Westmoreland category, Page 178
Trial begins for therapist charged with assault of autistic boy
Cassandra Colligan testified she knew almost immediately a 4-year-old autistic boy was mistreated while attending a Greensburg daycare in 2022. Colligan, a speech therapist for the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit told jurors Tuesday she watched as behavioral health therapist Tonya Piper violently slammed a child into a chair and up against...
Environmentalists, natural gas drillers’ group divided on transparency on fracking fluid disclosures
An area environmental organization sees Pennsylvania’s new requirement that natural gas drillers reveal the chemicals in fracking fluids earlier in the drilling process as “long overdue.” A trade group says the industry has been transparent about what it pumps into the ground. ”This gives people a chance to know what...
Westmoreland commissioners OK road trips for public meetings
The Westmoreland County commissioners are heading out into the countryside. Commissioners announced Tuesday they will conduct three public meetings outside of the Westmoreland County Courthouse this spring and summer. “We’ll, hopefully, have the public there,” Commissioner Sean Kertes said. Here are the locations, times and dates: • The activity center...
Herminie man jailed on sex assault, related charges
A Herminie man remains behind bars on charges that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl several times in 2022, according to court papers. John M. Risher III, 20, was jailed last week on $500,000 bail. State police troopers said the girl reported Risher sexually assaulted her in September and October...
Latrobe merchants plan ‘Sweet Night’ as monthly Shop Hop events resume
Several Latrobe merchants are planning “A Sweet Night Out” for visitors Wednesday evening as the city’s downtown business community begins another year of monthly Shop Hop Night events. Given the relatively mild weather forecast for this first full week of February, with daytime highs moving into the 50s, organizer Emily...
Opioid settlement money is supposed to expand syringe services; Pa. nonprofit lost $150K because of them
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. BOLIVAR — Kim Botteicher decided to speak out about her work offering syringe services in Westmoreland County, hoping to prompt change that she believes would...
Arnold teen charged with fatal New Kensington shooting pleads guilty to lesser charge
Westmoreland County prosecutors on Monday dismissed homicide charges against an Arnold man in the fatal shooting of a man at a New Kensington apartment building in July 2022. Jonathan Felder, 19, pleaded guilty to one lesser count of conspiracy to commit robbery. He was one of seven youths charged in...
Ligonier Valley police officer to provide security at Ligonier power line meeting
An officer from the Ligonier Valley Police Department will provide security at a public meeting FirstEnergy has set for Wednesday in Ligonier Township. The meeting concerns the utility company’s proposed new power line between Derry and Ligonier. The Ligonier Valley Police Commission on Monday approved an agreement with FirstEnergy to...
Former Greensburg Salem, Saint Vincent educator to showcase paintings at Greensburg library
Al Sanfilippo has always been interested in art. But it wasn’t until his retirement from a 50-year career in education that he started exploring his artistic ability at the Greensburg Art Center in Hempfield. About nine years later, Sanfilippo’s artwork is on display until mid-March at the Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library...
Police seek identification of woman after theft at Hempfield Walmart
State police are seeking the public’s help to identify a woman who took $200 worth of merchandise from the Walmart store in Hempfield. Trooper Steve Limani said the woman took 17 items Sunday around 1:45 p.m. from the Greengate Centre store. Investigators on Monday released surveillance images of her pushing...
New Greensburg Central Catholic principal aims to ‘be a part of moving it into the future’
For Theresa Szmed, the past month has been all about listening. Szmed was hired as principal for Greensburg Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School in November and took the reins in January, with assistance from interim Principal Sharyn Zalno. “It’s been a fantastic adventure, and it’s been overall positive,” said Szmed,...
Community celebrates Scottdale’s 150th anniversary at West Overton Village
Scottdale sure knows how to throw a party. Townsfolk and other revelers celebrated Scottdale’s 150th anniversary Sunday, hailing it as a borough that has evolved from its roots as an industrial center at the southern tip of Westmoreland County. “I think that it’s important for people to take pride in...
Unity fire damages home but no injuries reported
Firefighters were on the scene of a house fire in Unity for a few hours Sunday afternoon. A home on Second Street in the village of Hostetter was damaged in the blaze. A Westmoreland 911 dispatch supervisor said the fire call came in around 2 p.m. Fire officials told TribLive...
Referee who died at game remembered as sports-loving man who enjoyed sports, coaching children
The quiet time driving to refereeing assignments at Friday night high school football games was when brothers Mike and Dave Roebuck could catch up. Their conversations often turned to sports and their families — the two subjects were so intertwined, recalled Dave Roebuck of West Newton. In addition to being...
Latrobe’s former G.C. Murphy discount store undergoes renovation, poised for rebirth
A central retail space in downtown Latrobe where shoppers used to head decades ago in search of bargains from G.C. Murphy is primed for a new lease on life, thanks to restoration work completed inside and out by a local nonprofit. The unusual L-shaped building, with storefronts on Ligonier and...
Libraries see rise in usage since covid; circulation, eBook usage increases
Scott Mason of Greensburg was spending his Saturday morning at the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library in Greensburg, reading a 1931 book on Revolutionary War hero Arthur St. Clair for an upcoming presentation before the Greensburg Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Mason relies upon the reference books in...
Jeannette’s You Are Here gallery gets cosmetic updates
Visitors to You Are Here in Jeannette will notice cosmetic updates to a hallway used for up-and-coming artist exhibits and the gallery’s popular Oh, Scrap! art materials thrift shop. Volunteers updated the flooring and replaced old carpeting in those two spots during the gallery’s annual January closure and walls have...
Saint Vincent to install electric vehicle charging station
Electric vehicle owners who drive to Saint Vincent College near Latrobe will soon be able to get a recharge on campus at a new solar-powered charging station. Saint Vincent College has partnered with the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund to acquire the Smartflower Solar electric vehicle charging station powered...
‘Natural playground’ planned at Murrysville Community Park
Carly Greene laments that some children don’t know the simple pleasure of heading to the nearest stand of trees to play in the woods. That’s the reason the director of the Murrysville Parks and Recreation Department is looking to install a natural playground at Community Park this spring. “In essence...
Greensburg YWCA marks 65th anniversary, plans a year of special events
The Greensburg YWCA is marking 65 years, and the recent anniversary celebration was just the start of the party, according to its executive director. The YWCA has been an institution in Greensburg since 1959, and its staff wants to ensure that everyone in the region knows they’re here and ready...
Hempfield woman faces homicide by vehicle charge in connection with 2022 crash
When Betty Tinsley Wagner turned 73 in August 2022, her birthday wish was good health for her family, daughter Kim McMullen remembered. It was the last one she’d spend with them — Wagner was killed about six weeks later in a two-vehicle crash on Arona Road in Hempfield. The loss...
Nurses mark 10 years of stocking food pantry for Jeannette City school students
Longstanding support from nurses at Independence Health helps ensure Jeannette City School District students don’t go hungry when they aren’t in school buildings. The nurses on Tuesday carried cereal, canned soup, fruit cups and other packaged food items into district schools for use in backpacks provided to students before they...
Support group formed to help people who might be hoarders
A new support group is starting in Westmoreland County to help people who have issues with clutter, organization and/or hoarding. The group will hold meetings and connect participants with therapy and in-home assistance through a grant from the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County to combat what organizers say is a...
Experts say voters will have the final say on register of wills’ job performance
Voters ultimately will decide whether embattled Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton can remain in her post beyond her current four-year term that started in January, political experts say. Westmoreland County judges this week intervened in the oversight of Hamilton’s courthouse office — which processes adoption and estate records —...
‘Nostalgia’ bands draw reliable crowds, spur economic activity
Classic rock band The Guess Who took the stage last night at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg, belting out hits such as “American Woman” and “These Eyes.” Nostalgia is the primary draw for bands of a certain vintage who are looking to capitalize on the magic of classic rock’s heyday....
