Westmoreland Courthouse dome lit blue and yellow to show support for Ukraine

The golden dome atop the Westmoreland County Courthouse will continue to be lit in blue and yellow, a public showing of support for Ukraine.

The new bicolor palette is designed to mirror the Ukrainian flag, said county Commissioner Sean Kertes.

“Westmoreland County stands with the people of Ukraine as they courageously battle to protect their democratic government from a lawless and brutal Russian invasion,” Kertes posted on Facebook.

He said his office received numerous calls this week from residents asking how the county can show support for Ukraine. A decision was made to do so through the courthouse’s LED lighting system installed in 2019. Commissioners Doug Chew and Gina Cerilli Thrasher also signed off on the symbolic lighting scheme, which started Monday.

It is a work in progress, according to Public Works Director Greg McCloskey. The initial attempt gave the dome a purplish hue.

The lighting is controlled through a computer software program that is manually adjusted based on observations from an inside window and out on Greensburg streets.

“Blue and yellow is something we’ve never done before,” McCloskey said.

Over the last two years, the courthouse dome has traditionally been lit red, white and blue to honor front-line workers during the coronavirus pandemic. It periodically appears in different colors to designate special occasions.

It has been blue for National Human Trafficking Awareness Month (January), purple for National Recovery Month (September) and red for Light the Night for Fallen Firefighters (October).