Westmoreland category, Page 489
Westmoreland County restaurants lean on combination of self, government helpVideo
After eight years of co-owning and operating J&M Export Deli, Michelle Gilson feels like it’s her first year all over again. Gilson, with co-owner Jennifer Minnick, was forced to make several cost-saving changes to the Export-based deli over the past year — like reducing the staff by three employees and...
Hiring still a problem across most industries
Despite inventive ways to lure new job candidates, owners and managers in many industries have been striking out for months on filling open spots. There was 20 openings in late May at Charley Family Shop ‘n Save stores in Murrysville, Hempfield and Greensburg. Co-owner Tom Charley said the grocer started...
Pandemic business survival a question of help, perseverance
Some relied on government funding to get through. In other cases, employees pitched in, volunteering their time instead of taking a paycheck. Others switched gears entirely, revamping their business plan. Whatever the means, local businesses found a way to survive months fraught with government-mandated shutdowns, capacity restrictions and headaches brought...
Drone program offers job skills to Westmoreland, Fayette studentsVideo
Hannah Sutton said flying drones runs in the family. The Uniontown native, who graduated last month from Laurel Highlands High School, wants to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps that saw him serve in the U.S. Air Force and later earn a license to pilot a drone. Sutton, 18, like her...
DA Peck takes over Cassandra Gross case, says missing Unity woman ‘has not been forgotten’
Kathe Gross sat on a bench outside the Westmoreland County Courthouse surrounded by friends and family, as passing cars honked in support. Despite the outpouring of support from her closest relatives, she couldn’t help but be painfully reminded of the one family member who was missing — her only daughter,...
Westmoreland struggles to give away pandemic cash grants to bars, restaurants, hotels
Like many in the hospitality industry, it was a rough year for Brady’s. The family-owned Acme restaurant that has operated in the Laurel Highlands since 1964 was closed for a while during the pandemic lockdown last year and has operated under pandemic restrictions for most of the latter part of...
Voice of Westmoreland launches survey on priorities for county’s Rescue Plan spending
Westmoreland County’s first installment of $107 million in American Rescue Plan money already hit the bank. It wasn’t quite like winning the lottery, with 3,069 counties nationwide sharing $65.1 billion. And that has left some wondering just how local officials will set their priorities. According to the National Association of...
Fairfield man jailed; police say he stomped on woman’s head while wearing steel-toed boots
A Fairfield man is being held without bond after state police say he stomped on a woman’s head after a Christmas dinner last year, according to court papers. Zachery Allen Collier, 26, was charged Friday with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, stalking and related offenses. Troopers said Collier went to a...
Penn-Trafford linebacker raises money for police department in final season
Penn-Trafford linebacker Jack Jollie has been playing football for eight years, but his focus extends beyond the field in his final season with the Warriors. To give back to the community, the rising senior is gathering sponsors to donate money for each tackle he makes this season. The funds will...
Police: Drug investigation into Delmont home leads to arrests
A months-long investigation into drug activity at a Delmont home led to charges this week against a 29-year-old woman, who is accused of leaving crystal methamphetamine and needles out in the open around two young children. Courtney N. Cline, who has a Penn Township address according to court records, is...
New Latrobe shop pairs ice cream, coffee in repurposed Victorian houseVideo
One of Latrobe’s oldest 19th century residential buildings is entering a sweet chapter in its existence, newly restored as the home of an ice cream parlor and coffee shop. Michael Ciotti of Harmar, a 2002 Greater Latrobe High School graduate, opened 512 Coffee and Ice Cream in mid-June and welcomed...
Westmoreland will borrow $140 million to keep pension fund solvent
Westmoreland County plans to borrow about $140 million to bolster its pension fund. County commissioners this week unanimously approved a bond issue to ensure the fund that pays benefits to more than 1,300 government retirees remains solvent over the next 30 years. Finance director Meghan McCandless said the amount will...
TSA: West Virginia man ‘forgot’ he had loaded gun in baby stroller at Palmer airport
A West Virginia man told Transportation Safety Administration agents he forgot to remove a loaded handgun from his child’s baby stroller when he brought it through a security checkpoint Thursday at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity. “Our TSA officers physically inspect strollers when they are too large to sit...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: June 25-27
Live at the Lamp Well, the good ol’ days may not return — but at least live music is back at the Lamp Theatre in Irwin. At 8 p.m. Friday, The Breakers will take the stage, playing a tribute show to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Formed in 2018, the...
Route 40 closed near Somerset-Fayette border
A section of Route 40 in Fayette County between the intersection of Route 281 and the Somerset County border was closed late Thursday night because a slide has blocked the road with trees and debris, PennDOT said. The emergency closure in Henry Clay Township will remain in effect until crews...
Murrysville library program will focus on Turtle Creek’s history, recovery
In the 1970s, anyone living in the vicinity of Saunders Station near the Murrysville-Monroeville border is likely to have known Turtle Creek by another name: “Sulfur Creek.” It was a far cry from the waterway’s earliest known name, “Tulpewi Sipu,” which translates from the native Delaware Algonquian as “turtle stream.”...
Bowl For Kids fundraiser expands to include adult Happy Hour and family event
Bowlers of all ages will have an opportunity to get out and support a local program for children when Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region reintroduces its annual Bowl-A-Thon fundraiser. An adults-only Luau in the Lanes event, a happy hour version open to those age 21 or older,...
4 injured in head-on crash on Route 31 in Donegal
Four people seriously injured in a head-on crash on Route 31 in Donegal Township Thursday were flown by emergency medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh, state police said. The collision occurred about 4:45 p.m. near the entrance to the Caddie Shak recreational complex when an eastbound Honda Civic...
Second summer without Steelers another blow for Latrobe area
For a second year in a row, the Latrobe area will be on the sidelines during the Pittsburgh Steelers preseason, a fact that left local businesses and communities crestfallen. Team spokesman Burt Lauten announced Thursday the NFL’s covid-19 protocols will prevent the Steelers from holding a summer training camp at...
Irwin’s Lamp Theatre reopens Friday for shows, moviesVideo
The stage lights inside the Lamp Theatre will be lit again Friday for the first time in more than a year because of the covid pandemic. “There’s been a mountain of work to do,” said Bill Elder, general manager of the theater in downtown Irwin. Breakers, a Tom Petty tribute...
1 person taken to hospital after crash involving farm tractor and vehicle in Mt. Pleasant Township
At least one person was taken to the hospital after a crash involving a farm tractor and a vehicle in Mt. Pleasant Township, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. Crews responded to 1785 Brinkerton Road shortly before 11 a.m. Thursday for reports of the crash. It was not immediately clear...
Greensburg Hempfield Area Library receives donated furniture from Pitt GreensburgVideo
After 52 years of using the same furniture, the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library is getting a refresh. Employees of the downtown Greensburg library on Thursday morning gathered at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, where they hauled away more than 80 donated pieces of furniture to be used at the...
Greensburg Salem plans return to full in-person classes this fall
The Greensburg Salem School Board approved a plan for the fall semester that will give students the option of attending classes in person five days per week or learning remotely through the district’s e-academy program. “If a student is sick, our teachers are able to still engage with them outside...
Greensburg-Salem holds line on taxes, taps covid relief funds — but not for librarians
Greensburg Salem School Board approved a final 2021-22 budget that will hold the line on property taxes. The board also agreed to use covid-19 pandemic recovery money to complete internet technology and HVAC upgrades. The $48.1 million budget and 89.72-mill tax rate were approved 8-0, with Stephen Thomas absent. The...
2 sisters accused in break-in, attack at Mt. Pleasant Township home
Two sisters were arrested this week because state police said they broke into a Mt. Pleasant Township home and attacked a woman. Authorities said the pair came back two days later in an apparent effort to repeat the attack but left as police were being called, according to court papers....
