Megan Tomasic stories, Page 2

Firefighters from across the county will pack up their gear and respond to Westmoreland Mall on Tuesday, but it won’t be for an emergency. Instead, the group will be stationed outside the Hempfield facility to participate in the area’s 26th annual Fire Prevention Night hosted by Hempfield and Greensburg officials....

Hempfield residents have an opportunity this month to comment on proposed middle school consolidation plans and the possible closure of Harrold Middle School. The public hearing — scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 24 in the high school auditorium — will allow residents to voice their opinions on the plans, which...

Waleed Farag knows all too well the growing need for computer systems security professionals. As director of Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Cyber Security, he is hoping to address the steadily increasing demand for computer-based professionals by tapping the resources of six community colleges, including Westmoreland County Community College....

Bob Johnson knew without a doubt that when Hurricane Ian was projected to slam into Florida this week, he would need to be there helping in the aftermath. On Sunday, the Red Cross volunteer from Connellsville headed to Florida, where he waited out the storm in Pasco County before helping...

Pittsburgh police are investigating a reported carjacking in the city’s Shadyside neighborhood after they say employees of a pizza shop were robbed at gunpoint. Officers responded to the 200 block of South Highland Avenue shortly before 2:50 a.m. Thursday where witnesses reported three men approached two employees of a nearby...

Pittsburgh police are investigating after a Penn Hills man was found shot to death in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood Thursday evening. Officers responded to the 600 block of North St. Clair Street around 5:30 p.m. after receiving a 911 call for shots fired, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman...

When Mandy Coughenour heard that airports in Florida were shutting down this week ahead of Hurricane Ian, she knew she had to get the next available flight to Pittsburgh if she was going to make it back in time for Hempfield Area’s homecoming. On Tuesday — a day before Hurricane...

The Hempfield Area School District is investigating after a person claiming to be a student was picked up by a school bus Wednesday morning and dropped off at the high school. According to information sent to parents, the driver of bus 65 received permission from the bus garage to pick...

Connie Hasenei stood strong under the dark, gray clouds covering Somerset County Sunday morning, her message ringing clear: Keep the memory of Sept. 11, 2001, alive. Hasenei, speaking to a crowd gathered on a rain-soaked field at the Flight 93 National Memorial to honor the 21st anniversary of the terrorist...

State police are searching for suspects after officers say debit and credit cards stolen from lockers at LA Fitness in Hempfield were used to purchase $2,400 worth of items from the Hempfield Walmart. On Sept. 2, two lockers were broken into at the LA Fitness near the intersection of Route...

Karen Gross couldn’t contain her excitement as she ambled through Latrobe’s first Italian festival Saturday afternoon, eagerly talking about her family’s roots in the city’s 1st Ward. “My family is from Latrobe,” Gross said. “508 Ligonier St., which is right next to 512, is where my grandparents owned the house;...

Bishop Larry J. Kulick has traveled to Rome before, but an upcoming trip holds extra meaning for the relatively new bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg. Kulick, a Leechburg native and St. Joseph High School graduate, will once again make the journey today alongside other newly installed bishops. They...

Members of Pittsburgh’s SWAT team were called to a home in the city’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood early Saturday morning for reports of a man possibly barricaded inside. Officers responded to Tumbo Street around 3:45 a.m. for a domestic assault. SWAT was called after it was learned the unidentified man, with a...

In an interview Thursday with conservative Pittsburgh broadcaster Wendy Bell, former President Donald Trump said — if he becomes president again — he would issue full pardons and an apology to rioters involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. “We’ll be looking very, very seriously at...

Pittsburgh police have arrested a Pittsburgh woman in the fatal shooting of a man late Thursday in the city’s East Hills neighborhood. Toddia Smiley, 25, is charged with criminal homicide and tampering with evidence in the death of Damien Jackson, 29, of Homestead. Officers responded around 10:45 p.m. and found...

Pennsylvania State Police are requesting help in locating a missing 37-year-old man last seen in Hempfield. Lyle David Hiatt suffers from mental health issues, which requires daily medication, police said. He left his home on Aug. 23 and was spotted by the BP gas station on Route 136 four days...

A Kittanning man who is accused of sexually assaulting and strangling multiple women was arrested Wednesday, state police said. Zachary William Baum, 24, is facing several charges, including rape, corruption of minors, strangulation, harassment, indecent assault, simple assault, open lewdness, harassment and disseminating photos or videos of child sex acts,...

A Butler County woman has been charged with animal cruelty after police say 10 German Shepherd dogs and three cats living in “deplorable conditions” were seized from her home. Regina Pruitt, 48, of Butler is facing multiple charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and neglect of animals, as well as...

State police in Kittanning are searching for a man who is accused of sexually assaulting and strangling multiple women. Zachary William Baum, 24, of Kittanning is facing several charges, including rape, corruption of minors, strangulation, harassment, indecent assault, simple assault, open lewdness, harassment and disseminating photos or videos of child...

University of Pittsburgh police are warning of scams more than a week after students returned to campus for the fall semester. According to a post on the department’s Twitter page, officers have seen an increase in fraud cases where the agency’s phone number is spoofed and a person pretends to...

Pittsburgh police arrested a man who they suspected of breaking into a McDonald’s restaurant in Downtown early Tuesday. Officers responded to the restaurant 500 Liberty Ave. around 1 a.m. Tuesday. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said officers found the front door shattered and the man “rifling through the cash register.”...

A Monessen man was killed early Tuesday morning in a wrong-way crash in South Huntingdon, state police said. Officers said 37-year-old Nathan T. Dzimiera of Leeds Avenue, was killed in the two-vehicle crash along Route 31, also known as Mt. Pleasant Road, near Hughes Lane. Dzimiera was driving south in...

A woman was shot in the leg late Monday in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, police said. Police officers said they responded to a shooting in the 7500 block of Kelly Street around 10:30 p.m. and found three vehicles that had been damaged from gunfire, said Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz....

Editor’s note: ‘What’s That?’ is a recurring feature in the Tribune-Review’s Westmoreland Plus edition. If there’s something you’d like to see explored here, send an email to gtrcity@triblive.com A small park nestled between shops lining Main Street and the bustle of the Irwin Fire Department is more than just a...

President Joe Biden is planning a Labor Day trip to Pittsburgh, the White House announced. The location wasn’t specified, but in a statement, the White House on Monday said Biden “will deliver remarks to celebrate Labor Day and the dignity of American workers.” Biden will also travel to Milwaukee that...