Westmoreland category, Page 269
Hempfield book acquisition, challenge regulations advance for future vote
Parents in Hempfield Area School District remain divided over whether books that some deem objectionable should be taught in the classroom or available in the library. The school board this week advanced a policy that has been in the works for about a year that could be adopted in June....
Nighttime traffic disruptions slated for East Pittsburgh Street bridge work in Hempfield
Nighttime single-lane restrictions and rolling traffic stoppages are slated to begin Thursday on a section of Route 30 in Hempfield as crews remove concrete and beams for replacement of the bridge that carries eastbound lanes of East Pittsburgh Street over the highway. The restrictions are expected to affect both eastbound...
Greensburg ArtsWalk will showcase art in many different forms
The diversity of the local arts scene will be displayed during the annual Greensburg ArtsWalk, set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at various venues throughout the downtown area. “Greensburg is an art city with arts schools and a major museum. ArtsWalk showcases this,” said Pati Beachley, Seton Hill...
Decision on Hempfield middle school redistricting postponed until May
Parents of Hempfield Area middle school students will have to wait a little longer to get concrete answers on where their students will attend classes next year, as the school board postponed its vote this week on an updated redistricting plan until May 8. Under the first proposal approved in...
Westmoreland happenings: Rummage sales, kids health fair, ‘Star Wars’ activity, more
Church News • Jeannette Assembly of God will host its Tabitha’s Closet free clothing event from 5 to 7 p.m. April 28 in the church fellowship hall, 246 Pleasant Valley Road, Jeannette. Details: 724-832-7066. Fundraisers • Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, 1570 Clay Pike, North Huntingdon, will sponsor its annual...
Republican commissioner candidates to remain on Westmoreland ballot
Republican Westmoreland County commissioner candidates John Ventre and Paul Kosko will remain on the GOP primary ballot after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling. As a result, county election officials said more than 22,000 mail-in ballots will be sent to...
Jeannette man pleads guilty to reduced charge for 2018 fatal fire
Carol Geiger said the fire that swept through her mother’s Jeannette home in 2018 did more than just destroy her family’s memories. “The most important thing you took from me or my family was my mother, the matriarch of our family. She was a single mother of four children. She...
Former North Huntingdon emergency management coordinator tapped for top Mutual Aid Ambulance post
A former head of North Huntingdon’s emergency management operations has been tapped to lead Mutual Aid Ambulance Service Inc., Westmoreland County’s largest ambulance service. Gene Komondor of North Huntingdon, who was the township’s emergency management coordinator from 2007 to October 2020 and had operated an ambulance service, started his new...
Evidence tampering charges withdrawn against Arnold policeman in Pa. Game Commission case
After being found not guilty last week of unlawfully killing an antlered deer, charges of tampering with evidence were withdrawn Tuesday against an Arnold police officer because of a lack of evidence. Pennsylvania Game Commission officials said Jacob A. Pollick, 29, of Murrysville killed an antlered whitetail Oct. 11 in...
Murrysville sisters turn creative energy into Etsy shop Carefree Critters
As the covid-19 pandemic pressed on into 2021, Anna Pinto wasn’t able to attend her high school in Highland Park, and her younger sister, Gia, wasn’t able to attend the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. Both were at their Murrysville residence being home-schooled — and ended up taking the...
Ghosts of Vietnam haunt Greensburg Civic Theatre’s season finale
In Steven Dietz’s 2004 drama, “Last of the Boys,” the main character is a veteran still haunted 30 years later by his experiences in Vietnam. The play itself has had something of a haunting effect on Sue Kurey of North Versailles, who will direct a Greensburg Civic Theater production as...
Interactive mystery event uses downtown Greensburg as game board
A valuable painting has been stolen, and the artist is dead. Who dunnit? Amateur sleuths can trek the streets of Greensburg and solve the crime during Westmoreland Community Action’s second annual “WHO DUNNIT?” event Saturday. The story will unfold beginning at 11 a.m. at the scene of the crime —...
‘Wheel of Fortune LIVE!’ coming to Greensburg
Audiences will get a familiar spin on entertainment when “Wheel of Fortune LIVE!” comes to the Palace Theatre in Greensburg this fall. The popular game show is set to play the venue Nov. 7. Guests will be randomly selected to go onstage and spin a full-sized replica of the show’s...
Schedule changes pitched to cut Westmoreland jail overtime
Supervisors at the Westmoreland County Prison could be required to work longer shifts under a plan adopted Monday by members of the board that oversees the county lockup. Prison board members unanimously recommended extended workdays for five sergeants who oversee the jail’s staff of guards as part of an effort...
Hempfield man pleads guilty to sexual assault of teens
A Hempfield man pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he sexually assaulted three teen girls. Joshua Esteban Kunkle, 21, was initially charged 23 criminal offenses, including multiple counts of rape, in connection with accusations from three juveniles that he forced them into sexual activity over a four-year period ending in...
Derry Township woman accused of harassing country music duo Megan & Liz online
A Derry Township woman is accused of sending threatening messages to a pair of country musicians on Instagram and TikTok, the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office said. Ashley Rose Felix, 26, is charged with harassment and stalking after, authorities said, she created more than 50 social media accounts to harass...
Police chase through downtown Greensburg ends in crash, arrest
A Hempfield man nearly collided with several vehicles Friday afternoon in Greensburg while fleeing from an officer attempting to arrest him for an inspection violation, according to court papers. Mitchell E. Crosetti-Auer, 30, is accused of leading police on a chase at 2 p.m. on busy streets in the downtown...
Youth choir concert at First Presbyterian in Greensburg to benefit music scholarship
The Chapel Youth Choir and Festive Ringers will perform a concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 28, in the sanctuary at First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg. Free-will donations will be accepted for the Montreat Worship and Music Youth Scholarship. The choir and ringers are touring musicians from Abington Presbyterian Church...
Irwin hires architect to create building plans; propose renovations
An architectural firm has been hired by Irwin to design plans for the borough building and possible renovations to the 112-year-old structure on Main Street. Ulery Architecture LLC of Unity was hired to create the architectural plans for the borough building at 424 Main St., because Irwin does not have...
Cat rescued from Jeannette house fire
A cat was rescued from a Jeannette house fire Saturday night that caused significant damage, according to Fire Chief Bill Frye. Residents of the Lafferty Street home were able to escape uninjured just before 8 p.m. after they were alerted to the blaze by neighbors. Flames were seen in the...
Greensburg Night Market set to return with expanded food options
Visitors to Greensburg’s South Pennsylvania Avenue will find a mix of new and returning vendors when the fifth season of the Greensburg Night Market debuts from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday. New aspects of the popular event, held monthly through the end of the year, include more food options. Estimated...
New Hempfield book challenge, acquisition rules up for vote
After more than a year of debate, Hempfield Area School Board is set to vote on new book selection and challenge regulations for the district’s libraries. The draft regulations, which were discussed by board members in January, would set guidelines for preventing sexually explicit content from entering or staying in...
Penn-Tucky connection: Project blesses Harrison City church, aid recipients
There’s a proverb that says if you want to be blessed, be a blessing to someone else. Volunteers with the Kentucky Project at St. Barbara Catholic Church in Harrison City have proven that to be true. Since 2006, the group has assisted poor rural families in eastern Kentucky by providing...
4 firefighters honored for rescuing victims of Greensburg apartment fires
Four local volunteer firefighters have earned recognition for their efforts to rescue two men from recent apartment fires in Greensburg. Greensburg fire Chief Tom Bell and city Mayor Robb Bell honored the first responders at the April city council meeting. Tom Bell praised firefighters JP Maroney, of the Greensburg department,...
No ‘au revoir’ just yet: Penn-Trafford to keep French program, for now
French language courses at Penn-Trafford School District won’t be going away anytime soon. After previously announcing the program would be phased out because of a lack of enrollment and the retirement of the district’s longtime high school French teacher, the Penn-Trafford School Board decided last week to continue the program,...
