Westmoreland category, Page 714
Reorganized Westmoreland commissioners’ board to address ‘State of the County’
Those attending Westmoreland’s 2020 State of the County luncheon will have an opportunity to hear from and question the three county commissioners on issues of interest to the business community. The annual event will be held at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 9 at the Ramada by Wyndham Greensburg Hotel and Conference...
Hempfield puts focus on planning in 2020Video
Hempfield leaders are looking to the future as they shift their focus to planning in the township during the coming year. Supervisors voted unanimously to create a director of planning and zoning position, which establishes a department specifically for planning purposes. Current planning coordinator Patrick Karnash will take over as...
Greensburg denies age discrimination in response to lawsuits
Greensburg officials said two former city employees were dismissed because of job performance, not their age, according to court filings in age discrimination lawsuits. Barbara Ciampini, 58, and Frank Lehman, 59, who respectively worked as planning director and recreation director, filed their federal lawsuits in October. The city finally filed...
Hempfield Area band headed to London for New Year’s Day parade to be broadcast live
All those Hempfield Area band hoagie sales are finally paying off. High school band members leave Saturday for London to perform in its 2020 New Year’s Day parade after months of practices and intensive fundraising efforts. More than 150,000 hoagies were sold to raise money for the $640,000 trip, said...
5 things to do in and around Westmoreland County: Dec. 27-29Video
This whole week may have seemed like a weekend to some of us. Those lucky enough to wrap up school and work commitments early are probably ready for a little rest and relaxation after all of that partying and celebrating, right? Nah, its Friday. Maybe you’ve got house guests to...
Westmoreland commissioners reacquire oversight of real estate program
Westmoreland County Commissioners reclaimed control of a real estate program that generates as much as $2 million annually. Commissioners last week voted to transfer the Unified Parcel Identifier department back to their control, stripping it from oversight responsibilities of incoming Recorder of Deeds Frank Schiefer. “It makes sense for the...
Westmoreland County court fees to increase in 2020
The new year will ring in higher court costs for criminal defendants in Westmoreland County. Eight different fees will be increased by about 2% when the courthouse opens for business on Jan. 2, Clerk of Courts Bryan Kline said. “I have the authority to raise fees every three years and,...
Unity woman touts importance, ease of donating stem cellsVideo
While attending a Goo Goo Dolls concert at the Palace Theater in 2016, Cassandra Nedelco of Unity didn’t think twice about getting her cheek swabbed at a booth run by nonprofit DKMS, an international group that seeks to match stem cell and bone marrow donors with patients in need. It...
State rep Bob Brooks files for reelection in House’s 54th District
State representative and former Murrysville mayor Bob Brooks filed for reelection in the House’s 54th District. He will host a petition signing kick-off event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jan. 28 in Murrysville. “When I ran for state representative two years ago, I pledged to focus on people, not politics,...
Westmoreland County election winners sworn into officeVideo
Months of campaigning and election-night nerves were a thing of past on Thursday as Westmoreland County’s new slate of government officials were sworn into office. The former candidates and now newly elected officials, with family members and supporters by their sides, one-by-one came before the county’s Common Pleas Court judges...
Jeannette hemp plant fined, permitted to reopen
The owners of a shuttered hemp processing facility in Jeannette may resume limited operations under the terms of a Christmas Eve consent agreement with the state that calls for it to pay a $29,000 fine for air quality violations. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ordered Patriot Shield Pennsylvania to...
Christmas Eve stabbing in New Stanton leads to assault charges
A couple’s fight late on Christmas Eve left a man with stab wounds and a New Stanton woman facing aggravated assault charges. State police initially responded to a 911 call from the mother of Julie L. Thomas, 21, who said she’d received text messages from Thomas that Jamel C. Miles...
Undecking the halls: How long do you leave your holiday decorations up?
When Shawn O’Mahony was growing up, it wasn’t unusual for his mother to let the Christmas tree stick around until Easter. That tradition didn’t carry over to her son. “When I decorated, the decorations were down before the new year,” said O’Mahony, a Penn Hills resident. “I like to start...
Big Shot Bob’s to open new Hempfield location
Big Shot Bob’s House of Wings is expanding once again, this time outside Westmoreland Mall. The wing joint will be located at the former Winghart’s spot in Westmoreland Crossing behind the mall. Owner Keith Wassel said he hopes to open the Hempfield location, which will serve over 100 flavors of...
Judge denies Yakopec’s request for transfer back to Westmoreland prison
A Westmoreland County judge Tuesday rejected a request from the son of a Lower Burrell district judge to be transferred back to the county’s jail to finish serving out a six-month sentence for drug offenses. The attorney for Stephen Yakopec III, 29, of Lower Burrell in court documents filed this...
Fireworks companies sue North Huntingdon for more than $30,000
Two Kansas fireworks firms sued North Huntingdon for more than $30,000, saying the township’s refusal to grant a permit that would keep their store open near the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s entrance has caused a “significant” loss in sales the past two months. Fireworks Leasing LLC and Wholesale Fireworks Enterprises LLC, both...
Next Interstate 70 project will add 3 roundabouts at Madison exit
PennDOT’s ongoing Interstate 70 improvements are expected to continue next year, with revamping of the Madison and Yukon exits. Construction could begin as early as February and is expected to continue through September 2022, according to PennDOT District 12 officials. Submitting a proposal of about $92.9 million, Trumbull Corp. is...
13 Latrobe area churches band together to serve free Christmas meals to all who need themVideo
Anna Louise Castellano spent Christmas Day with her extended family. It’s a family that included many folks she didn’t even know but who gathered together Wednesday afternoon for a Christmas meal at St. John the Evangelist Church in Latrobe, in what has become a local tradition. “This is for anybody...
Murrysville webcam catches deer giving ground to wild turkeysVideo
A webcam recently captured a herd of deer relinquishing its ground to a group of invading wild turkeys in Murrysville. PixCams of Murrysville has 13 wildlife webcams, including ones monitoring the Pittsburgh bald eagles nest in Hays, elk in Benezette and wooded areas in places such as Murrysville. In the...
Cops: Man assaulted girlfriend after finding her wrapping presents for other boyfriend
A man who found his girlfriend wrapping a Christmas gift for her “other” boyfriend was arrested early Tuesday in Trafford after assaulting the woman and threatening her with a knife, police said. Daniel W. Hill, 50, of North Huntingdon was arrested at the Cavitt Avenue apartment he was sharing with...
Grapeville ball field remains in limbo as Hempfield combines fire stations
As Hempfield supervisors tie up loose ends to make the township’s 12 fire stations fall under one department, assets like a Grapeville ball field are left in limbo while fire chiefs make “hard decisions” on what to keep and what to sell. The field, at 1260 Toledo St., is utilized...
Johnstown man accused of hunting under the influence in Laurel Ridge State Park
A Johnstown man is accused by state game wardens of being under the influence of marijuana while he was hunting on Laurel Ridge State Park property this month, according to court papers. David R. Bruner, 53, set out a mineral lick on Dec. 3 in St. Clair Township, wardens said....
State prison inmate accused of making 2nd threat against Westmoreland judge
A state prison inmate serving a two- to four-year prison term for threatening to kill Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani in 2018 was charged Monday with threatening him again. Rebecca Elizabeth Gardner, 29, directed the threat at Feliciani in a letter mailed from SCI Muncy, where she is serving her...
Pa. Turnpike fully reopens in New Stanton after tractor-trailer crash, explosion
A tractor-trailer explosion closed a section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in New Stanton and left drivers stuck for more than three hours early Tuesday morning, according to New Stanton Fire Chief Rob Cammarata. A 911 dispatcher said one tractor-trailer collided with another, which was stopped, around 4:45 a.m. The rear...
Murrysville window-screen company will appear on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ in JanuaryVideo
Joe Altieri was taking a huge risk when he decided to leave his job in the window industry to start up FlexScreen, a Murrysville company that provides removable, flexible window screens. Now he has a chance to have a professional investor share that risk. Altieri, a Plum resident, will appear...
