Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 28
Mom can’t explain son’s role in Hempfield bank robbery
Latreace Anna Jackson never suspected the trajectory of her son’s life would lead her to a Westmoreland County courtroom. “The weight of my son’s crime is enormous. At first, I was in disbelief when I found out it was him. I thought, why? It was not his character,” Jackson of...
Tarentum man pleads guilty to assault that left woman’s jaw broken
A Tarentum man pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he stomped on a woman’s head during an assault last year at an Arnold home. Malachi Supreme Hayes, 26, was ordered to serve 11 1/2 to 23 months in jail but was immediately paroled after having served nearly a year in...
Primary ballots to be mailed out starting next week
Voters can start using mail-in ballots next week, Westmoreland County election officials said. Pennsylvania primary is April 23, but mail-in ballots will be available at the courthouse starting Monday, March 25. Voters who already requested mail-in ballots could see them arrive in their mail boxes starting the following Monday, April...
Ray Shetler, acquitted of murder in 2015 police officer’s killing, sentenced for parole violations
A former New Florence man acquitted of murder in the 2015 shooting of a St. Clair police officer will be eligible for parole in just over two months under a new sentence imposed Friday. Ray A. Shetler Jr., 39, of Saltsburg, was given a 5-year sentence for violating probation, but...
Hempfield man pleads guilty to sex assault of teen
A Hempfield man was ordered to serve up to 12 years in prison for the sexual assault of a teenage girl. Michael Flowers, 25, pleaded guilty Thursday to one felony count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse related a sexual encounter with a then 13-year-old girl in 2017. According to court...
Sheetz seeks to dismiss lawsuit filed by Perryopolis victim’s family for fatal head-on crash
Lawyers for Altoona-based Sheetz Inc. have asked a Westmoreland County judge to dismiss the company from a wrongful death lawsuit related to a 2022 fatal crash on Interstate 70 in South Huntingdon. The family of 25-year-old David Ott of Perryopolis filed a lawsuit months after he was killed in a...
Hydrants, waterlines questioned in wake of fatal Jeannette blaze
Jeannette fire Chief Bill Frye said the city’s aging waterlines impacted firefighters’ ability to extinguish an overnight blaze that killed a father and his four young children in a Guy Street home. Both Frye and Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials confirmed Wednesday a 6-inch water line feeds into the...
CNX Resources to pay nearly $13K for each 1.5 million gallons drawn from Beaver Run for fracking
A week after water use restrictions were lifted for customers served by Beaver Run Reservoir, a Canonsburg company was given a contract that allows it to buy 51 million gallons of water to use in fracking at nearby gas wells, Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County officials said Wednesday. The authority...
Westmoreland housing authority plots path to solar power
The Westmoreland County Housing Authority wants more power. Officials on Tuesday said a proposed solar farm built on property behind the authority-owned Hempfield Towers could benefit the low-income senior high-rise apartment building and nearby county facilities such as the jail, juvenile detention center and nursing home. “We’re looking for funding...
Appeals court allows whistleblower lawsuit against Pa. GOP caucus
A whistleblower lawsuit filed by the former chief of staff for state Rep. Eric Davanzo can proceed, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court has ruled. A three-judge panel this month rejected an effort from the Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus to dismiss the lawsuit filed in 2022 by Marcel Nicole Ingram, who claimed she...
Bail is excessive for man accused of tussling with New Kensington police, his attorney says
A Homewood man who was temporarily using a wheelchair following a confrontation with police in January can be released from jail if he posts a $100,000 bond, a judge ruled Monday. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears said Anthony Swann, 47, can pay 10% of the bond, $10,000, and...
Mt. Pleasant Township man allowed to embrace his mother before being returned to jail on charges he tried to stab her to death
The criminal case against a Mt. Pleasant Township man charged with the attempted homicide of his mother will continue even though she no longer wants to see her son jailed for the alleged attack, a Westmoreland County prosecutor said. Judge Scott Mears allowed Kort Noel Eckman, 46, and his mother,...
Westmoreland tourism plan will pay for park upgrades
With Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday in the rearview mirror, local leaders are eyeing the United States’ semiquincentennial in 2026. Commissioners last week approved a plan to divert more than $1.3 million in local hotel revenue to fund tourism programs this year. But they also are looking ahead to celebrations planned...
Westmoreland prison warden gets $11,000 raise as county boosts salaries of some employees
Westmoreland County’s new warden, on the job for less than a month, has been given an $11,000 raise. Commissioners and Controller Jeffrey Balzer, acting as the county’s salary board this week, approved raises for a series of department heads and supervisors in what they said was an effort to retain...
7th man pleads guilty for role in New Kensington man’s shooting death
A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty to a lesser charge Thursday for his role in the events that led to the July 2022 shooting death of a man outside a New Kensington apartment building. Raquan Carpenter, 20, was among the seven men and teens charged with criminal homicide in connection with...
Westmoreland County register of wills, judges clash over filing delays during contempt of court hearing
Parents of adopted children told two Westmoreland County judges that months-long delays in the processing of paperwork filed with the Register of Wills Office led to major life interruptions. “It’s been a disaster,” one parent said. Another testified, “Due to the negligence of the office, we had to self-pay for...
Westmoreland juvenile detention center on track for March reopening
Westmoreland County’s juvenile detention center is expected to reopen this month after being largely closed since June because of staffing shortages and operational problems, officials said Wednesday. The 16-bed facility that houses juvenile criminal offenders closed following a series of state inspections. Those findings prompted county leaders to shutter the...
Westmoreland juvenile detention center on track for March reopening
Westmoreland County’s juvenile detention center is expected to reopen this month after being largely closed since June because of staffing shortages and operational problems, officials said Wednesday. The 16-bed facility that houses juvenile criminal offenders closed following a series of state inspections. Those findings prompted county leaders to shutter the...
Westmoreland looks to shed label of being a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants
Westmoreland officials say they are looking to shed a label that the county is a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. The Center for Immigration Studies declared Westmoreland a sanctuary county in 2014. The Washington, D.C., think tank promotes reduced immigration into the United States. Westmoreland was one of 14 Pennsylvania counties...
Election testing underway in Westmoreland County
More than 19,000 ballots are being cast and counted this week in Westmoreland County. The date of Pennsylvania’s primary election hasn’t been moved up. The unofficial test ballots are being cast and counted to ensure the accuracy of the county’s voting machines in advance of the April 23 primary. “At...
Date of Pa.’s presidential primary makes it too late to make a difference, politicos say
Because Pennsylvania’s presidential primary is more than a month away, the state’s influence in determining Republican and Democratic nominees for the White House will once again be muted this spring, according to political leaders. Voters in more than a dozen Super Tuesday states cast ballots this week in what were...
Westmoreland approves polling site changes for April primary
Westmoreland County’s election board announced a series of changes to polling locations for the April 23 primary. Election Bureau Director Greg McCloskey said a growing reluctance among churches and school districts to serve as host sites for live voting on Election Day had led to a series of changes over...
Murrysville Golf Club likely to remain open under renewed lease
The Murrysville Golf Club is expected to remain open after an arbiter paved the way for current management to continue operating the course. A court-appointed arbiter ruled last month that a three-year lease renewal be awarded to J.K. Golf, the company that operates the public course. James Creenan, lawyer for...
GOP commissioners reject call for drop box use in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County’s Republican commissioners said they will not consider installation of drop boxes for mail-in ballots at the courthouse or at remote locations around the county for this spring’s presidential primary or the fall general election. Nearly a dozen residents appeared before county’s election board Wednesday to lobby for drop...
Former nursing home aide acquitted of attempted sex assault charge involving co-worker
A McKeesport man was found not guilty of an attempted sexual assault against a co-worker at a North Huntingdon nursing home. Daniel Odu, 36, a former nursing aide at the Grove at Irwin, was charged with having improper sexual contact with a 19-year-old fellow employee in a resident’s bathroom on...
