Westmoreland category, Page 880
Westmoreland County businesses, groups awarded $475,000 in tourism grants
Living Treasures Wild Animal Park is doing something different with this year’s $15,000 in tourism grant money — they’re bringing in rare, popcorn-scented animals known as binturongs. Owner Tom Guiher was prepared to pick up the three Southeast Asian animals Wednesday after nearly $475,000 was awarded to local tourism-based businesses...
Witnesses testify Latrobe murder suspect admitted to firing fatal shots
A Latrobe man, while on the run for more than a day after a deadly shooting and robbery two years ago, repeatedly confessed to friends that he fired the fatal shots, witnesses testified Wednesday during the second day of Zachary McGrath’s murder trial. A series of friends testified that McGrath...
Municipal Authority water rates to remain steady in 2019-20 budget
Water rates for Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County will remain steady for the first time in four years. Authority board members on Wednesday unanimously approved a new $110 million budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year, which will start in April, retains the current water rate structure for the utility’s 120,000...
Scottdale robbery suspect doesn’t mind judge’s decision to increase bail to $250K
A district judge sternly told a Scottdale-area man already in Westmoreland County Prison on robbery charges that he had no choice but to increase his bond since he was accused of committing two more pre-Christmas holdups. Clyde C. Mensch, 42, and two alleged accomplices were arraigned Wednesday before East Huntingdon...
Penn Township man found not guilty of dog law citations in UPS driver mauling
A district judge found a Penn Township man not guilty of three summary citations connected to a dog attack last year that seriously injured a UPS driver from Hempfield. Matthew Zavarella had been accused of failing to keep his three German shepherds under control in the Aug. 28 mauling at...
Wider runway, 2 millionth passenger eyed at Arnold Palmer airport in 2019
Arnold Palmer Regional Airport expects to reach a milestone in 2019: serving its two millionth passenger since February 2011, when Spirit Airlines became the facility’s sole commercial carrier. Officials at the Unity airport also plan to widen the runway as preparations proceed for installing a second passenger boarding bridge. The...
North Huntingdon man accused of speeding in December crash that seriously injured driver
A North Huntingdon man was arraigned Tuesday on accusations that he was speeding before a violent crash in December that seriously injured another driver. Chad William Brutout, 24, is charged with aggravated assault by vehicle and summary vehicle code violations. A westbound BMW 300xi T-boned a Honda Accord around 8:30...
State police seek woman who used stolen bank card at North Huntingdon store
State police are looking for a woman who they say used a Blairsville woman’s debit card information to make a purchase at the Target store in North Huntingdon. Investigators said the suspect stole the victim’s bank information and bought $110.23 worth of merchandise on Dec. 24. Troopers released a surveillance...
Planet Fitness to open in East Huntingdon
Residents in the Mt. Pleasant area are about to have another health and fitness option. Planet Fitness is set to open its doors this fall at the former Big Lots location along Crossroads Plaza Road next to Save-A-Lot and Tractor Supply Co. in East Huntingdon. The 10,000-square-foot gym will offer...
Tourism to be focus of new Westmoreland County visitor center on Route 119
Westmoreland County will open a visitor center next month as part of a renewed push to promote tourism. On Thursday, county commissioners are expected to approve an $81,000 contract with the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau to operate the facility in a plaza on Route 119, north of the Pennsylvania Turnpike...
Downed tree closes Route 30 eastbound near Derry
The eastbound lanes of Route 30 were shut down for a couple hours around 10 p.m. Tuesday night after a downed tree landed on the roadway. The eastbound side of the highway is temporarily closed between Route 217 and the causeway over Loyalhanna Creek. Emergency crews also reported downed wires...
Contractor: Water line relocation nearing end on Route 981 in LatrobeVideo
Ligonier Construction crews hope to wrap up water line relocation work on Latrobe’s Lloyd Avenue during the week of Jan. 14, weather permitting. The contractor has been working, on and off, since November — restricting daytime traffic to a single, alternating lane on a section of Lloyd south of Unity...
Rite Aid to close Irwin store in February
Rite Aid will close its pharmacy and store on Main Street in Irwin early next month, a decision made after an evaluation of its business, the Camp Hill-based pharmacy chain said. Rite Aid’s last day of normal operations in Irwin is expected to be Feb. 4, at which time the...
Warhawk fighter plane joins World War II program at Westmoreland air show
A restored Air Force P-40 Warhawk fighter plane will join the high-flying spectacle May 25-26 at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity. The World War II-era aircraft will be featured in the “Tora! Tora! Tora!” program during the 2019 Shop ‘n Save Westmoreland County Airshow. The plane and the program...
Testimony begins in Latrobe murder case
Confronted by a gun-wielding masked man, Daniel McNerny took it upon himself to put a stop to what appeared to be an armed robbery in front of a Latrobe home nearly two years ago, an eyewitness testified Tuesday. McNerny, who had been visiting friends when he was alerted to the...
Murrysville divers recover body from Fayette pond
A Murrysville dive team recovered the body of a Confluence man who was submerged in an icy Henry Clay Township pond Monday near his pickup truck, authorities said. Patrick Keating, 30, was found in the pond along Sickle Ridge Road about 45 feet from where his truck was pulled from...
Ward joins state Senate GOP leadership
State Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, was named to the GOP Senate leadership Tuesday as the Republican Senate caucus regrouped for 2019. The appointment came a day after Ward, now in her third term, was named chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, announced...
Trib appeals decision to delay release of juror names from Sheriff Held’s public corruption trial
The Tribune-Review on Tuesday filed an appeal of a judge’s order delaying the public release of the names of jurors who served in last month’s public corruption trial of Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held. Senior Common Pleas Judge Timothy Creany in late December ruled the names will remain private until...
Westmoreland happenings: Jan. 10 and beyond
Church events • Orders are being taken through Monday for soups to be picked up Jan. 19 at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 101 N. Fourth St., Youngwood. Choice of soups: vegetable beef, chicken noodle, and bean with ham. Cost: $5 quart. Orders: 724-837-1647. • Bingo, with early bird, 12:30...
Westmoreland County commissioner Anderson won’t seek re-election
Westmoreland County Commissioner Charles Anderson announced Tuesday he will retire at year’s end and will not run for re-election this year. Anderson, a Hempfield Republican, was first appointed to commissioner in 2008 and served a four-year stint as board chairman until the GOP lost its majority in 2015. “I’ve been...
Man accused of hiding video camera inside women’s room at North Huntingdon plant
A 32-year-old Irwin man was arrested this week for allegedly hiding a motion-activated video camera inside a women’s restroom of the North Huntingdon electrical parts manufacturing plant where he worked. Nicholas R. Traill was arraigned before District Judge Wayne Gongaware on charges of invasion of privacy, burglary, possession of obscene...
Right place, right time: Jeannette first responders save man’s life during training exercise
Don Mahoney was right where he needed to be. The Butler County man’s interest in space made him a perfect fit to offer his time at the Heinz History Center’s Destination Moon exhibit. But little did he know, the 65-year-old man was about to get help from Jeannette EMS and...
Plans for renovating North Huntingdon park ‘n ride lot postponed
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s plans to renovate and expand its Park and Ride lot along Route 30 in North Huntingdon have been put on hold until February. Domenic Sacchetti, a transit authority engineer with HDR Inc. of Pittsburgh, was granted his request to postpone his presentation to the North...
Opening statements in Latrobe murder trial to begin Tuesday
Opening statements will begin Tuesday morning in the first-degree murder trial of a Latrobe man police said fired two shots on a city street, killing a friend who attempted to intervene in an armed robbery of a drug dealer. The prosecution contends Zachary McGrath, 23, concealed his identity when he...
Salaries set for North Huntingdon officials
North Huntingdon’s top administrators will receive salary increases ranging from 2 to 7 percent this year. Police Chief Robert Rizzo, who was promoted to the position of chief in September, will receive an annual salary of $121,179 in 2019, an increase from the 2018 pro-rated salary of $118,750. Rizzo was...
