Westmoreland category, Page 550
Western Pa. lawmakers sound off on Gov. Wolf’s budget proposal
Local lawmakers’ early reactions to Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed budget fell along party lines Wednesday, with Republicans condemning the proposed personal income tax increase, while Democrats praised the increase in school funding and proposed minimum wage hike. Here’s what they had to say: Rep. Jessica Benham (D-Allegheny): “I’m happy that...
Westmoreland group weighs in on lack of local input, challenges in vaccine rollout
Members of the Voice of Westmoreland, a local grassroots organizing group, raised a call for the county to establish a health department during an online town hall forum on the vaccine rollout in the region. The online town hall brought together representatives from Service Employees International Union, the United Food...
State police charge man with DUI in Derry Township crash that prompted search
State police charged a 21-year-old Blairsville man with driving under the influence of alcohol after, they say, he crashed and abandoned a car Jan. 21 in Derry Township. When a person walking along Torrance Road noticed a damaged white Kia sedan sitting along the Conemaugh River bank the next morning,...
Export to begin towing illegally parked vehicles
Export officials want residents to know that “no-parking” signs are not just suggestions. And they’re going to start towing cars to make sure the message comes through loud and clear. “We are serious about no-parking areas,” Mayor Joe Zaccagnini said at Monday’s council meeting. “We will have your car towed.”...
Jeannette man accused in Hempfield rape case
A Jeannette man was arraigned Wednesday after state police said he broke into a Hempfield home in November and raped a woman, according to court papers. Asa Duane Busato, 22, is charged with rape of an unconscious person, burglary, aggravated indecent assault and criminal trespass. He was being held at...
Greater Latrobe to welcome secondary students back to full-time classroom instructionVideo
Greater Latrobe School District will expand in-person instruction on Monday , opening classrooms five days per week to secondary students as well as to elementary students, who already have that option. The school board approved the move 7-2 Tuesday after administrators cited declining covid-19 cases locally and the fact that...
Detectives charge Westmoreland prison inmate with trying to smuggle anxiety, opioid pills into lockup
A woman arrested after skipping hearings in a 2019 DUI case is charged with trying to smuggle anxiety and Oxycontin pills into the the Westmoreland County Prison, according to county detectives. Julie Lea Thomas, 22, of Connellsville overdosed Jan. 21 after being placed in an intake holding cell as she...
Westmoreland County shows signs of covid cases dropping
Westmoreland County’s seven-day average of new coronavirus cases (90) remained in double digits for the fourth straight day after averaging triple-digit new cases every day from Nov. 12 through Jan. 30. The county on Wednesday reported 115 additional covid-19 cases, as well as four deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department...
Drugs, $10K seized from Jeannette home; 2 arrested
Police seized nearly $10,000 and drugs from a Jeannette home Tuesday and arrested a man and 17-year-old boy inside, according to court papers. Larry Frederick, 31, who is wanted by authorities in Philadelphia, is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bond. City police and agents from the state...
DA rules fatal shooting at South Huntingdon party a justified homicide
A June fatal shooting at a South Huntingdon party has been ruled a justified homicide, said District Attorney John Peck. David J. Hoffman, 44, of Sewickley Township, was drunk when he fired a shotgun, hitting Michael Scott Brown, then 24, once in the leg, Peck said. Brown returned fire, killing...
Hempfield supervisor seeks district judge post
Longtime Hempfield supervisor R. Douglas Weimer has announced his candidacy for an open district judge seat in the township. Weimer, 50, was first elected township supervisor in 2001. He has worked as a public educator for three decades and is an active member of many community organizations and nonprofit agencies....
Covid cases prompt Hempfield elementary school to close for remainder of the week
A Hempfield Area elementary school is closed temporarily after two students tested positive for covid-19, district leaders announced this week. West Point Elementary School was closed Wednesday. Students will receive remote instruction until the school reopens Monday. According to a letter from Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, the school is closed for...
Megan Loughner announces campaign bid for Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts
The woman poised to become the acting Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts later this month hopes to fill the post in a more permanent manner. Megan Loughner, 35, a Republican from Unity, said she will seek a full four-year term this year to run the courthouse office that handles all...
Westmoreland events include chicken dinner, food drive
Arts • A free Café Art program, featuring Ginger and Gary Hepler, will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Greensburg Art Center, 230 Todd School Road, as part of the center Vision Exhibition. The presentation will include their combined art of painting and welding. Light refreshments...
Westmoreland County fields bids to print, mail ballots for primary
Westmoreland County has received proposals from seven companies to print and mail ballots for the spring primary, including one from the Cleveland-based firm that has yet to be paid as a result of production delays last fall that impacted thousands of local voters. Elections Bureau director JoAnn Sebastiani said Midwest...
Murrysville will hold public hearing on earned-income tax hike proposal
Murrysville council will take public comment March 3 on what could be its first tax increase in 13 years. The public hearing will explore a proposal to double earned-income taxes from the current 0.5% to 1%. “This goes back to our fiscal analysis and the need to identify alternate revenue...
Dollar General opens new store on Route 30 in Unity
Dollar General has opened a new store in Unity on Route 30 — becoming the retail chain’s third location along a 7-mile stretch of the highway. The new store, located at the intersection of Smith’s Hill Road, is situated between plaza-based Dollar General stores at the Latrobe 30 Shoppes, farther...
Jeannette man charged with threatening 1-year-old and baby’s mother
State police charged a Jeannette man on Tuesday with repeatedly threatening to harm a baby boy after abandoning the toddler’s mother in Hempfield during a weekend argument. Timothy J. Mooney Sr., 45, who also has a Homewood address, was arraigned on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and...
2 Greensburg police officers up for promotions
Two Greensburg police officers are up for promotions as the city continues to fill gaps left by the resignation of Chief Chad Zucco last year. City council will vote next week on promotions for Sgt. Donald Cole to lieutenant, and patrolman Reginald Harbarger Jr. to sergeant. The department has had...
Penn-Trafford-Jeannette covid cases tallied for week of Feb. 2, 2021
Covid cases in the Penn-Trafford-Jeannette area continued to drop over the last week, with 27 new cases in the seven-day period ending Feb. 2, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Since the pandemic began in March, the six ZIP codes covering most of the three communities have...
Loyalhanna Township man charged with possessing child pornography
Working on a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, state police troopers seized a Loyalhanna Township man’s cell phone and arrested him Monday on child pornography charges, according to court records. John E. Zanandrea, 56, was arraigned on charges of criminal use of a communication facility,...
Westmoreland County nears 25,000 covid cases with Tuesday’s additions
Westmoreland County had an additional 117 covid cases Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. The newly reported cases continue a recent trend in the county. In the past 14 days, Westmoreland County has seen seven days with newly reported cases below 100, and seven days with more than...
National mask mandate that covers public transportation goes into effect
If you’re not wearing a mask, you’re not going to be able use public transportation or fly out of Pittsburgh International Airport, under an executive order President Biden issued that goes into effect today. Wearing masks as a protective measure during the coronavirus pandemic has been required since May 2020...
Franklin Regional wants to improve high schoolers’ experience during 2nd semester
Ron Suvak, principal at Franklin Regional Senior High School, said his goal for 2021 was simple: To ensure students’ second semester experience is better than the first, educationally, socially and emotionally. Suvak presented school board members with the results from a recent survey of high school students, focused on their...
Norwin to expand in-class elementary teaching
Norwin plans to give its 1,850 elementary school students the option of returning to school four days a week beginning Feb. 15, which doubles the number of in-class instruction days under the hybrid instruction model Norwin has used since school began. Superintendent Jeff Taylor said students in the four elementary...
