Westmoreland category, Page 206
Pitt-Greensburg Veterans Week celebrates women ‘breaking barriers’ in military
The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg will highlight area women who saw military service in conflicts spanning three-quarters of a century during Veterans Week activities planned Saturday through Nov. 10 at the Hempfield campus. The theme for the week is “75 years of breaking barriers.” It marks the time that...
Irwin at the center of proposed bike, walking trails
Irwin could be the hub of three recreational trails — from the borough’s downtown to the Norwin Public Library as well as trails to the villages of Larimer and Hahntown in North Huntingdon. Dan Korhnak, a co-founder of the nonprofit Friends of Norwin Trails, told Irwin officials Wednesday the organization...
Westmoreland County high school football notebook: Playoff win would mean a lot to Greensburg Central Catholic
Greensburg Central Catholic versus West Greene. Truth be told, there isn’t very much green to this WPIAL Class A first-round playoff matchup. GCC (7-3) defeated West Greene (8-2) earlier in the season 48-30 and will look to make it back-to-back wins over the Pioneers when the teams play at 7...
Ligonier Valley Police seek witness to ‘traumatic crash’ on Route 271
A male driver was seriously injured after crashing head on into a cement mixer truck on Saturday, according to Ligonier Valley Police. Sgt. James Friscarella said authorities believe a Subaru Outback was speeding south on Route 271 in Ligonier Township around 9 a.m. when it came upon a black pickup...
Westmoreland happenings: Vendor show, pancake breakfast, blood drive, more
Fundraisers • St. Barbara Parish will host bingo at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday Nov. 8 at the church, 111 Raymaley Road, Harrison City. Doors open at 5 p.m. Admission starts at $27; extra packages, $5. There will be free coffee, early birds, quickies, an all-nighter, 50-50 and games of chance. The...
6 candidates compete for 5 seats on Greater Latrobe school board
On the heels of Greater Latrobe school board’s passage of a multi-million dollar revitalization plan that will raise taxes through 2039 is the Nov. 7 general election. Six candidates are vying for five, four-year seats on the board. The incumbents include: Susan Mains, who is seeking a ninth term, Michael...
Hempfield Area School Board approves temporary superintendent who will hold the reins until January
The Hempfield Area School District will have a temporary top official for the next two months while Superintendent Tammy Wolicki takes a leave of absence. Kimberlie Rieffannacht, assistant superintendent for elementary education, will fill the superintendent’s role until Wolicki’s scheduled return on Jan. 5. The board made the move 7-0...
2 tractor-trailers crash on Turnpike, block eastbound lane near New Stanton
No injuries were reported when two tractor-trailers crashed Wednesday evening in the eastbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike east of New Stanton. The crash was reported at about 8:45 p.m. near mile marker 77. Eastbound traffic remained restricted to a single lane at about 10 p.m., according to turnpike spokesperson...
Trial for 6 charged in New Kensington man’s fatal shooting set for December
Jury selection for six defendants charged with homicide in connection with the July 2022 shooting death in New Kensington will begin Dec. 4. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani said all of the men and teens accused in the alleged murder of 39-year-old Jason Raiford at Valley Royal Court...
Westmoreland County students tour Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, prepare for design challenge
Madison Labuda likes to learn how things work. When Mt. Pleasant Area High School’s gifted program announced an opportunity to tour Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity and participate in a design challenge, she could not pass it up. “To be here and tour (the airport) and learn how all...
Protesters call for Westmoreland DA to reopen probe into Derry police dog’s death
A handful of Derry residents protested Wednesday in front of the county courthouse in Greensburg, demanding Westmoreland District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli reopen an investigation into the death of the borough’s police dog. Protest organizer Yvonne Earhart claimed the district attorney’s probe into the August death of Smoke, a 4-year-old Malinois,...
Cold weather shelters open in Westmoreland
Cold weather shelters have opened for the season in Westmoreland County. The shelters provide emergency lodging for people or families who are homeless or don’t have heat through a partnership among the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, the Welcome Home Shelter and Union Mission. When nighttime temperatures fall below 25...
Westmoreland 250: 10 things to see in Derry borough, township
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Operation Santa Claus will provide holiday dinners to local families for 40th year
Operation Santa Claus is back for its 40th year — with the goal of feeding 2,500 families in eight counties. The campaign is an annual cooperative effort by Trib Total Media, Shop ’n Save and the Salvation Army to provide holiday dinners to local families. This year, the campaign had...
Contractors needed for Westmoreland home repair program
Westmoreland County has the money and low-income homeowners lined up for a house repair program. But officials can’t find anyone to do the work. “We’ve put out 400 emails and sent out 325 direct mailings and have gotten zero response,” said Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Brian Lawrence of the county’s...
Charges filed against Pa. trooper accused of domestic violence in Derry Township are subject of probe
State police are reviewing why a domestic violence allegation against a state trooper based in Greensburg initially resulted in a summary harassment charge. The harassment citation was not the charge recommended by the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office based on its review of the case which was investigated by state...
Hempfield Area board to vote on temporary superintendent
Hempfield Area School Board members are expected to vote Wednesday to name a temporary superintendent for the district. An agenda posted Tuesday for a special board meeting on Wednesday indicated the board may name the district’s current assistant superintendent for elementary education, Kimberlie Rieffannacht, to the position. Bob Reger, the...
Updated suicide watch policy enacted at Westmoreland prison
A revised suicide watch policy is in place at the Westmoreland County Prison, a move officials said will offer better oversight of inmates suspected to be in danger of self-harm. The change adopted by the prison board Monday was based on recommendations from the jail’s medical provider. They asked that...
Westmoreland commissioners say no rush to hire new jail warden
Leaders say morale has improved at the Westmoreland County Prison in Hempfield in the weeks since Warden Bryan Kline resigned, and the county hasn’t set a timetable to find a permanent replacement. The jail’s deputy warden for security, Steve Pelesky, is the interim warden. “He’s done a good job in...
Political divide in Norwin separates factions vying for control of school board
Ten candidates — five each on the Republican and Democratic ballots — have formed competing factions in the race for five seats on the Norwin School Board. The board has been divided into two factions for 22 months and voters likely will determine Nov. 7 which slate of candidates will...
‘War of the Worlds’ tops Halloween double bill of Pitt-Greensburg science fiction plays
An attack by Martian invaders, dramatized for anxious listeners 85 years ago, will be staged beginning Tuesday as part of a Halloween double bill of science fiction radio plays at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. The Pitt-Greensburg Theatre Company will perform Orson Welles’ “The War of the Worlds” and...
Murrysville Eat’n Park proposes additional dining space, disability access, pick-up window
Eat’n Park officials would like to make Murrysville their next location to receive an update, which will include a pick-up window for takeout orders. “This isn’t an ‘order-at’ location,” said Jesse Stock, Eat’n Park’s design and construction director. “You order ahead online or by phone and just pick it up....
Laurel Highlands ‘Bonfires, Barrels & Brews’ event will feature variety of craft beverages
Go Laurel Highlands is offering a “Bonfires, Barrels & Brews” event for the first time this fall — featuring a fire, food and craft beverages. Part of the Laurel Highlands Pour Tour, the event will be held rain or shine from noon until 5 p.m. on Nov. 5 at Yinzer...
As election nears, Westmoreland commissioner candidates look to the future
Westmoreland County’s board of commissioners already has seen change. It came in August when Democrat Ted Kopas was appointed to the board to replace Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher, who resigned to take a job as a worker’s compensation judge. Kopas joined first-term Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew as the...
Pitt-Greensburg professor’s latest book shares musings during breast cancer battle
When Lori Jakiela saw a scanned image of the cancer growing in her breast, it looked like tiny grains of white rice. “They were lining up in a particular way that made the doctor very concerned,” she said. That was four years ago. But, the rice association stuck in her...
