Westmoreland category, Page 540
Hempfield man facing illegal gun charges now charged with sexual assault
Sexual assault charges were filed Friday against a Hempfield man arrested last week after state police said they confiscated 36 guns from his home. Dale Edward Kuhn, 73, is accused by troopers of inappropriately touching two girls and exposing himself to them, according to court papers. He is charged in...
Westmoreland County covid hospitalizations hold steady over past week
Over the past eight days, the number of covid hospitalizations in Westmoreland County appear to have stabilized, according to data from the state Department of Health. Current covid-19 hospitalizations in the county were 115 on Friday. Since Feb. 19, the number of hospitalizations has not surpassed its current level, dropping...
Westmoreland transit to offer free rides for covid vaccines
Westmoreland County Transit will provide free rides on its buses and paratransit vehicles to local covid-19 vaccine clinics. Anyone with a scheduled appointment to receive the vaccine is eligible for the service Mondays through Saturdays in the service area, including Westmoreland County and Downtown Pittsburgh. “We wanted to eliminate a...
1 hurt after pickup rear ends school bus in Hempfield
A pickup truck driver was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital Friday morning after apparently rear-ending a school bus in Hempfield. Township Fire Chief Anthony Kovacic said firefighters from Grapeville, North Hempfield and Jeannette worked together for about 25 minutes to free the driver. Nine students aboard the Hempfield...
No injuries reported when truck overturns on I-70 near Madison exit
Eastbound traffic on Interstate 70 was reduced to one lane early Friday after firefighters responded to an overturned truck near the Madison exit in Hempfield. No injuries were reported and those inside the truck needed no assistance to get out, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatch supervisor. Firefighters responded...
Westmoreland hospitality grants capped at $20,000
Westmoreland County will cap grants awarded this spring to local restaurants, taverns and hotels at $20,000. Grants were authorized as part of a $145 million state program approved last month to assist the hospitality industry. County commissioners said Thursday the grant application process is expected to begin within two weeks...
Survivors of 14th Quartermaster missile attack keep promise to remember fallenVideo
Thursday’s memorial service for Hempfield’s 14th Quartermaster Detachment was both somber and joyful, a time for mourning those lost while catching up with old friends. “It’s nice to see everyone,” said Sgt. Mary Rhoads of California, Pa. “We made a promise that we would never forget them.” The ceremony at...
Scottdale man not guilty of Hempfield armed robbery
A Scottdale man who confessed to an armed robbery of a woman in a Hempfield parking lot more than four years ago was found not guilty by a jury on Thursday. After about 90 minutes of deliberations, jurors acquitted Norman Jack, 30, of robbery, theft and three other related offenses...
Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital makes Newsweek list of top maternity centers
The Family Additions Maternity Center at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital made Newsweek’s list of Best Maternity Hospitals 2021. Excela Health is one of 217 hospitals across 36 states on the annual list compiled by the news magazine in partnership with The Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit organization that reports on...
Westmoreland County adds fewer than 100 daily covid cases for 3 weeks
Westmoreland County on Thursday reported fewer than 100 new covid-19 cases for the 22nd straight day. The county reported 53 additional cases to bring its case total to 26,550 since the pandemic began nearly a year ago, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Of the new cases, 39 are...
Latrobe police: 9-year-old believed to have made prank call reporting school shooting
Latrobe police say they identified a 9-year-old who is accused of making a prank 911 call Wednesday, causing a lockdown at Latrobe Elementary School and prompting a response by multiple emergency and police units. “We were able to positively identify the juvenile who made the call, but, unfortunately at this...
Mini-grants boost Lincoln Highway-linked arts programming
Art and music along the Lincoln Highway are getting a boost, thanks to mini-grants funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Recreation and Conservation and administered by the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. Westmoreland Cultural Trust received $675 toward creating an interactive video tour of its...
Sun Dawg Cafe owners plan new Greensburg nanobrewery
The owners of Sun Dawg Cafe in Greensburg are planning to enter the nanobrewery business. Ray and Rachel Flowers have purchased a building at 503 New Alexandria Road in Greensburg that formerly housed the Underground Grappling sports training facility. The new El Diablo Brewing Co. & Wood-Fired Kitchen is planned...
Bonds, scars remain 30 years after missile struck Hempfield’s 14th Quartermaster unit in Gulf WarVideo
A sudden blast jolted Neal Gouker awake. The explosion from an Iraqi Scud missile slammed him against a wall in his barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. “The place was on fire, and bullets were going off,” recalled Gouker, 50, formerly of Glassport. “For 5 miles around, there were broken windows....
Franklin Regional students prepare for ‘Into the Woods’ with a scaled-down audienceVideo
Franklin Regional Senior High School students might be performing Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods,” but when it comes to health and safety, they certainly aren’t out of the woods yet. That means this year’s spring musical attendance will be restricted to the families of cast and crew members. But for...
Part owner of Donora convenience store fatally shot
A Donora man was fatally shot Wednesday while working at the Donora convenience store where he was part owner, the Washington County Coroner’s Office said. The victim, Nicholas Tarpley, 28, was shot at Lee’s Convenience Store, at 501 Allen Ave., where he was pronounced dead, Deputy Coroner Matthew Yarosek stated...
Hempfield robbery suspect details alibi, denounces confession in 3rd day of trial
A Scottdale man and his wife told a Westmoreland County jury they were at home and were visited by police at the same time a Blairsville woman claimed he robbed her at gunpoint at a Hempfield shopping center in late 2016. Norman Jack, 30, testified Wednesday in the third day...
Irwin restaurant donates lunch for Westmoreland food bank volunteersVideo
Sam Murray believes in giving back. As the covid-19 pandemic got underway, he and his wife began making masks to sell, eventually raising $3,000 for the Westmoreland County Food Bank. Over the past couple months, the owner of Sam’s Salsa in Irwin also has been delivering free lunches to local...
Scuffle with policeman in Export judge’s office results in arrest of Delmont woman
A Delmont woman who showed up at a district judge’s office several hours late for a hearing on harassment and simple assault charges was arrested in the judge’s office for scuffling with a policeman, according to court records. Export District Judge Charles R. Conway remanded Laurelann Kovac, 46, to the...
Police say woman cut man with knife during argument in Murrysville
A 42-year-old woman was arrested late Tuesday by Murrysville police, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after, police say, she cut a man with a knife during an argument, according to court records. Samantha Dawn Nichols of Mt. Pleasant was arrested after the 11 p.m. incident at the...
Possible ‘prank’ prompted lockdown at Latrobe Elementary School, officials say
What police believe may have been a prank 911 call on Wednesday shut down Latrobe Elementary School as authorities investigated a reported threat, according to Greater Latrobe district officials. The situation was cleared just before 2 p.m. and no one was hurt. Anxious parents who gathered outside the police perimeter...
200 spaghetti dinners donated to police, nurses by Grapeville businessVideo
The smell of spaghetti and meatballs filled the small work space. The volunteers were quiet Wednesday morning, concentrating on packaging about 200 donated meals and getting the count just right. Debbie DiTommaso Huey, owner of Angelo’s Cucina in Grapeville, pretty much has the assembly line work down to a science...
Westmoreland County sees slowing of additional covid cases
Westmoreland County has seen a decline in covid cases since the start of the year. While January had 24 days with over 100 cases reported, February has only seen two days with reported covid cases above 100 (on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3). The county on Wednesday continued that trend...
Latrobe considers hardship payment plan for stormwater fee
Latrobe property owners who are experiencing a financial hardship could have more time to pay the city’s new stormwater management fee. At its March meeting, city council is expected to consider authorizing city manager Michael Gray to approve modified payment dates in hardship cases. As it stands, payment of the...
Heritage Corridor mini-grants include funding for Latrobe ‘welcome’ sign
Visitors heading north on Route 981 to downtown Latrobe could soon be welcomed by a new community sign. Latrobe’s proposed “Welcome to the neighborhood” sign is one of seven projects that have received mini-grants this year from the nonprofit Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, headquartered in neighboring Unity. The grants of...
