111K for 6 weapons detectors for random student screening
Hempfield Area School District plans to start this school year with a new weapons detection system. At a school board meeting Monday, the board decided on buying six OpenGate weapons detectors for a little under $111,300. The machines cost about $18,000 each and were tested by the district earlier this...
Greensburg woman charged after children found living amid mold, feces
A Greensburg woman has been charged by city police with simple assault and endangering the welfare of children after a relative accused her of harming three children in the household and investigators discovered filthy conditions in the woman’s home. The investigation of Katie Atkinson, 23, of Greensburg, began with a...
Greensburg man pleads guilty to assault on police officer
A Greensburg man was ordered Monday to serve up to 42 months in state prison for the drunken aggravated assault of a police officer last year in Latrobe. Bruce Hudak, 41, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and drunk driving offenses in connection an incident last Aug. 17. According to court...
Amazon seeking employees for New Stanton warehouse; job fair slated
Amazon is ramping up hiring at its New Stanton warehouse this month and is planning to place 600 employees at the site by the end of the year. The e-commerce giant began staffing shifts earlier this month and anticipates having additional employees by the end of the month. Janice Albright,...
Hempfield woman dies in vehicle crash along Route 819 in Mt. Pleasant
A 24-year-old woman died in a vehicle crash early Monday morning on Route 819 in Mt. Pleasant Township, according to Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson. Brittany P. Ohler of Hempfield was driving a Jeep Wrangler north near the 6000 block of Route 819 just before 6 a.m. when the vehicle...
Westmoreland transit ends ConnectCard fare system
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority on Friday halted the use of the cashless ConnectCard fare system that had been in place on its fixed-route bus system since 2018. Initially touted as customer service advancement that allowed bus riders to pay fares without having exact cash, the system never flourished, suffered...
Latrobe area readies for influx of Steelers fans as training camp returns
When black and gold colors fill the lobbies of Latrobe-area hotels and out-of-state license plates become more commonplace in local parking lots, it’s a sign that the Steelers and their legion of devoted fans have returned to their summer home. The three-week period when the Steelers hold training camp at...
South Greensburg man’s scuffle with security at Hempfield Area High School could have been avoided, judge says
A South Greensburg man was sentenced to serve one year of probation for an altercation with security officers who attempted to prevent him from entering Hempfield Area High School without a mask during covid-era restrictions in 2021. Richard Michael Bettis, 58, was convicted during of misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest,...
Kecksburg ‘alien’ hot dogs prove hard to swallow; Greensburg man downs competitorsVideo
A Greensburg man who has a stomach for quickly consuming hot dogs, beat 11 competitors Sunday at the Kecksburg UFO Festival’s Alien Hot Dog Eating Contest. The key to James David “J.D.” Gillis’s victory over 10 men and one woman was to break the hot dog and bun in half,...
Western Pennsylvania female chefs find success in male-dominated industry
The old adage that says a woman’s place is in the kitchen doesn’t necessarily translate to the modern American chef world. In the U.S., out of the more than 147,400 chefs, only about 22% of chefs working in industrial kitchens are female, according to 2022 statistics from Datausa. Reasons for...
Westmoreland happenings: Butterfly release, rummage sale, blood drive, more
Church News • Bible Fellowship Community Church, 220 Atomic Way, West Newton, will have vacation Bible school from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 5 to 9 at the church. Details: 412-969-7123 or email cefaiw@gmail.com or awneal@cefaiw.com. Fundraiser • A rummage sale will be July 25 to 27 at St. Florian...
Latrobe begins to clear pests from Main Street apartment building declared unsafe
Latrobe officials have taken the initiative to begin ridding a condemned apartment building of pests, but they’ve ordered that the six-story structure remain uninhabited until other safety concerns are addressed. Local human service organizations helped tenants of the apartments at 333 Main St. find other accommodations after the city condemned...
Coroner probes man’s death in Loyalhanna
A Loyalhanna Township man was found dead Saturday afternoon next to his bicycle near the Loyalhanna Lake, the Westmoreland County Coroner said. The victim, John R. Schoch, 65, of Loyalhanna Township, was found around 5 p.m. by his bicycle in a gravel area near 777 Bush Rd., the coroner said....
Westmoreland Judge Feliciani recognized for drug court advocacy
In the nine years since its inception, Westmoreland County’s Drug Court has helped dozens of participants struggling with addiction to turn their lives around. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani has been at the center of that program since its beginning in 2015 and recently received the Anthony “Tony” Marcocci...
‘Learning from Each Other’ art show features Greensburg Salem community
A group art show featuring 28 current and former Greensburg Salem School District teachers and students is on display at Dv8 Espresso Bar and Gallery, 208 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Greensburg. “Learning from Each Other,” organized by Greensburg Salem art teachers Darryl and Kelley Audia and retired art teacher Jerome D’Angelo,...
Tropical Bungalow celebrates 2 years of connecting kids, customers
When visitors at Tropical Bungalow pick up their burgers, fries and ice cream, the employees who serve them are getting more than just a paycheck. At least, that’s owner Sydney Papinchak’s goal. The restaurant along Route 30 in Hempfield has been home to 12 employees. For most of them, working...
Bark in the Boro Pet Fair returns to Ligonier for 3rd year
Pet vendors will line Main Street in Ligonier this August for the annual Bark in the Boro Pet Fair. Ligonier Paws On Main Street, a locally owned store for pet lovers, will host the fair for the third year in partnership with the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce. From noon...
Storm chasers gather for ‘Twisters’ premiere, meet-and-greet at Evergreen Drive-In
Countless cars lined up outside of the Evergreen Drive-In Theater in East Huntingdon Friday night for the “Twisters” movie premiere and “Meet The Storm Chasers Night.” “Twisters” is the movie sequel to the 1996 blockbuster hit, “Twister.” Starring Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos, the sequel scored a 79%...
Kecksburg celebrates UFO Festival, attracting believers, others
The tiny village of Kecksburg in Mt. Pleasant Township is once again the center of attention this weekend for its Kecksburg UFO Festival, which attracts true believers in unidentified flying objects and Big Foot — as well as those who enjoy food, vendors, games and sharing stories with UFO investigators,...
Hempfield motorcycle crash sends 1 to Monroeville trauma center
One person was taken to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville following a motorcycle crash Friday night in Hempfield. Spokesman Shawn Penzera said the patient was in stable condition during the transport by Mutual Aid Ambulance Service. The crash was reported at about 9:15 p.m. at Walton Tea Room Road and Everglade...
Car cruise set for Youngwood Park N Pool
An car cruise fundraiser is set for July 28 at Youngwood Park N Pool. Pool board president Ed Christofano said past events have raised $7,000 in donations to keep the facility in operation. The Hayden’s Pharmacy Car Cruise will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Vehicles can participate for...
Energy ‘off the charts’ at Republican National Convention, Westmoreland attendees say
Jill Cooper thought there was a lot of energy swirling around at the 2016 Republican National Convention during Donald Trump’s initial candidacy for president. That was before attending this week’s convention in Milwaukee. “The energy was off the charts,” said the state representative from Murrysville, who attended the convention as...
Jeannette officers file suit seeking overtime payments for time spent feeding, caring for police dogs
Jeannette’s two police dog handlers claim in a federal lawsuit that the city violated labor laws by not paying them an overtime rate for time spent caring for their canines. Sgt. Jim Phillips and Officer Matthew Painter said in the filing that they spend at least 30 to 60 minutes,...
‘We don’t close during a remodel,’ Hempfield Walmart manager says as store unveils facelift
Customers at the Hempfield Walmart may have already noticed the storewide changes — added self-checkout stations, an expanded pet department and a new mother’s room, among others. Store officials said Friday that the three-month renovation project is now complete. A similar one at the East Huntingdon location is wrapping up....
Latrobe man called danger to community sentenced to 3-year prison term
A Westmoreland County judge said he had no choice this week but to impose a three-year maximum prison sentence for a Latrobe man who pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of a teenage girl. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger ordered Cristofer R. Dowden, 25, to serve at least 18...
