Jeff Himler stories, Page 111

A sensory wall for special needs students, elementary cultural assemblies and updated computers are among equipment and programs at Latrobe schools that are receiving a collective $106,000 boost through grants from the Greater Latrobe Partners in Education Foundation. The school board this week accepted foundation (GLPIEF) funding for the current...

The Lincoln Highway Experience museum will mark the 79th anniversary of the opening of the Pennsylvania Turnpike with the Oct. 1 presentation, “The Impact of the PA Turnpike – the Lincoln Highway meets the Superhighway.” The 7 p.m. program will include a panel discussion and viewing of historic images at...

UPS plans to hire 770 seasonal workers at its New Stanton facility for this year’s holiday shipments, matching last year’s hiring level. An increased volume of packages is expected to stretch from November through January — prompting hiring of about 100,000 seasonal UPS workers nationwide, mirroring the 2018 holiday ramp-up....

Hempfield could get a new scenic park and conservation area if the Westmoreland Land Trust buys a hilltop farm in the northern part of the township. After several years of negotiations, the trust has reached an agreement to purchase the 96-acre property, pending completion of due diligence and raising the...

A former Tulsa, Okla., woman has pleaded guilty to coercing a minor to travel from Ohio to Pennsylvania to engage in prostitution. Shelby Summer Brown, 28, entered a guilty plea to a count of coercion and a count of conspiracy in the case before U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon in...

A former Belle Vernon man was sentenced to two additional years behind bars after Pittsburgh police arrested him on drug-related charges — the same day he began a supervised release from prison. U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence Thursday on Eric Seighman, 36, in Pittsburgh. Seighman previously was...

Unity Township is considering changes to its zoning ordinance to support development in the vicinity of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport and to address residential properties where “short-term rentals” are offered. The supervisors on Thursday authorized the township’s planning and zoning staff and solicitor Gary Falatovich to initiate the months-long process...

Unity officials are seeking a competitive community development block grant to improve a walkway surrounding the lake adjacent to the township office building. If approved through Westmoreland County, the $161,000 grant would be used to apply asphalt paving to the path that surrounds three sides of the lake, said township...

Lamb raised in Unity Township, on the farm of John and Sukey Jamison, has appeared on the menus of such top chefs as Anne Quatrano of Bacchanalia in Atlanta and the late Jean-Louis Palladin of the Watergate Hotel’s Jean-Louis Restaurant in Washington, D.C. The Jamison Farm owners will discuss their...

A former Pittsburgh man has pleaded guilty to a federal heroin charge stemming from a 2017 arrest at the site of an alleged fentanyl lab in the city’s Lincoln-Lemington section. Dezmen Hicks, 33, formerly of Inwood Street, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin Tuesday...

A former Port Vue man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his role in orchestrating shipments of heroin from New Jersey to Allegheny County in 2015. In the sentencing announced Wednesday in Pittsburgh, U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Bissoon also ordered Jarran Bell, 38, to complete...

Latrobe residents will have new procedures to follow this autumn for removing fallen leaves from their yards. In past seasons, residents bagged leaves for collection by the city’s contracted waste hauler. This year, city crews will collect the leaves, using Latrobe’s new vacuum equipment, and residents will have options for...

The CEO of the Eye and Ear Foundation of Pittsburgh will visit Latrobe later this month to provide an update on local research that is under way to combat macular degeneration and other conditions that can lead to vision loss. Lawton Snyder, who is originally from Greensburg, will present a...

The Westmoreland County Airport Authority has a contractor in place to widen the runway at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, but work on the project can’t proceed until federal funding is approved. The authority Tuesday awarded an $11.9 million contract for the widening project to Golden Triangle Construction, contingent on the...

Two men who have penned books on Civil War topics will be featured in a series of local author presentations this fall at Adams Memorial Library in Latrobe. Derry resident Alfred C. Young III will speak about his book, “Lee’s Army During the Overland Campaign,” at 6 p.m. Tuesday in...

Westmoreland Conservation District will head into the woods, figuratively, Thursday as it presents its annual conservation awards to a local couple who are reviving wooded acreage on Chestnut Ridge and to a nonprofit organization that supports such efforts. Lewis and Kate Lobdell will be honored as the 2019 Conservation Farmers...

Leann Muchnok Gisvold was strongly attuned to her Croatian roots, a bond she expressed in song. Following the example of her parents, the Derry Township native spent many years performing with the Tamburitzans, a Pittsburgh-based group named after a stringed folk instrument played in Croatia and neighboring Eastern European countries....

A bicycle poker run, a 5K foot race, a car cruise and a parade are among the highlights of Sunday’s annual Hoodlebug Festival in Homer City. An 11:45 a.m. flag-raising ceremony at the Homer City fire hall signals the start of many festival activities, taking place through 7 p.m. at...

Recent changes in many curbside recycling programs will be the focus of the next Green Gathering, set for Sept. 22 in downtown Greensburg. As with the inaugural gathering in June, this second meeting will provide an opportunity for environmentally-minded citizens to network in an informal setting. There is no admission...

“A Promise of Hope” is the theme for Westmoreland County’s 13th annual Suicide Awareness and Prevention Walk, slated for Saturday at Twin Lakes Park near Greensburg. The theme underlines the importance of “being a rainbow in somebody’s life,” said Rachel Cunningham Ravis, who is coordinator for Ray of Hope, a...