Westmoreland category, Page 843
Ligonier Valley Middle School students learn to fly fishVideo
After eight weeks of classroom work, 22 members of the Ligonier Valley Middle School Outdoors Club finally got onto the water as their Learn to Fly Fish program came to an end. Headed by Outdoors Club faculty member Ryan Podlucky, and with help from the Forbes Road Chapter of Trout...
Ligonier Valley tourism plans focus of breakfast
The public and the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce will get a preview of what’s in store at area attractions this summer during the chamber’s annual tourism breakfast on Wednesday. The event begins at 7:45 a.m. at the Loyalhanna Watershed Association’s bank barn, off Route 30 on the western outskirts...
Police: Fire at vacant Jeannette home intentionally set
State police have determined that a fire at a vacant home in Jeannette Tuesday afternoon was intentionally set. Firefighters were called to 133 N. Third St. just before 1 p.m. and found heavy fire in the back of the second floor that had moved into the attic, fire Chief Bill...
Latrobe CrossFit gym owner competing in worldwide competition
Nate Long never thought he would be active in CrossFit, let alone own a gym or compete in a worldwide competition. But, four years ago, the now 28-year-old picked up a barbell and started on his CrossFit journey — a path that has led him to faith and a better...
Hempfield donor recipient thankful for ‘gift of life’Video
Heather Hunter of Hempfield wasn’t supposed to be at Excela Square at Norwin on Wednesday morning, talking about how a double lung transplant in September 2016 gave her a second chance at life. Doctors weren’t sure that Hunter, born with cystic fibrosis, would make it to see kindergarten, let alone...
Alleged victim testifies in Youngwood man’s trial on rape charges
A 19-year-old woman testified Wednesday she was twice raped by a Youngwood man and his girlfriend, who just two weeks prior had given birth to the couple’s first child. She told jurors that the baby slept in a nearby bed in the same motel room where Sarah Vrabel quieted her...
Penguin Court looking for Certified Master Naturalists applicants
The Brandywine Conservancy’s Penguin Court Preserve in Ligonier Township’s Laughlintown neighborhood is offering discounted applications to train 15 Pennsylvania Certified Master Naturalists. Applications are available for the fall 2019 course, which will train citizen volunteers in natural history. The discounted rate for the training is $325, which then increases to...
Sheetz seeks to sell alcohol at store near Norwin elementary school
Sheetz Inc. wants to sell beer at one of its stores located across the street from a Norwin elementary school. The Altoona-based convenience store chain submitted plans to the North Huntingdon planning commission for expanding its convenience store at the corner of Carpenter Lane and Route 30 to provide seating...
Union: Greensburg state employees no longer having dues withheld
Pennsylvania officials deny that the state continues to withhold union dues for three Greensburg-based state employees who are challenging their union membership in federal court. State officials, including Gov. Tom Wolf, Secretary of Labor & Industry W. Gerard Oleksiak and Chief Accounting Officer Anna Maria Kiehl, denied the allegations contained...
Hempfield schools get clean report in new state audit
The Hempfield Area School District received a clean bill of health from the state auditor general’s office, according to a performance audit report released Wednesday. The audit, which reviewed how the district uses state funds and subsidies for areas including transportation, educating nonresident students and meeting bus driver requirements, found...
Police: 2 boys found Salem woman not breathing during apparent overdose
A Salem Township woman is accused of child endangerment after police said two boys found her not breathing after she apparently overdosed on drugs. Alicia Marie Gregg, 33, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the Jan. 6 incident. Troopers and paramedics were called to her Story Road home at 2...
Rosary tattoo helps police identify suspects in Derry Township scrap metal thefts
State police used footage from a security camera hidden in an abandoned Derry Township industrial plant to identify two suspects, one with a distinctive rosary tattoo, in the theft of almost 1,000 pounds of copper and brass last summer. Troopers this week arrested Timothy Tarr, 33, of Indiana County and...
Human rights will be the topic at next Murrysville AAUW meeting
Human rights will be the topic at the next American Association of University Women’s meeting, April 11 in Murrysville. Seton Hill’s Roni Kay M. O’Dell, assistant professor of political science, will discuss her research in the areas of international poverty, inequality and political participation. O’Dell’s work has been published in...
Export shifts federal grant priorities to address failing retaining wall
Export officials want to use federal grant money to repair a failing retaining wall along McKinley Avenue. While that originally meant delaying the borough’s 2019 paving program, the borough may be able to get the wall done and one road paved thanks to an assist from Murrysville. “The county requested...
Electrical work in Export on April 5 may cause temporary outages
Export residents may experience morning power outages on Friday due to electrical pole work in the borough. Crews will work 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on April 5, and some residents can expect temporary outages as a result, Council President Barry Delissio said....
Attorney: No basis for appeal for Salem woman who bludgeoned mother
The new lawyer for a Salem woman serving a life prison sentence for the 2013 bludgeoning death of her mother said in court documents filed Tuesday there is no basis for her appeal. Sarah Vercauteren, 30, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to a mandatory term of life...
Carbon issues resolved with Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County drinking water
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County was cited last month for excessive levels of organic carbon in the drinking water consumed by about half of the more than 400,000 residents serviced by the utility. Both state and local officials said the violation involved a slight increase in the substances deposited...
Trial under way for Youngwood man accused of raping teen girls
A Youngwood man was so detailed in his confession to alleged sex crimes against children he included his victim’s ages in a handwritten letter to his Westmoreland County Prison cellmate, according to evidence presented at trial Tuesday. Jared Letosky told jurors during the first day of the rape and sexual...
Lloyd Avenue traffic delays to return in Latrobe
Traffic delays are expected once again on Lloyd Avenue, one of the main entrances into downtown Latrobe, as crews begin preliminary work for replacing a small PennDOT bridge. Daytime lane restrictions are set to begin April 16 as contractor C. H. & D. Enterprises installs drainage along a section of...
Drs. Cyril Wecht, Sanjay Gupta examine ‘deaths of despair’ in HBO documentary
A new HBO documentary relies on Dr. Cyril Wecht, the renowned forensic pathologist, to provide medical support for the idea that stress is dramatically reducing the life expectancy of Americans. “One Nation Under Stress,” which premiered on HBO on March 25, opens with a bird’s eye view of Western Pennsylvania...
Westmoreland activist points to military as beacon of equal pay for women
Aryanna Berringer never dreamed she’d have to go to war to find a workplace where equal work meant equal pay. But looking back, the 36-year-old businesswoman, author and social activist said that’s exactly what happened. Speaking at Tuesday at Seton Hill University’s annual Equal Pay Day Rally at Courthouse Square...
No developers answer Greensburg’s call for hotel pitches
The Greensburg Community Development Corp. asked developers for their best pitches for a downtown hotel, but the extended deadline has come and gone, with no proposals submitted. Ashley Kertes, director of the corporation, said she’s in talks with several developers interested in bringing a hotel to the city, though they...
Route 119 lane restriction ahead in East Huntingdon
Northbound traffic on a section of Route 119 will be restricted to one lane beginning April 11 in East Huntingdon. The restriction will be in place for about three days, between the Route 819 interchange and the point where Route 119 passes below Stanton Road (Old Route 119), to allow...
Fire at vacant Jeannette home under investigation
A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of a Tuesday afternoon fire at a vacant home in Jeannette. Firefighters were called to North Third Street just before 1 p.m. and found heavy fire in the back of the second floor that had moved into the attic, according to...
Ex-North Huntingdon, Irwin officer named Elizabeth Borough police chief
A former North Huntingdon police officer has been named police chief in Elizabeth Borough. William Sombo took over duties of police chief Monday after being appointed to the position by borough officials last week. He has worked as a part-time officer in Elizabeth for several years, borough Secretary Pamela Sharp...
