Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 93
Westmoreland approves poll changes in wake of coronavirus concerns
Seven polling sites in Westmoreland County will be relocated for the Nov. 3 general election amid concerns related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. All 307 voting precincts will be open, but a handful — which could not meet safety protocols or are located near senior housing communities prohibited from hosting...
Westmoreland bus driver tests positive for virus
A Westmoreland County Transit Authority bus driver has tested positive for coronavirus, officials said Wednesday. Authority Executive Director Alan Blahovec said the driver was last worked Monday and drove an undisclosed route. Transit officials were notified Tuesday about the positive test result and the driver will remain off the job...
Covid-19 cases climb at Westmoreland Manor
Westmoreland officials said Wednesday that five more residents tested positive for coronavirus at the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield. Cases at Westmoreland Manor have steadily increased since the middle of September and now 117 residents, or more than a third of those who live there, have tested positive. The facility...
Westmoreland 911 center has 2 coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County’s 911 dispatching operations were split into two operational locations Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning after officials discovered two employees tested positive for coronavirus. Public Safety Director Roland Mertz said 911 operations were uninterrupted even as the county instituted mitigation efforts and implemented its emergency response plan to...
Westmoreland County to use $7.7 million to cope with coronavirus
Westmoreland commissioners on Tuesday earmarked more than $7.7 million in federal stimulus money to pay for staff salaries at the county jail and to purchase equipment needed to keep government operating amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The federal money is part of the $31.5 million allocated earlier this year from...
5 more coronavirus cases at Westmoreland Manor
Pennsylvania National Guard members, stationed a Westmoreland Manor since late September, departed the county-owned nursing home over the weekend even as coronavirus cases there continued to grow. County officials said Tuesday another five residents tested positive since Saturday at the 400-bed home in Hempfield. There have now been 112 residents...
Westmoreland jail virus outbreak explodes
The coronavirus outbreak at Westmoreland County Prison continued to grow over the Columbus Day weekend and, on Tuesday, officials said the number of cases could result in overcrowding at the Hempfield lockup. Another 33 inmates and two more guards tested positive for the virus since late last week, county commissioners...
Westmoreland mail-in ballots on their way to voters; drop boxes to be availableVideo
Westmoreland County officials said mailing out the first batch of 50,000 mail-in ballots was completed Tuesday as elections staff and the Ohio-based private company hired to oversee the process catch up after technical problems caused a weeklong delay. So far, about 60,000 mail-in ballot applications have been approved in the...
Former Mt. Pleasant police officer convicted of sexually assaulting 3 women
A former part-time Mt. Pleasant Borough police officer was convicted Friday of sexually assaulting three women in 2014 and 2015. John A. Brown, 47, of Mt. Lebanon, who had been free on bail, was handcuffed and sent to jail to await a sentencing hearing at which he faces at least...
New Kensington man acquitted of charges in 2018 overdose death
A New Kensington man accused of selling a dose of fentanyl-laced heroin to a Natrona man who died of an overdose two years ago was acquitted Friday. A Westmoreland County jury deliberated more than three hours before it found Adrian Morris, 23, not guilty of drug delivery resulting in death...
Westmoreland County confirms that mail-in ballots were not sent out as planned
Mail-in ballots that were to be sent out last week to voters in Westmoreland County remained missing-in-action Thursday as officials scrambled to correct what has become a weeklong delay in the start of voting for the general election. Voters who called the elections bureau Thursday were told ballots were mailed...
Witness in trial of New Kensington man admits to buying drugs that killed his friend
A former Oklahoma Borough man told a Westmoreland County jury he knew he couldn’t stick around after he and another man left their unconscious friend across the front seats of his pickup parked in the New Kensington Taco Bell parking lot two years ago. Keith Klingensmith testified he didn’t know...
Westmoreland Prison on lockdown as two guards test positive for coronavirus
Two guards at the Westmoreland County Prison tested positive for coronavirus and the Hempfield jail was placed on lockdown status Wednesday. “The prison continues to follow all appropriate and currently recommended protocols to mitigate the spread of covid-19 to keep the employees and prison population safe,” according to a statement...
Trial starts for New Kensington man accused of selling heroin that killed Natrona man
The lawyer for a New Kensington man charged in the sale of a fatal dose of fentanyl-laced heroin attempted Wednesday to shift blame for the overdose that killed a Natrona man who was found a fast-food restaurant parking lot. The man on trial for the death of John Charlton Jr....
Republican fundraiser sparks criticism from candidate in 39th District state Senate race
The Democratic challenger seeking to oust incumbent state Sen. Kim Ward in the 39th District issued a strong rebuke on Wednesday of Ward’s decision to hold a campaign fundraiser last week in which one elected county leader who attended has since tested positive for the coronavirus. Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug...
Women testify in sex assault case against former part-time Mt. Pleasant cop
Two women told jurors Tuesday that a former part-time Mt. Pleasant police officer overpowered them when he attempted to have sex with them in separate incidents in 2014 and 2015. John Brown, 47, of Mt. Lebanon is accused of sexually assaulting four women in three counties over two years. “This...
Westmoreland Commissioner Doug Chew has coronavirus; some courthouse offices closed
Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew tested positive for coronavirus, causing county leaders to shut down their courthouse offices and cancel three public meetings this week. Chew, a first-term Republican from Hempfield, confirmed the diagnosis in text message Tuesday morning. “I was last in the commissioners’ suite on Wednesday afternoon/evening. I...
Community spread blamed for spiking covid-19 cases in Westmoreland County
Coronavirus infections in Westmoreland County jumped by nearly 600 cases over the past month, a statistic that county and state officials said Monday was attributed to a general community spread of the virus. The Pennsylvania Department of Health disclosed that more than 100 cases were identified in the county over...
Westmoreland Manor sees administrative changes as coronavirus cases creep higher
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to rock Westmoreland Manor, the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield, leaders on Monday announced a change to the facility’s administration. According to a news release, county commissioners said Assistant Administrator Abby Testa was named the Manor’s acting interim administrator, effective Oct. 2. “At this time,...
Salem man pleads guilty to 3 sex assaults
A Salem man will serve up to 23 months in jail and four additional years on probation for sexual assaults against two adult women and a juvenile. Dylan Thomas McRoberts, 23, pleaded guilty Monday to lesser charges after prosecutors agreed to dismiss more serious rape counts after his victims objected...
Sex assault trial for former Mt. Pleasant cop to start this week
The trial of a former Mt. Pleasant part-time police officer charged with the sexual assaults of six women will begin Tuesday in Westmoreland County. Jurors were selected Monday to hear the cases against John Andrew Brown of Mt. Lebanon, who first was arrested in 2016 in connection with an accusation...
Plea bargain for yawning defendant nixed by Westmoreland County judge
A Pittsburgh man’s yawns during a court hearing Friday prompted a Westmoreland County judge to reject a proposed plea bargain in which the man would plead guilty to charges related to an armed robbery last year in Jeannette. Jamar Miles, 19, of Pittsburgh, was expected to receive a sentence of...
Former Pennsylvania trooper, Army veteran gets probation for falsifying firearms document
A former Pennsylvania State Police trooper convicted this year of falsifying public documents avoided a jail sentence Friday when a Westmoreland County judge said trauma suffered by two overseas military tours were enough to mitigate the need for incarceration. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger conceded that Chad Corbett, who...
Westmoreland County fires deputy director of elections with Nov. 3 election looming
Westmoreland commissioners fired the deputy director of the county’s elections bureau — a move that continues upheaval in the department just a month before the Nov. 3 election. County officials on Thursday would not comment on the reasons for the dismissal of Scott Sistek, who served for more than a...
Westmoreland Manor has 16 new cases of coronavirus
Another 13 residents and three employees tested positive for coronavirus at Westmoreland Manor. With the new cases, there are now 67 of the county-owed nursing home’s 336 residents and 26 staff members who have been diagnosed with covid-19 since the outbreak was first discovered in mid-September. “There have been no...
