Jeff Himler stories, Page 103

A security guard was sent home Friday night after failing an alcohol test at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo said the guard failed an alcohol breath test he was administered after one of two other guards who were on duty noticed indications of...

Westmoreland County Community College’s former Laurel Education Center may soon have a new owner after sitting idle for more than four years. WCCC trustees this month agreed to sell the shuttered Latrobe building to SimonCRE, a commercial real estate development firm based in Scottsdale, Ariz., for $410,000. That’s $10,000 more...

Patrons connecting to the internet at many Westmoreland County libraries may have noticed a marked improvement in download speed in recent months — and for good reason. Beginning in July and ending this month, 16 community libraries gradually gained fiber-optic broadband service through a project initiated by the Westmoreland Library...

A 17-year-old boy is in stable condition Saturday morning after a shooting Friday night in Wilkins Township. Police responded to the 100 block of Ivy Street at 8:47 p.m. Jan. 24 and discovered the teen with a gunshot wound to the right shoulder and lower right abdomen. Allegheny County detectives...

Amity Packing Company has recalled 2,020 pounds of raw ground beef that may be contaminated with plastic. Labeled for Pre Brands, the 1-pound, vacuum-packed packages of 95% lean ground beef were produced on Jan. 6 by the Chicago-based company and were distributed to retailers in nine states including Pennsylvania, Ohio,...

Administrators at Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center are taking the next step toward a proposed renovation of the 43-year-old building — by working on a plan to pay for the project, which could cost more than $5.8 million. The center’s Joint Operating Committee this week authorized administrative staff to...

The Delmont Walmart store was temporarily evacuated shortly after 5:30 p.m. Friday as area firefighters investigated an odor of natural gas. Crews traced the odor to a small leak in a gas line that supplies a roof heating unit near the store’s pharmacy, Forbes Road Fire Chief Bob Rosatti said....

A fire that consumed an historic Venetian performance venue sparked the creation of an atmospheric tale featured in the latest edition of the Westmoreland Library Network’s One Book, One Westmoreland book discussion program. Area residents are invited to stop at one of several county libraries to pick up a copy...

Unity Township supervisors will consider plans for a recycling center near Pleasant Unity at a special meeting on Tuesday. Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling ended recycling at its headquarters along Route 30 in Unity, at Innovative Park, as it pursues a planned move of the operations to a larger facility along...

Derry Township plans to buy a section of property from the Eastern Westmoreland County Career and Technology Center to develop a stormwater retention pond. The pond is the first of three the township supervisors have proposed to help control storm runoff that has contributed to flooding in recent years. “It’s...

Greater Latrobe School District locked in a partial price for natural gas that will save the district thousands of dollars over three years. The school board this week approved an agreement with Direct Energy to supply 30% of the district’s gas needs from Sept. 1, 2020, through Aug. 31, 2023....

Greater Latrobe School District and state police are investigating an alleged hazing incident involving the junior high wrestling team. Superintendent Georgia Teppert said Tuesday she couldn’t comment on specifics of the investigation because of student privacy and personnel issues. The district is “taking all appropriate actions necessary,” has met with...

Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling has closed its Unity recycling center until it moves to a proposed new location in the township, near Pleasant Unity. In the meantime, local residents have other options for recycling items such as paper and appliances containing Freon, but there are no nearby substitutes for the...

A new Dollar General store could be coming to Route 30 in Unity. Next week, the township zoning hearing board is scheduled to hear from developers of the store proposed along the eastbound lanes of the highway at Smith’s Hill Road, just east of Beatty Crossroads. At 6 p.m. Jan....

Pittsburgh police are investigating a shooting near the Woods Run section of the city that sent a victim to a local hospital early Thursday. The male victim, who walked into the hospital about 1 a.m., told Zone 1 officers he was leaving a bar in the 2600 block of California...

Unity resident Cathy Sarraf finished just out of the running in November’s election of five Greater Latrobe school directors, but she joined the board this week as an appointed member. With Eric Hauser absent, the school board voted 6-1 Tuesday to appoint Sarraf to serve the two years remaining in...

A journey of discovery from Westmoreland County to the Emerald Isle is less than a year away, in the first-ever foreign travel package offered by the Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce. There is no limit to the number of chamber and community members who can sign on for...

A Greater Latrobe ninth-grader’s sharp eyes and caring response helped free a white-tailed deer trapped in Unity this past fall. Pennsylvania Game Commission officers surprised Parker Williams on Friday when they arrived at her school and presented her with a certificate, recognizing the initiative she took on Nov. 4 to...

Arnold Palmer Regional Airport saw a 3% increase in its passenger total last year while preparing for runway improvements that officials say could open the door for more commercial flights. The combined number of passengers boarding and disembarking from Spirit Airlines flights at the Unity airport in 2019 increased by...

Rock ‘n roll had its first major impact about 65 years ago, with the release of the Elvis Presley single “That’s All Right (Mama).” Also in 1954, doctors began a mass trial vaccination of children against polio and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. That...

A nonprofit that organized solar power co-ops in Allegheny and more than a half dozen other Western Pennsylvania counties scheduled three informational sessions for prospective members of a similar co-op that is forming in Westmoreland County. Solar United Neighbors of Pennsylvania set the first meeting for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at...

Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling in 2019 collected more than 2 million pounds of televisions and other electronics along with 6,000 tires. This year, the Unity Township-based nonprofit should be able to handle an even larger volume. A planned move to a new drop-off recycling center near Pleasant Unity will increase...