Megan Tomasic stories, Page 47

Hempfield seniors might not be able to continue the tradition of donning caps and gowns and walking the hallways of their former elementary schools this year, but they will celebrate their achievements during a modified senior walk. Normally scheduled for the end of May, the annual event allows students to...

Religious leaders across the region are split over whether houses of worship should be considered essential during the coronavirus pandemic after President Trump called on governors across the country to allow them to reopen this weekend. “Today I’m identifying houses of worship — churches, synagogues and mosques — as essential...

An Apollo man is accused of raping a teen girl with a mental disability. Kiski Township police charged Frank Dean Shaner, 20, with rape, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault and indecent assault. Shaner is being held at Armstrong County Jail in Kittanning. A preliminary arraignment is scheduled for June 3....

An administrator at the Hempfield Area School District has been hired to become the superintendent at a Butler County district. Mark Gross, the assistant superintendent for secondary education at Hempfield, will begin his new position with the Mars Area School District on July 1, according to a notice on the...

A Pittsburgh-area man accused of punching two security guards at a downtown Social Security Office in 2018 was sentenced Thursday to federal prison. Isaiah Paillett, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak to two years after pleading guilty to the charges in January. He originally pleaded not guilty...

Crews are on scene of a brush fire in Allegheny Township caused by downed wires, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. Fire officials responded to the area of Route 356 and White Cloud Road around 6:20 p.m. Roads remained open. The fire is not endangering any structures. Further information was...

Several local Gordmans stores, including those in Allegheny Township, East Huntingdon and Rostraver, are at risk of closing for good, another victim of the coronavirus pandemic that left stores largely shuttered across the country. Houston, Texas-based Stage Stores Inc. — the parent company of Gordmans, which has been in operation...

More than 60 Greensburg Central Catholic seniors on Thursday received signs, caps and gowns and other congratulatory items from teachers and staff. School officials delivered the items to the seniors’ homes, titling the project #drivinmiles4seniorSMILES. The event followed an April announcement that graduation was postponed until July 21. A backup...

Several products from a Somerset County dairy farm should be discarded because they were not properly pasteurized, the state Department of Agriculture said. Products from Moo Echo Dairy were sold at several Westmoreland and Somerset county stores including Lapp’s Family Market in Unity Township, Dormina’s Kitchen Cupboard in Jenner Township,...

Rural communities across Pennsylvania are feeling the effects of the coronavirus pandemic as local fairs, often social epicenters during the summer, are canceled in accordance with state regulations. So far, 16 of the 108 fairs across the state have been called off, said Sally Nolt, president of the Pennsylvania State...

The Hempfield Area School District is making its cyber program available to all elementary grades. In a letter dated May 15, Superintendent Tammy Wolicki said the program will be available to students from kindergarten through 12th grade. The program currently is open to grades six through 12. She noted some...

Hempfield Area School District property owners will not see a tax hike this year after board officials unanimously passed a $97.67 million preliminary budget this week. This is the second budget in a row that has not raised taxes, following five years of gradual increases, setting taxes at 83.46 mills....

New Stanton residents will be treated to a fireworks show this weekend in an effort to “boost community morale,” borough council President Ray Strosko said. The event, scheduled for Saturday at 8:45 p.m., will be hosted by Schaefer Fireworks, which is staging the display from a “good vantage point” so...

America’s once-dazzling shopping industry is facing blow after blow as department stores anchoring malls across the country file for bankruptcy, a move that could leave already struggling shopping malls permanently in the dark. Sales have plummeted, with a record 16% drop in retail sales for April, in large part because...

Two people were taken to the hospital after a vehicle crash with entrapment on Route 51 southbound in Forward Township, an Allegheny 911 dispatcher. Part of the road was closed from 9:20 p.m. until around 1:30 a.m. Further information on the crash and the extent of injuries was not immediately...

Some Allegheny County residents who opted to vote through the mail received duplicate ballots, Allegheny County elections officials said, noting a glitch in the state system. According to a release from Jerry Tyskiewicz, director of the county elections division, an issue with the state system that prints labels for mail-in...

Churches within the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh will begin gradually reopening Friday as Southwestern Pennsylvania moves to ease restrictions in place for the covid-19 pandemic. In order to adhere to social distancing regulations, facilities will reopened based on a strategic plan put in place by Bishop David Zubik, with the...

A teenager died after a shooting Wednesday night in Wilkinsburg, according to Allegheny County Police. The county Medical Examiner’s office identified the victim as Marcus Wells Jr., 16, of Pittsburgh. Officers responded to Laketon Road and Robinson Boulevard shortly after 9 p.m. for reports of a shooting. On scene, police...

One person was airlifted to a Pittsburgh hospital after a crash in Hempfield, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. Crews responded to Sunny Drive around 9:30 p.m. where one car was over the embankment with a woman trapped inside, said Scot Graham, a supervisor at Mutual Aid Ambulance Service. Crews...

Duquesne University plans on opening as scheduled this fall, according to a letter from the school president, but the semester may look far from traditional. In a letter sent to parents, university President Ken Gormley said the fall semester will begin as scheduled Aug. 24. However, he also laid out...

Drive-in movies theaters are set to open Friday across southwestern Pennsylvania as the state begins to loosen some coronavirus restrictions that have been in place since March. They include Evergreen Drive-In Theatre near Mt. Pleasant and Dependable in Moon. Others are Brownsville in Fayette County, Riverside in Armstrong County, Skyview...

People across Western Pennsylvania could receive a census packet on their doorsteps starting next week as the bureau resumes some operations halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. On May 13, questionnaire packets will be left at households that typically do not receive mail at their physical address, said Susan Licate,...