Westmoreland category, Page 364
Lawsuit settled in lawyer’s death at Greensburg YMCA
A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family members of a local attorney who was found dead in the sauna last year at the Greensburg YMCA has been settled. According to court records, a Westmoreland County judge on June 7 approved the agreement to end the litigation that claimed the...
Greensburg Salem OKs budget with no tax hike
Greensburg Salem property owners won’t see an increase in taxes for the 2022-23 school year. The school board this week approved a $49.1 million budget that holds the line on taxes at 89.72 mills but balanced it with a transfer of $531,540 from the district’s fund balance. By transferring the...
Westmoreland Democrats to select new leader
After weeks of delay caused by the litigation over the results of the May primary, Westmoreland County Democrats once again are set to elect a new party chairperson. Democrats are scheduled to convene tonight at Hempfield Park for their reorganization meeting to select a replacement for committee chairwoman Tara Yokopenic,...
Jeannette City tax increase spurred by decrease in property values, school leaders say
Jeannette City School District property taxpayers will see their bills go up by 1 mill after the school board approved the increase in the $23 million 2022-23 budget. District interim business manager Dale Kirsch and superintendent Matthew Jones said the rate will rise to 89 mills, which is about average...
Crash near Mt. Pleasant sends driver to hospital
The male driver of a car involved in a one-vehicle crash along Route 31 was flown to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh late Wednesday, according to state police at Greensburg. The Honda Accord veered off the westbound lane of Route 31 after 9 p.m. and hit a tree along Laurelwood...
Severe thunderstorm downs trees, wires in Southwestern Pennsylvania
A storm blew through Southwestern Pennsylvania early Wednesday evening and toppled numerous trees, knocking out electricity and damaging homes. West Penn Power reported it had about 12,500 customers without electricity in Southwestern Pennsylvania, primarily in Westmoreland, Washington, Indiana, Butler and Fayette counties, as of 5:52 a.m. Thursday morning. Outside of...
Belle Vernon dad organizes blood drive in honor of ‘superhero’ son battling eye cancer
Albert Jasso knows how important it is to have donated blood at the ready during a medical emergency. Jasso’s 11-year-old son, Cam, recently needed blood transfusions while undergoing chemotherapy treatments for orbital rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the eye. “This time around, we knew it was going to be more intense,...
South Greensburg McDonald’s closed for makeover; drive-thru expansion included
Travelers at the busy junction of routes 119 and 30 in South Greensburg who are anticipating a stop at the sign of the Golden Arches may not be “lovin’ it” so much for the next several weeks. The busy McDonald’s restaurant at 1207 S. Main St. (Route 119) is temporarily...
Unity man jailed in connection with theft of 7 guns
A Unity man was jailed Tuesday on state police accusations that he stole seven guns from a relative’s home, according to court papers. Troopers said Caleb A. Krisfalusi, 19, sold the guns to two shops. Police recovered the firearms and returned them to the relative who lives in Cook. Krisfalusi...
Yough’s Sardon going home to lead West Jefferson Hills School District
Yough School District is searching for a new superintendent to replace the district’s top administrator. Janet Sardon is returning home to lead the West Jefferson Hills School District, where she graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. Sardon, 50, who has served as Yough’s superintendent since September 2011, will assume her...
Westmoreland happenings: Christmas in July, car cruise, summer social, more
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Laughlintown’s Compass Inn Museum marks 50th anniversary
Laughlintown’s 18th century inn originally provided respite and accommodations for travelers and drovers over a span of 63 years. In its current incarnation, as a restored museum, it has welcomed tourists for 50 years. The Ligonier Valley Historical Society, which operates the museum, celebrated the modern milestone at its recent...
Belle Vernon student’s history project showcased by White House Historical Association
In the spring of 1918, as German troops were massing near the Marne River in France to mount a second spring offensive during World War I, more than two dozen delegates representing the Slovak League of America, the Czech National Alliance, the Union of Czech Catholics and other ethnic alliances...
Popular pierogie business prepares to open distribution center in Unity
In 2001, Terry Smith-Rawecki, her husband, Jan, and her mother got together to make about 30 dozen handmade pierogie to take to the farmers market in Ligonier. Gosia’s Pierogies sold out that afternoon, and by the end of that summer, they were bringing 90 dozen pierogies to the popular market....
Taxes remain steady in Hempfield Area despite upcoming renovation project
Despite recently moving forward with a high school renovation project that could cost upwards of $110 million, the Hempfield Area School Board this week unanimously approved a final budget that does not raise taxes for the fourth consecutive year. Passage of the $102.8 million budget came months after board members...
Final leg of PA Hero Walk supporting veterans to march through region
Area residents can show their support for local veterans by greeting or joining members of the PA Hero Walk as they complete the final leg of their 14th annual trek across the state this weekend. The half-dozen veterans accompanied by two drivers started their trip at 8 a.m. June 12...
Man stripped to underwear, socks after incident at Greensburg pharmacy, police say
A man is being held without bail in a crime spree Sunday that, police say, ended when he stripped to his underwear and socks and was arrested while pushing a shopping cart full of stolen goods on a main thoroughfare in Greensburg, according to court papers. Alex M. Kerestesy, 31,...
Tom Cruise’s success credited with bump in Westmoreland air show attendance
It isn’t exactly risky business to assume that actor Tom Cruise’s summer blockbuster sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick,” may have played a role in the wildly successful attendance figures reported for this year’s Shop ’n Save Westmoreland Airshow. About 50,000 people attended the air show earlier this month, making it among...
Ligonier home tour gives look inside 5 eclectic area properties
When Carmen Quartararo decided to relocate from California to Western Pennsylvania in 2020, she ended up buying a house in Ligonier, sight unseen. “The house was built in the 1950s by a local family for their two spinster sisters,” Quartararo said. “They were seamstresses. They lived very modestly on the...
Police: Jeannette man arrested after trying to flee traffic stop
A Jeannette man is behind bars after police said he tried to run from a traffic stop and had several types of drugs in his SUV, according to court papers. Brandon A. Iapalucci, 28, told investigators that nine blue pills they found him in possession of were pressed fentanyl. The...
Franklin Regional School Board raises taxes by 2.75 mills
Franklin Regional officials adopted a 2022-23 school budget this week with a 2.75 mill tax increase that would amount to an additional $95 in taxes for the average district homeowner. It is the first time in five years that the district has opted for a tax hike significantly lower than...
Greensburg firefighter’s burger tradition helps raise needed funds
Highland Avenue residents bringing their morning cup of coffee onto the porch Friday likely got a whiff of something besides Arabica beans. There was a smell of freshly cut onions in the air. By 7 a.m., members of Greensburg Fire Department Hose Company No. 8 were busy peeling and slicing...
Latrobe’s new party venue hopes to ‘bring some culture’
Flamingo selfie walls and California-style lounge rooms aren’t commonplace in downtown Latrobe. That’s exactly why Emily Pasqualino included them in her new party venue. Pasqualino wants to “bring something different” with The Paper Heart Social Goods and Event Studios, a Ligonier Street business that serves as a venue space, shop...
Judge orders house arrest, probation in Derry overdose death
A Blairsville man will serve 18 months on house arrest as part of a probation sentence imposed Monday after he pleaded guilty to providing his cousin the fentanyl used in her 2017 overdose death. Shawn Ray Jodon, 32, pleaded guilty to a charge of drug delivery resulting in death and...
Rostraver police accuse Mercer County man of assaulting, restraining woman
A 34-year-old Mercer County man was arrested by Rostraver police after he was accused of assaulting a woman and holding her against her will for three days, according to court documents. Justin C. Uber, 34, of Grove City, was apprehended after he and a woman stopped at a Sunoco gas...
