Jeff Himler stories, Page 114
Derry man arrested after handgun found in bag at Arnold Palmer airport
A Derry man was arrested after being caught with a 9 mm handgun in a carry-on bag Sunday at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Westmoreland County Park Police charged Brandon Edward Emeigh, 31, with prohibited possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm without a permit. He faces a preliminary hearing...
Housing authority to pay Latrobe police for extra coverage at apartments, townhouses
Latrobe police will begin extra patrols at Westmoreland County Housing Authority facilities in the city this week through an agreement with the authority. Under the agreement, approved Monday by city council, the authority will tap grant funding to pay for the extra coverage at two high-rise buildings on Jefferson Street...
Derry Area Middle School club receives Children’s Hospital fundraising award
Derry Area Middle School’s Farkleberry Club recently received the Youth Fundraiser Award from the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation. The club’s annual campaign, during the fall 2019 semester, raised $5,649.73 for the hospital’s Free Care Fund. The fundraising effort has been a tradition at the school for more than four...
Smithton, Scottdale surveyed for non-motorized transportation plan
Online surveys will allow residents of Smithton and Scottdale to provide input for potential improvements to support walking, bicycling and other non-motorized modes of transportation in the communities. The surveys, available through June 30 at smithtonboro.us and scottdaleborough.com, will be used in developing an Active Transportation Plan and a Complete...
Latrobe opens rec facilities, sets start date for farmers market
Many Latrobe recreational facilities operated by the Latrobe-GLSD Parks and Recreation are opening to the public today as the area moves into the relaxed “green” phase of covid-19 restrictions. The Latrobe Farmers Market season will open Tuesday at Legion Keener Park, with precautions in place against potential spread of the...
Maintenance tasks will disrupt traffic on Liberty and Elizabeth bridges
Maintenance work will disrupt traffic patterns Friday morning on the Elizabeth Bridge and Pittsburgh’s Liberty Bridge, PennDOT said. Weather permitting, the Elizabeth Bridge that carries Route 51 across the Monongahela River will close at 9 a.m. so that crews can replace cables. Traffic will be detoured in both directions during...
Hanna’s Town education center, historic site welcome back public; antiques market slated
The Westmoreland Historical Society is reopening its education center Friday, with new health safeguards in place. Guided tours are set to resume Saturday at the society-operated Historic Hanna’s Town site — a re-creation of the county’s first seat of government and court proceedings, dating from 1773. The popular antiques and...
Saint Vincent camp cancellation a blow for local members of Steelers NationVideo
Disappointment, anger and understanding. Local Steelers fans expressed a range of emotions after learning the Steelers won’t hold training camp at Saint Vincent College this summer because of new NFL guidelines prompted by the covid-19 pandemic. Ron Monack, 25, is a 2017 alumnus of the college in Unity and a...
Jeannette firefighters free man pinned under SUV
A man was taken to an area hospital for treatment after he was pinned underneath a car Tuesday night in Jeannette. The man, who was not immediately identified, was working on the sport utility vehicle, on a slight grade, when the jack stand tipped over, according to Jeannette Fire Chief...
Fire official: Burning tires spark blaze that destroys Salem auto repair garageVideo
Flames sparked some tires at a Salem Township auto repair and salvage business Tuesday, destroying the business’ garage. No injuries were reported in the 3 p.m. blaze at Pytlak Auto Wreckers on Story Road. Rena Pytlak, wife of owner Bob Pytlak, said employees were working inside the garage at the...
Latrobe set to reopen municipal offices while following covid-19 precautions
Latrobe plans to reopen its municipal building to the public on June 8, with some restrictions in place to limit the potential spread of covid-19. Those entering the building to visit the administration or code enforcement departments, or the office of state Rep. Joseph Petrarca, will be required to wear...
Fountain, historical marker vandalized in Highland Park
Pittsburgh police are investigating spray-painted graffiti discovered Monday in Highland Park. Reported at about 1:30 p.m., the painted messages were found in and around the park’s fountain and a Highland Park historical marker. Messages also were painted at the intersection of Highland Park Drive and Bunker Hill Street. Arrangements were...
Police search for man who went missing on Pittsburgh’s North Side
Pittsburgh police are searching for a 28-year-old man last seen Sunday evening in the California-Kirkbride neighborhood. Dylan Yourkonis was last seen about 8 p.m. wearing a light blue zip-up jacket with wording on the back shoulders and gray jogging pants, police said. He is 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighs...
State corrections officer charged with planning sex with 14-year-old girl in Fayette
A state corrections officer from Camp Hill is charged with contacting a 14-year-old-girl in Fayette County to set up a sexual encounter. Calvin Hynson, 26, is suspended without pay while awaiting a preliminary hearing Wednesday before District Judge Nathan Henning. He is free after posting $100,000 bond. The State Attorney...
Friends group hopes $25K donation will help Dormont Pool open in 2020 season
The Friends of Dormont Pool organization is donating $25,000 to the borough in the hope the money can be used to open the community’s popular swimming pool this summer, which would mark its 100th anniversary. It remained unclear this week whether the financial contribution would prompt borough officials to reconsider...
Mt. Pleasant Fire Department looks for other fundraising efforts after canceling street fair
Mt. Pleasant Volunteer Fire Department has canceled its week-long June street fair out of concern about holding large gatherings during the covid-19 pandemic. It’s just the second time the annual tradition has been sidelined. The first time was in 1972, with the arrival of Hurricane Agnes. “It was a big...
‘Americans helping Americans’: U.S. Ag Sec. says at Westmoreland Farmers to Families food distribution
A thousand motorists left the Westmoreland Fairgrounds on Wednesday each with more than 20 pounds of fresh produce and a box of dairy products. It was the first of planned twice-monthly distributions of perishable food bought by the federal government. Joy Bryson of Irwin, who hasn’t worked at her job...
Latrobe eyes summer start for rehab of 3 railroad underpasses
Latrobe hopes to move forward this summer with improvement of its three railroad underpasses. City Council on June 8 will consider authorizing consultant Gibson-Thomas Engineering to prepare bid specifications for proposed upgrades where Jefferson, Ligonier and Alexandria streets pass underneath the Norfolk Southern Railway tracks. The project calls for repairing...
Westmoreland tire recycling event meant to help control mosquito numbers
Recycling of old tires is more important than ever now that warm weather has arrived. The rubber rings could become filled with water and serve as a breeding area for disease-carrying mosquitoes. That’s why the Westmoreland Conservation District, which monitors mosquitoes for West Nile Virus infection, is co-sponsoring a tire...
Food box delivery to bring U.S. agriculture secretary to Westmoreland Fairgrounds
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will visit the Westmoreland Fairgrounds on Wednesday morning as pantry staples are delivered to area food banks in response to the covid-19 pandemic. Perdue will be on hand as part of the federal Farmers to Families Food Box Program. The program is purchasing up...
Virtual meetings set to review Southwestern Pa.’s proposed 2021-24 transportation projects
Virtual public meetings are planned to allow citizens to learn about and comment on transportation improvements proposed in Southwestern Pennsylvania through 2024. Since large gatherings are on hold during the covid-19 pandemic, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission will instead livestream public input sessions on the draft 2021-24 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP)....
In person and on the web, local Memorial Day services honor fallen warriors’ sacrificesVideo
Social distancing held in-person attendance at Monday morning’s Sutersville Memorial Day service to little more than 20. But others were able to pay their respects to the town’s service members, past and present, from afar by viewing a livestream of the annual ceremony at the honor roll next to the...
3 taken into custody after alleged assault on Pittsburgh cop
Pittsburgh police used pepper spray to subdue three people accused of assaulting an officer early Sunday in Homewood South. A woman and two boys were arrested following the confrontation that happened before 2:30 a.m. on Collier Street. No one was seriously injured when the woman punched the officer in the...
Fayette County man charged in fatal shooting outside restaurant
A Fairchance man is accused of fatally shooting another man Sunday afternoon at a Fayette County restaurant. State police charged Justin D. Rittacco, 21, with criminal homicide in connection to the shooting that happened before 4:30 p.m. at the Long John Silver’s restaurant on Morgantown Road in South Union. Police...
Derry Area students pen notes of support for residents, staff at care centers
Seventh-graders at Derry Area Middle School missed out on a trip to Cleveland’s Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame because of covid-19 pandemic restrictions. But, as they completed an inter-disciplinary, music-related lesson unit at their homes, they found time between the musical notes to pen written notes to residents and...
