Westmoreland category, Page 90
Jay Leno laughs off rumors mob involved in his fall down Greensburg hill
One of Jay Leno’s staples when he hosted “The Tonight Show” involved a segment featuring ridiculous headlines. The veteran comedian has found himself in a real-life version of that after a November mishap in Westmoreland County. Before a Nov. 15 show at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg, Leno said he...
Westmoreland happenings: AARP tax services, meeting, more
Fundraisers • The Blessings Mission store at Olive Branch Baptist Church, 296 Route 981, Rostraver, will have a clothing sale from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Jan. 4. • Jeannette American Legion will host bingo at 1 p.m. Jan. 5 at the post, 109 S. Fifth St. Doors open at 11:30...
Crash near Pitt-Greensburg campus disrupts power
Electrical power was expected to be restored about 7 p.m. Wednesday to about 480 West Penn Power customers living near the Pitt-Greensburg campus, according to FirstEnergy Corp.’s power outage map. The cause of the outage was a two-vehicle crash near the campus at about 1:30 p.m., a Westmoreland County Public...
Meet Allegheny and Westmoreland county’s firstborn of 2025: William, Genesis, Shiloh, Luka and Mila
William Sido Scott was born 10 seconds after midnight Wednesday to become the first birth of 2025 in the Pittsburgh area. William, the son of Frank and Evan (Telban) Scott of South Strabane, Washington County, was born at St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon, seconds after his New Year’s Eve...
Greensburg’s Abie & Bimbo’s Pizza closes after 57 years
New Year’s came with a wave of sadness for Doug Mirolli, as he announced the closure of the pizza restaurant he has owned for nearly two decades. Mirolli, 47, of Greensburg has owned Abie & Bimbo’s Pizza along Greensburg’s Highland Avenue since 2007. Known for its Pizzaroni subs and giant...
AHN Cancer Institute Hempfield moves radiation services to Monroeville
Cancer patients of Allegheny Health Network undergoing radiation therapy will no longer be served at AHN Cancer Institute Hempfield. The move, effective Tuesday, means patients will be directed to the cancer center at AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, according to a statement from the health care system. The Hempfield location,...
Greensburg, Hempfield areas see changes in fast food, retail business scene
As fast food chains and other popular retail locations close in the Greensburg-Hempfield area, the region’s business scene will see some changes in the new year. Dick’s Sporting Goods While Westmoreland Mall prepares to welcome a Dick’s Sporting Goods House of Sport, one of the chain’s stores along Route 30...
Solar power battle brewing in North Huntingdon
North Huntingdon could be the site of the next battle over whether a utility-scale solar power farm can be built to comply with municipal zoning ordinances. Bear Park North Huntingdon LLC of Denver is appealing a decision by Thomas McGuire, township zoning officer, denying the solar power company’s request to...
Big Brothers Big Sisters honors strong bonds formed by mentors, youths
Luke Finlay and Jaxon Smartnick may have been born about a quarter of a century apart, but they’re brothers nonetheless. “He’s like the little brother I always wished I had,” Finlay, 32, of Hempfield said of the 8-year-old Greensburg boy he’s mentoring through Greensburg-based Big Brothers Big Sisters of the...
Ligonier area native’s illustrious career complemented by service to community
Ligonier Township native Ralph Kinney Bennett’s work in journalism took him from Greensburg to major newspapers around the nation and a national magazine in a four-decade career — but he never forgot his roots in the Ligonier area. “I just know he loved being a reporter and a writer, and...
Former Greensburg police chief set to be sentenced 1 year after pleading guilty to drug conspiracy
A former Greensburg police chief is set to be sentenced in April after a December hearing was rescheduled. The attorney for Shawn Denning, 43, of Delmont requested more time to prepare for the hearing while in the midst of handling other, unrelated cases, according to court filings this month. The...
Dredging plan to be developed for North Huntingdon lake
North Huntingdon’s Indian Lake Park is in need of cleaning — removing the silt building up in the lake along Clay Pike in the southern end of the township. The North Huntingdon commissioners recently awarded an $18,500 contract to KU Resources Inc. to conduct a survey of the underwater depth...
Resident asks North Huntingdon commissioners to create police oversight committee
A North Huntingdon woman’s proposal for the township commissioners to create a police oversight committee of residents was met with a lukewarm response by township officials. After praising North Huntingdon police officers and North Huntingdon EMS for their response to an emergency involving her son on Christmas Day 2023, Dawn...
Thousands remain without power in Western Pa.
Thousands of people across Western Pennsylvania remained without power Monday afternoon, a day after high winds caused power outages in multiple counties. Late Monday afternoon, Duquesne Light was reporting 6,000 customers without power, according to company spokesman Nick Ruffolo. He said the company sought help from 50 contractors to assist...
Westmoreland happenings: Bingo at civic association
Fundraiser news • Lincoln Heights Civic Association will have bingo from 1 to 3 p.m. Jan. 2 at the center, 42 Millersdale Road, Hempfield. There will be 20 regular games and five quickies. Payout is 50/50. Free coffee. Cost: 25 cents for a three-card board; $1 for quickies. Submissions from...
Condemned Rivertowne Tavern slated for demolition
The Rivertowne Pub & Grille building along Route 30 in North Huntingdon is going to be demolished next year, six years after its owner filed for bankruptcy and closed the tavern and more than three years after the township condemned the building as unsafe and uninhabitable. North Huntingdon has advertised...
Extending sewage to Crabtree would need approval from Hempfield, Salem and Unity
There’s been talk of providing sewage to the Crabtree area for about two decades. The topic came up earlier this month when Salem supervisors discussed a study that explores how to bring public sewage to the neighborhood, which includes parts of Salem, Unity and Hempfield townships. Most residents of the...
Salem residents want proper permits, enforcement for concrete plant
On Dec. 18, Salem Township supervisors voted to approve the development of a storage yard and concrete batch plant for Daniels Concrete on Route 819, according to their meeting agenda. The problem with that, according to neighboring residents, is owner Jim Daniels already has developed the property and has been...
Bird count helps mark the impact of a changing climate
Walking along the Westmoreland Heritage Trail on Saturday morning, counting the birds flying around the woods of the Saltsburg and Slickville areas, Alex Busato said the tally serves a larger purpose than just counting birds one day in the winter. The Christmas Day bird counts in some sections of Westmoreland...
Christmas tree, string light recycling benefits environment, coats for kids project
Live Christmas trees can serve a new purpose when the holiday season is over through recycling at one of several drop-off locations in Westmoreland County. The trees are typically chipped into mulch and returned to nature and used to beautify community parks, said Michael Skapura, executive director of the Westmoreland...
North Irwin seeks to join county SWAT
Like its neighbors of Irwin and North Huntingdon, North Irwin wants to join Westmoreland County’s Special Weapons and Tactics team to provide quicker response in times of emergencies, a borough official said. “If there is ever an emergency requiring SWAT services, it would make sense to have that offered locally,...
Latrobe father in ‘prison of grief’ after son’s drug overdose, he tells judge at drug dealer’s sentencing
Robert J. Verscharen helped his mother pick out flowers every spring and summer and hang suet cakes for birds in the fall. Now, Carole and Robert S. Verscharen mourn their son daily, after he died from a drug overdose nearly four years ago. “I continue to talk with him now...
Extending a life story: Westmoreland coroner’s office joins effort to encourage organ donation
Even though her father isn’t a phone call away anymore, Cassidy Gamble knows his kind nature is still making an impact on others. James Forish became a tissue donor after his Aug. 1 death, allowing his life to continue on in a different sort of way, helping to heal others....
Strong business community, ‘entertailing’ help downtown Irwin thrive
When Irwin native Camille Kovach was looking to move her bookstore from its location in Murrysville this year, she said she never considered moving anywhere but downtown Irwin. Such was her desire to place Completely Booked in downtown Irwin that Kovach leased a storefront on Western Avenue at the bottom...
Taekwondo instructor, federal land specialist considers himself a lifelong student
By day, Jeff Horneman helps protect federal land against encroachment as a member of the Army Corps of Engineers. By night, he helps young people learn to protect themselves as a taekwondo instructor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Brackenridge. “We’re teaching kids discipline and how to grow mentally,” Horneman...
