Westmoreland category, Page 555
Man charged with assaulting disabled East Huntingdon resident
A 20-year-old West Newton man was ordered held in the county prison after failing to post $10,000 bond Friday on charges of assaulting a physically-challenged man and damaging a police car. George R. Babilya was arraigned on charges of disorderly conduct, harassment, institutional vandalism, making terroristic threats, reckless endangerment and...
Pennsylvania casinos saw revenue drop by $759 million in 2020, state reports
Pennsylvania casinos saw total revenues decrease by $759 million in 2020, a year plagued by the coronavirus pandemic that forced the properties to shutter for several months. According to a new report from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, $2.65 billion was generated last year from the state’s 13 casinos through...
New covid cases reported in Westmoreland County among fewest in a month
Westmoreland County on Friday reported 91 additional coronavirus cases and three additional deaths attributed to the virus, according to the latest data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The newly reported cases marks only the second time in the past 25 days that the county recorded fewer than 100...
2 Hempfield fire departments to merge, 1 station to close
The Luxor Volunteer Fire Department station near Twin Lakes Park in Hempfield will close as part of Luxor’s merger with nearby Bovard Fire Department. With only three members on its force, Luxor Chief Mike Errett said the move is necessary to provide adequate fire protection for the community. “Overall, it’s...
Bushy Run Battlefield group delays search for new facilitator
The organization operating the Bushy Run Battlefield museum in Penn Township will delay its search for a new facilitator until the state decides when it can reopen the facility along Route 993. “There’s no point in posting a job when we’re not open. Nobody would want the job when there...
Health problems keep Christina O’Brien from seeking 4th term as Westmoreland prothonotary
Westmoreland County Prothonotary Christina O’Brien will not seek a fourth term in office. O’Brien, 54, a Democrat from Ligonier Township, said ongoing health issues prevent her from participating in another campaign and serving four more years as the head of the county office that oversees all civil and domestic court...
Pa. Secretary of State Boockvar implores state lawmakers to ‘stop the lies’ about the election
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar implored lawmakers in Harrisburg to “stop perpetuating lies” about the Nov. 3 election as members of a House Committee relentlessly grilled her Thursday in what they billed as the first of 14 hearings on the matter. Although President Biden’s victory of more than 80,000...
Woman pleads guilty for attack on wrong man in Crabtree
Sarah Miller’s plan with three friends to retaliate against a man she claimed disrespected and spit at her might have seemed foolproof at the time. The scheme was to drive up, wait for their target to emerge from his Crabtree home, whack him in the head and then speed off...
Vandals damage Biden, Black Lives Matter signs in GreensburgVideo
Barbara Mabry pulled back the curtain in the front window of her Greensburg home after a car stopped early Thursday and watched as someone vandalized a Black Lives Matter sign in her yard. The person used orange spray paint to mark Xs on both sides of the sign that has...
Delmont library’s ‘soft’ grand opening continues through SaturdayVideo
The new Delmont Public Library building is a tribute to the people who helped build its past and a monument to future possibilities. The library began the first day of a three-day soft grand opening Thursday, spreading out the celebration in light of health and safety concerns over covid-19. Grand...
Rostraver man charged with attempting to touch police officer with bloody bandage in jail
A Rostraver man was arrested Thursday, charged with trying to touch an officer with a bloody bandage while being dropped off at the Westmoreland County Prison last month, according to court papers. Thomas Welch, 58, whose last known address is in Van Meter, is charged with aggravated harassment by a...
Latrobe sewage rate hike could add to Unity authority customer bills in 2022
Unity Township Municipal Authority will pay more for sewage it sends to Latrobe for treatment. The authority expects it will be able to handle that unanticipated expense this year, but it could affect a rate hike being eyed for Unity customers in 2022. Like other customers whose sewage is treated...
Hempfield Area School District to create educational equity committeeVideo
The Hempfield Area School District plans to establish an educational equity committee to address gaps in student achievement. The committee will have two main goals: Identify and address barriers that impede student achievement or opportunity gaps and address explicit or implicit bias that impacts educational achievement, according to Superintendent Tammy...
Westmoreland County adds 107 covid cases, 4 deaths
Westmoreland County on Thursday added 107 additional covid cases and four deaths, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported. The newly-reported deaths now bring the county’s death toll to 557. There have been 134 deaths attributed to the disease reported this month in the county. The total number of cases in...
As covid crisis deepens, opioid crisis continues in the background
As President Joe Biden settles into office amid the coronavirus pandemic, nonprofits and organizations battling drug addiction are urging the new administration not to lose sight of the national opioid crisis that predates covid-19 and has not slowed. “At the same time the coronavirus death toll grows, there is another...
Jeannette man arrested on drug charges after foot chase in city
A Jeannette man under investigation by police for dealing drugs was arrested Wednesday after a foot chase in the city, according to court papers. Rashaad Ricardo Shepard, 41, is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bond. City police and agents from the state Attorney General’s office said they...
Unity zoning panel clears way for alignment shop, affirms U-Haul use of plaza lot
The Unity Township Zoning Hearing Board cleared the way for a proposed vehicle alignment shop in Pleasant Unity while upholding U-Haul’s use of its outdoor space at Mountain Laurel Plaza. The board on Wednesday approved owner Jason Mignogna’s request to use the former Pleasant Unity VFW social hall site for...
Greater Latrobe OKs 5-year compensation plan for administrators
Greater Latrobe School Board approved a five-year extension of its wage-and-benefit plan for most of the district’s administrators. The Act 93 compensation plan, passed at this week’s board meeting, runs through the 2025-26 school year and covers 15 administrators across various departments and schools. In accordance with state law, the...
Where to eat during Greensburg Restaurant Week
This time around, you won’t have to wait until dinner to enjoy a Greensburg Restaurant Week deal. For the first time, there will be breakfast and lunch options, courtesy of first-time participants Yumzio Bistro and South Greensburg Restaurant. Olives and Peppers at the Greensburg Train Station is the third new...
North Huntingdon to hold hearing on backyard chicken rules
The controversy over regulating backyard chickens in North Huntingdon was back before the township commissioners Wednesday when the seven-member board once again split over whether to amend existing rules governing poultry in a neighborhood. The board majority on Wednesday let stand a decision to hold a public hearing at 6...
Murrysville seeks consultant to move forward with amphitheater project
Murrysville officials hope to break ground on an amphitheater and performance space at Murrysville Community Park by late spring or early summer. Council on Wednesday voted to reissue a request-for-proposals for a project consultant. A similar request last year returned proposals that Chief Administrator Jim Morrison said ranged between $60,000...
New Kensington mother awaiting manslaughter trial pleads guilty to animal neglect
The mother of a 2-year-old boy police said was brutally murdered by her boyfriend as she slept in a nearby room pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a related misdemeanor count of animal neglect. Police said Teresa Fetterman, 24, formerly of Aliquippa, did not get medical help for her 8-month-old mixed-breed...
‘Trump House’ creator Leslie Baum Rossi seeks nod to run for open Pa. House seat
Former President Donald Trump might have left the Oval Office, but his influence could color the special election to fill the vacancy in Pennsylvania’s 59th legislative district this spring. Leslie Baum Rossi, the Unity woman who created the Trump House — the red, white and blue shrine to the former...
New Kensington family recalls Biden sharing their grief, comforting a mother who lost son to brain cancer
Dolly Regoli wiped away a tear, paused and composed herself during an interview Wednesday as Joe Biden prepared to take the oath of office. The new president many hope will heal the nation’s wounds has a special place in the heart of the 81-year-old New Kensington woman. Three years ago,...
Westmoreland County municipal authority takes over East Huntingdon sewer plant
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County on Wednesday finalized a deal to take ownership and operate a tiny sewer system in East Huntingdon that serves about 700 township residents. The deal transfers ownership of the township’s 250 million gallon treatment plant to the county authority. Officials said the 20-year-old facility...
