Westmoreland category, Page 803
Coyotes the subject of Pa. Game Commission presentation in Murrysville
Interest in the local coyote population has continued to rise in recent years as trail cameras have captured photos of the elusive canines prowling around the region at night. Coyotes have been spotted in Murrysville, Penn Hills, Tarentum, New Kensington, Connellsville and Mt. Lebanon in the past few years. But...
Driver accused of fleeing Route 30 crash near Westmoreland Mall
Area firefighters and state police Monday searched a neighborhood along the border of Hempfield and Unity to find a man who fled the scene of a wreck on Route 30, state police said. David L. Jellison, 27, of Hostetter, was arraigned on multiple criminal charges Tuesday in connection with the...
Jeannette man arrested on arson charge in connection with April fire
Jeannette police Tuesday arrested a city man they charged last month with arson and related counts in connection with an April 2 fire. Jason Anthony John, 40, was being held in the Westmoreland County Prison on $250,000 bail. Authorities accuse John of setting an abandoned North Third Street home on...
New charge filed against Hempfield man accused of threatening church, pastor
A Hempfield man accused of leaving threatening messages for the pastor of a Penn Township church was arrested Tuesday on a charge of flight to avoid apprehension. Mark Eugene Ray, 59, was found hiding in an East Pittsburgh home June 3, 10 days after he allegedly fled from police trying...
Richard King Mellon, R.K. Mellon Family foundations tap heir as new leader
Richard A. Mellon, a grandson of Richard King Mellon, has been named to lead the foundations that bear his grandfather’s name. He was unanimously appointed as chairman and CEO by the boards of both the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the R.K. Mellon Family Foundation, marking the beginning of the...
Grand opening for Murrysville park, splash pad set for this weekendVideo
A grand opening for the new “destination playground” and splash pad at Murrysville Community Park will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday. The park includes nontraditional features like a small-scale zip line and has features that will appeal to younger and older children alike. Also, we don’t want to ruin...
Charges withdrawn in Murrysville hit-and-run tied to lottery scam
Charges were withdrawn Tuesday against a Jamaican national from Maryland accused by police of hitting a Murrysville man with his vehicle while trying to collect $100,000 in an alleged lottery scam. Prosecutors said they dropped two counts against Clint OBrian Robinson, 47, because of an ongoing investigation by the state...
Officials OK deal with Cincinnati-based developer for Hempfield industrial park
County officials this week approved the potential sale of 13 acres at the Westmoreland Technology Park II in Hempfield to a Cincinnati-based commercial real estate development and design firm. Acting as the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp., county commissioners signed off on the deal to option the property to AI....
Grant will cover Westmoreland, Fayette freight rail line improvements
Westmoreland County received a $1.5 million state grant for the second phase of a $3.9 million project to upgrade its 18-mile freight rail line from Hempfield to Connellsville. The grant will pay for most of the $2.1 million cost to rehabilitate infrastructure , officials said. The railroad company will pay...
Latrobe to allow alcohol sales at banana split festival
Visitors who are 21 or older will be able to buy and drink alcoholic beverages at this year’s Great American Banana Split Celebration in Latrobe. City Council on Monday agreed to allow vendors selected by event organizers to serve beer and wine at two designated locations along Main Street on...
Hempfield supervisors appoint new fire chief
Hempfield now has one fire chief who will oversee 12 separate stations — a major step toward making the township’s stations fall under one department. Township supervisors this week appointed Anthony Kovacic, the current director of emergency services for the township, to the top position. Kovacic started his career in...
Greensburg woman accused of shouting racial slurs at group outside her apartment
A Greensburg woman is accused of directing racial slurs toward a group of people gathered outside her Eastmont Drive apartment. Greensburg police charged Fallon Eckenrode, 25, with ethnic intimidation, harassment and disorderly conduct in the incident they say happened just before 10 p.m. on June 19 in the 700 block...
Excela Health reports more financial losses, predicts return to profitability in 2020
John Sphon, acting CEO of Excela Health, said the Westmoreland County health system is poised to reach profitability in fiscal 2020, following two years of multimillion- dollar operating losses. “We look at this coming year as a year of transition,” Sphon said Monday at Excela’s annual meeting at Saint Vincent...
Greensburg Salem to pay $140,000 in secret settlement with unnamed former employee
The Greensburg Salem School District will pay $140,000 to a former employee in a legal settlement that’s being kept under wraps. The school board approved the settlement and the employee’s resignation at last week’s meeting. The employee was not named, and details of the settlement were not publicized. Officials said...
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...
