Westmoreland category, Page 279

Charles Etling told a Westmoreland County jury on Thursday that he was sure he killed his live-in girlfriend in June 2020 when he left her lifeless body in a wooded area near the side of a Mt. Pleasant Township road. “I thought … (she) was deceased. I felt bad just...

Pennsylvania’s new governor, Josh Shapiro, officially nominated acting Attorney General Michelle Henry to serve out the remainder of his term as state attorney general Thursday afternoon. Henry, 53, is a Greensburg native and Greensburg Salem High School graduate who previously served as first deputy attorney general under Shapiro when he...

A jury deliberated less than 30 minutes Thursday before finding a former Franklin Regional School Board member not guilty of stealing political signs from Hempfield roadways. Since his arrest nearly two years ago, Gary English, 66, of Murrysville claimed he was simply clearing litter and performing a task — removing...

Beginning Monday, four Standard Bank locations in Western Pennsylvania will consolidate to nearby Dollar Bank offices. The affected Standard Bank offices are located on Route 30 in Hempfield, Old William Penn Highway in Murrysville, Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh and Greentree Road in Green Tree. They will be consolidated to Dollar...

When an underground gas storage facility was installed on a small section of the Shield’s Farm property in the early 1990s, Delmont officials approved it without realizing they were potentially violating the terms under which the farmland was purchased. “Shield’s Farm was acquired many years ago with Project 70 funding...

A Greensburg man was seriously injured in a crash Tuesday morning in Hempfield after his car became airborne, according to state police. Troopers said Andrew W. Womer, 18, was traveling west on Route 30 at 6:45 a.m. near the West Otterman Street exit when the Honda Civic he was driving...

Students can relax at room temperature or sweat it out at Tonified, a new yoga and fitness studio in Greensburg. Owner Tony Ranieri has drawn upon four decades in the fitness business and his more recent exploration of yoga techniques in developing the studio and in selecting its range of...

Rostraver’s police chief is looking to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a district judge. John Christner, 56, who has been the township’s police chief since November 2021, said he believes his experience as an officer for 35 years and the knowledge he has gained in all aspects of...

More than three decades ago, Michelle Henry was walking the halls of Greensburg Salem High School with her classmates. This week, the 53-year-old Greensburg native was named acting Pennsylvania attorney general. After graduating from high school and Allegheny College, Henry headed east to attend the Widener University School of Law,...

According to his lawyer, former Franklin Regional School Director Gary English was just picking up litter when he loaded campaign signs into the back of his pickup truck in April 2020. “Twice a year we are all assaulted by these campaign signs that litter our roadways and are prohibited from...

After a yearlong debate over appropriate books in the school library, Hempfield Area officials have drafted updates to the district’s resource material policy that could shape the future of book selection and challenges in the district. The draft, penned by Superintendent Tammy Wolicki and district solicitor Krisha DiMascio, sets guard...

It only took a few seconds for Norwin High School senior Bret Vilage’s show choir class to erupt into cheers Wednesday morning. Vilage, one of two area winners of a full-tuition scholarship to Thiel College, was overcome with emotion as his parents, extended family, school principal, and officials from Thiel...

A Mt. Pleasant Township woman told a jury how she was bloodied, bruised, covered in mud and vegetation and left for dead in the woods in 2020 after she was assaulted by her live-in boyfriend. But she regained consciousness some 12 hours later and crawled to a road to seek...

Michael Covington Jr. sat on the witness stand Wednesday and told the surviving family members of Matthew Genard that he struggles to deal with his actions from more than five years ago when, police said, he robbed and stabbed his victim at least 22 times in the back. “His life...

Submissions from nonprofit organizations for Briefly Speaking can be emailed to Carol Pinto-Smith at cpinto-smith@triblive.com or mailed to Briefly Speaking, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084. Include a complete address and daytime phone number. Submissions are due at least two weeks before the event. Each announcement is printed once; there...

Ian Bishop, who was 14 when he bludgeoned his 18-year-old brother to death in the family’s Hempfield home in 2002, is out of prison. Bishop, now 35, was paroled Jan. 3, according to records made public by the Pennsylvania Parole Board. He served 21 years in prison. Bishop was prosecuted...

The lawyer for a man charged with the robbery and fatal stabbing of a man in his Youngwood home more than five years ago told a Westmoreland County jury Tuesday that his client is not a killer. Defense attorney Ken Noga said Michael J. Covington Jr. of Youngwood, now 25,...

Debbie Sarault, owner of clothing store Betsy’s of Ligonier, has a secret. But she’s not letting the proverbial cat out of the bag until Saturday, when the 32nd annual Ligonier Ice Fest begins. As a shop owner for 33 years, Sarault prides herself on having never missed the event. She...

The man who authorities said died by suicide during a police standoff Monday in a Hempfield mobile home park was accused of threatening a woman with a gun two days earlier and firing two shots into the ceiling, according to court papers. Gerald A. Long Jr., 54, was charged Sunday...

A 15-year-old boy is charged as an adult after state police said he attacked a worker at Outside In School of Experiential Education in Fairfield. Anthony Jenkins is being held on $200,000 bail on charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, strangulation and related offenses. Troopers were called to the facility...

When Derry Area High School senior Cydney Wierzbowski was called down to the school guidance office early Tuesday morning, for a moment, she thought she might be in trouble. “I was in math class, and I was pulled out to go to guidance for I did not know what,” Wierzbowski...

In 1965, Lyndon Johnson was president of the United States, the country was involved in a war in Vietnam, and the Fab Four — The Beatles — held what many consider to be the first stadium rock concert in New York City. Without as much fanfare, Pennsylvania leaders that same...

A Greensburg man was seriously hurt after he was hit by a pickup truck Monday while walking along Route 119 in Hempfield, state police said. David A. Green, 30, was hit by a Ford F-350 and a trailer it was towing, according to troopers. The pickup was traveling southbound in...

Norwin School Board member Alex Detschelt last week called for the district to ban another book from its curriculum. Detschelt has courted controversy since he was elected to the board in 2021. His latest target is “Al Capone Does My Shirts,” Gennifer Choldenko’s 2005 young adult novel that was a...

Irwin Borough’s plan to double the fees for use of ballfields at its two community parks had several representatives from a youth sports group crying foul last week. Council plans consider changing the fee structure from $10 to $20 per session for use of the ballfields at Irwin Park and...