Westmoreland category, Page 4
Mt. Pleasant house party shooting suspects denied bail reduction
Two of the four men charged in connection with a drive-by shooting at a Mt. Pleasant Township house will remain in jail after a judge on Tuesday refused to reduce their $250,000 bonds. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani rejected requests from Nino S. Manno, 21, of Adamsburg and...
Westmoreland County Housing Authority to implement new ‘house rules’ for visitors
Visitors to Westmoreland County Housing Authority properties will soon face new “house rules” as officials look to crack down on bad behavior and improve safety. The agency’s board on Tuesday authorized Executive Director Michael Washowich and management to draft and implement standardized guidelines for guests. The move will codify what...
Penn State adds course to support students at closing branch campuses
Penn State has launched a new course to help guide students at its seven commonwealth campuses that will close in a year. The Degree Completion and Transition Support course will automatically appear on eligible students’ online dashboards, Penn State officials announced this week. According to Penn State, the course will...
IUP, Franklin Regional to assess video game English curriculum to improve students’ decision-making skills
Today’s teenagers and characters in classic literary texts have practically nothing in common — other than that they face a litany of decisions. “When Hamlet says ‘to be or not to be,’ that’s a choice,” said Mike Sell, an English professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. “Having students think about...
Hempfield man charged with DUI in fiery wrong-way crash on Interstate 70
A Hempfield man was under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time of a fiery wrong-way crash on Interstate 70 that involved three tractor-trailers, according to state police. Daniel W. Oliver, 80, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of risking a catastrophe, driving under the influence, reckless endangerment and...
Penn-Trafford High School to perform ‘Mamma Mia’
Audiences for Penn-Trafford High School’s spring musical, “Mamma Mia!,” should warm up their vocals and wear their dancing shoes before coming to see the show April 10 to 19, director Tom Bekavac said. It is a show that viewers of all ages can appreciate, Bekavac said. “There’s a familiarity of...
Penn Middle slated to perform ‘Frozen Jr.’
Penn Middle School drama club director Maddie Nick has never heard children scream as loud as when she announced the group would perform “Frozen Jr.” as its spring musical. “It was in the middle of the school day, too. We probably disrupted some classes with that,” Nick said with a...
Penn-Trafford area: Living wax museum, chicken barbecue, painting classes, more
Kids’ Living Wax Museum Bushy Run Battlefield will host a Kids’ Living Wax Museum from 1 to 3 p.m. April 12 at the museum, 1253 Route 993, Penn Township. Children in first through sixth grades can sign up to give a one- to three-minute presentation on a historical figure. Participants...
Hempfield Area School Board approves bids for long-awaited renovation at $119 millionVideo
Hempfield Area will move forward with its long-awaited high school renovation after bids were approved by the school board Monday night. Bids proposed last week — for general contracting, electrical, HVAC and plumbing work — came in just under $119 million, about $30 million lower than an estimate pitched about...
Penn Township man remains jailed as defense claims horseplay in injury case
A Penn Township man remains in jail as his attorney claims a neighbor’s brain trauma and fractured skull resulted from a wrestling match and horseplay. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani rejected a request Monday from Jake G. Stepansky to be released on nominal bond. Stepansky was charged...
Westmoreland names acting public defender after office leader suffers medical emergency
Westmoreland County commissioners have moved quickly to fill a leadership vacancy in the Public Defender’s Office. The move comes after the man hired in February suffered a serious medical emergency that is expected to keep him off the job for a prolonged period. James Spriestersbach, 41, was tapped in mid-February...
Ligonier Valley High School students to compete for $6K prize in statewide PennDOT challenge
Ligonier Valley juniors Matthew Sutton and Callen McPherson will compete for a $6,000 prize against high schoolers statewide through PennDOT’s annual innovation challenge. The challenge, held for the past nine years, invites high school students to address a current transportation issue. Participants present potential solutions to the problem before a...
Annual electric car show coming to Murrysville
The Three Rivers Electric Vehicle Association is hosting its annual “Drive Electric Earth Month” car show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 18 in Murrysville. The group is made up of electric vehicle owners, educators, hobbyists and enthusiasts. This year they will be celebrating the life of former club...
Greensburg fire company 8 names firefighter of the year
Fire Sgt. Austin Wentzell has been recognized as the 2025 Firefighter of the Year for Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department Hose Co. No. 8. Wentzell joined the department in 2019 and is frequently present at the station outside of work hours to make sure he is available when an emergency call...
Murrysville to equip officers with bicycles for better access in trails, parksVideo
As spring begins to emerge through occasional bouts of snow, local parks and trails will see a significant boost in activity. In Murrysville, police plan to use a state grant to reinstate bicycle training to better serve the community in areas where a patrol car cannot go. “We have an...
2 more charged in connection with 2025 Monessen shooting
Two more people are facing charges in connection with a shooting last year in Monessen that left one of the suspects hurt. Brendon Redden, 27, of Pittsburgh, was arraigned last week on attempted homicide, conspiracy, aggravated assault and related offenses. City police said he was shot in an exchange of...
Trafford man accused in stabbing
A man was hospitalized after being stabbed Saturday night in Trafford, police said. Timothy Rosario, 29, of Trafford, was arrested on attempted homicide, aggravated assault and related offenses. Borough police said they were called to a home on Westmoreland Road at 10:15 p.m. and found Rosario standing outside with a...
Utilities, health care costs top Westmoreland County residents’ affordability concerns, survey finds
Utilities and health care are the two expenses Westmoreland County residents worry about the most, a nonprofit community organization’s recent survey on affordability found. With those results in hand, Voice of Westmoreland is organizing residents to appear before the county commissioners in April and share their stories, in hopes of...
Impact of rising diesel prices spreads through economy, professor says
The jump in fuel prices over the past month since the Trump administration began bombing Iran has been a hit on the economy, with grocery stores, trucking companies and independent truckers feeling the effects with no end in sight. “It keeps you awake at night,” Linda Stivason, a co-owner of...
‘No Kings’ rally in Greensburg draws 3,700 participants
A strong dose of opposition to President Donald Trump and his policies permeated a “No Kings” protest at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg on Saturday afternoon. It was a part of a day of protests nationwide, said to be the largest since Trump’s second term began. Abby Graham-Pardus, founder...
Trout group to meet on Linn Run trout restoration project
A project to help restore native brook trout to the Linn Run watershed in the Ligonier area is expected to begin later this year, according to the Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited. A plan to restore the stream bank to prevent further erosion along the Fish Run Trail is...
After the flames: Financial, personal hurdles challenge owners reopening a local eatery
The dining room is still a maze of unassembled furniture and the deck is on the back burner, but for the first time since September 2024, the ovens are hot at Ianni’s Pizzeria in Delmont. “We’re so happy to be back!” employee Sarah Barral, 46, of Delmont said as she...
Westmoreland happenings: Holy Week services, blood drive, bus trip, more
Church News • Community Church of Hecla, 537 Hecla Road, Mt. Pleasant Township, will have a Maundy Thursday service at 7 p.m. April 2. The Easter Vigil service will be at 5 p.m. April 4, and Easter Sunday service will be at 10:30 a.m. April 5. • Living Word Congregational...
Judge denies motion to dismiss charges in 16-year-old Samantha Lang murder case
A Westmoreland County judge has cleared the way for a 16-year-old cold case murder trial to proceed, rejecting a Derry Township man’s argument that the charges were filed too late. In a ruling issued this week, Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger denied a motion to dismiss homicide and burglary...
4 Yough students mourned at candlelight vigil
It was practically every day after school that neighbor Felicity Martini was knocking on Laura Fronczak’s Yukon door, asking if her daughters could come out to play when they were younger. Fronczak and daughter Brianna Brown, 14, remembered Martini, one of four teens killed in a fiery car crash last...
