Westmoreland category, Page 877
Westmoreland court offices closed Monday
Westmoreland County court offices will be closed Monday. The courthouse and district judge offices will not open in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Regular hours will resume Tuesday. Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@tribweb.com or via Twitter @byrenatta....
Pa. food stamp recipients get early payments amid government shutdown
People who depend on food stamps to feed their families face uncertainty as the federal government’s partial shutdown drags on. About 1.8 million Pennsylvanians on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program, commonly known as food stamps, received their February benefits on Friday — about two weeks ahead of schedule — because...
Greensburg police investigating car break-ins
Several reports of car break-ins in Greensburg are being investigated, police said. According to a post on the department’s Facebook page, break-ins have occurred over the past few days in the Academy Hill area of the city. Surveillance footage taken 2 a.m. Thursday shows three people wearing hoods walking up...
Amtrak cancels area trains ahead of weekend storm
Anyone traveling by rail this weekend is encouraged to check Amtrak’s schedule as officials make some of the first cancellations ahead of the expected winter storm. The storm has caused cancellation of several Pittsburgh-area trains on Sunday. The Pennsylvanian Service, from New York to Philadelphia to Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, has...
If Patriots lose, Goodwill customers will win
Don’t be sad, Pittsburgh, that the Steelers never made the playoffs this season. Now you have another reason to root against the hated New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. If the Patriots lose this Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Goodwill will offer a 30 percent discount...
Saint Vincent library expansion topic of public meeting
The public is invited to Saint Vincent College at 9 a.m. Wednesday to learn about and provide comment on the library renovation and expansion that is under construction. The meeting will be held in Room 2AB on the upper floor of the Fred M. Rogers Center, Unity. Parking will be...
New evidence triggers mistrial in Monessen attempted homicide case
A Westmoreland County judge on Thursday cut short the attempted murder and conspiracy trial of two Monessen men, saying damaging evidence against the defense was turned over too late by prosecutors. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani said the mistrial in the combined case against Joseph “Jo Jo” Heath III...
Franklin Regional’s Piraino recognized as Pa. superintendent of the yearVideo
It was only fitting for Gennaro Piraino to be sitting at Saint Vincent College as he received recognition as the Pennsylvania School Administrator Association’s 2019 Superintendent of the Year. Originally slated for Harrisburg, poor weather moved the recognition luncheon to the Unity school, just a few miles from Piraino’s hometown...
State: Rostraver Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Association needs to increase bond
A recent state audit found the Rostraver Township Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Association needs to increase its bond to cover cash assets. Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said the association was in compliance with all other applicable state laws, contracts, bylaws and administrative procedures as they relate to the receipt of...
North Huntingdon police response team trains at Norwin schools
The North Huntingdon Police Department emergency response team is conducting training and walk-through drills at all seven of Norwin School District’s buildings. Police issued an alert at about 3 p.m. Thursday to inform residents of the training and that there is not a need for alarm when seeing police at...
Tarrs woman accused of forging prescriptions for oxycodone pills
A Tarrs woman is accused of forging two painkiller prescriptions at an East Huntingdon doctor’s office where she worked as a medical assistant, according to court papers. Davina Lee Potoka, 44, allegedly wrote the prescriptions for herself for 120 oxycodone pills each, state police said. Potoka is charged with acquisition...
Unity bank robbed, state police search for suspect
State police at Greensburg are searching for a man who robbed the First National Bank on Route 30, east of the Route 981 intersection, in Unity on Thursday. The man entered the bank just before 11 a.m. and gave a teller a threatening note that demanded money, police said. He...
Droves of shoppers line up for grand opening of Aldi near Mt. PleasantVideo
A festive atmosphere pervaded the grand opening of the newest Aldi grocery store in Westmoreland County, as dozens of eager shoppers lined the sidewalk and braved temperatures in the low 20s early Thursday morning. The Aldi fans were there not only to see the gleaming new store in East Huntingdon...
Westmoreland school officials to form legislative action committee
Westmoreland County public school officials are forming a committee to present a common front when they address legislative issues that affect local education. The planned Westmoreland County Committee On Legislative Action, or COLA, is expected to include representatives from the county’s 17 public school districts, three associated career and technology...
Judge limits evidence allowed in alleged Hempfield rape case
Statements that a Hempfield woman made — and later recanted — to police and medical personnel that she was raped last year cannot be used against the man she initially accused, a judge ruled on Thursday. Common Pleas Court Judge Timothy Krieger also said prosecutors will not be able to...
Irwin OKs lawsuits to enforce rental ordinance
Irwin officials plan to crack down on landlords who are not complying with the borough’s tenant registry and inspection ordinance enacted last year. Borough council has authorized borough solicitor Zachary Kansler to file lawsuits against property owners to enforce the local rule requiring the inspection of rental units for a...
Greensburg Salem votes to keep any tax increase below state limit
In a ritual that marks the beginning of budget season, the Greensburg Salem School Board voted unanimously Wednesday to keep any tax increase for 2019 to the limit set by the state. This limit, established by the state’s Act 1 Index, prevents the board from raising taxes more than 2.72...
North Huntingdon to hire 4 cops to replace retirees
North Huntingdon is looking to hire four police officers, a move that will cost about $227,100 in salaries to replace several officers who retired in the past two years. The hirings will return North Huntingdon’s police force to its full complement of 30 officers, said Jeffrey Silka, township manager. He...
Family, 7 pets escape from Jeannette house fireVideo
A family of three and their seven pets were temporarily displaced when an electrical fire damaged their Jeannette home Wednesday evening. Robert Rundle said he’d been gone just 15 minutes from the home in the 300 block of Margaret Street when his wife, Magi, called at about 7 p.m. with...
Derry Township’s Torrance State Hospital marks centennialVideo
Patients, staff and retirees from Torrance State Hospital gathered in the public mental hospital’s once grand auditorium Tuesday for a worship service to mark the beginning of the institution’s centennial year. Torrance chaplain, the Rev. Cletus Hull, led the group of about 150 in a service of prayer and thanksgiving...
Judge gives Pershing Square hi-rise owner time to make elevator repairs
A judge on Wednesday gave the owner of Pershing Square Apartments in downtown Greensburg until July to repair or replace two unreliable elevators that have left several elderly residents trapped. “Why is this taking so long?” District Magistrate Chris Flanigan asked Greensburg attorney Matt Schimizzi at a brief hearing. “It’s...
Mt. Pleasant man charged with selling fatal blend of heroin, fentanyl
State police have charged a Mt. Pleasant man with selling a fatal blend of heroin and fentanyl. Ricky Fosbrink, 34, allegedly sold the drugs that killed Christopher Phillip Biller, 35, on Jan. 22, 2017. Biller was found dead in a friend’s apartment, according to court papers. Investigators found a syringe...
Blackburn Center, Murrysville library to host program on human trafficking
It might be hard to imagine that something like human trafficking goes on in Westmoreland County. But human trafficking cases do not always involve international intrigue, with mysterious shipping containers hiding women who will be delivered into the hands of U.S. sex traffickers. Sometimes they are much simpler, though no...
Lawyer for Westmoreland County doctor says feds cherry picked prosecution, conviction
The attorney for a Harrison City doctor convicted this week on charges he illegally distributed controlled substances said the government is “cherry picking” cases involving physicians who prescribe opioid painkillers. “The manner in which the government is (prosecuting such cases) is like throwing darts blindfolded at a dartboard,” said Pittsburgh...
Police: Greensburg nurse diverted fentanyl, other medication from hospital
A Greensburg registered nurse was arrested Tuesday for allegedly diverting prescription medication while she worked at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital, according to court papers. Julie Dawn Zetkulic, 43, is accused by the state Attorney General’s Office of taking narcotic pain relievers from the hospital’s pharmacy over a four-month period. She...
