Joe Napsha stories, Page 52

The Norwin School Board has taken a novel approach to dodging the state mandate that people wear masks when inside school buildings, an apparent concession to board members and several people in the audience this week who did not wear masks. Board members voted to hold their January meetings within...

The Westmoreland Jewish Community Council, part of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, is helping people in area shelters keep their feet warm this winter by collecting donations of new socks for its “Hose for the Toes” project. The new sock drive will continue through Jan. 3, said Rabbi Emerita...

A $13 million, 132,000-square-foot woodworking plant is coming to South Huntingdon, with Robinson-based Wyatt Inc. planning to move its millshop there from Monessen to make exterior curtainwall panels and architectural millwork. The new plant will be built on about 20 acres at the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. business park,...

The Adamsburg fire chief wants to acquire a machine to disinfect safety gear to remove chemical residue and other fire-related contaminants that might pose a danger to a firefighter’s health. Instead of having firefighters clean their self-contained breathing apparatus, masks and personal safety gear by hand, Chief Don Thoma said...

The owner of the former Rivertowne Pub & Grille building on Route 30 in North Huntingdon has appealed the township’s order that he demolish the structure. Shivs Real Estate of Mt. Lebanon appealed the North Huntingdon commissioners’ Oct. 20 decision that the building, which has been vacant for about three...

Pennsylvania’s gun owners still need to obtain a license-to-carry permit to carry a concealed weapon in the state after Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a Republican-passed bill Thursday that would have allowed gun owners to carry that concealed gun without the permit. Wolf said he vetoed the bill as a matter...

Boy Scouts to sell Christmas trees Boy Scout Troop 284 of Irwin will sell Christmas trees — 6- to- 8-foot Frazier firs — in the Busy Beaver parking lot at the Norwin Hills Shopping Center, Route 30, North Huntingdon. The tree stand will be open 5 to 9 p.m. Dec....

Penn Township seniors to meet The BeLairs will provide entertainment when the Penn Township Senior Citizens meet Dec. 21 at the Community United Methodist Church Church, 3487 Route 130, Harrison City. Lunch will be at 1 p.m. and costs $6. The meeting will follow at 2 p. m. Students donate...

The Pittsburgh region’s unemployment rate in October fell below 6% for the first time since the pandemic took hold of the economy in April 2020, a combination of more jobs being filled and, once again, fewer people in the labor force. “It’s just as if the economy is stuck in...

Western Pennsylvanians could be in for sticker shock this winter when they pay their heating bill, state and federal agencies warn. “There is a big swing in electric prices (this winter). The surge in natural gas usage is driving up wholesale natural gas prices” at a time when more natural...

There will be a sampling of cookies, an appearance by Santa Claus and a horse-drawn carriage circling downtown from 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 3 during the Irwin Christmas Cookie Tour. Cookies samples will be available while supplies last at downtown Irwin’s churches, stores and restaurants. Visitors get the chance...

Jean Loughry started volunteering at the Bushy Run Battlefield some 30 years ago because she was interested in helping out at the historic site and was able to do it. At age 91, the Penn Township resident is still going strong as a volunteer at the Bushy Run Battlefield along...

The Norwin School District says it will need 30 days to release details of the recently approved six-year contract with the Norwin Education Association and a five-year agreement with building principals and administrators not represented by a collective bargaining agreement. Norwin Superintendent Jeff Taylor stated in a Nov. 22 email...

Level Green plans Light Up Night Santa Claus will arrive on a fire truck during the Light Up Level Green event from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Level Green Fire Hall along Route 130 in Penn Township. The Penn Trafford Community Band will play holiday favorites and...

Church to sell pirohi The St. Stephen Byzantine Catholic Church at 90 Bethel Road, North Huntingdon, will sell potato-cheese and sweet cabbage pirohi in the church hall beginning at 10 a.m. Dec. 10. The price is $10 per dozen. West Newton Library to present Christmas celebration The West Newton Library...

A 6-inch waterline that broke early Wednesday on Banksville Road in Pittsburgh caused a section of the busy highway to freeze, a water company spokeswoman said. About 10 customers were affected by the water line break, said Jill Greenwood, a Pennsylvania American Water spokeswoman. The water company placed salt along...

State police in Greensburg are looking for a man they say robbed an East Pittsburgh Street bank Wednesday morning. The robbery at the Key Bank branch at 800 E. Pittsburgh St. occurred at 10:09 a.m., according to surveillance video footage. Investigators believe the suspect exited the bank and...

One man was shot in the back and two others were injured from bullet fragments early Wednesday morning during a fight inside a Jefferson Hills bar, Allegheny County police said. The man shot in the back at the Rum Monkeys Pizza & Pub Bar on State Street at about 1:30...

A fire that broke out in machinery at an industrial scrap metal plant in West Mifflin early Wednesday was extinguished by mid-morning, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV reported. The fire was reported around 3:30 a.m. at the TMS International plant on Delwar Road. Firefighters extinguished the fire by 5:30 a.m. No...

An Iowa-based firm that has never conducted an election review will delve into a forensic audit of Pennsylvania’s contentious 2020 general election results and this year’s May primary. How it intends to determine election integrity remains shrouded in secrecy. Steve Lahr, president of Envoy Sage LLC, on Tuesday declined to...

Nine days after Norwin lifted its mask requirement for students, staff and visitors, the school district said Friday it would reinstate mandatory masking on Monday because of state court decisions. Superintendent Jeff Taylor made mask-wearing optional Nov. 10 in response to a Commonwealth Court ruling that found the state’s acting...

A University of Pittsburgh study is looking at how Connellsville and other distressed communities in Appalachia can use their resources to spur economic development and turn around a decadeslong “brain drain” — where college-educated residents leave to go elsewhere for better jobs, higher pay or a different lifestyle. “Brain drain...

North Huntingdon officials adopted a tentative budget for 2022 that holds the line on local real estate taxes, while maintaining services. Township commissioners this week unanimously approved a general fund budget of $14.62 million. That’s up from this year’s $13.9 million, although Acting Township Manager Michael Turley said they cut...

Heather Carl sat down in a Southwest Greensburg church and shared a hearty Thanksgiving meal with family and friends — a full week before the actual holiday. “We came here for the fellowship,” said Carl, 48, a Jeannette resident who was accompanied Thursday by her son, Heath Rowe, and her...

North Huntingdon’s unionized public works employees will get pay raises ranging from 25 cents per hour next year to 95 cents per hour in 2026 under terms of a new agreement the township ratified. The five-year contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) covers 35...