Westmoreland category, Page 309
Westmoreland County Airport Authority uses grant money for improvement projects
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...
Penn-Trafford students, staff have helped fund 75 ‘wishes’ through annual telethonVideo
Students in Steve Vinton’s video production class at Penn-Trafford High School have the four hours of their annual holiday telethon planned down to minute. Part of that plan includes throwing out the whole plan at a moment’s notice. “Sometimes, with live production, things can go wrong,” said senior Phelan Newman,...
Delmont officials want firefighters to attend borough safety meetings
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 deliver over 150 pounds of food to Westmoreland Food Bank
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...
Greensburg woman: ‘I’m a quilter who doesn’t like to quilt’Video
Despite describing herself as “a quilter who doesn’t like to quilt,” Ginnie Leiner of Greensburg has more than 196 quilts to her credit, having taught herself the craft in her late teens in the 1970s. “It’s a passion,” said Leiner. “An obsession, my husband would say.” More than a dozen...
Overly’s engages all ages with holiday lights, food, family fun at Westmoreland Fairgrounds
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.”...
Santa and the Grinch bring holiday cheer to North Huntingdon
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....
$150K donation to help Latrobe move forward with blight program
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...
Greensburg OKs comprehensive plan, eyes blight demolition, playground upgrades
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...
‘Union Station Riot’ depicts dark side of railroad strike
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...
Nature calendar honors Delmont man’s memory, will benefit borough library
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...
Out & About: Westmoreland Museum hosts holiday happy hour
“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 turns down offer from county to pay for patrols at housing complex
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 OKs budget; 2-mill tax hike for street lights
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...
Bovard veteran of 2 wars survived torpedo attack, shrapnel wound to serve his community
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...
Westmoreland elected officials to receive record raises
Westmoreland County elected officials are getting huge raises in 2023. Commissioners, along with row officers and judges, will receive 7.8% higher wages next year under an existing pay structure put in place more than two decades ago to ensure the county’s election officials receive annual cost of living increases. Raises...
Out & About: CASA of Westmoreland gala honors volunteer of the year
Some people with a heart for helping children in difficult situations were recognized at the CASA of Westmoreland annual gala, held Dec. 3 at The Club at Blackthorne in Penn Township. The Court Appointed Special Advocates are specially trained community volunteers appointed by family court judges to provide support to...
Jeannette-area Wreaths Across America chapter expands to honor 1,800 veteransVideo
When Halle Copeman arrived at the Wreaths Across America event last year, she was running behind; there was only one headstone left where she could place a wreath. “I walked up, and it was my best friend’s grandmother,” Copeman of North Huntingdon said. “I got chills.” Copeman returned this year...
Vehicle hits porch of one property, goes sideways into a neighbor’s garage in Derry Township
No one was injured when a vehicle struck the porch and sidewalk of one property, before hitting the garage of another late Friday night, fire officials said. Bradenville Fire Chief Mark Piantine said an unidentified driver left Route 217 near its intersection with Route 30 shortly before 11:15 a.m. Friday....
Greensburg fourth graders get face time with ‘cool’ and ‘cute’ critters
Spiders, snakes, lizards and a llama were among more than two dozen exotic animals that were a highlight of Friday’s school day for a group of fourth graders. The students from Nicely Elementary in Greensburg judged some of the animals they encountered next door at Greensburg Salem High School to...
Greensburg’s Spring Avenue Park, city playgrounds targeted for upgrades next year
Greensburg’s 2023 agenda includes renovations to several city recreational facilities, among them Spring Avenue Park and some neighborhood playgrounds. Tapping several grant sources, the city hopes to seek bids in the spring for the proposed $535,000 park makeover in the 5th Ward. “We’re going to put a lot of money...
Teachers see tech center preparing students for a career
Greensburg Salem High School senior Allyssa Mattes wants to go to a technical school and work in a machine shop after graduation. Mattes was among those who told about 15 teachers from several school districts about the career-preparation programs at Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center this week. As the...
Seton Hill lands grant to recruit, assist underrepresented students in science fields
Seton Hill University plans to recruit more than a dozen science majors while providing them with financial and academic support. The university in Greensburg will provide scholarships to 15 high-achieving students from the Pittsburgh region who are economically disadvantaged and are part of groups — including women and minorities —...
Stowe woman accused of bilking $13K in Westmoreland rental assistance cash for properties she doesn’t own
An Allegheny County woman is accused of stealing $13,000 in emergency rental assistance after police said she claimed to be the landlord of two properties in Murrysville and Export, according to court papers. Janice L. Koranteng, 57, of Stowe was arraigned this week on charges of theft, forgery, identity theft...
Turtle Creek man to serve 40-year prison sentence for sex trafficking of teen
A Turtle Creek man will serve at least 20 years in prison for the sex trafficking of a New Kensington teenager. Davon Allen Fuqua, 36, pleaded guilty in September to four felony offenses including the trafficking of minors, statutory sexual assault of a juvenile, promotion of prostitution of a minor...
