Jeff Himler stories, Page 75

Greater Latrobe School Board this week approved a proposed $57.7 million budget for the 2021-22 school year with a recommended 1-mill tax hike. But it was a plan for 2022-23 — the beginning of a gradual phase-out of in-person French and German language instruction at district secondary schools — that...

No matter when travelers arrive at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity, the terminal’s new decor always will be in season. On Tuesday, airport officials and staff of GO Laurel Highlands, the destination marketing organization for Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties, unveiled more than 40 large-scale photographic prints installed inside...

Latrobe fire officials are concerned about a recent string of suspicious blazes. City police are investigating as an arson a fire in the early morning of April 19 that destroyed a shed used by the Latrobe Little League organization at Legion Keener Park and about $4,000 worth of league equipment...

Latrobe may hire a consultant to recommend ways the city fire department can increase revenue while cutting costs. Council at its June 14 meeting is expected to consider a study proposal for the department from Fast Attack, a consulting firm headed by Mt. Lebanon Fire Chief Nicholas Sohyda. The firm...

Latrobe will recognize a cost savings after welcoming neighboring Unity back as a partner in a regional recreation organization. City council this week approved an intergovernmental cooperation agreement that reinstates Unity as a member of the Latrobe-GLSD Parks and Recreation organization after an absence of six years. Township supervisors signed...

Ashley Marina Yankello, a 13-year-old singer-songwriter from Kennedy , is releasing an original song Friday, written and recorded in a collaboration with a fellow “America’s Got Talent” alum. The pop/rock song, “Time to Shine,” features vocals by the local teen, who has dropped her surname for her musical career, and...

No one was injured Thursday evening when a tractor-trailer snagged a fiber-optic cable, breaking a utility pole and dropping wires on a Norwin school bus in North Huntingdon, emergency officials said. Irwin Fire Chief Justin Mochar said the truck was turning from Caruthers Lane onto Laurel Avenue around 4:40 p.m....

Having the sensation of touch makes quite a difference for Nathan Copeland. The 35-year-old man from Dunbar, Fayette County, lost the sensation and most of the motion in his limbs at 18 when he broke his neck in a car crash. Since 2014, he’s been participating in a study at...

Greensburg Salem School Board approved a tentative 2021-22 budget that avoids a tax increase while calling for $47 million in spending — but without restoring librarian positions that some residents and at least one board member want included. The budget passed by a 7-1 vote on Wednesday, with Lynna Thomas...

State police are investigating a string of vehicle thefts from three counties, including Westmoreland. Troopers this week searched for a red 2014 Corvette Stingray stolen from the Seward area. It was among three vehicles stolen since Friday night or early Saturday morning in what investigators believe are connected thefts across...

Five of seven cross-filed candidates received apparent nominations for four seats on the Greater Latrobe School Board, according to unofficial results of Tuesday’s primary. All are Unity residents. Incumbents Heidi Kozar and Cathy Sarraf led the Democratic ticket, with respective vote totals of 1,814 and 1,630 — representing about 21%...

State Alternative Fuel Incentive Grants are helping several area companies and municipal entities add green vehicles to their transportation fleets — including the firm that buses students to Greater Latrobe schools. General Manager Jay Kilpatrick said the $300,000 grant Norvelt-based DMJ Transportation received will help cover the extra investment the...

Incumbent Lynn Jobe appears to have won a tight eight-way race for four Greensburg Salem School Board nominations on both party ballots, with all of the precincts reporting. Jobe received 1,513 Democratic votes, followed by 1,478 for Sara Deegan, 1,282 for incumbent Lynna Thomas, 960 for Autumn Jevicky, 831 for...

Republican voters appeared to favor incumbent John Mylant over challenger Doug Murphy in Tuesday’s primary battle for Unity supervisor. Mylant had about 64% of the vote, with all precincts reporting. He had received 1,929 votes to 1,071 for Murphy, according to unofficial returns. Mylant, 58, is completing his second six-year...

Road restrictions and closures are to begin Wednesday in Youngwood and Thursday in Rostraver, according to PennDOT officials. Beginning at 4 a.m. Wednesday and continuing through May 26, crews will pave Route 119 northbound (Third Street) and southbound (Fourth Street), in Youngwood, between Hillis Street and the New Stanton line....

A $1 million operating surplus forecast for Greensburg Salem at the end of the current fiscal year is expected to help the school district avoid a tax increase for 2021-22. But it won’t be enough to avoid dipping into the fund balance to cover next year’s expenses, according to a...

Supervisors in Unity are tapping the township’s first-ever bond issue to finance replacing the municipal building roof, storm sewer improvements and a massive paving program that will include more than 80 roads. At their May meeting, the supervisors awarded a $121,700 contract to TRS Roofing of Williamsburg, the sole bidder,...

Greensburg Salem School District is looking to restore some staff positions under a proposed 2021-22 budget that would not raise real estate taxes. The board will consider the tentative $47 million budget at its May 19 meeting. Business manager J. R. Dzurica said this week that the budget will allow...

Cuts in programs at Greensburg Salem School District are one of the focal points of a primary campaign where three incumbents and five challengers are battling for four school board seats. Running are incumbents Lynn Jobe, Jeffrey Metrosky and Lynna Thomas along with Sara Deegan, Desmond Grace, Autumn Jevicky, Emily...

The vice president of the Greensburg Salem school board and a challenger are verbally sparring before Tuesday’s primary election. Jeffrey Metrosky, the incumbent, is pushing back at campaign materials attributed to Citizens Concerned About Education in Greensburg Salem. The flier endorses challenger Autumn Jevicky while criticizing Metrosky for voting in...

Occupants were evacuated safely Wednesday night as crews battled flames in a two-story building in Duquesne, WPXI-TV reported. However, some pets may have perished, the station said. The two-alarm fire was reported just before 10 p.m. in the 400 block of Grant Avenue, according to an Allegheny County 911 dispatch...

A man was handcuffed and taken in an ambulance from the scene of a SWAT standoff Wednesday night in Baldwin Township, according to WPXI-TV. According to the station, township police said a mental health warrant was issued for the man, who barricaded himself in an apartment on McNeilly Road after...

Pittsburgh International Airport’s cargo amenities and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport’s passenger terminal got a boost Wednesday from PennDOT grants totaling more than $2.8 million. The bulk of the funding, $2.4 million, will assist the Allegheny County Airport Authority’s plan to develop expanded air cargo facilities at Pittsburgh International, including buildings...