Westmoreland category, Page 18
Financial strain on state’s public schools worsens as impasse continues
Beaver County’s Hopewell School District planned to start a long-term renovation project of its aging high school this year. But as the state budget impasse nears the four-month mark, the district has instead gone into conservation mode, said high school Principal Robert Kartychak. About half of the district’s $49 million...
Carpenter’s Apprentice volunteers visit Greensburg for home improvement work
The Carpenter’s Apprentice volunteers were at working in Greensburg Friday, adding a safety rail to a home on East Pittsburgh Street. The organization is a joint mission of First Presbyterian Church of Irwin, Norwin Church of the Nazarene and Community Methodist Church of Harrison City. Created in 2008, the organization...
Trial set for New Florence woman, 2 men accused in her mother’s fatal shooting
The murder trial for a New Florence woman and the two men Westmoreland County who prosecutors say she enlisted to kill her mother is scheduled to begin early next year. Following a brief hearing Friday, Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio said jury selection will begin Feb. 2 in the...
Theatre Factory prepares to stage ‘Beetlejuice Jr.’
Tyler Shaffer doesn’t know how many times he watched the 1988 Tim Burton gothic comedy, “Beetlejuice.” But it was a lot. “Watching it has been a Halloween tradition for my family forever,” said Shaffer, 16, of Jeannette, who will play the titular villain in the Theatre Factory’s production of “Beetlejuice...
2 injured in Unity crash
Two people were taken to hospitals Friday after a crash on Route 30 in Unity shut down part of the highway, according to state police. Troopers said Robert W. Reed, 60, of Latrobe, turned from the middle lane of Route 30 east onto Wimmerton Boulevard around 6 a.m. when the...
Financial pain for many Pa. service providers will continue after budget impasse ends
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Schools and nonprofits that provide critical services to Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable have not received billions in payments...
North Huntingdon zoning board rejects request for gun shop at banquet center
A North Huntingdon man’s attempt to sell guns in the family’s banquet facility was rejected by a zoning panel. The North Huntingdon Zoning Hearing Board last week rejected an appeal from James Stratigos, owner of JGS Arms LLC, for an occupancy permit for a gun shop in a section of...
Coroner’s ruling pending in Westmoreland jail inmate’s death
A female inmate was found dead in a jail cell this month, the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office said Thursday. Deputy Coroner Al Lonzo said Amber Knepshield, 32, was pronounced dead at 12:22 a.m. in a Westmoreland County prison cell Oct. 3. Lonzo said the office is awaiting results from an...
North Huntingdon man accused of recording police, disrupting meeting, endangering official ordered to stand trial
A North Huntingdon man will face further prosecution on police accusations that he illegally recorded video in the township police lobby, put an officer in danger and disrupted a township commissioners’ meeting. Nicholas A. Carrozza, 36, maintained that he was exercising his rights in all three misdemeanor cases against him....
Federal shutdown could affect deadline for Jeannette flood mitigation project
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County might not meet a state-imposed deadline to complete a program to install new sewer lines in Jeannette because of the federal government shutdown, agency officials said Wednesday. Construction on the $14 million flood mitigation project, which has been in the works since 2019, started...
Westmoreland happenings: Coat drive, UFO program, sauerkraut dinner, more
Fundraisers • New Stanton Volunteer Fire Department will collect new and gently used winter coats, sweatshirts, hats, gloves, ear muffs and scarves and monetary donations 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 18 and 25 at the fire station, 108 S. Main St. Free clothing items will be distributed 10:30 a.m....
Here are 5 things to do in Westmoreland this weekend: Oct. 17-19
As we ramp up toward Halloween, plenty of spooky movies, autumn festivals and cooler weather activities are popping up. Don’t miss out; join in on the seasonal fun this weekend. Scarecrow Contest Get ready for an autumn tradition like no other with Ligonier’s Scarecrow Contest. More than 25 homemade scarecrows...
Hempfield Area High School boys soccer teams hold ‘Pink Out’ game to support families of breast cancer victims
A “Pink Out” took place at the final home game for Hempfield Area High School boys soccer at Spartan Stadium vs. the Woodland Hills Wolverines. The junior varsity and varsity teams wore pink to support families affected by breast cancer. The event raises money for Westmoreland Walks, an organization that...
Aborted letter to Westmoreland DA, seeking outcome of raid on Ligonier Valley police station, angers officers
A proposed letter from the Ligonier Valley Police Commission to Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli is being called a “slap in the face” to the officers on the force. The police commission this week discussed sending the letter to ask whether local criminal charges are planned stemming from a...
Financial losses expected as Westmoreland airport braces for flight cuts
Westmoreland County’s Airport Authority is eyeing red ink in the coming months. Reductions to the flight schedule for the airport’s lone commercial carrier and the county’s decision to freeze monthly subsidy payments could substantially limit the authority’s revenue projections during the last quarter of 2025. “We’re prepared for it,” Gabe...
Overturned tractor-trailer on I-70 snarls traffic in New Stanton
A tractor-trailer overturning on the roundabout near the I-70 westbound exit in New Stanton snarled traffic on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Tuesday evening. The tractor-trailer overturned at 5:33 p.m. Tuesday at the roundabout, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. There were no injuries, the dispatcher said. PennDOT cameras showed...
Westmoreland furloughs begin as commissioners prep plan to borrow money
Westmoreland County won’t have enough cash on hand to meet payroll and other operating expenses in about a month, officials said Tuesday. Commissioners said plans are being finalized for the county to borrow funds to keep essential public services in operation amid the ongoing state budget impasse that required Westmoreland...
Deck patching to restrict traffic on Route 119 bridge over Pennsylvania Turnpike
Drivers heading north on Route 119 in Hempfield will encounter daytime lane restrictions beginning Thursday while work is underway on the bridge carrying the highway over the Pennsylvania Turnpike. According to PennDOT, a northbound single-lane restriction will be in place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. between Technology Drive and...
Jeannette school district OKs support of tax break program
Jeannette City School District directors unanimously approved extending a tax break program officials hope will spur investment on commercial properties in Jeannette. Directors on Monday OK’d a five-year extension of the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program, or LERTA. It was established in Jeannette three years ago to allow developers...
Man accused of breaking into North Huntingdon Aldi, smashing police cruiser
A man is behind bars after North Huntingdon officers said he used a hammer to break into an Aldi grocery store and shatter the windshield of a police cruiser, according to court papers. Township police said they were called to the market on Norwin Avenue around 2 a.m. Tuesday for...
Wind Phone to comfort those grieving loved ones proposed for Irwin Park
Michele Rubin of Murrysville still talks to her son every day, though he died in April 2017. Paul E. Lucas was 21 when he died of a fentanyl-laced drug overdose April 13, 2017, after what his family explained in his obituary was “a long battle with substance addiction disorder.” Rubin,...
Fort wall rebuild at Historic Hanna’s Town aims to stay true to period
The fort walls at Historic Hanna’s Town serve as a visual reminder of how the frontier community stayed safe during attacks in the 1700s. That important part of the visitor experience is slated for an update in the coming months, said Mark Katarski, director of Westmoreland County Parks and Recreation....
Westmoreland housing authority gets funding for Rostraver senior apartments
Westmoreland County Housing Authority officials said construction of a new 50-unit apartment building for low-income seniors in Rostraver could begin as soon as next summer. The authority awarded federal tax credits valued at about $15 million last week to pay for what will be the agency’s fifth major construction project...
North Belle Vernon mine subsidence damages house, owners say
Dawn and Scott Wilson can’t figure out why a state mining engineer decided the cracks in the basement of a home they own in North Belle Vernon were caused by dry soil rather than mine subsidence. They also were told the cracks existed before they purchased mine subsidence insurance, thus...
Jeannette moves fire trucks into new station
Fire trucks and equipment are being moved into Jeannette’s new fire station, and officials now are turning their focus to securing funding to add living quarters to the building. City manager Ethan Keedy expects that work to cost between $1 million and $1.5 million. “We have one grant submission still...
