Westmoreland category, Page 339
‘The most moving thing’: Living donors provide organs to keep others alive
It’s not like asking your friendly neighbor for a cup of sugar. It’s asking someone — be it a relative, friend or even a stranger — to become a living donor. To give up a part of their body to possibly save your life. The scenario may seem surreal, but...
Holy nuts! Greensburg mechanic finds large squirrel nest in Sisters of Charity Toyota
An industrious squirrel must have felt a higher calling this year when prepping for the winter ahead. Its cache of walnuts — carefully tucked under the hood of a Toyota sedan owned by the Sisters of Charity in Greensburg — was discovered by an unsuspecting auto mechanic Wednesday. “It’s amazing....
Fred Rogers family auctioning off items from summer home in Unity
If you ever wanted to own some memorabilia connected to the creator of everyone’s favorite neighborhood, now’s your chance. Contents from Fred Rogers’ family summer home are being sold this month in an online public auction. The available items, which span generations, are from two houses, a cabin, a wood...
Murrysville Council wants parks and recreation board to evaluate amphitheater project
Murrysville officials will seek a recommendation from their parks and recreation board before making a decision on the future of the $1.8 million amphitheater project at Murrysville Community Park. Last month, municipal council members considered surveying residents on their thoughts about the project, which would see a performance amphitheater installed...
Westmoreland voters not allowed to fix undated mail-in ballots
Westmoreland County election officials said voters who submit undated mail-in ballots will not be permitted to correct that error or other deficiencies before Election Day. That could result in their votes not being counted. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Tuesday barred county election offices from counting undated mail-in ballots and...
Hempfield plans to hold the line on taxes
Hempfield property owners will likely avoid a township tax increase for the 33rd consecutive year after supervisors approved a 2023 preliminary budget that holds the line on taxes. The budget, approved last week, keeps taxes at 3 mills — the rate at which they have remained since 1990. “Luckily we’ve...
Youngwood Sportsmen’s turkey shoot to benefit local families, food bank
Like their neighbors, members of the Youngwood Sportsmen’s Association see how quickly food costs are rising. “There are a lot of people struggling, and we were sitting around thinking about what we could do to help,” association President Ed Sadler said. With 1,700 members, there were plenty of options, and...
Backpack display offers path to discussion on impact of suicide
The Active Minds Send Silence Packing traveling display was on display Tuesday at Reeves Learning Commons on the Seton Hill University campus. It moves to the Westmoreland County Community College campus parking lot 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday. On Tuesday, the backpacks were placed at Reeves Learning Commons at...
Westmoreland happenings: Art events, spaghetti dinners, craft shows, more
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...
Salem restaurant, government spar over jury verdict
The lawyer for the owner of a Salem restaurant found liable for labor law violations challenged the government’s effort to collect $429,000 in back pay and other damages Tuesday. After a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, jurors found that from April 2014 to July 2017, owners of...
Plea talks end for Export man charged in Vandergrift woman’s killing
An Export man will stand trial next year in connection with the murder of a Vandergrift woman whose charred remains were found in a wooded area near Keystone State Park in 2017. Defense attorney Brian Aston said during a court hearing Tuesday that efforts over the last year to resolve...
Powerball ticket worth $150K sold at South Huntingdon retailer
It wasn’t the jackpot, but a Powerball ticket that won a decent chunk of money Monday was sold at a South Huntingdon retailer. Pennsylvania Lottery officials said the ticket worth $150,000 in Monday’s drawing was sold at Pilot Travel Center, which earns a $500 bonus. The ticket matched four of...
Owner of former Greensburg’s Cook’s Market loved customers, making friends
Gary A. Baum Sr. of Hempfield loved serving good food — especially Italian roast beef and chicken salad — as much as getting to know the customers in the 27 years he operated Cook’s Market in Greensburg. “He really liked to create this atmosphere, like the song from the television...
Export to notify 55 property owners of lateral sewer line issues
Export officials will notify 55 property owners who must correct issues identified in smoke-and-dye testing of lateral lines mandated by the borough’s consent agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to have the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority send the letters. “I’d like to...
Pie tasting, ‘pie’-ing faces at Latrobe’s Fall Fest Pie Walk
With leaves falling and temperatures dropping, pie season is officially here. Latrobe’s final Shop Hop Night of 2022 will allow locals to sample pies and “pie” the faces of notable community members on Wednesday. The Fall Fest Pie Walk, which kicks off at 4 p.m., will feature 10 different sample...
Homicide arraignment held for Unity man accused of killing Cassandra Gross
Thomas G. Stanko was arraigned Tuesday in connection with the death of Cassandra Gross of Unity, the first of many court hearings her mother Kathe Gross plans to attend in the homicide case. “I’m going to every one,” Gross said outside the courtroom after Stanko, 52, of Unity, was denied...
Jeannette blaze deemed suspicious by state police fire marshal
A fire that left several Jeannette residents homeless Monday was deemed suspicious. Jeannette police Chief Donald Johnston Jr. said that determination was made by a state police fire marshal. “We are conducting follow-up investigations with witnesses and neighbors,” Johnston said. The blaze swept through two Division Street homes Monday afternoon...
Police: Pickup burned for insurance money in Fairfield
Two men are accused by state police of conspiring to set a pickup truck on fire in Fairfield in August so one of them could collect insurance money and purchase a new vehicle, according to court papers. Jerry A. Boring, 58, of Fairfield, got about $4,900 for his 1997 Dodge...
WPXI reporter tapped as spokesperson for Westmoreland County DA
WPXI reporter Melanie Gillespie Jones will leave her post at the Pittsburgh television station to become the spokesperson for Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli. Jones, 34, of Somerset County is the station’s Westmoreland County Bureau chief and will begin work with the county Nov. 14. “Melanie will launch our...
Public input meetings will focus on proposed nature, art park in Hempfield
Westmoreland Land Trust will hold a series of three public meetings beginning Tuesday to discuss and take comments on a proposed nature and art park at the trust’s Schwarz Farm in Hempfield. Located at 504 Beech Hills Road, about 3 miles north of Greensburg, the 96-acre site was purchased from...
Hempfield Area mulling when to float new bond with financial markets in flux
Hempfield Area School Board members are working closely with banking officials as they prepare to start a multimillion-dollar high school renovation project next year. School directors met with PNC bankers this week to discuss the current state of the market and the possibility of issuing a second bond near the...
Westmoreland judge: Shetler must remain in jail pending trial
A New Florence man acquitted of killing a police officer in 2015 will remain in jail as he awaits trial on charges that he assaulted a law enforcement official as police attempted to take him into custody on an outstanding warrant. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Megan Bilik-DeFazio on Monday...
Greensburg-area campuses address suicide awareness, prevention with backpacks display
A suicide awareness display in the form of student backpacks will be at two Greensburg-area college campuses. The Active Minds Send Silence Packing traveling display will be on view from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, the backpacks will be on Sullivan Lawn on Seton Hill’s...
7 apartment tenants lose homes in Jeannette fire
Seven apartment tenants lost their homes Monday afternoon when a fire swept through two homes in Jeannette and damaged a third. The cause of the blaze is under investigation by a state police fire marshal and Jeannette police, a city fire official said. No one was reported injured in the...
Crews battle fire in Southwest Greensburg
Crews battled a house fire in Southwest Greensburg Monday afternoon, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The Southwest Greensburg Fire Department and South Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department responded to the 700 block of Green Street around 1:30 p.m. According to a Facebook post from the South Greensburg VFD, firefighters prevented...
