Westmoreland category, Page 527
Murrysville-Export club join international Rotary effort to ‘End Plastic Soup’Video
After growing up in Ireland, Noreen Hill-Olszewski was surprised to find how comparatively little recycling was happening in the United States. “We’re used to separating our trash, our different types of recyclables, our ‘compostibles,’” Hill-Olszewski said. Local recycling has taken a step back in recent years, with several regional haulers...
Utility shut-off ban ends Thursday; Western Pennsylvania companies say help is available
Utility companies in the region have a unified message for delinquent customers who are in danger of having their service turned off beginning Thursday: Call now. The state Public Utility Commission’s ban on service shut-offs during the pandemic ends Thursday, and utility companies are urging eligible customers who are behind...
Pitt Greensburg officials pivot on Hempfield campus commencement plansVideo
Two weeks after announcing it would hold a drive-thru commencement, the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg has pivoted and will offer students the opportunity to turn the tassels on their mortarboards and march to “Pomp and Circumstance” at its Hempfield campus on May 1. The change in plans came after...
Greensburg Hempfield Area Library and Youngwood branch to resume normal hours
Citing the increase in vaccination rates, officials at the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library and the Youngwood Area Public Library branch said the facilities will resume regular operating hours Monday. The libraries, which curtailed operating hours and added additional virtual programming during the pandemic, will continue to offer a variety of...
Job fair slated for open positions at Live! Casino Pittsburgh
In anticipation of welcoming more people to Live! Casino Pittsburgh next month as some covid-related restrictions are lifted, officials with the Hempfield facility are hosting a job fair. Scheduled for Monday at the casino’s recruitment center in Westmoreland Mall, the job fair will promote various positions in the facility. In...
Westmoreland Cultural Trust’s livestream concerts get another round
“Always leave them wanting more” is an old saw of the entertainment business. Westmoreland Cultural Trust did that with The VIP Experience, its recent weekly livestream concert series. The free concerts were so popular that the Trust has renewed the series for a second run. The first series aired Jan....
Man accused in violent Allegheny home invasion arrested during domestic dispute in Greensburg
A Greensburg man accused in a violent Allegheny County home invasion was arrested over the weekend after trying to get away from city police investigating a domestic dispute in a parked SUV, according to court papers. Police said Justin Bryant, 23, gave them the wrong name and tried to run...
Ligonier area dam removed; trout stream to be restoredVideo
A 1940s-era reservoir that once held close to 7 million gallons of drinking water for the Ligonier-Laughlintown areas is empty. A New Kensington company is removing the dam — a project that eventually will allow the stream that fed the reservoir to be rechanneled so it flows freely into a...
Hempfield man accused of attempting to break out of Westmoreland jail
A Hempfield man jailed in connection with an alleged domestic assault is accused by police of using wheelchair arms to pry off the metal frame of a window at the Westmoreland County Prison, according to county detectives. Jule A. Mascherma, 33, is charged with attempted escape, institutional vandalism and making...
Latrobe bridge set for rehabilitation
A bridge in Latrobe is set for rehabilitation this year after the county commissioners on Monday approved a $2.4 million project. Brewery Bridge carries Ligonier Street over Loyalhanna Creek near City Brewing and Excela Health Latrobe Hospital. County engineer Vaughn Neill said the project is funded mostly by a federal...
Woman hurt in South Huntingdon crash
A Finleyville woman was hurt in a one-vehicle crash early Tuesday in South Huntingdon, according to state police. Barbara M. Hadbavny, 60, was traveling on Route 31 at 1:30 a.m. when troopers said her vehicle crashed into a culvert and flipped over near Turkeytown Road. The crash resulted in significant...
Rising lumber prices a pain in the pocketbook, push new house prices up $24,000
In 40 years of building homes in Westmoreland, Allegheny and southern Butler counties, Ray Snoznik, owner of R.A. Snoznik Construction Inc. of Murrysville, never has seen such a jump in lumber prices in one year. “It’s up 188% from last year. We’re trying to adjust (to the price hike), but...
Youngstown, Whitney-Hostetter fire departments complete merger
The Whitney-Hostetter Volunteer Fire Department will cease operations as it merges with the nearby Youngstown fire department, officials announced Monday. The newly formed Youngstown-Whitney Volunteer Fire Department will continue to be known as Station 39. The merger, announced on the Youngstown department’s Facebook page, was a years-long process, according to...
Relief on soaring lumber prices unlikely until at least fall
The demand for lumber is outstripping supply, pushing lumber prices up and, in turn, raising the the price of a typical new home by $24,000. This “perfect storm” of factors will not let up in the short term, according to a chief economist for a national building association. “Lumber prices...
Allegheny County and Pennsylvania see highest covid hospitalizations in a month
Covid hospitalizations on Tuesday continued to increase in Allegheny County and Pennsylvania, according to state data, reaching levels previously reached a month ago. Pennsylvania The number of covid-19 patients hospitalized in the state grew to 1,980 on Tuesday, the 10th consecutive day hospitalizations have increased. It was the most people...
New North Huntingdon-Irwin area covid cases down slightly
The number of new confirmed covid cases in the North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin area dipped slightly from March 22 to 29, compared to the previous seven-day period, according to data released Monday by the state Department of Health. There were 47 new confirmed cases in the four ZIP codes covering most...
Westmoreland commissioners to host 2nd info session on covid-19 vaccine
Westmoreland County’s Republican commissioners are hosting an information session this week about covid-19 vaccines. The goal of the session, hosted by Commissioners Doug Chew and Sean Kertes, is to help residents understand vaccine development. Scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, the event will feature Dr. Sharon Riddler, a professor...
North Hempfield station becomes 1st chartered member of Hempfield Township Fire Department
More than a year after Hempfield leaders began the process of creating a single department, the North Hempfield station has become the first chartered member of the Hempfield Township Fire Department. During a meeting last week, supervisors unanimously authorized an agreement of acquisition with the North Hempfield Volunteer Fire Company...
Hempfield’s Spartan to Spartan program gives high school students a chance to teachVideo
Susan Barbe-Stas knew if she wanted to make this school year worthwhile then she couldn’t dwell on the cancellation of Hempfield Area High School’s preschool program. Knowing students in her child development class would not be working with students at Little Spartan Preschool, the family and consumer sciences and preschool...
Idlewild sets opening date, hiring 600 workers
A summer favorite is opening just in time for Memorial Day after a shortened year in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Idlewild & SoakZone in Ligonier Township will open May 29, officials announced Monday. The amusement park’s 144th season will see the return of attractions that didn’t open last...
More coronavirus cases reported at Westmoreland jail
Westmoreland County Prison has 38 active cases of the coronavirus in inmates, Warden Bryan Kline said Monday. Nine prisoners at the Hempfield lockup are considered to have recovered after previously testing positive, he said. Those with active infections are being quarantined throughout the jail. There has been an increase in...
Wall of Faces project to honor Vietnam casualties nears completion; all Pennsylvania photos found
On March 29, 1973, combat and combat support units withdrew from South Vietnam, and the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 permanently designates that date every year as National Vietnam War Veterans Day. It is a time not only to recognize the service of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam, but...
Rising covid cases in Pennsylvania not as steep as late 2020 surge
There’s no doubt coronavirus cases are on the rise in Pennsylvania. But the cases do not appear to be increasing at the rate seen in early November. The state’s current week-over-week numbers indicate cases are rising an average of 20-30%, whereas, in November, the week-over-week rates were averaging in the...
Stage Right performs ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ at Westmoreland County Community College
Stage Right’s Professional Company staged its first Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, “The Pirates of Penzance,” during in-person and live-streamed performances Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Science Hall Theater on the campus of Westmoreland County Community College. The show featured Kevin O’Leary as the Pirate King, Anthony Marino Jr....
Amid loss of Iron City contract, City Brewing eyes ownership, management changes, adds jobs in Latrobe
New investors and a restructured management team are expected to take over in April at City Brewing, according to the Wisconsin-based company that operates Latrobe’s brewery. Meanwhile, the company says the pending loss of Iron City Beer production should have little effect at the plant, where new jobs have been...
