Westmoreland category, Page 881
Alleged gunman in holdup at East Huntingdon store jailed on $100K bail
State police on Monday arrested a Scottdale man and accused him of being the alleged gunman in the Dec. 22 holdup of the Dollar General store at Crossroads Plaza in East Huntingdon. Clyde C. Mensch, 42, was arraigned on charges of robbery, theft, making terroristic threats, receiving stolen property and...
County judges pick retired teacher to fill vacancy on Norwin School Board
A retired Franklin Regional school teacher is the newest member of the Norwin School Board. Westmoreland County’s nine Common Pleas Court judges Monday selected William Essay, 57, of North Huntingdon, to complete the last year of a term left vacant by the resignation of board member Shawn Petrisko in August....
Cops: Former Greensburg man abandoned infant and toddler in failed escape
A former Greensburg man told city police he “panicked” when pulled over Saturday and ran from a traffic stop, abandoning a two-month-old infant and 18-month-old toddler inside his running car. Patrick D. Davis, 31, of New Alexandria, was arraigned Monday on two counts of child endangerment and single counts of...
Orthodox Christians celebrate ChristmasVideo
Holy Ascension of Our Lord Serbian Orthodox Church, which has stood in Youngwood for more than a century, celebrated Christmas on Monday — as Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian calendar marked Christmas on Jan. 7. There is a 13-day difference between the Julian calendar, which was introduced under the...
Fire crews respond to overturned truck leaking diesel fuel in Sewickley Township
Multiple fire departments were summoned to the scene of a fuel spill Monday on Waltz Mill Road in Sewickley Township. Authorities reported a tri-axle truck loaded with gravel overturned on the 900 block of the roadway and was leaking diesel fuel and motor oil. The accident occurred at 1:27 p.m....
‘No regrets’ for Greensburg police in all-out search for ‘missing’ couple
Despite an around-the-clock push to locate a Greensburg-area couple who appeared to vanish late last week becoming all for naught after police discovered the pair was in South Carolina on a “spontaneous vacation,” city police said they have no regrets in how they handled the situation. “It was the result...
Police: Son fatally beat father over cell phone before setting Hempfield house fireVideo
State police believe Douglas F. Novak beat his elderly father to death over a missing cell phone and then set his house on fire in an attempt to cover his tracks, according to court documents. Authorities on Monday charged Novak, 40, with homicide in connection with the Dec. 20 death...
Faded history buried in Potter’s Field at Westmoreland County Prison
The markers are uneven, jutting from the grass like crooked teeth. Each represents a person, who was once loved, but now is identified only by a letter and number. The identification corresponds with a small handwritten notation in a decades-old book stored in the annals of the Westmoreland Manor. It’s...
Westmoreland County Judge Marsili leaves a long career in law, sort of
Judge Anthony Marsili’s career may have started out with him selling ties and shirts at a now-defunct Greensburg department store. But decades later, it’s a black robe that has defined his life’s work. Marsili, 67, of New Kensington, officially retired Sunday after serving 19 years as a common pleas judge...
Next up for Sewickley Twp., repair roads and landslides damaged last year
Landslides and washed out roads have plagued counties across the region since early last year, and Lowber Road in Sewickley Township is not immune. At the intersection of Lowber and Cool Springs roads, a gaping hole has impacted water lines, commute times and garbage pickup for several residents — a...
Veteran music instructor looks to career coda, choral reunion during final year at Derry Area
When Melody Vigo retires from teaching music this spring, her song will be far from over. It will reverberate in the lives of generations of Derry Area School District students she helped launch on their own musical journeys. Music instructors “go into this profession because we love music,” said Vigo,...
Manor Public Library plans programs this month for youngsters
The Manor Public Library on Main Street, Manor, is conducting free several programs for youngsters this month. A storytime for children age 2 and younger, “Tuesday Tales,” will be held on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m., beginning Tuesday, Jan. 8 and continuing until Feb. 12. A Tuesday Tales program at 1...
Parishioners ‘blessing waters’ at Twin Lakes
On a sun-drenched day that was at least 35 degrees warmer than last year’s event, about 40 parishioners of St. Michael’s Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in South Greensburg gathered Sunday for the Blessing of the Waters, the annual tradition in which parishioners throw ice crosses into the upper lake at...
Connellsville pair arrested in connection with East Huntingdon robbery last month
A Connellsville man and woman have been jailed on accusations they were involved in the armed robbery of an East Huntingdon Township store last month. William Nathan Lint, 35, and Melissa Ann Youler, 40, allegedly were in the getaway car when a third person robbed the Dollar General store at...
Missing Greensburg area couple wanted ‘vacation’
The Greensburg area couple that went missing Thursday morning and were found safe in South Carolina on Friday left home because they “needed a spontaneous vacation,” city police said Saturday. Amanda Caldwell, 29, of Greensburg and Joseph Zyvity, 30, of Hempfield were located in the small town of Harleyville and...
Minor injuries when car hits school bus Friday in Indiana County
A Penns Manor school bus carrying 11 students was hit by a car in northern Indiana County on Friday afternoon when the bus was stopped and preparing to unload students in Cherryhill Township, state police at Indiana said. Police said a car driven by Kara N. Paronish, 19, of Northern...
Blairsville man jailed in Derry Township assault case
A Blairsville man is in jail and awaiting trial for allegedly strangling a woman in Derry Township last year. Brian Allan Graham, 39, is accused of punching a woman in the face and choking her during an argument on Murtha Way in the early morning of Nov. 25, state police...
Hempfield’s Paul Kosko announces bid for county commissioner
The man who oversees the computer systems at the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County announced Friday he will run for county commissioner. Paul Kosko, 57, a Republican from Hempfield, told about a dozen supporters who gathered in front of the courthouse he wants to serve as a bipartisan elected official...
$7.5M Ligonier estate owned by former EDMC exec to be auctioned with no reserve
The man who spent four decades assembling one of the nation’s largest for-profit higher education systems from a single art school in Pittsburgh before it was sold for billions of dollars is auctioning off his Ligonier country estate. The rolling 198-acre compound belonging to Robert Knutson and his wife, Miryam,...
Free gun locks available for veterans at Westmoreland County courthouse
Local veterans can obtain free gun locks at Westmoreland County’s veterans affairs department. Supplies of the locks are limited and anyone who wants one should check with the agency to confirm availability at 724-830-3530. Locks are available through a partnership between the Westmoreland County Department of Veterans Affairs and the...
Cops: West Newton man placed infant in car seat carrier in middle of road
A West Newton man was arrested Thursday on police accusations that he placed an infant girl in the middle of a borough street after stealing $70 from the baby’s mother, according to court papers. Nathaniel Scott Bartko, 24, was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $50,000 bail. A...
Trafford woman arrested in Jeannette hit-and-run; pedestrian injured
A Penn Township woman was jailed Friday after police said she hit a man with a car in front of a Jeannette restaurant Thursday night and fled, according to court papers. The pedestrian told police he had parked across the street from Johnny’s Wife’s Place and was walking toward the...
Missing Westmoreland pair found safe in South Carolina
Two Greensburg-area people who had been considered missing have been found in South Carolina, and both are safe, Greensburg police said. Police said credit card purchases allowed them early Friday evening to track down Amanda Caldwell, 29, of Greensburg and Joseph Zyvith, 30, of Hempfield. Neither had been seen or...
Lawyer seeks way for New Stanton teen to plead guilty but mentally ill for killing mother, brother
A New Stanton teenager could plead guilty but mentally ill this year for killing his mother and younger brother, his lawyer said. Jacob Remaley, 16, is considering a resolution to his murder case that would allow him to serve a portion of his sentence in a mental health treatment facility...
House fire reported in Monessen
First-responders battled a house fire in Monessen on Thursday night. The fully involved fire on the corner of Graham Avenue and Dunlap Street was reported shortly before 10:20 p.m. No injuries were reported. Emergency radio broadcasts said the burning one-story brick building was apparently vacant. The Monessen Volunteer Fire Department...
