Jeff Himler stories, Page 84
PennDOT video previews plans for reconfigured I-70/Route 51 interchange
PennDOT has released a video detailing plans for improvements at the Interstate 70/Route 51 interchange while preparing for the possible start of construction on the project in 2022. The project will widen cramped lanes on a 1.7-mile segment of the interstate in Sewickley while replacing the existing cloverleaf interchange with...
Latrobe-area chamber bestows annual awards on community-minded volunteers, organizations
Latrobe resident Ed Kubicek knows his city’s downtown streets and parks like few others. Several times each week he makes his rounds through the community, clearing litter from sidewalks and weeds from landscaped areas. Jodee Harris has drawn upon her varied talents to whip up everything from cupcakes to an...
Former plastics industry executive relishes new gig heading Westmoreland Cleanways
Mike Skapura has gone from making items to recycling them. On Sept. 2, he took on the role of executive director of nonprofit Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling in Unity after more than 26 years working at Latrobe’s Westmoreland Plastics plant. “It was a big change going from a for-profit industry...
Roads set to close in Allegheny Township, West Newton; reopening delayed in Mt. Pleasant Township
Road closures are scheduled to begin next week in Allegheny Township and West Newton for maintenance and improvement projects. According to PennDOT, weather permitting, a section of White Cloud Road in Allegheny Township will close beginning Monday for roadway reconstruction and drainage work. The closure will be in effect between...
5 nominees, failed primary candidate vie for 4 Greater Latrobe School Board seats
Five nominated candidates are vying for four seats on the Greater Latrobe School Board. A sixth hopeful, who fell short in primary voting, is seeking a second chance through a write-in campaign. Listed on Tuesday’s ballot are three incumbents — Republican nominee Bill Palmer, Democratic nominee Cathy Sarraf and Heidi...
Field of 7 in race for 4 seats on Greensburg Salem School Board
Three incumbents and four challengers are in the running for four seats on the Greensburg Salem School Board. Tuesday’s ballot includes Democratic nominees Sara Deegan, Autumn Jevicky and Lynna Thomas, who is seeking a second term on the board. Republican nominees include Jeffrey Metrosky, who is the board vice president...
Solicitor: Move from city disqualifies Democratic nominee in Latrobe mayoral race
Sandra McCune, one of two Latrobe mayoral candidates listed on the Nov. 2 ballot, is ineligible because she has moved out of town, according to the city’s solicitor. That leaves Eric J. Bartels, a city councilman who is serving in the appointed role of deputy mayor, as the sole valid...
Homer City man arrested for possession of suspected opioids, crystal meth
A Homer City man is charged with drug- and gun-related violations after he was found in possession of suspected opioids and methamphetamine Tuesday in Indiana County. State police at the Indiana County station charged Brian Scott Davenport, 31, with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver controlled substances and...
Pittsburgh police’s graffiti squad seeks suspect in Bloomfield, East End vandalism
An Upper Saint Clair man wanted on a felony criminal mischief charge is accused of vandalizing Pittsburgh sites with graffiti. Pittsburgh police graffiti squad detectives are asking for the public’s help in locating Michael Coliane, 23, for whom a warrant has been issued. Coliane is accused of vandalizing Bloomfield’s Exercise...
Officials identify truck driver killed in crash with train in Jefferson Hills
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the man killed in a Jefferson Hills truck-train crash Monday as a West Virginia resident. Michael Peters, 64, of Rock Cave, was dead at the scene along Route 51, after his dump truck collided with a Wheeling and Lake Erie train. The...
Pittsburgh police: Human remains found in woods near Crawford-Roberts neighborhood
Pittsburgh police are investigating human remains discovered Thursday afternoon near the city’s Crawford-Roberts neighborhood. Officers responded at about 2 p.m. to the 1900 block of Colwell Street and were directed by a work crew to the remains in wooded area. Detectives with the Mobile Crime Unit processed the scene. Additional...
Pittsburgh emergency crews recover body found in Ohio River
Pittsburgh police, emergency medical crews and River Rescue responded at about 2:45 p.m. Thursday when a body was spotted in the Ohio River. According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, a survey crew found the body near the old state penitentiary. River Rescue took the body to its North Shore boathouse for...
Unity sewage authority sues over appointment to Latrobe authority, 199-year agreement
Unity Township Municipal Authority this week filed two civil suits in Westmoreland County — protesting in one of them how an appointee was chosen to represent the township authority on the board of the Latrobe Municipal Authority. In the other suit, the Unity authority (UTMA) is challenging the 199-year length...
Westmoreland Hospital Auxiliary marks 125 years of financial, volunteer support
The Women’s Association of Westmoreland Regional Hospital purchased a new sewing machine in 1906. By the 1920s, the volunteer group’s cutting and sewing committees were turning out more than 900 garments a week for use at Greensburg’s hospital. Fast forward a century, and you’d find the renamed Westmoreland Hospital Auxiliary...
Latrobe fire department study suggests closing stations, changing chief selection process
Latrobe Volunteer Fire Department could find itself with two fewer companies, dropping from five to three, if city officials implement recommendations of a new study. The reduction is necessary to eliminate redundant equipment and help the department become “sustainable for as long as possible,” said Nick Sohyda, chief of the...
Greater Latrobe foundation boosts district education with $157K in grants
Greater Latrobe Partners in Education Foundation presented more than $157,000 in grants this month to the school district, boosting a range of educational efforts including technology courses, professional development for faculty and help for students with special needs. The grants are part of more than $6 million the foundation has...
Pole problems delay wrap-up of traffic signal upgrades in Greensburg, Hempfield
PennDOT has completed most of the work on updating 18 traffic signals in Greensburg and Hempfield, but more work is needed at the intersection of Main and Otterman in downtown Greensburg. Work also is continuing on upgrading traffic signals along a stretch of Route 30 in Hempfield and Jeannette. The...
Police, first responders vie for votes in K-9 grant contest
K-9 units in Westmoreland County are among those seeking votes from supporters in a competition for $5,000 grants. Aftermath, a national company that specializes in bio-hazard remediation, is offering the police dog grants to U.S. law enforcement agencies or first responders who receive the most votes in categories determined by...
Police: Road rage leads to confrontation at Latrobe gas station
Latrobe police are investigating a road rage incident involving two motorists who drove into town Thursday evening. Police Chief John Sleasman said it isn’t clear what started the conflict, which began as the two vehicles were on Route 981, heading south into the city from Derry Township. “They got angry...
PennDOT set to pave in Hempfield, Cook, Donegal and Mt. Pleasant townships
PennDOT is conducting the following work on roads in Westmoreland County this week, weather permitting:Milling and paving will take place on Route 66 (Main Street) and Roseytown Road in Hempfield.Patching will take place on Guffey Road in Sewickley and Interstate 70 West.Crack sealing will take place on Route 30 in...
Greater Latrobe: Note from chiropractor won’t suffice for student mask exemption
Greater Latrobe students who seek a medical exemption from the state mandate requiring masks in schools must provide a valid doctor’s note. District officials told parents this week that an exemption request backed by another type of medical professional, such as a chiropractor, isn’t sufficient. “We’re being consistent with what...
Westmoreland covid funds sought for proposed $20M Arnold Palmer terminal expansion
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority is seeking a $7 million share of covid relief funding the county has received in order to help with a proposed major expansion of the terminal at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. County officials have said federal restrictions on use of the covid-19 pandemic relief dollars...
Greater Latrobe drama club preps for in-person performances of ‘Radium Girls’
Student thespians at Greater Latrobe Senior High will take audiences back a century to explore a historic struggle over workplace safety that grabbed headlines in its time but is less well-known today. After last fall’s pandemic-triggered virtual play presentation, the school’s Drama Club is back with an in-person production of...
Stroll on Westmoreland trail a trial run for ‘Walk with a Doc’
A handful of people shared a recent early-evening stroll around the Hempfield campus of the J. Roy Houston Conservation Center. During their 15-minute perambulation along trails and among plantings overseen by Penn State master gardeners, the group took the first steps toward a potential Westmoreland County chapter of the Walk...
Paving, patching planned on Route 66, I-70 in Westmoreland
PennDOT is conducting the following work on roads in Westmoreland County this week, weather permitting: Crack sealing will take place on Route 30 in Ligonier Township and on Route 271 in Ligonier and Fairfield townships. Pipe replacements will take place on Route 982 in Mt. Pleasant Township. Pipe installation/drainage will...
