Westmoreland category, Page 716
North Huntingdon businessman Tony Corsa named to Norwin School BoardVideo
A North Huntingdon businessman was elected Thursday to the Norwin School Board from among a field of 18 candidates. Tony Corsa, 42, won the support of seven of the eight board members during the second vote to fill the vacancy created by the Dec. 2 resignation of Barbara Viola. Corsa...
Latrobe man gets house arrest after pleading guilty to animal cruelty involving 17 animals
A Latrobe man will serve three months of house arrest and two years on probation after he pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of animal cruelty. According to court records, Andrew T. Pevarnik, 44, was charged in September after humane officers found 17 dead animals in a Derry Township...
Traffic snarled by 3-vehicle crash on Route 30 near Hempfield Plaza
One lane of traffic on Route 30 near Hempfield Plaza was blocked Thursday afternoon as emergency crews responded to a three-vehicle crash. A Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher said at least one person suffered minor injuries. The dispatcher said eastbound traffic was reduced to one lane as a result of the...
Westmoreland County agrees to $45K settlement with Delmont woman for injuries
A Delmont woman will be paid $45,000 for injuries she claims to have sustained in a fall at Twin Lakes Park while attending the Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival nearly six years ago. According to the lawsuit filed against Westmoreland County in 2016, Juliana Artascos said she was injured after...
Westmoreland prosecutors, defense attorneys will get raises
Westmoreland County prosecutors and defense lawyers are getting raises. The county commissioners on Thursday ratified a new, four-year labor contract with the union that represents 34 assistant district attorneys and public defenders. The deal with the Assistant District Attorneys Wage and Policy Committee calls for the lawyers to receive 2.75%...
Anderson attends last meeting as Westmoreland commissionerVideo
Westmoreland County Commissioner Charles Anderson on Thursday called it quits, again. Anderson, 77, is retiring for the second time. He finished out his 11 years on the county’s board of commissioners after a three-decade career as a pilot and officer in the U.S. Marines. Anderson’s last public meeting was Thursday...
Westmoreland County’s 2020 budget brings 1st tax increase in 15 yearsVideo
Westmoreland County officials said a 2.4% property tax increase approved Thursday is needed to balance the 2020 budget, a spending plan that will nearly drain a surplus fund and relies on a $10 million loan to pay the bills at the start of next year. Commissioners Gina Cerilli and Charles...
Westmoreland deputies: Arrest of 2 fugitives led to 2 other fugitives
A search this week for two fugitives led Westmoreland County Sheriff’s deputies to the Greensburg home of a drug rehabilitation counselor, where they said they found what they were looking for — and more, including two other fugitives hiding elsewhere with a cache of drugs, weapons and money. Around 8:30...
North Huntingdon commissioner questions $22K in raises for township department heads
Eight of North Huntingdon’s top officials are in line for raises ranging from 3% to 6% for next year, despite one township commissioner questioning what they did to earn a pay raise for 2020. The pay raises, which commissioners approved by a 5-1 vote on Wednesday, will cost the township...
Propane tanker overturns in South Huntingdon prompting evacuation of homes, business
Seven homes and a business in South Huntingdon were evacuated Thursday after a propane tanker overturned into a creek, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. A small leak from the tanker prompted the evacuation order. The situation was reported at 12:18 p.m. on Gressly Road, which connects Pittsburgh Pike to...
2 rescued after Hempfield communication tower toppled, officials say
Two men were rescued from a wooded area in Hempfield on Thursday after a telecommunications tower fell over while they were building it, said Jamie Shaw, township director of code and safety. It took about 90 minutes for firefighters and medics to get the pair through a mile of wooded...
‘Miracle’ liver donor needed for New Stanton man
Unless he can find a liver donor, New Stanton’s Alvin Jaworski has months to live. His wife, Kathleen Jaworski, is hoping for a miracle. A few strangers have come together to help her find it. A large sign alongside busy Route 819 in Hempfield reads “Be Al’s Miracle! O+ Liver...
19 seek to fill vacancy on Norwin School Board
The Norwin School Board has to select among 19 residents who are seeking to fill one vacancy. Among the hopefuls are a teacher who lost her bid for the board in the May primary, a North Huntingdon commissioner’s wife, four other teachers, an administrator working in other school districts, plus...
Westmoreland municipal authority expects $3 million price tag for Youngwood project
The $3 million cost to relocate and replace aging water and sewer lines in Youngwood is a bargain, Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said Wednesday. The project is part of a PennDOT plan to reconstruct a three-mile section of Route 119 in the borough and will allow the authority...
Greater Latrobe School Board promotes Robin Pynos as second assistant superintendent
Greater Latrobe School Board has promoted Robin Pynos to a new assistant superintendent position, as the latest step in realigning the district’s central administrative staff. The board this week approved a five-year term for Pynos as assistant superintendent for curriculum, technology and instruction as she resigned from her previous role...
Proposed budget keeps water, sewer rates unchanged for Municipal Authority of Westmoreland customers
Water and sewer rates for customers of the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County will remain the same for a second consecutive year. The authority’s preliminary 2020-21 budget, unveiled Wednesday, includes no rate changes and carries a $5 million cut in projected revenues, officials said. Board members are expected to approve...
Man arrested for selling heroin in maternity ward accused of thefts in Latrobe, Unity
A 27-year-old Latrobe man who was arrested in 2017 for selling heroin in a hospital maternity ward after the birth of his child is back in the county prison for allegedly possessing a stolen handgun and stealing a pickup truck. Cody R. Hulse was arraigned Monday on charges of receiving...
Demolition begins at Greensburg public works garage destroyed by fireVideo
Demolition began this week on Greensburg’s fire-ravaged public works garage on South Urania Avenue. The work is expected to take about two weeks, though it could take a bit longer because of the holidays, said Tom Bell, the city’s public works superintendent and fire chief. The city hired Ritenour &...
Greater Latrobe School Board to honor 2.7-mill cap on potential tax hike
Greater Latrobe School Board has agreed to a ceiling for any property tax increase it may approve for the 2020-21 school year. The board this week passed a resolution pledging to stay within the 2.71-mill maximum — the equivalent of a 3.3% increase, determined by a state index, in accordance...
Former state rep will present ‘The State of Education in Pennsylvania’ in Murrysville
As education experts in Pennsylvania go, it’s tough to top Ron Cowell. In addition to 24 years as a state representative with 12 years on the House Committee on Education, Cowell has been president and executive director for the Education Policy and Leadership Center in Harrisburg since 1999. He has...
Laurel Highlands lands on Travel Lemming’s Top 5 list
What do the Laurel Highlands; Lausanne, Switzerland; Prince Edward Island, Canada; McLaren Vale, South Australia; and Nova Scotia, Canada, have in common? They are the five winners of the travel site TravelLemming.com’s annual Reader Awards, following an online competition among 30 emerging travel destinations on the site’s annual list of...
Traffic stop, videos help police ID suspect in Murrysville, Penn Township thefts
A traffic stop in Murrysville led to the arrest of a suspect in multiple vehicle break-ins in several communities. Murrysville police Detective John Devlin stopped a damaged Nissan SUV for alleged equipment violations Nov. 22. It was identical to the SUV seen at the area of the vehicle break-ins: a...
Harrison City man sentenced to federal prison, probation in ‘logic bomb’ case
A Harrison City man was sentenced Tuesday to six months in a federal prison for inserting codes into computer programs he designed as a contracted employee for Siemens Corp. that caused malfunctions in which he was called in to repair, according to federal authorities. David Tinley, 62, was ordered to...
Trafford library’s search for library director hampered by funding limitations
For almost four months, the Trafford Community Public Library has remained open six days a week thanks to volunteers. The small library on Brinton Avenue has not had a director since Jessica Beichler took over as the Penn Area Library director in Harrison City in early September. Beichler, who replaced...
Family honors Forbes Road WWII veteran’s service on his final day
The men called them flying coffins, and for many of the American paratroopers in March 1945, that’s what the gliders became. Cpl. James J. Sackett dodged a bullet and lived — but not without taking flak in his leg and back and spending months recuperating in a stateside hospital. Sackett...
