Westmoreland category, Page 636

A Forest County man will serve time in jail for sending pornographic pictures of himself to a 15-year-old Derry Township girl last year. Shawn M. Negley Jr., 19, pleaded guilty to two felony offenses in connection with pictures police said he sent to the juvenile via social media. According to...

Jury trials in Westmoreland County will resume in August with a little help from a neighbor. The Palace Theatre in Greensburg will serve as an alternate site to host jury selection for cases assigned to some of the smaller courtrooms where social distancing cannot be accommodated, Westmoreland County Common Pleas...

Despite being reopened for a little over a month, Susan Domasky, co-owner of Ferrante’s Lakeview Banquet Facility in Hempfield, knew she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to help first responders in the community working long hours due to the coronavirus pandemic. Domasky, with the help of co-owner Cindy Henderson and...

Dairy farmers can get at least $1,500 from the state to recover some of their losses if they dumped milk or could not sell products after markets dried up when covid-19 shutdowns closed schools and limited restaurants. Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday announced a $40 million aid package for Pennsylvania...

Westmoreland County will allocate $30 million to help local governments, small businesses and nonprofit organizations that suffered financial losses during the coronavirus pandemic. That broad spending plan constitutes a baseline of how county officials said they intend to dole out the $31.5 million grant awarded this month as part of...

The Franklin Regional school board will hold a special meeting in July to lay out plans for how education will work in the 2020-21 school year. That meeting date has not been set yet, but members of the district’s back-to-school task force updated the board Monday night on their work....

The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Tuesday reported one new covid-19 cases and no additional deaths in Westmoreland County. The countywide case total is now 493 with 38 deaths, according to the department . There have been no reported coronavirus deaths in Westmoreland County since May 18. County Coroner Kenneth...

The Hempfield Area School Board is expected to revisit the 2020-21 budget during a special meeting June 22 after it was tabled during a public meeting this week. Board members voted unanimously Monday to table the $97.3 million budget after a motion to eliminate a full-time central receiving position failed...

A 75-year-old man may have been under the influence of alcohol when he allegedly caused two crashes Sunday on State Route 31 in South Huntingdon, according to police reports. State troopers said the suspect was driving his SUV eastbound on Route 31, or Mt. Pleasant Road, just after 3 p.m....

Children are invited to learn about composer Ludwig van Beethoven during online story times presented by the Westmoreland Library Network, featuring musicians from the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra. “Beethoven Lives Upstairs,” by Barbara Nichol, will be read during sessions at 11 a.m. Wednesday and Friday, and on July 13 and Aug....

Kevin Tomich was an avid photographer and videographer while he was a student at Norwin High School in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, a time when cell phones weren’t available to snap quick flicks. Tomich, now 46, owned a large VHS camcorder — a coveted and rare possession at...

Franklin Regional school directors voted 6-3 Monday to adopt a 2020-21 budget with a 2.54-mill tax increase. Despite expenditure reductions related to special education funding, fewer commissions on tax collections and no change in insurance premiums, which were expected to rise, the $61.6 million budget stands with the tax hike....

Franklin Regional School District will have several new administrators in the 2020-21 school year, including a new assistant superintendent. The school board hired Robin Pynos on Monday. Pynos, a Duquesne University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania alum, comes to Franklin Regional from the Greater Latrobe School District, where she served...

Franklin Regional Superintendent Gennaro Piraino decided in early June that he’d had enough of school board members arguing and talking over one another in public meetings. “Maybe I’m overstepping my bounds, but I’m a member of this team of 10,” Piraino said. “Right now, what is happening week after week...

Franklin Regional graduates may have had a chance to do a drive-thru “graduation,” but if the real thing is going to happen, it won’t be until July. School district officials announced over the weekend that plans for a traditional graduation ceremony will be postponed until July 24. “Though we strongly...

Students at Greater Latrobe School District’s Mountain View Elementary and other children in Unity will benefit if the township lands a grant to update the school’s playground. The township applied for a state grant that would cover 80% of the projected $167,000 cost, according to solicitor Gary Falatovich. He said...

A 26-year-old Youngwood man who led state troopers on an 11-mile chase at speeds over 100 mph was arrested Sunday after his motorcycle broke down. William D. Rettinger was riding his motorcycle into oncoming traffic when he passed the intersection of Pine Drive and South Center Avenue in Hempfield at...

The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Monday reported two new covid-19 cases and no additional deaths in Westmoreland County. The countywide case total is now 492 with 38 deaths, according to the department County Coroner Kenneth Bacha reported 32 coronavirus deaths, less than the state’s number, but Bacha’s office has...

A 40-year-old woman who state police said was left for dead along Jacobs Creek survived a violent attack at the hands of a Mt. Pleasant man, according to court papers. Charles Paul Etling, 39, told investigators he dragged the woman off the side of White Bridge Road near the creek...

Hotels in Westmoreland County are expected to stray from national numbers depicting a ravaged travel industry following the coronavirus pandemic, making way for close to a full recovery and leaving room for future growth, local leaders said. Nationally, occupancy rates could plummet by 28% this year, a drop that is...

Ball gowns are hanging in closets across the country, unworn due to the pandemic-related shutdown of schools and cancellation of much-anticipated spring proms. For many young women, a lot of time and expense goes into choosing the perfect dress for prom. Not being able to wear it can be both...

Westmoreland County on Sunday reported three additional covid-19 cases, increasing the total number of cases to 490, according to state health officials. No new deaths from the virus were reported by the state or county coroner. The state continues to report 38 coronavirus-related deaths. Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha continues...