Jeff Himler stories, Page 115

Greater Latrobe School Board found the district’s new superintendent close to home, promoting Assistant Superintendent Georgia Teppert on Friday to take on the top administrative post beginning Aug. 1. Teppert has filled several administrative roles since joining the district 20 years ago as assistant senior high principal. “I’ve had the...

Unity Township is moving forward with a new game plan for construction of its public works garage while officials await a revised timeline for completion of the delayed project. Work on the building, which will replace one destroyed in a 2017 arson, came to a halt when 42 wooden roof...

Latrobe Municipal Authority sewer customers will see an increase in their bills this fall as the authority moves forward with planned rate revisions that were put on hold by a legal dispute with the Unity Township Municipal Authority. According to information posted on the authority website, the billing changes include...

Kids in Unity could gain another place to have summertime fun if the township receives a state grant to update a deteriorating playground in the Charter Oak housing plan. Unity supervisors this week agreed to cooperate with the Charter Oak Civic Association to apply for the project grant and to...

Giant Eagle’s plan to relocate and expand its Unity GetGo store moved a step forward this week. Township supervisors declared the convenience store and gas station an approved conditional use at the new site at Route 30 and Giffin Drive. At a 4 p.m. hearing Tuesday , the supervisors will...

Latrobe Municipal Authority has been awarded a $2.69 million state loan to replace aging water lines in areas of downtown Latrobe where PennDOT plans to improve several intersections next year. The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority on Wednesday approved the loan for a 20-year term with a 1% interest rate. The...

Fans of locally crafted libations can enjoy samples of spirits Saturday in Greensburg while raising money to help the homeless. “Tasting the Spirits” will be held 4-7 p.m. at Major Stokes, 108 W. Pittsburgh St. Area craft distilleries — including Country Hammer Moonshine, which has a location in North Huntingdon,...

Two Western Pennsylvania servicemen killed last year in Afghanistan will be honored during the second annual Fallen Heroes Run, set for Aug. 10 in Hempfield. Beginning at 8:15 a.m. at the Z&M Harley-Davidson dealership on Route 30, the motorcycle run will pay tribute to Army Sgt. Jason McClary, 24, an...

A cat named Pickles is being cared for by Pittsburgh’s Humane Animal Rescue after her leg was injured by firecrackers and had to be amputated. The rescue organization posted on Facebook Tuesday about the case of animal cruelty, which it discovered when good Samaritans brought the 3-year-old cat to the...

Faith Forward Ministries, a Latrobe nonprofit that offers counseling services, will have to wait until August to see if city officials will allow it to expand its offices to a residential section of Depot Street. Martha Faust, who heads the faith-based organization’s board, told the city zoning hearing board Tuesday...

Sandy Schweikarth kept her cool and took charge during emergencies that would cause others to panic. Even when she wasn’t on duty as a licensed practical nurse, others benefited from her know-how and skills. When daughter Shana Hudson was young, Schweikarth, though in the late stages of pregnancy with a...

Local expert Eric Wible will discuss the history and significance of Civil War photography in a July 25 program at Historic Hanna’s Town. The presentation is set for 7 p.m. in the Westmoreland Historical Society’s History Education Center at 809 Forbes Trail Road, Hempfield. It is linked to an ongoing...

Add Keystone State Park to the sites in Southwestern Pennsylvania occupied by the resurgent bald eagle. Park naturalist Jean H. Keene has seen two eagles in the Derry Township park since last year and recently led a group of 11 registered participants on a paddling excursion on the park’s central...

Live music, a petting zoo and activities for kids are planned at the annual Summerfest, scheduled for Aug. 3 at an equine-assisted therapy center in Cook Township. The event is set to run from noon to 7 p.m. at the Ligonier Therapeutic Center, 24 Stom Road. Horse rides and hay...

A section of Skidmore Road in Hempfield is closed while PennDOT crews replace a 36-inch pipe that crosses beneath it. The closure is in place between Mourning Dove Lane and Tall Oaks Trail, tentatively through July 19. Traffic is being detoured along Reamer Avenue (Route 819), Main Street (Route 119),...

A motorcycle rider was reported to be injured when the bike struck a deer at about 11:45 p.m. Wednesday on Route 30 in Unity, a Westmoreland County 911 dispatch supervisor said. The extent of the rider’s injuries wasn’t immediately known, the supervisor said. Firefighters from Marguerite, Pleasant Unity and Youngstown...

A 27-year-old man was taken to an area hospital after a shooting Wednesday evening in West Mifflin, according to Allegheny County police. County police are investigating the incident reported at about 10:50 p.m. at the Mon-View Heights housing complex on Midway Drive, a county 911 dispatch supervisor said. Additional details...

Country music star Craig Morgan will headline the 45th annual Fraternal Order of Police Rhododendron Lodge No. 33 Country Music Show July 14 in Indiana County. The concert begins at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Indiana County Fairgrounds in White Township’s Mack Park. The Andy Davis Band of Southwestern Pennsylvania...

A dinner Sunday at a Latrobe church will show appreciation for and benefit the city’s police department and one of its companies of volunteer firefighters. The event is open to the public and set for 11:45 a.m., following the 10:30 a.m. worship service at Bethany United Methodist Church, 2415 Laveen...

The left-hand westbound lane of Interstate 70 was blocked Wednesday night in Rostraver following a two-vehicle crash, a Westmoreland County 911 dispatch supervisor said. The collision, between a passenger vehicle and a construction vehicle, occurred just before 10:30 p.m. beneath the Route 51 overpass, according to the supervisor. The supervisor...

Ligonier Township’s loss is Latrobe’s gain, as Roxanne Shadron is set to join the city staff Wednesday as the new director of finance and administration and city council secretary. Shadron resigned as finance director for Ligonier Township to accept the job in nearby Latrobe. City Council approved her appointment by...

A section of Route 981 in Loyalhanna Township will be closed for a bridge replacement project beginning at 7 a.m. Wednesday. That section of road, also known as Avonmore Road, will be closed between Fourth Avenue and Washington Street (Route 286). A marked detour will be posted directing motorists along...