Westmoreland , Page 288

A former part-time Southwest Greensburg police officer was convicted Tuesday of official oppression for a traffic stop while off duty and in an other jurisdiction. Prosecutors contended James Shaw, 56, of Mt. Pleasant Township initiated a traffic stop in East Huntingdon in October 2020 then followed the same vehicle for...

A blast of winter weather is arriving this week just as two area ski resorts are opening for the season. Hidden Valley Resort in Somerset County will welcome skiers today, Dec. 21, while Laurel Mountain Ski Area in Ligonier Township is set to open two days later. Both attractions are...

Traffic signal improvements along Route 30 in North Huntingdon will cause single-lane restrictions, as needed, beginning on Wednesday and continuing over six months. Three intersections in Penn Township will see similar work as part of the PennDOT project. Upgrades to signals and to signal timing will occur between 9 a.m....

Five-year-old Harmony Derry took a running start and headed straight for the toy aisle Monday at the Hempfield Walmart. Capt. Jen Shipley with the Westmoreland County Sheriff Department was close behind her, pushing a cart that quickly filled with dolls, toys and a small kitchen set. Shipley personally signed up...

The Westmoreland County Prison still needs more corrections officers and will conduct interviews in January to fill 16 positions, the prison warden said. Warden Bryan Kline will conduct the interviews and agility tests at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 9 at the county prison, off Route 119 in Hempfield. The board approved...

When the pandemic first forced the shutdown of restaurants and bars across the state, the community reached out to support Sharky’s Café in Unity. Months later, the restaurant’s management wanted to repay the favor. Owners Jamie and Johnathan Huemme started the first Sharky’s Holiday Dinner Drive meal giveaway in December...

An Allegheny County woman who did not have a valid drivers license was arrested Saturday after leading Jeannette police on a chase on Route 130 and colliding with other vehicles, according to court papers. Police said Anessa Lynn Short, 21, of Port Vue, was impaired at the time. She is...

A McKeesport man turned himself into Delmont police on Monday, after a warrant was issued this month charging him with unlawful sexual contact with a minor. Police said Alfonso B. Washington Jr., 45, was arraigned on that charge and additional charges of indecent assault of a minor, corruption of minors...

A new tool will provide citizens with updates about crime investigations and prosecutions from the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office. The Crimewatch online platform, which is designed for law enforcement, will give residents access to information related to crime and public safety. Residents can choose to receive notifications about new...

The former director of Westmoreland County’s Regional Youth Services Center claims in a federal lawsuit that she was discriminated against when she was replaced by a man who made $25,000 more than her. Nicole Kamer of East Vandergrift filed the action against the county Friday. In February 2020, Kamer was...

Arnold Palmer Regional Airport recently finished about $245,000 in projects to rebuild a taxiway, improve hangars and test its emergency firefighting foam. Officials at the airport in Unity worked with Golden Triangle Construction and McFarland Johnson Construction to reconstruct Taxiway C. The taxiway was curved and was required by the...

Delmont officials will withhold an annual contribution to the borough’s volunteer fire department until firefighters begin attending borough safety committee meetings. Council voted to hold a $2,000 donation to the department at its meeting Tuesday. “We still have an issue with them even coming to our safety committee meetings,” Councilman...

Work Discovery Students from the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit delivered 158 pounds of food to the Westmoreland Food Bank on Thursday. Students from Mary Petrina’s class packaged and delivered the nonperishables on behalf of the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit and Clairview’s Holiday Giving Collection. Along with the food, the month-long collection filled...

Leechburg residents Tyler Leech and Alexis Price took their first trip to see Overly’s Country Christmas on Friday evening, and it was a memorable outing. After Leech arranged a wagon ride for the couple at the Mt. Pleasant Township attraction, he proposed to Price — and her answer was “yes.”...

It was smiles for Santa and a healthy mix of smiles and trepidation for the Grinch at a holiday pancake breakfast Sunday morning in North Huntingdon. Hartford Heights Volunteer Fire Department hosted the breakfast, which also included a face-painting station....

A countywide blight study completed earlier this year found that nearly 10% of Latrobe’s properties have problems like peeling paint, cracked bricks or rotting wood. A program to help Latrobe address the issue is receiving a $150,000 boost from Robindale Energy Services. The Latrobe-based company donated the money to the...

Preparations already are underway for some of the Greensburg projects recommended in an updated comprehensive plan approved this week by city council. Providing guidance for city officials through 2040, the Shape Greensburg plan includes goals for blight mitigation and improvement of recreational facilities. “As we start looking at 2023 and...

A painting at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art shows the dark side of a railroad strike in 1877. The oil painting, titled “Union Station Riot,” depicts the station in Pittsburgh’s Strip District on fire during the Great Railroad Strike. Its artist, Martin B. Leisser, was there reporting for Harper’s...

Tom Washburn of Delmont loved the beauty of the outdoors. He traveled to Wyoming, Alaska and other points west, not just to indulge in his passion for fly fishing but also to take in the sights and sounds of the natural world. He captured much of that on his camera...

“Let It Snow” was the theme for the Dec. 9 Art on Tap 2.0 happy hour at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg. Well, the weatherman didn’t deliver on that one, but no matter — there was plenty of holiday and wintertime fun to be had anyway. On...

Jeannette police will not be doing extra patrols beyond their regular duties at Jeannette Manor after a city council majority rejected a proposed agreement with the Westmoreland County Housing Authority. The housing authority had offered $20,000 that would be paid as overtime to city officers for their work doing the...

Irwin property owners will pay more in real estate taxes in 2023 to support government operations as a result of a two-mill tax hike earmarked to pay for street lights. The borough council on Wednesday approved a $5.29 million budget, including a $4.2 million general fund to pay for government...

Editor’s Note: This is part of a series about Westmoreland County residents who have been honored as Hometown Heroes. World War II and Korean War veteran Ross Saunders celebrated 87 Christmases before he answered the final call, dying on Dec. 26, 2011. The most memorable of those holidays was without...