Westmoreland category, Page 259
Jacobs Creek Watershed Association to host ‘Young Naturalist Camp’
The Jacobs Creek Watershed Association will host a “Young Naturalist Camp” in June at Laurelville Retreat Center in Mount Pleasant Township. The overnight camp will be June 11-13 and is the successor to the association’s “Tot-Time” and “Nature Explorer” day camps for children ages 11 to 13. Programs during the...
‘Creating Connections’ at Westmoreland Museum to be focus of talk in Murrysville
Erica Nuckles, director of learning, engagement and partnerships at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, will be the featured speaker at the next “Boomers and Beyond” speaker series in Murrysville. It will be at 11:30 a.m. June 13 at Mother of Sorrows social hall, 4202 Old William Penn Highway in...
State troopers conduct child car seat check in Rostraver
State troopers will be on hand Friday in Rostraver to check child car seats. The free event will be held from 3-7 p.m. at Rostraver West Newton Emergency Services’ headquarters, 100 Pleasant Valley Boulevard, just off Route 201 near the Route 51 interchange. Police will take a look at child...
Feeling lonely: An epidemic of isolation has expanded area mental health needs
Editor’s note: This is the first of two stories on loneliness and its impact on mental health. Part 2: The negative impacts of too much screen time. Greensburg resident John Herrmann has a suppertime appointment each Thursday at the city’s Otterbein United Methodist Church. Helping to hand out meals to...
Norwin cuts 5 teaching positions, balks at layoffs, favors no tax increase
In a move aimed paring a projected deficit, the Norwin School Board cut five teaching positions and one administrative job for the 2023-24 school year, despite warnings about the impact it will have on the district’s education program. The positions the board eliminated Monday for the upcoming school year were:...
Plea talks ongoing for suspected Greensburg shooters
Lawyers for two men charged in connection with a shootout in downtown Greensburg told a Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday that negotiations toward potential plea bargains are ongoing. As a result, a planned June trial was postponed for at least two months as defense attorneys and prosecutors attempt to hash...
Former Johnstown man was attempting suicide when he attacked cop, lawyer says
A man who tried to disarm a police officer as he was being discharged from a Greensburg hospital did so in an attempt to end his own life, his lawyer said. “My client grabbed the pistol to have the officer shoot him. He wanted to commit suicide by officer because...
North Huntingdon rejects buyers’ plans to build homes on industrial parcel
North Huntingdon commissioners deadlocked on a zoning decision that would have allowed two families to build homes near a former strip mine. Commissioner Virginia Stump, who could have been the tie-breaking vote, abstained from participating in the matter because she is a real estate agent and faced a potential conflict...
Westmoreland woman wins $1M in ‘Millionaire Maker’ scratch-off game
Pennsylvania Lottery officials will recognize another $1 million winner from Westmoreland County at the Shop’n Save in Latrobe on Wednesday. Diane Babbin will be presented with a commemorative check after winning $1 million the “Millionaire Maker” scratch-off game. Western Pennsylvania has seen a number of sizable lottery winners this spring....
Veterans benefits presentation, spaghetti dinner planned at Norwin Elks
Westmoreland County Department of Veterans Affairs will hold a free benefits presentation June 15 at the Norwin Elks lodge. The 3:30 p.m. event will be held at 135 Elks Lane, Irwin (in Manor), but space is limited in the lodge’s upper dining room. The presentation will consist of an overview...
Sobriety checkpoints planned in Belle Vernon, Uniontown over Memorial Day weekend
Troopers at two state police stations are planning sobriety checkpoints during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Police in the Belle Vernon and Uniontown stations said in news releases this week that they are going to be on the lookout for impaired drivers, but didn’t say where exactly. Troopers from the...
Volunteers sought for Five Star Trail mural update
A connection made at the Greensburg ArtsWalk and a stroll on the Five Star Trail gave Natalie Dobrick a great idea. Could an artist she met at the event update a mural painted more than 20 years ago in a tunnel on the trail near Lynch Field in Greensburg? She...
New national archivist’s love of history nurtured at home, Norwin
While growing up in North Huntingdon, Colleen Shogan remembers summer vacations as a mix of someplace the family could have fun — like an amusement park or beach — coupled with a visit to a historical site. “My father exposed us (her and brother, Greg) to history,” said Shogan, a...
Tax increase included in draft Hempfield Area budget
A 2.3 mill real estate tax increase that’s included in a proposed 2023-24 budget will be used to cover expenses associated with rising health insurance rates, updated curriculum, and hiring school police officers in Hempfield Area School District. The proposed spending plan was adopted Monday by Hempfield’s school board. The...
Controller questions Westmoreland County Prison medical costs
Westmoreland Controller Jeffrey Balzer on Monday criticized an additional $175,000 expense that must be paid for medical services at the county prison. The extra fee is required under a contract county commissioners approved with a new medical provider last summer. The agreement nearly doubles the costs to care for inmates,...
2 injured in Washington Township crash involving pickup, car, transit bus
Two drivers were injured in a three-vehicle crash involving a Westmoreland County Transit Authority bus Monday afternoon on Route 66 in Washington Township. The bus, which was not a full-size model, was empty of passengers when it was rear-ended in a chain-reaction collision shortly before 5 p.m., according to Clayton...
North Huntingdon man ordered to prison for assault against disabled victim
A North Huntingdon man was ordered to serve up to two years in prison for an assault he claimed he didn’t commit. Tracy Steele Painter, 60, was sentenced Monday to state prison after he was convicted in absentia following a nonjury trial last month in connection with what police said...
Hempfield Area site of job fair for school districts in the region
Hempfield Area High School’s field house was the site of a job fair on Monday. Students from the high school along with surround school districts attended the event, hosted by state Rep. Eric Nelson, in partnership with the school district and the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce. Students from Hempfield...
Mental wellness focus of informational event in South Greensburg
An informational Mental Wellness and Recovery event is slated for 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday in South Greensburg. Presented by the Greensburg-based Unity in the Community organization, the free program will take place at the Greensburg Event Center, 1700 Washington St. Timed to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month, it...
Latrobe Art Center spreads kindness one card at a time
Latrobe Art Center is asking Westmoreland residents to spread kindness with specially designed “You’ve Been Fred Roger-ed” note cards. The center is celebrating the third annual Week of Kindness through May 27. During the week, participating individuals and organizations are instructed to use the “You’ve Been Fred Roger-ed” cards while...
Rostraver man jailed, accused of rape
A Rostraver man is accused by police of raping a woman at a township apartment building. Jerry F. Griest, 62, was jailed Friday on charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and related offenses. Township police said a woman reported being raped by Griest in her apartment in late August...
Excela, Butler change name to Independence Health System
After merging to create Western Pennsylvania’s third-largest health system, Excela Health and the Butler Health System have a new name: Independence Health System. The system includes Butler, Clarion, Frick, Latrobe and Westmoreland hospitals, with 7,300 employees and more than 1,000 physicians and advanced practice providers. “Having the wider resources of...
Music, food, vendors, barrel event slated for Greensburg Fire Department Party in the Park
Live music, food and kids’ games will be featured on Saturday when the Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department kicks off the Memorial Day holiday weekend by hosting a Party in the Park. Admission is free for the event at Greensburg’s St. Clair Park. It’s intended as an alternative to the usual...
Transit authority eyes Go Westmoreland fare hikes
Fares for travel on Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s shared-ride program are expected to increase this year to make up for potential revenue shortfalls. Authority board members last week approved a $16.3 million budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year that is balanced through use of more than $3.9 million in federal...
Free pet health clinic fills community need in Jeannette
Dogs and cats, with their owners in tow, lined up outside the City of Jeannette Fire Department more than 30 minutes before the doors opened Sunday morning to receive free medical care. “I think this is a blessing for the community. We really need this, especially since our family can’t...
