Westmoreland category, Page 183
Westinghouse volunteers set $43K donation record through ‘Feed the Hungry’ program
Retirees and former employees of the Westinghouse corporation who want to commit to volunteer service can join the Service Uniting Retired Employees nonprofit, or SURE group, which has been cultivating community service projects for more than three decades. SURE’s latest “Feed the Hungry” campaign marked its 10th year, and donors...
Fire destroys home in Bell Township
A home in Bell Township caught fire Saturday evening. A blaze started around 5 p.m. at a house at 125 Johnston St., said Westmoreland County dispatchers. About 12 fire companies responded to the house that was fully involved. 911 distatcher said the Bell Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief described the...
Norwin senior citizens could get property tax break for volunteering at schools
Senior citizens in Norwin School District could get a tax break for volunteering in the district. The school board this week tasked school administrators with researching how the district could create what state law calls a “senior tax reduction incentive volunteer exchange” (STRIVE) program. School Board President Matt Thomas said...
Saint Vincent College eyes next step in wetlands rehab, improved stream quality
Before the arrival of the 21st century, Loyalhanna Creek ran orange through Latrobe. That was before a system of wetlands was developed next to the Saint Vincent College campus to treat water draining from abandoned mines and remove some of the iron pollutants that discolored the creek downstream. The wetlands...
Repair planned for sinkhole along Route 30 in Unity
A sinkhole along the eastbound lanes of Route 30 in Unity is slated for repair in an effort led by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Cordoned off by orange snow fencing, the sinkhole is about 15 feet from the southern edge of the highway, near the intersection of Fred Rogers Drive,...
Ice festival opens in Ligonier
Artists from Jeannette’s DiMartino Ice will be in Ligonier on Saturday and Sunday with tools — including chainsaws — to shape multiple blocks of ice into eight giant outdoor sculptures. The carving is just element of the Ligonier Ice Festival continuing through the weekend. New sculptures will be created beginning...
Unity baker nearly makes semifinal round in Cake Boss’s ‘Greatest Baker’ contest
When Mary Ellen Raneri of Unity started helping her mother with Facebook livestreams of her cooking, she certainly wasn’t expecting the page to rack up nearly 70,000 fans. And she definitely wasn’t expecting those fans to help her make all the way to the quarterfinals of “The Greatest Baker,” a...
Judge demands that Allegheny Health Network turn over records related to Jeannette killing
A Westmoreland County judge is demanding that Allegheny Health Network hand over medical records for a man who was killed in September 2022 in Jeannette. Judge Timothy Krieger on Friday issued a rule to show cause for why the records custodian at the health system should not be held in...
Westmoreland County looks to data to improve human service efforts
The concept behind the movie “Moneyball” is coming to Westmoreland County government. Data and analytics will become a central component of how and where the county Human Services Department spends its money and crafts future programs. Human Services Director Rob Hamilton said officials will spend the next year integrating data...
Greensburg Salem seeks committee to navigate potential construction upgrades
A refresh of building interiors, plumbing and HVAC repairs, landscaping and ADA compliance are only a few out of the many items on Greensburg Salem School District’s laundry list of potential construction projects. The list, divided up by school building and urgency, was presented to the public at a facilities...
Aspiring Educators program draws interest of high schoolers looking to become teachers
A dozen Westmoreland County high school students are getting a head start on becoming educators as the state looks for ways to contend with a teacher shortage. Adi Belanger has been interested in pursuing teaching as a career, so the Central Westmoreland Career & Technology Center’s new Aspiring Educators program...
Greater Latrobe board to tour schools after pausing pricey plan to revitalize facilities
Greater Latrobe School Board members who last month halted plans for at least $182 million in proposed construction and renovations are scheduled to tour the district’s five schools Saturday to look at building needs. “I feel some of the board members just need to have the opportunity to walk through...
Westmoreland County workers reject contract offer, intend to strike
After months of failed contract negotiations, members of a union representing more than 500 Westmoreland County employees plan to notify the county Monday of their intent to go on strike in 10 days. Union members rejected the county’s latest proposal on Thursday, according to a news release from Service Employees...
Train hits disabled vehicle on tracks in Derry Township
A freight train hit a disabled vehicle early Thursday evening on the railroad tracks in Derry Township, a Westmoreland County Public Safety supervisor said. A woman, who was not identified, got out of the vehicle and was walking around when firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after the accident at...
5 Things to do in Westmoreland: Jan 19-21
Want to hang out with friends, family or loved ones this weekend? There’s an event for every social circle this weekend in Westmoreland County. Wedding show More than 55 local wedding experts will gather Sunday at Ferrante’s Lakeview on Route 30 in Hempfield for the annual Cavanaugh Brideshow. Guests will...
Ligonier Township man sentenced to prison for possession of child pornography
A Ligonier Township man was sentenced Thursday to serve at least two years in prison for possession of child pornography. Mathew Louis Hoffer, 57, pleaded guilty in September to 31 felony counts in connection with more than two dozen photos and videos police said were found on a computer in...
$1.8 million winning lottery ticket sold in Murrysville
Pennsylvania Lottery officials will stop in Murrysville Friday morning to present a $1.8 million check to a recent Cash 5 winner. Highway foreman Dennis O’Neill, 55, of Monroeville, purchased the winning ticket on New Year’s Eve at the Murrysville Shop’n Save. O’Neill told lottery officials he plans to continue working...
Students arrange posies with Parton in mind at inaugural Derry Area ag competition
Dolly Parton was otherwise engaged, but the country singer-songwriter’s persona was evoked Wednesday at Derry Area High School as 74 area students crafted fragrant centerpieces they imagined would be welcomed at the table of the legendary artist. “Dinner With Dolly” was the theme of the school’s inaugural floral design invitational...
‘We want to bring everybody in’: Hempfield aims to bring fire stations under township management
Hempfield will meet with its 11 fire departments to discuss having all of them being managed by the township. North Hempfield Fire Department became Hempfield’s first “nonchartered station” — managed entirely by the township — in 2021. That means all of its expenses are paid by the township. The township...
Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce reschedules annual prayer breakfast
Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce officials will reschedule their annual prayer breakfast following predictions of snow accumulation on its original date of Friday morning. It has been moved to Friday, Feb. 23 at Stratigos Banquet Centre in North Huntingdon. “We understand that rescheduling may pose challenges for the many who were...
Pond, waterfall planned in student landscaping project at New Stanton career and technology school
A student organization at Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center is leading a landscaping project meant to beautify the grounds of the New Stanton school while creating a living educational installation. Led by adviser Dan Overdorff, the school’s Future Farmers of America chapter is poised to develop a three-tiered, pump-driven...
Greensburg law firm gets $72K raise for Westmoreland water, sewer advice
A Greensburg law firm will be getting a 42% raise this year for the work it provides to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County. Avolio Law, led by Scott Avolio, has been the authority’s attorney since 2013, and, for the past decade, was paid a flat fee of $170,000 annually...
Westmoreland happenings: Art exhibit, comedy dinner night, pancake breakfast, more
Art • The annual free Members Show at Greensburg Art Center “A Sense of Awe” will open Jan. 20 and continue through March 1. A free opening reception will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Jan. 20 at the center, 230 Todd School Road, Hempfield. Exhibits will include paintings, photographs...
More than 122,000 water customers in region will see rates increase by 9%
Water and sewer rates will increase in April for Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers. Authority board members Wednesday unanimously approved 9% increases as part of a $117 million budget officials said was impacted by rising costs associated with the water and sewer service. “The board directed management to keep...
‘The colder, the better’ organizers of expanded Ligonier Ice Fest say
The deep freeze that has caused many of us to break out our knit caps is expected to continue through this weekend. Those frigid conditions will be ideal for crews creating sculptures for the annual Ligonier Ice Fest, and for those who come to admire the outdoor display of frozen...
