Westmoreland category, Page 544
Murrysville officials pleased with second round of proposals for amphitheater project
Murrysville recreation officials will look at a second round of responses on Thursday to their request for a consultant to help conceptualize a park amphitheater project. Council and staff are looking to use a $299,000 state grant to help fund an amphitheater and performance space on 4.5 acres at Murrysville...
Hempfield postpones health and wellness fair until September
Hempfield leaders have postponed a health and wellness fair due to concerns over covid-19. The event, originally scheduled for Feb. 28 at the township Athletic Complex, will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 25, according to a post on the township’s Facebook page. Township leaders postponed the...
Scottdale man gets prison sentence for child rape
A Scottdale man will serve up to 40 years in prison for the rape and repeated sexual assault of a young girl over a five-year period that ended in 2016. Dylan Chiaramonte, 28, declined to speak during his a sentencing hearing Wednesday during which his accuser, now 14, told him...
Greensburg’s singing florist Gary Pratt has new album, record label
Greensburg’s singing florist Gary Pratt is celebrating two steps forward in his musical career. The owner of Le Jardin Florals and Home Accents has a new album and a new record label. With a March 26 release date, “Something Worth Remembering” will be the country singer’s third full-length album. The...
Fayette man’s Virginia confession results in guilty plea to sex charges
A former Fayette County man will serve up to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a girl 20 years ago. Lawrence Wesley Henry Jr., 50, formerly of Normalville and East Huntingdon, will serve his prison sentence in Virginia, where he first confessed to his crime in Westmoreland County following...
Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority seeking blighted properties for demolition
The Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority has a significant chunk of money to help clear blight from communities. Now officials just need vacant buildings with the potential for demolition, said Brian Lawrence, executive director. “It is an essential thing that we have to face in our communities,” he said. The countywide...
Westmoreland County sees 4 additional covid deaths, cases steady
Westmoreland County on Wednesday added four new covid deaths, after two days with none, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The total number of covid deaths in the county now stands at 652 since the pandemic started last March. There have been 47 reported deaths in February....
Excela starting to offer covid vaccines to public when available; most staffers immunized
About 70% of Excela Health’s staff are immunized against the coronavirus and a limited number of appointments are periodically being opened to community members who meet the state’s guidelines. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Carol Fox said the health system late last week opened appointments on its website to people over...
Westmoreland news includes craft show, scholarship application deadline
Festival • The Fort Armstrong Folk Festival, planned for Aug. 5-8, in Kittanning, is accepting space applications from vendors. Hours of operation will be 5 to 10 p.m. Aug. 5, noon to 10 p.m. Aug. 6 and 7, and noon to 6 p.m. Aug. 8. Vendors in the artists market...
Unity panel hears neighbor complaints, zoning appeal concerning backyard chickens
Neighbors complained about noise and odor from backyard chickens in Unity Tuesday as the owners concluded their testimony in pursuit of a zoning variance needed to keep the birds. Kristin and Jeff Kuhns are appealing a July 13 ruling by township zoning officer Harry Hosack that they can’t keep a...
Blackburn Center in Greensburg offers online training for violence hotline volunteers
The Blackburn Center in Greensburg is offering training for those interested in volunteering for the organization’s hotline that receives calls from victims of domestic and sexual violence. The 12-week training session, which begins March 8, teaches prospective volunteers skills needed to answer calls on the 24/7 hotline while also teaching...
Greensburg Civic Theatre takes comedic, poignant look at love
Two sets of actors will play a couple at different stages in their relationship in Greensburg Civic Theatre’s production of “I Do! I Do! I Do! I Do!”, which the group calls a portrait of “50 years of love, quarrels and marriage.” The musical will be staged Friday through Sunday...
Superintendent: Greater Latrobe no longer bound by strict school closure benchmarks
Greater Latrobe School District officials say they’ll have greater flexibility in assessing the need for covid-related school closures now that Westmoreland County has completed two consecutive weeks in the moderate level for community transmission of the coronavirus. According to Superintendent Georgia Teppert, the county’s return to a moderate transmission level...
Greater Latrobe OKs decrease in taxes for plaza, raises for property tax collectors
Greater Latrobe School Board has signed off on a settlement that will reduce the property tax assessment for a shopping center in Unity by 28%. It also voted to increase the compensation for two elected real estate tax collectors ahead of this year’s municipal elections. The board this week approved...
North Huntingdon-Irwin covid cases up slightly as of Feb. 16, 2021
The post-holiday spread of confirmed covid cases in the North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin area rose by 57 from Feb. 8-16, according to state Department of Health data released Tuesday. That translates to an increase of 2.2%. The fact that the increase in cases from Feb. 8-16 was greater than the 43...
Western Pa. GOP focuses ire on Pat Toomey, as Republicans battle for control of the party
The border separating Allegheny County from the surrounding metro area is beginning to look more like the fault lines shaking a Republican Party trying to come to terms with the aftermath of a second impeachment trial of former President Trump. County GOP chairs in Westmoreland, Washington, Fayette, Lawrence, York and...
Pa. jobless benefit scams at $2.5M; Arnold woman pleads guilty to defrauding system
While many jobless Pennsylvanians have struggled to get unemployment benefits during the covid pandemic, the state has paid out at least $2.5 million in fraudulent claims, state officials said Tuesday. That might be just the tip of the iceberg, the officials said. The $2.5 million was siphoned off by just...
Burgatory gets national nod among restaurants ‘primed for success’
Burgatory was named to QSR’s annual list of America’s Hottest Startup Fast Casuals, one of 40 restaurants in the nation to be recognized. QSR, a magazine that caters to the restaurant industry, launched the list in 2017. “Everyone wants to find the next big thing in restaurants,” Sam Oches wrote...
Penn man accused of assaulting woman during fight about bathroom use
State police say a Penn Borough man assaulted two people during a fight about who was going to use the bathroom at an apartment Monday, according to court documents. Dakota Scheetz, 24, was arraigned Tuesday on two counts each of harassment and simple assault filed by troopers after the 5...
Westmoreland DA says accused Ruffs Dale shooter has violent history with boyfriends
Just hours before Andrew Pristas was gunned down, the woman charged with shooting him — his former girlfriend — had a similar violent confrontation with her current boyfriend, a Westmoreland County prosecutor said on Tuesday. Meghan West, 30, of Ruffs Dale, is accused of killing Pristas but contends there is...
Smithton man charged by troopers with assault, cruelty to animals
State police say a Smithton man assaulted his girlfriend and abused her dog during an argument at the woman’s East Huntingdon apartment. Matthew W. Cathers, 47, is charged with cruelty to animals, harassment, terroristic threats and simple assault by state police after the 7:30 p.m. incident Sunday at Huntingdon Village....
Covid deaths reported in Westmoreland County rival October numbers
Westmoreland County on Tuesday reported no additional covid-related deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. With no new deaths reported, the seven-day death total in the county is six, which is the lowest it has been since October. In the last seven days, there have been no deaths reported...
5 Republicans seek party nod for special election in 59th state House district
Five Republicans — four from Westmoreland County and one from Somerset County — are seeking the party’s nod to run in the May 18 special election to fill the vacancy in the 59th District State House seat created by the death of Mike Reese. The 42-year-old Republican from Mt. Pleasant...
Jeannette hires code enforcement officer, hopes to tackle blight
Code violators in Jeannette beware. A full-time code enforcement officer is coming onboard, and city officials hope the move will bring in more revenue and reduce dilapidated properties. “This is a good next step for the city,” City Clerk Nathan Bish said. “It’s a good way for us to combat...
Greensburg Garden Center offers spring ‘Tea-In’ or ‘Tea-Out’
Greensburg Garden Center will offer two ways for supporters to enjoy its annual spring tea on March 20. A “Tea-In” option includes a sit-down meal at Maplewood Presbyterian Church, while a “Tea-Out” option will allow people to pick up a box featuring the same meal to enjoy at home. “We...
