Westmoreland category, Page 245
Trial begins for Bolivar man accused of trying to kidnap, kill jogger
Surveillance video and tire tracks helped investigators find the man accused of attempting to kidnap and kill an 18-year college student who was out for her morning run, a Westmoreland County detective testified Monday. Detective John Swartz told jurors that evidence led police to the Bolivar home of Frank Springer,...
Real estate consultants kick off Greensburg visit with tour of downtown properties
Reimagining the potential of downtown Greensburg took another step forward Monday. A group of national commercial real estate experts toured prominent vacant properties that long have bedeviled economic growth in the city’s business district. “They had some very general questions,” said Greensburg Councilman Randy Finfrock, who met with the group...
Bon Journey to headline annual Harvest Market Dinner at Loyalhanna Watershed Association Farm
The annual Harvest Market Dinner and Dance sponsored by the Ligonier Country Market and Loyalhanna Watershed Association is set for Aug. 12. The event will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on market grounds at the Loyalhanna Watershed Association Farm, just off West Main Street, Springer Road in Ligonier...
Penn State Master Gardeners to host open house in Hempfield
Penn State Extension Master Gardeners in Westmoreland County will host a July 15 open house at the Donohoe Demo Gardens in Hempfield. Master gardeners will be on hand to give tours; share techniques; and discuss native plants, composting and how to attract monarchs and other pollinators from 10 a.m. to...
Greensburg student attends gathering of future medical leaders, sets sights on career as vet
Shelby Frick, at 17, has witnessed doctors performing a rotator cuff surgery and she’s heard about ground-breaking medical research directly from the lips of Nobel laureates. The rising senior at Greensburg Salem High School had those experiences in June while attending a three-day Congress of Future Medical Leaders near Boston....
Jeannette EMS closure underlines funding concerns for area ambulance services
Ambulance crews that provide life-saving intervention are themselves in need of life support, industry officials said. Insufficient funding is one of the primary factors that prompted the abrupt closure of the Jeannette EMS ambulance service a week ago, said Randy Highlands, director of operations. It’s an outcome he fears other...
Derry Agricultural Fair goes on without chickens
The Derry Agricultural Fair has kicked off festivities for another year, but is missing some of its feathered friends. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has banned poultry and eggs from fairs across the state for another year because of high numbers of bird flu cases in the state. The ban...
Western Pa. superintendents say test scores are climbing in contrast to Nation’s Report Card results
Math and reading scores among America’s 13-year-olds fell to their lowest levels in decades, with math scores plunging by the largest margin ever recorded, according to the results of a federal test known as the Nation’s Report Card. The results are the latest measure of deep learning setbacks in the...
North Belle Vernon hosts music performances
North Belle Vernon’s Community Bank Park will offer free performances by barbershop and polka music groups in the third week of July. The Belle Vernon Public Library will host 3Rivers4, a barbershop-style acapella harmony group, at 6:30 p.m. on July 20. The group will perform a variety of selections, including...
Protect PT seeks support for proposed gas well ordinance
Protect PT, an environmental nonprofit located in Penn Township, will host a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday to gather support for a proposed ordinance regarding gas well drilling and development practices. In the proposal, the nonprofit requests that the township: • allow a 2,500-foot buffer between new well pads and...
Land trust expands effort at St. Xavier site in Unity
The Westmoreland Land Trust is expanding a preservation project at its St. Xavier site by planting native grasses and wildflowers. Along Route 30 in Unity, the St. Xavier Nature Preserve is part of an ongoing collaboration with Saint Vincent College, which donated cameras and other infrastructure to create livestreams of...
Former ‘PittGirl’ blogger Virginia Montanez publishes first novel
“Nothing. Everything,” the first published novel by writer Virginia Montanez of North Huntingdon, takes place during the pandemic years. But don’t expect to find masks, covid tests or quarantining among its pages. “I was nervous about not writing the pandemic into this, because it clearly takes place during that time,”...
Priest retires after serving for 35 years at South Greensburg church
The Rev. John Nosal, archpriest of St. Michael’s Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, thought moving to South Greensburg was too good to be true. “I’ve lived in Greensburg virtually half of my life and when we first moved here, after about a month, I said to myself, ‘now what’s going to...
Extended time proposed for parking at select downtown Greensburg meters
Some visitors to downtown Greensburg could gain a few extra minutes of metered parking without the risk of an overtime ticket, if the city pursues a councilman’s suggestion. Councilman Randy Finfrock on Wednesday, July 5 proposed buying software that would allow the city to add a grace period of a...
North Huntingdon church hosts immigrant families
A North Huntingdon church with a mission to help international families adjust to life in Westmoreland County treated some of those families to an experience as American as a slice of apple pie. Calvary Church took three immigrant families out to the ballgame at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on June...
The Westmoreland’s ‘Block Party’ explores ideas of community, celebration
The current exhibit at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is titled “Block Party: Community and Celebration in American Art,” but chief curator Jeremiah William McCarthy warns that visitors won’t find a single image specifically depicting that phenomenon. Rather, the works explore themes and emotions that might be tied to...
Out & About: Bootlegger’s Ball benefits 2 area organizations
Guests arriving at the Loyalhanna Watershed barn on June 30 were advised that “iced tea” was being served inside. In the spirit (hint, hint) of the event, it was code for something with a little more kick. No need to alert the feds that it was a Bootlegger’s Ball, said...
Seton Hill, Greensburg Salem, Hempfield students perform at New York City’s Carnegie Hall
The last time Mark Boyle was onstage at New York City’s legendary Carnegie Hall, an alarm on his cell phone accidentally went off mid-performance. When Boyle was invited back to conduct a performance as part of MidAmerica Productions’ 40th season staging shows at Carnegie Hall, he wasn’t going to let...
Behind the Art: Art in the Alley sax player memorializes its creator
Editor’s note: Behind the Art is a recurring series highlighting artistic works throughout the county. The late Demetre Josebeck used himself as a model for his painting of a saxophone player in Art in the Alley in downtown Greensburg. The work was one of the first pieces created for the...
Out & About: Women of Westmoreland gather for summer social
Everything was “by women and for women” at the Evening Social hosted by Women of Westmoreland on June 29 at Cavallo Fields Event Venue in Unity. First, the group comprises women members of the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce. Second, the venue itself is woman-owned by sisters-in-law Annette Sackett and...
Second annual Westmoreland motorcycle ride benefits nonprofit Amanda’s Heart Foundation
Cavitt Street in Trafford was filled with sounds of laughter and the roar of motorcycles as guests prepared for the second annual Amanda’s Heart Foundation motorcycle charity run. Riders gathered in front of the Trafford American Legion Riders Post 331 and greeted each other. Each participant was welcomed either by...
Route 30, Route 22 lane restrictions, Cook Township road closure to begin Monday
Various PennDOT road projects beginning Monday are set to trigger nighttime single-lane restrictions on sections of Route 30 in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties and on Route 22 in Murrysville, as well as closure of part of Four Mile Run Road in Cook Township. • Lane restrictions will be in place...
Greensburg survey will provide input as real estate consultants weigh in on downtown sites
People who live, work, pursue an education or operate a business or organization in Greensburg are being invited to offer input concerning the city’s downtown. Their responses to an online survey will provide feedback to a six-member team of consultants who will be visiting the community through Friday, to provide...
Man dies in Derry Township crash
A West Virginia man died Friday night when he lost control of his vehicle and crashed in Derry Township, authorities said. Richard John Muth, 28, of Clarksburg, W.Va., was traveling east on Torrance Road about 8:30 p.m. when he lost control of vehicle while going around a curve, according to...
Westmoreland County Food Bank sees increased demand
The need for emergency food assistance has skyrocketed in Westmoreland County. CEO Jennifer Miller said prior to the pandemic, the Westmoreland County Food Bank received about two calls per month for emergency assistance. Now, the organization is seeing about three to five calls a day from people in immediate need...
