Jeff Himler stories, Page 121
Greater Latrobe agrees to pay contractor $831K to settle elementary construction claims
Greater Latrobe School District will pay Nello Construction $831,000 to settle the general contractor’s claim for money it says the district still owes for construction of Latrobe Elementary School. Both the school board and the Greater Latrobe School Authority, which owns the building, approved the settlement. The agreement ended a...
Spirit Airlines to move operational control center to Tennessee
Spirit Airlines plans to move its operational control center from Miramar, Fla., to Tennessee by early 2021. The airline said the move will involve the transfer of more than 240 jobs at the center, which controls the operations of more than 650 daily flights, including those serving passengers at Pittsburgh...
Westmoreland Historical Society hosts open house for potential volunteers
The Westmoreland Historical Society is looking for volunteers and is inviting those who may be interested in helping out to attend an open house at the society’s headquarters, at Historic Hanna’s Town in Hempfield. The session is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 29 in the History Education...
Pitt-Greensburg will feature readings by pair of Western Pennsylvania authors
Trafford resident Dave Newman and Greene County native Sarah Elaine Smith will read from their works of fiction as part of the Written/Spoken Series on Thursday on the Pitt-Greensburg campus. The program, which is free to the public, begins at 7 p.m. in Powers Hall, Room 100. A book sale...
Officials will review Ligonier Beach renovation costs, solicit public input
The public will have an opportunity to weigh in on plans for reviving the shuttered Ligonier Beach entertainment site during two planned meetings, including one this week. The sessions are set for Wednesday and March 25, each beginning at 7 p.m., in the Fort Ligonier history education center at 200...
Ligonier-area workshop will address farmland preservation
Protecting farmers and farmland will be the focus of a Feb. 25 workshop at the Loyalhanna Watershed Association’s Nimick Family Education Center, along Old Lincoln Highway just west of Ligonier. Scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the workshop is being organized by the watershed group with the Westmoreland County...
Derry Area elementary gets 2nd annual nod for top student achievement, growth
Derry Area School District’s Grandview Elementary School, for the second year in a row, scored top points with the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Division of Federal Programs. Officials recently named Grandview among 94 Distinguished Title I schools in Pennsylvania for 2019, an honor the school also received in 2018. According...
Ligonier Country Market branches out with monthly evening vendors
Ligonier Country Market’s popular Saturday morning array of food and artisan vendor booths is expanding this year — to include a monthly evening market. Partnering with the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce, the market will offer about 40 produce and processed food vendors from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on...
Unity eyes ordinance changes to target blighted properties, storm water discharges
Unity supervisors are looking to step up enforcement of the township’s building and property ordinance to clean up unkempt parcels causing blight in some neighborhoods. The supervisors at their March meeting are expected to consider an ordinance amendment that would allow code enforcement staff to cite and fine property owners...
Lloydsville Fire Department officer steps into Unity Township emergency management roleVideo
A longtime member and officer of the Lloydsville Volunteer Fire Department is the new emergency management coordinator for Unity Township. The township supervisors on Thursday appointed Tom Schultheis Jr. to the coordinator post. Schultheis is the water rescue lieutenant for his fire department, Pete Tenerowicz, who had served as the...
Derry awaits new police dog, training to continue program
A four-footed crime-fighter should once again be patrolling the streets of Derry, if all goes as planned. Derry Police Chief Randy Glick is hoping to drive to Washington, D.C., next week and return with his newest police dog partner — a 9-month-old Malinois pup that is to be flown in...
Greater Latrobe math scores on rise in 7th grade, need boost in other gradesVideo
Greater Latrobe Junior High ranked third out of 20 Westmoreland County middle schools last year, based on students’ state academic assessment results and attendance. Students outperformed state average achievement levels in 2018-19, but district administrators say they’re focusing on more than just standardized test results as they prepare local youth...
Latrobe looks to curb misrouted downtown truck traffic
Latrobe’s public works crew plans to install signs to guide large trucks properly through key downtown intersections to help protect from damage to traffic signals and curbs that soon will be upgraded there. Public works Director Scott Wajdic told city council this week that PennDOT has approved signs that will...
Greater Latrobe School District eyes $30K reduction in electric bill
Greater Latrobe School District expects to slash $30,000 from its annual electric bill if it locks in a price now for 2021-22. The school board, at its Feb. 18 meeting, will consider a one year electricity procurement agreement with Direct Energy, setting a rate of slightly more than 3.7 cents...
Latrobe police schedule 2 more community outreach events
The success of Latrobe Police Department’s inaugural meet-and-greet session in early February prompted two follow-up community outreach dates in the weeks ahead. On Feb. 28, children attending Latrobe Elementary School will have the opportunity to “Lunch with a Cop,” when city officers will share a meal with the school’s 680-some...
Michael Gray returns as Latrobe city manager following successor’s resignation
The tenure of the mayor’s cousin serving as Latrobe city manager didn’t last beyond the honeymoon. City council this week officially accepted the resignation of John Antinori, who served less than three months after the board unanimously hired him in November. On Monday, council again voted unanimously — this time...
Hempfield baby first to benefit from breathing aid, donated milk at Greensburg hospitalVideo
Newborn Ayla Wirth’s arrival early Tuesday and continued presence at Excela Westmoreland Hospital was a blessing for her parents and a major advance on more than one front for the Greensburg facility’s Special Care Nursery. Ayla weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces when she was delivered just before 5 a.m. —...
Pitt-Greensburg charity basketball game will raise money for United Way
The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania will benefit from Pitt-Greensburg’s 12th annual charity basketball game, set for Wednesday. Part of a tradition that has assisted various regional charities for more than a decade, the game that pits a team of students against another featuring faculty and staff will begin at...
Latrobe Parks & Recreation dance celebrates father-daughter bond
February is the month when Valentine’s Day encourages us to reach out to those we love, so it’s the perfect time to celebrate the bond between daughters and the father figures in their lives. Latrobe-GLSD Parks & Recreation will do just that with its inaugural Daddy-Daughter Dance, set for Feb....
Allegheny Intermediate Unit investigates malware attack, avoids ransom payment
Allegheny Intermediate Unit alerted its employees Thursday afternoon to a recent malware attack on its data network but said there’s no initial evidence the perpetrator accessed sensitive information. According to the employee notice, which was made available to the Tribune-Review, an “unknown entity” encrypted portions of the intermediate unit’s network...
Dozens drawn to Latrobe Art Center to meet and greet city copsVideo
More than 50 people stopped at the Latrobe Art Center Wednesday morning for the Latrobe Police Department’s inaugural community outreach event dubbed “Coffee and Cocoa with a Cop.” Police Chief John Sleasman was pleased by the turnout, noting the event was meant to provide citizens a chance to become familiar...
Cupid’s 5K in Latrobe a loving benefit for adults with special needsVideo
Staying fit is important to Stephen Johnson of Jeannette, who relies on a local nonprofit to take him to the gym for regular workouts. New Jersey-based Community Options, which has a branch office in Hempfield, also takes Johnson to medical appointments, to his job helping with housekeeping tasks at a...
Westmoreland Republican viewers take heart from State of the Union address
In the finale of his third State of the Union address this week, President Trump said his administration is making the nation “greater than ever before,” and about a dozen people attending a watch party in North Huntingdon organized by the Westmoreland County chapter of Young Republicans agreed. Among the...
Unity nurse anesthetist begins new legislative advocacy role with state association
Unity resident Jessica Poole is among more than 3,700 nationally board-certified registered nurse anesthetists in the state represented by the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA). If she’s successful in her new role of government relations director for PANA, Pennsylvania will no longer be one of two states that don’t...
Westmoreland job fair slated at Hempfield hotel
Job seekers will have an opportunity to connect with employers Feb. 26 at the Ramada by Wyndham Greensburg Hotel and Conference Center. The WANT (Westmoreland Assists Native Talent) Job and Career Expo will be held 1 to 4 p.m. at the hotel, at 100 Ramada Inn Drive, Hempfield. The annual...

