Westmoreland category, Page 790
Westmoreland tries again for $25 million Laurel Valley connector funding
Westmoreland County officials said Monday they will make another attempt to secure a $25 million federal grant to pay for part of the long-planned Laurel Valley connector. The project at one time called for construction of a new highway linking New Stanton and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport site in Unity....
Westmoreland jail sees highest percentage of new inmates needing drug, alcohol detox
A record percentage of new inmates lodged at the Westmoreland County Prison in May needed detoxification services for drug and alcohol addiction, officials said Monday. Warden John Walton told members of the county prison board that 204 of the 239 new inmates, more than 85%, who were brought into the...
Westmoreland commissioners better funded than GOP challengers, reports show
When it comes to cash available to spend in the months leading up to the November race for Westmoreland County Commissioner, Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew are behind two Democratic incumbents. According to latest finance reports that detail contributions and spending through the May primary, the Republicans’ bank rolls...
Loyalhanna Lake boat launch remains closed because of high water
The Loyalhanna Lake boat launch at Bush Recreation Area will stay closed until later this week for flood control purposes, the Army Corps of Engineers said. The launch was closed on Thursday when the pool elevation exceeded 928 feet. It crested Saturday at 935 feet, about 12 feet above normal...
Tips help Greensburg cops identify suspect in passing counterfeit bill
Tips from the public helped Greensburg Police identify a 29-year-old man who allegedly passed a counterfeit $100 bill June 20 at a downtown pharmacy. Police have obtained an arrest warrant for Jonathan D. Sherback, whose last known address was Pittsburgh, on charges of retail theft, theft by false impression and...
Police: Argument led to stabbing at Hempfield home; victim hospitalized
A Hempfield man is behind bars after state police said he stabbed a man Friday inside a township home. Vincente Alejo Andres, 34, is accused of stabbing the man in the face while the pair were fighting at a Tiffany Circle home. The injured man was taken to AHN Forbes...
Cops: North Side man beat woman because she ordered him the wrong beer
A Pittsburgh man became so angry at a woman who ordered him the wrong beer that he followed her outside a Murrysville restaurant and chased her across Route 22, where he is accused of kicking and punching her, according to court documents. Kadeem O. Warren, 28, of the North Side,...
Police: DUI suspected in Murrysville motorcycle crash
Murrysville police believe a motorcyclist was driving under the influence Sunday night in a one-vehicle crash on Route 366. The driver lost control of the motorcycle at 8:18 p.m. and crashed near Hankey Church Road, according to police Chief Thomas Seefeld. The driver had a major head injury and broken...
Church group: Drag queen bingo encourages fondling, groping
Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department won’t host another drag queen bingo, but it’s not because of the drag, Chief Jerry Lucia said. “We didn’t have the large crowd we thought, and then we had bingo players come here thinking they’d be playing bingo all night,” Lucia said. “They only played...
Music keeps Hempfield bass player swinging
At 84, Dale Yates can still swing with the best of them. The Hempfield retiree never takes to the dance floor. Instead, he’s on stage with the band, providing a deep resonant tone on the upright bass he has been playing since 1953. “It keeps getting heavier every year, but...
Westmoreland judicial candidates spent $750K through spring primary election
The six candidates who ran for two open judicial seats on the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas spent more than $750,000 combined through early June. Campaign finance reports filed last week in Harrisburg detailed candidate spending and revealed the growing cost to run for judge in Westmoreland County. Attorney...
Hempfield creates plan for consolidated fire departments ahead of ISO rating
A list of issues laid out in a 2018 gap study focusing on Hempfield’s fire service is leading the path for changes that will eventually make 12 stations fall under one department and firefighters answer to one chief. The study, completed by The Allegheny Group, focuses on issues with staffing,...
Change may be coming for Westmoreland transit authority
Westmoreland County commissioners will vote Monday on a proposal to allow the county transit authority to serve as its own bus operator. Authority board members endorsed the move last week to amend the agency’s charter, a change that officials said could dramatically transform the operation and offer an alternative to...
Consumer advocate’s efforts recognized by Westinghouse retiree group
Mary Bach of Murrysville was recognized recently for her work in consumer advocacy, by a group of Westinghouse retirees dedicated to community service. Bach, who is also the chairwoman of the AARP’s Pennsylvania Consumer Issues Task Force, received the Westinghouse SURE 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the company’s Service Uniting...
Pennsylvania Lottery struggles to attract bets on virtual sports games
The Pennsylvania Lottery has more than 1,850 outlets with screens displaying virtual animated football and auto races. The odds of finding someone watching a bet play out on the simulated sports action is pretty low. With a few exceptions, lottery licensees in the region report few customers are spending their...
SCI Greensburg closing is potential wrench in census count
Hempfield residents and leaders could still be feeling the effects of SCI Greensburg closing as the census — and its potential funding and determination of legislative districts — looms on the horizon. The once-a-decade survey counts prisoners as members of the community where the lockup is located — a decision...
1 flown from South Huntingdon crash
A West Newton man is in stable condition after he was flown by helicopter following a crash Saturday afternoon in South Huntingdon. Michael L. Smalich, 63, of West Newton was taken to Allegheny General Hospital after state police said he drove off Mt. Pleasant Road near its intersection with Painter...
Latrobe man, 82, honored for decades as firefighter, crossing guardVideo
Latrobe Elementary students experienced some major changes this past school year. Midway through the academic calendar, they started attending classes in a new school on Ligonier Street, several blocks away from the building it replaced. Though the surroundings shifted, familiar faces at the school remained — including crossing guard John...
Hempfield beef spread joins farmland preservation program
Westmoreland County’s Heinnickel family has added a new section of its multi-farm holdings to the state’s agricultural conservation easement purchase program. The family’s 39-acre Luxor Farm in Hempfield was among 47 farms, covering 3,561 acres in 21 counties, added this month to the farmland preservation program. The program taps federal,...
Police ask motorists to avoid Piper Road in Allegheny Township due to subsidence
Allegheny Township police are asking residents to avoid Piper road near Route 356 if possible because of continued damage to the road. The road continues to experience subsidence despite efforts to fix it, police wrote in an advisory message for residents signed up with the Nixle.com alert service. The road...
Church members undergo active-shooter training in IrwinVideo
With 24 years of Navy service and 13 more in law enforcement, Rodney “Chief” Smith doesn’t mince words or mess around when it comes to firearms training. “Get that finger off that trigger! ” Smith barked at a trainee who wasn’t properly following his step-by-step instructions as a group prepared...
Murrysville board will continue hearing fracking challenge
The Murrysville Zoning Hearing Board will continue hearing a challenge to the town’s fracking ordinance on Monday night . The citizen group Murrysville Watch Committee challenged the validity of the ordinance last year, and hearings have been ongoing since late November 2018. Murrysville council members voted 6-1 in 2017 to...
Southmoreland considers selling school; league fears loss of baseball fields
Southmoreland School District is considering selling Ruffsdale Elementary School, which has been closed for more than a decade. That’s a problem for the Southmoreland Youth Athletic Association, which organizes youth baseball games for about 200 kids at the school’s three fields. The association might not be able to find another...
Dollar General to move into closing Latrobe video store
Dollar General is preparing for a move in Latrobe — one that will take it a block and a half from its current location on Ligonier Street to the building at Depot and Alexandria streets soon to be vacated by Family Video. Spokeswoman Angela Petkovic said Dollar General plans to...
Western Pennsylvania’s farmers planted early to sneak summer corn past Mother Nature
Western Pennsylvania farmers this year have had to plant crops “between the raindrops.” But despite less-than-ideal planting conditions, area farmers say they expect sweet corn to be available by the Fourth of July. While field corn planting has languished because of the wet weather, produce farmers say they got their...
