Jeff Himler stories, Page 106
Latrobe police get Taser, training funds, seek grant for body camerasVideo
Latrobe police are working to upgrade their equipment and training with the help of donations and grants. City council this week authorized application to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for a $33,530 grant to support purchase of body-worn cameras for the police department. City Manager Michael Gray said...
Veterans Affairs: Direct deposit, periodic review recommended to get most out of benefits
U.S. Veterans Affairs officials are urging those who receive veterans benefits to sign up for electronic deposits to avoid extra fees and lower the risk of identity theft. During a dial-in virtual meeting Wednesday, Under Secretary for Benefits Paul Lawrence told former military members in Pennsylvania to consider switching from...
Greater Latrobe decision to keep schools open amid covid-19 cases draws flak
Greater Latrobe School District’s decision to continue in-person instruction while reporting new covid-19 cases among students has prompted an email response protesting the decision. The anonymous email, signed “The Parents of the Greater Latrobe School District,” was sent to Superintendent Georgia Teppert on Wednesday. It charged that administrators failed to...
Latrobe sets stormwater fee payment schedule
Latrobe residents will have about three months to pay the city’s new annual stormwater management fee after they receive their bill at the beginning of each year. City Council on Tuesday set the billing cycle for the fee that is meant to support Latrobe’s efforts to comply with a state...
Missing person sought in Bolivar area
State police and firefighters were searching for a missing person late Tuesday night in the Bolivar area. According to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher, police called for assistance in the search shortly after 9 p.m. Bolivar firefighters responded, along with the county Rough Terrain Support Unit Team. The search remained...
Greater Latrobe reports new coronavirus cases, continues full-time classroom instruction
Greater Latrobe School District buildings are remaining open for full-time, in-person instruction despite new positive coronavirus cases reported at the senior high and at Latrobe Elementary School. Nine students have tested positive for the coronavirus since the school year began on Aug. 30, Superintendent Georgia Teppert told the school board...
Penn-Trafford High School to reopen despite increase in coronavirus cases
Penn-Trafford High School is set to reopen as planned on Wednesday despite an increase in coronavirus cases at the school from two to five. District Superintendent Matthew Harris reported Tuesday that three students at the high school had tested positive for the coronavirus, in addition to two other positive cases...
Metzgar Elementary closed amid 5 coronavirus cases at 2 Greensburg Salem schools
James H. Metzgar Elementary School in Salem is closed through Friday, after three students tested positive for the coronavirus. They are among five positive cases among Greensburg Salem students that occurred over 14 days and were announced late last week in a letter to parents posted online by Superintendent Gary...
3 Hempfield Area High students positive for coronavirus; school, athletics shut down
Hempfield Area High School is closed Tuesday through Friday after three students tested positive for the coronavirus. School administrators were notified of the positive cases over the weekend, according to a letter to parents from Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, posted Sunday on the district website. During the five-day closure, all students...
Loyalhanna Watershed art auction features online bidding, in-person viewing
Loyalhanna Watershed Association is going online with its 36th annual art auction, a major fundraiser for the organization based near Ligonier. The benefit event, slated Saturday through Oct. 24, features 24 nationally known and local artists. In recent years, it has drawn close to 200 people to the Latrobe Country...
Future of field in question for Derry youth soccer programVideo
Five-year-old Sawyer Beggs and Dillon Morrow, 15, are both second-generation youth soccer players from Derry Township. Their families would like them, and generations to come, to continue playing the sport at the local Paskovitch Field. To ensure that end, the Derry Area Youth Athletic Association soccer program is seeking donations...
Jacobs Creek Watershed group moves to historic West Overton, begins stream projects
Jacobs Creek Watershed Association is partnering with West Overton Village, taking up residence at one of the historic site’s restored buildings while working to improve a stream on the property. The watershed group in August moved its headquarters from an office in the Scottdale Borough building to a former worker’s...
Unity man steps down as township auditor, takes on code enforcement post
Unity Township is looking for a replacement auditor after a member of that elected board resigned and took on a new role as the township’s part-time code enforcement officer. The township supervisors on Thursday accepted the resignation of Greg Fumea from the three-member board of auditors and hired him to...
State awards $42K for Ligonier Beach redo; accessibility improvements proposed
Ligonier Township was awarded a $42,500 state grant toward the cost of renovating the former Ligonier Beach swimming pool and restaurant as a recreational site. “It’s nice that we got this funding, but it wasn’t the total amount we wanted,” said Terry Carcella, township manager. While township supervisors have yet...
Mt. Pleasant set to increase weekly in-person instruction from 2 days to 4
Mt. Pleasant Area students next month will be able to double the number of days they receive in-person instruction from district teachers. The school board voted at a special Wednesday meeting to modify the district’s hybrid instructional model, allowing students to report to classrooms four days per week instead of...
Interstate 70 ramp to close, part of improvements between Yukon, Madison exits
Westbound motorists looking to leave Interstate 70 at the Yukon exit will have to jump off earlier, at the neighboring Madison exit, when reconstruction of the Yukon off-ramp begins Monday . The ramp in South Huntingdon is slated to close at 12:01 a.m. and is expected to remain closed through...
Mountain View Elementary student tests positive for coronavirus
A student at Mountain View Elementary School tested positive for coronavirus, but the school will remain open for in-person classes. Greater Latrobe School District Superintendent Georgia Teppert reported the positive test result in a letter to district parents posted on the district website. She said district officials were notified of...
United Way volunteers rein in chores at Donegal Township riding centerVideo
Amy Ranker rolled up her sleeves and got in her Tom Sawyer mode Monday morning to apply white paint to some fence posts bordering a Donegal Township field. By the afternoon, the Hempfield resident was inside an adjoining barn, dusting down the stall of Bria, a 21-year-old Norwegian Fjord mare....
Loyalhanna Watershed Association plans 2-day Oktoberfest
Area craft breweries and distilleries will join a mix of food offerings and live music Friday and Saturday for the Loyalhanna Watershed Association’s first Oktoberfest. Based at the Watershed Farm, on the western outskirts of Ligonier, the event is taking the place of the organization’s Brewfest, introduced last summer but...
Derry Area OKs full-time return to secondary classrooms, cites rise in course failures
Students at Derry Area’s middle school and high school could return to classrooms full-time this month, according to a revised health and safety plan approved by the school board. The board voted 5-2 Thursdayto provide in-person instruction for secondary students five days per week, beginning Oct. 12, or on the...
Greater Latrobe to push back start of school day for elementary students
Greater Latrobe elementary students soon will be able to sleep in a little longer. Superintendent Georgia Teppert announced student arrival times at the district’s three elementary schools will be pushed back by about 40 minutes, beginning Oct. 12. Elementary buses have been arriving between 8:20 a.m. and 8:40 a.m., Teppert...
United Way expands regional volunteer efforts with Week of Caring
Volunteers are needed more than ever while area organizations cope with the challenges of the covid-19 pandemic. The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania has responded by organizing its first Week of Caring, running through Oct. 10. More than 700 volunteers have signed up to participate in 75 in-person and virtual...
Derry Area to weigh full-time return to secondary classrooms
Derry Area School Board is expected to consider a full-time return to in-class instruction for secondary students at its meeting tonight. Superintendent Eric Curry said his proposal to the board is based on the advice of local medical professionals who also have provided guidance for neighboring Greater Latrobe School District....
Biden visit stirs pro, con sentiments among Westmoreland residentsVideo
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign swing through Westmoreland County this week elicited strong opinions from local residents — both those who want to see a change in the White House and others who want President Donald Trump to get four more years. Jeff Leonard came to Biden’s last stop...
New overlay code will trigger 10-digit dialing in 814 area
Pennsylvania’s 814 area code, the largest geographically, is getting a second overlay code, to ensure a sufficient supply of phone numbers for residents and businesses there. The new code — 582 — eventually will require dialing a 10-digit number to reach a party in the large area that extends from...
