Westmoreland category, Page 324

A Chinese national’s 2019 human trafficking conviction was upheld this week by a state appeals court. Hui Xu, 48, formerly of Mt. Pleasant, completed a sentence of nearly two years in jail in 2021. She pleaded guilty to two counts of human trafficking and single charges of promoting prostitution and...

The owners of a shrine to former President Donald Trump in Youngstown are not liable for a vehicle crash nearly six years ago that injured two people, a state appeals court has ruled. The Pennsylvania Superior Court this week affirmed a previous ruling by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Chris...

The Penn-Trafford School board has authorized two studies to explore the district’s future, which could include closing underused facilities and building larger schools to accommodate rising enrollment. Board members agreed to pay two companies about $18,000 each for a demographic analysis of the district and the feasibility study examining consolidation...

The president of the union that represents corrections officers at Westmoreland County Prison will remain off the job pending an internal investigation although charges related to a July domestic dispute were dismissed Wednesday. Scott Kennedy, 40, of North Irwin, was charged this month with strangulation, terroristic threats, simple assault and...

A developer planning to build more than 260 homes at the former Valley Green Golf & Country Club is gauging if Hempfield Township, Hempfield Area School District and Westmoreland County would approve using a tax diversion program to pay for road improvements. “This is not a tax break,” said Michael...

Brian Barkley has judged sheep shows throughout the United States and Canada. He called the youth participants in the Westmoreland Fair’s market lamb show “exceptionally good.” “I was really pleased with how good they were,” said Barkley, from Bedford County. Dozens of spectators filled the fair’s Small Arena on Tuesday...

A Chevrolet pickup truck that was pulled out of a reservoir at Bridgeport Dam earlier this month was reported stolen in 2004, according to Westmoreland County Park Police Chief Henry Fontana. But any other details about the theft remain a mystery. Fontana said police were able to get a VIN...

Two men are accused of having cellphones at Westmoreland County Prison, according to court papers. Leon D. Fair, 23, of Jeannette told authorities he sneaked his cellphone into the Hempfield jail Aug. 3 and used it to make calls to his family, to try to have bail posted and to...

PennDOT will hold an in-person meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 31, to display plans for rehabilitating the Route 136 bridge that crosses the Youghiogheny River in West Newton. According to project planners, the proposed rehabilitation is intended to maintain the historic significance of the metal truss bridge, which was built in...

Hempfield leaders are taking a closer look at the Route 30 corridor running through the center of the township as they move forward with updating a comprehensive plan. Supervisors this week approved creation of the Central Westmoreland Economic District Corridor Committee, or the HT30 Committee. The group will create a...

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...

Two motorcyclists were seriously hurt in a crash Saturday in Indiana County, not far from the Westmoreland County border. State police said Bruce P. Kunkle, 59, of Saltsburg and Joseph Ross, 60, of New Alexandria were traveling north on Route 286 in Conemaugh Township at 1 p.m. when Kunkle’s hat...

Motorists on Route 711 may run into temporary detours during the 2023 construction season, when PennDOT expects to replace four bridges along the road in Westmoreland and Fayette counties. Plans for all four bridges may be viewed online through Aug. 31. Visit PennDOT.pa.gov/District12 and click on “Public Meetings/Studies” under the...

A Wilkinsburg man is in jail after Monessen police said he attempted to turn a valve on a fire truck during a fire call in the city Monday before he was tased by officers, according to court papers. Aleksandr Doroshkevich, 37, is charged with resisting arrest, obstructing emergency services and...

Employees of nursing homes in Lower Burrell and North Huntingdon are among those at 24 long-term care facilities in the state who voted to strike, claiming unfair labor practices and a lack of accountability, according to union officials. Four of the nursing homes are owned by Comprehensive Healthcare, which operates...

Irwin will join a growing number of area police departments and first responders that have or will have personnel certified to use naloxone, the medicine that can be administered to a person to reverse an opioid overdose. “Sometimes we arrive first (to an opioid) overdose, and it’s necessary ( to...

Groundbreaking for Westmoreland County Housing Authority’s 50-unit apartment building in Irwin that would be designated for senior citizens will be delayed until late October as the agency finishes the financing for the estimated $12 million project, an authority official said. Irwin Borough has issued the housing authority a building permit...

Export Mayor Joe Zaccagnini broke a contentious tie vote last month over whether to approve a $5 monthly increase in local sewage rates, passing along a roughly 8% rate hike by the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority. Next month, the issue will come back before a full council for another...

When Delmont-Salem Rotary officials have held events at Newhouse Park in Delmont, one question has popped up frequently, according to incoming president Christian Tomley. “When we have our steak fry every year, we’ve gotten questions about why there’s no fountain,” Tomley told Delmont council at its Aug. 9 meeting. “It’s...

Dr. Mehmet Oz rejected media reports that surfaced over the weekend that suggested former President Donald Trump had soured on his U.S. Senate candidacy. “It’s not true. It’s not true at all. He’s been very supportive, offering advice. His team has been helpful as well, and he’ll be coming to...

The Westmoreland Fair’s poultry show was missing one thing: poultry. Birds were absent from Monday’s show because of the avian flu outbreak. Instead, exhibitors produced pictures of their chickens and turkeys, which were then judged. Judge Harvey Noel said he did his best to examine the birds, but it was...

Franklin Regional School District is accepting proposals for the position of district solicitor. Several district residents questioned school director Diana Altieri Hand’s motion the end of the Aug. 1 board meeting to reopen the solicitor’s position. The move was not part of the board’s posted agenda but passed by a...

A Pennsylvania state trooper remains on the job after his involvement in a fatal Aug. 17 crash in Salem, officials said Monday. A BMW driven by Tyler J. Strini, 27, of Homer City did not slow down for stopped traffic, troopers said. Strini, assigned to Troop B in Uniontown, joined...

Pittsburgh bluesman Jimmy Adler will make his first appearance at the Greensburg Music Fest on Saturday, as the free live music event returns for its fourth year. Hosted by the Westmoreland Cultural Trust, the event will feature music for all ages and tastes on three outdoor stages and in The...

Mosquitoes sampled in Westmoreland County have tested positive for West Nile virus — joining Allegheny County, where spraying to control the insects is set to resume. One positive human case has been reported in neighboring Armstrong County, though the disease was not found in any mosquitoes there, according to the...