Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 92
County backs grant for Rostraver landfill project over local objections
Editor’s note: This story was updated to amend incorrection information. Westmoreland County officials are moving forward with a proposed expansion of a natural gas distribution plant at a Rostraver landfill over the objection of local officials and residents. “Our residents will live in fear, fear from too many contaminants, for...
Gov. Wolf: Pennsylvania prepared for Nov. 3 election
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday the state is ready for Election Day. “Pennsylvania is prepared. We are protected for this election and voters can cast their ballots with confidence. We are going to have a fair election where everyone can vote without interference,” Wolf said. State election officials said...
Westmoreland County hands out grants to Excela, nonprofitsVideo
Excela Health received a $5 million grant from Westmoreland County Thursday to help the hospital chain recover revenue lost during the coronavirus pandemic. County commissioners also awarded 77 nonprofit agencies grants totalling nearly $1.2 million to help pay for expenses related to the pandemic. Commissioners conceded the surprise grant to...
Westmoreland commissioner claims county pay raises result of political threat
Westmoreland Commissioner Gina Cerilli on Thursday accused her Republican colleagues of buckling under a threat from the county controller when they granted a series of raises to his staff of auditors. “They should be ashamed,” Cerilli said about a reorganization of the auditing department that included $130,000 in raises handed...
Former Latrobe wrestling coach to serve probation for hazing incident
The former assistant wrestling coach at Greater Latrobe Area Junior High School was sentenced Wednesday to serve two years on probation in connection with hazing allegations. David F. Galando, 44, of Youngstown was charged in May with misdemeanor counts of child endangerment and failing to report potential child abuse allegations...
Steelers, Pitt broadcaster Bill Hillgrove to serve probation to resolve Murrysville DUI case
Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh football and basketball radio broadcaster William T. “Bill” Hillgrove will serve two years on probation after he was arrested in June for a drunken driving incident in Murrysville. Police said Hillgrove, 79, of Murrysville, was intoxicated when he crashed into the front windows at...
Infection consultant will review Westmoreland Manor procedures amid virus outbreak
Westmoreland commissioners will hire an infection control consultant to review procedures at the county-owned nursing home as coronavirus cases among residents and staff continue to increase there. Commissioners said Tuesday they expect to award a $10,000 contract Harrisburg-based LW Consulting Inc. to assess the policies in place at Westmoreland Manor...
Virginia man pleads guilty to causing fatal crash in Donegal Township
A Virginia man will serve up to eight years in prison for causing a fatal crash in Donegal Township that killed his friend five years ago. Erik Carlton Anderson, 30, pleaded guilty this week to charges of homicide by vehicle while driving drunk and driving while intoxicated. Westmoreland County Judge...
Mail-in ballot processing resumes after power restored at Westmoreland County Courthouse
Mary Rose McGivern and her 19-year-old daughter Madeline, who is voting for the first time this year, turned in their application for mail-in ballots with just three minutes to spare before Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline. The McGiverns, of Delmont, were the last of the hundreds of voters who came to...
Oblock Junior High School in Plum moves to remote learning
Oblock Junior High School in the Plum School District will move to remote learning on Monday and will remain closed for two weeks after two employees tested positive for the coronavirus this weekend. District officials also announced Sunday that another staffer at Plum Senior High School has tested positive for...
Incident involving person with gun near Rochester Area High School in Beaver County ends peacefully
Rochester Township police said Sunday morning that the investigation was ongoing into the shooting incident that caused a nearly two-hour delay to the start of a high school football game Friday night in Beaver County. Kickoff for the start of the Rochester Area High School and Shenango Junior/Senior High School...
Crowds line up in Westmoreland County to recycle hazardous materialsVideo
Pat O’Neill didn’t even know how long he had old paint cans and other hazardous materials stored in his garage, but he was glad to finally dispose of those items Saturday morning. “I just wanted to get rid of this stuff properly, get it out of my garage,” O’Neill said...
Rematch pits Davanzo against Prah in race for state House 58th District
Voters in the state House 58th District have seen this race before — seven months ago, to be exact, when Republican Eric Davanzo and Democrat Robert Prah Jr. vied to serve out the remaining time of a vacant term. Davanzo, 44, of South Huntingdon won by less than 1,000 votes...
Joyce challenged by retired FBI agent for 13th Congressional District
Voters in the massive 13th Congressional District — stretching from Westmoreland County to Gettysburg — will chose between a freshman incumbent who embraces the agenda of President Trump and a Democratic challenger who wants to serve as an opposition to power. The race is between state Rep. John Joyce, a...
Westmoreland County says mail-in ballot backlog cleared
Westmoreland County officials reported all but about 4,100 requested mail-in ballots have been sent to voters. The county elections bureau said as of Wednesday morning, more than 64,600 ballots were mailed, clearing a backlog of requests caused by delays at the Cleveland company hired to print and mail them. “The...
Jill Biden makes case to local Italian American community on husband’s behalf
Local Democrats received a message Wednesday from the wife of Joe Biden asking they embrace her husband’s candidacy and her Italian roots as the presidential race heads into the stretch drive with less than two weeks to go before Election Day. Jill Biden, in an online address to supporters as...
State rejects Westmoreland plan to eliminate Penn Township district court
The state Supreme Court has rejected a Westmoreland County plan to shutter a district magistrate office in Penn Township, officials said. County court leaders this summer pitched a redistricting plan to the state’s high court that called for elimination of two magistrates, one that temporarily closed this spring in Mt....
More ballot delays in Westmoreland County
More delays in the mailing of ballots to Westmoreland voters ahead of the Nov. 3 general election could prompt county commissioners to take back control over the process that was shipped out-of-state last month. Commissioner Sean Kertes said Monday internal discussions are underway to have elections bureau staff at the...
Westmoreland gets $3.4 million to remove lead paint, other hazards from low-income houses
Lead-based paint will be removed from more than 140 low-income homes in Westmoreland County using federal money. County officials said $3.4 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will pay for two new programs that will start by early summer to remediate the toxic substance...
In 1st re-election bid, Rep. Reschenthaler faces Democratic challenger Bill Marx
To say Rep. Guy Reschenthaler’s first term in the U.S. Congress was busy might be an understatement. The Peters Township Republican was elected in 2018 to represent most of Westmoreland County, as well as Fayette, Greene and Washington counties, in the newly drawn 14th District. He was thrust into a...
Man sentenced for drug sales to Murrysville, Greensburg men who died of overdoses
Michelle Rubin had a simple message for one of the men accused of selling her son the drugs he used just before she found him face down and unconscious on the floor of their Murrysville home more than three years ago. “If you hadn’t sold him that illegal poison he...
Westmoreland County approves drop box sites for mail-in ballots
Westmoreland County will have drop boxes at five regional sites before the Nov. 3 general election to help collect tens of thousands of expected mail-in ballots. Voters started to receive ballots this week, and as of Thursday, more than 51,600 were sent. Another 9,600 are in the queue to be...
2 more coronavirus-related deaths reported at Westmoreland Manor
Westmoreland officials said Thursday that two more residents at the county-owned nursing home died from complications of coronavirus. A total of five Westmoreland Manor residents have now died after contracting the virus since the start of the outbreak last month at the 408-bed Hempfield facility. Since mid-September, 117 residents and...
Former North Huntingdon banquet manager to serve jail time for theft
Ron Tarquinio’s business, like many others, is struggling to survive the coronavirus pandemic. He told a Westmoreland County judge on Thursday that his catering company, Banquets Unlimited in North Huntingdon, already was behind the eight-ball after his former business manager stole at least $8,000 and alienated a steady customer base....
Westmoreland Municipal Authority to upgrade McKeesport water intake
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County will dam off a section of the Youghiogheny River next year and dig below the riverbed to install new pipes needed as part of a $7.8 million project to build an upgraded intake system in McKeesport. Authority board members this week approved the project,...
