Megan Tomasic stories, Page 52

Hempfield officials are slated to host their first blood drive next week with the American Red Cross. Located at the Hempfield Township Athletic Complex, 220 Forbes Trail Road, the event Friday, March 6, will run from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Those interested can preregister at the American Red Cross...

When the Hempfield Area Competitive Cheer team travels to Orlando, Fla., each year for the National High School Cheerleading Championships, they go to win. This year, the Hempfield Area Competition Cheer senior club team brought home its sixth national championship title and the satisfaction of becoming back-to-back champions, coach Suzannah...

Falling bricks from the former Mennonite Publishing Co. building forced Scottdale officials this week to close a section of Walnut Avenue. Yellow police tape, wooden barriers and traffic cones were set up to keep passersby off the block after bricks started flying around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, some bouncing into the...

All four lanes of Route 30 at Skellytown Road in North Huntingdon were closed Friday morning because of a vehicle crash, according to a township dispatcher. Crews responded shortly before 7 a.m. for the crash that involved three vehicles. One person was trapped following the incident, but was extricated around...

Crews are battling a house fire in Fayette County. According to a Fayette 911 dispatcher, officials responded to Sickle Ridge Road in Henry Clay Township shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday. No injuries were reported....

Owners of a local auto body parts store plan on rebuilding after a fire ravaged through their Kittanning location earlier this week. Crews spent hours battling a fire at api Autobody Products that started around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday. The scene was not cleared until around 3 a.m. Thursday. “It’s obviously...

SWAT officers were called to a Hazelwood home Tuesday night after a woman reported a man assaulted her with a handgun, according to police. Pittsburgh police responded to the 210 block of Winston Street around 10:30 p.m. According to officers, the woman, who had left the home to call police,...

Part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was closed Tuesday morning due to an overturned tractor-trailer. The westbound lanes were closed for almost three hours between the Beaver Valley and New Castle exits. The lanes reopened shortly before 10 a.m. No injuries were reported. BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: No Reported Injuries and No...

Pittsburgh police are searching for missing woman. Stacy Childs, 55, has been missing since last February. She is 5 feet 3 inches tall, 150 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Police said Childs’s family describes her as a “free spirit” who frequents Homewood, Wilkinsburg and Rankin. They are concerned...

A 12-year-old boy reported missing was found Tuesday afternoon, according to Pittsburgh police. Taesean Gibson was last seen at Martin Luther King School shortly after 3 p.m. Monday. Police did not believe Gibson was abducted or is in danger, noting that he frequents Carnegie Library on Federal Street in the...

A man was found dead outside of a city church, police said. Officers responded to the 5400 block of Centre Avenue around 9 a.m. Sunday after a maintenance worker found the man and unsuccessfully tried to wake him, police said. When officers arrived on scene they found the man inside...

Hempfield is hosting its first health and wellness fair. Located at the township’s athletic complex, the Feb. 29 fair will offer the community the opportunity to meet with organizations and health providers while also learning about youth sports organizations and programs and facilities offered by the parks and recreation department....

Firefighters responded to a house fire in Hempfield Friday night, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. Crews responded to 141 Brush Creek Road at about 9:50 p.m. for a roof fire. The fire was out before 10:20 p.m. However, further details were not immediately available....

Another chain restaurant has shuttered in Hempfield. Pizza Hut, located along Route 30 near Westmoreland Mall, officially closed Monday, according to a sign posted on the door. “We want to thank all of our loyal customers,” the sign reads, in part. It also encourages people to visit other area Pizza...

Eleanor Pishko embodied Pittsburgh’s wedding cookie tradition. “She loved to bake … she made over 10,000 cookies for my wedding,” Pishko’s daughter, Pamela Weirs said, remembering the day they moved the cookies to the reception venue. Pishko learned of her love for baking from her mother-in-law, Weirs said, noting that...

Hempfield school officials could spend $2,400 to standardize the district’s “Spartans” logo. This week, school board members discussed hiring Base Design Studio of McCandless to create “a professional and standard appearance,” according to Superintendent Tammy Wolicki. The design agency would be responsible for creating a uniform Spartans logo that could...

After a two-day suspension, the Hempfield wrestling team once again has a head coach. Tommy Dolde, who was suspended last week because of a personnel matter, was reinstated after several parents expressed frustration to school board members Monday at the decision to suspend the coach near end of the season....

Eileen Vlasick and her husband, Tom, achieved a feat many people only dream of doing — visiting all 50 states. While not a goal they initially set for themselves, the couple’s passion for travel took off after they started driving to Denver to visit their sons, stopping to explore towns...