Norwin Star category, Page 44
Norwin board members clash on approach to resolving budget deficit
Faced with a projected $4.4 million deficit for the next school year, the majority of the Norwin School Board members showed no inclination this week to raise real estate taxes. The alternative includes reducing teaching positions and cutting four all-day kindergarten classes to save about $2.1 million for the 2023-2024...
Norwin children’s librarian opening new chapter with job change
After 21 years as children’s librarian at Norwin Public Library, Barbara McKee is moving on. “It’s been a wonderful career here. This is the beginning of a new chapter,” said McKee, a Norwin High School graduate. She’s leaving May 15 to become the assistant librarian at the Penn State Fayette...
No. 2 Hempfield softball outduels No. 3 Norwin
Recent matchups between the Norwin and Hempfield softball teams turned into home run derbys. The latest one, though, was a pitchers’ duel. And it had a postseason vibe between two playoff-bound teams. Sophomore Riley Miller went the distance for Hempfield, striking out nine with no walks, and the No. 2...
Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Norwin’s Trey Huha
Norwin’s track and field team enjoyed another year of success, finishing undefeated in section competition. The success the Knights have had this year is no fluke. Over the five years prior to this one, the Knights went 47-3 in section, a record that combines both the boys and girls. Senior...
Irwin mosaic-maker Mitzi Hall follows beat of her own artistic drum
Mosaic artist Mitzi Hall of Irwin turned down what probably would have been the biggest commission of her career in favor of keeping her creative freedom. A restaurateur in Arizona had seen an image of one of Hall’s mosaic-inlaid guitars online and asked if she could make one for him....
‘Not just one size fits all’: Autism Employment Network provides opportunities in Monroeville, other locations
For anyone who thinks people stopped taking pride in their work, meet Robert Hester. “You happen to have popped in on me at the same time I’m going to make my 100th package,” he told a recent visitor to his Monroeville Mall workplace, as Hester and a colleague placed a...
Norwin notebook: Knights shine at WCCA championships
Norwin sent a message to the rest of the WPIAL at the 100th Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association track and field championships April 27, at Latrobe. That message? The Knights are for real — and they are WPIAL title contenders. The boys and girls teams won titles at the county meet,...
Norwin teacher smiled her way through Boston Marathon
Norwin High School math teacher Angela Knipple doesn’t shy away from mental or physical challenges, and likes to run long distances, so it seems only fitting that she combined the two and took on the legendary Boston Marathon. Not only did Knipple finish the rainy Boston Marathon on April 17,...
Sophomore lefty powers streaking Norwin past slumping Hempfield
Ethen Culbertson threw Hempfield a curve. The host Spartans were hoping to hit Norwin’s unassuming sophomore left-hander Friday and bounce back from a loss against the Knights. But Culberson wasn’t having it. With his curveball doing its job and a defense settling in behind him, Culberton tossed an 85-pitch complete...
Norwin school board factions square off in primary election
With four incumbents not seeking reelection, the control of the divided Norwin School Board will be up for grabs this year, beginning with the May 16 primary. Nine of the 10 candidates are seeking the nominations on both the Democratic and Republican slates in the primary, with one candidate just...
Norwin briefs: Heritage Trail festival slated; Library to present ambulance service story; Seniors plan bus trip to Mackinac Island
Westmoreland Heritage Trail Community Festival The annual Westmoreland Heritage Trail Community Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 3 in Trafford, and this year will include a poker run. In addition to basket raffles, a DJ, fishing for kids, food vendors, ice cream, face-painting and more,...
Norwin baseball beats Hempfield on Weaver’s walk-off in 8th
Justin Weaver wanted to win for several reasons Thursday. The Norwin senior baseball player had his own, personal list of motivating factors in the back of his mind. • There was a playoff spot up for grabs. • It was senior day. • It was his 18th birthday. • Coach...
Pittsburgh airport security stops Irwin woman with loaded handgun
An Irwin woman is accused of attempting to bring a loaded handgun in her carry-on bag early Wednesday at Pittsburgh International Airport, the Transportation Security Administration said. The woman, who wasn’t identified, was stopped by an officer who had spotted the gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine, the TSA said....
Norwin board ponders cutting 9 teaching positions, not filling 5 positions
Some Norwin School Board members ripped a budget proposal Monday that would cut nine teaching positions, scrap plans to fill five proposed ones and eliminate two administrative jobs in the 2023-24 school year to help balance the 2023-24 budget without raising property taxes. “We’re hurting the reason we are up...
Housing authority expects strong interest in Irwin senior residences
The Westmoreland County Housing Authority will soon be able to gauge interest from seniors who want to live in the 50-unit apartment building set to open in Irwin next year. Senior citizens age 62 and older will have the opportunity to learn about living in Grand View Senior Residences, a...
North Huntingdon OKs study for Oak Hollow improvements
North Huntingdon has hired a consulting engineer to develop a master plan of recommended improvements to the township’s 127-acre Oak Hollow Park. KU Resources Inc. of Duquesne was directed to develop a site plan to outline what would be appropriate development for what township leaders consider the community’s flagship park....
2 injured in Manor when vehicle overturns on railroad tracks
Two Irwin residents were taken to area trauma centers for treatment after a vehicle overturned on train tracks early Sunday in Manor, according to emergency responders. The crash happened about 1:30 a.m. and caused a closure of the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks until about 4 a.m., said a Westmoreland County...
Irwin mom hopes to fund beach trips for sick kids in daughter’s memory
Bernadette Flowers was born ready to take on the world. She was lifting and turning her head before leaving the hospital, rolling over within a week and babbling a blue streak at an early age. “She loved life and gave unconditional love to everyone,” said her mother, Stephanie Apone of...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of April 30, 2023
Churchill Estate of Lamar Kinghorn sold property at 2148 Beulah Road to James Burke Sr for $165,000. William Levin sold property at 3710 Henley Drive to Toby and Danielle Weaver for $190,000. Monroeville Dorothy Sciotti Henry sold property at 406 Center Road to Cindy Vulgris for $50,000. Tri COG Land...
Frogs, toads, trillium, more showcased at North Huntingdon nature preserve
An evening nature walk at a North Huntingdon nature preserve will help participants learn about the frogs and toads that make the area their home. Herpetologist AAron Capouellez will lead the walk at the Otto & Magdalene Ackermann Nature Preserve, near Ardara, and share his love for amphibians while hopefully...
Norwin notebook: Northeastern commit Shaw shines at Butler Invitational
Hannah Shaw collected the only victory for Norwin at the 58th Butler Invitational April 21 at Bernardi Stadium in Butler. Shaw, a Northeastern commit, soared 11 feet, 7 inches to win the pole vault title, one of many top-10 finishes for the Knights. Trey Huha finished third in the 200-meter...
North Huntingdon takes step to make Indian Lake Park good for dogs year-round
Dog owners may soon be able to walk their pets around Indian Lake Park in North Huntingdon year-round, if the township commissioners lift the limits on pet owners exercising their pooches in the park just between November and February. Township commissioners paved the way to eliminate rules that prohibited leashed...
Norwin area: Blessing of bikes and car cruise, Lego building and movie and more
Church to bless bikes, hold car cruise St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish at 200 Leger Road, North Huntingdon, will hold its annual Blessing of the Bikes and Car Cruise on June 25. Food trucks, raffles, prizes and a Best of Show award will be part of the car cruise that...
Ace Lexie Hames fans 19 as Seneca Valley wins Class 6A showdown with Norwin
Like mother, like daughter? Or something like that. Lexie Hames has picked up where her mother, Marlesse Hames, left off. Or something like that. “She’s 10 times better than me. She’s a better athlete than I was, for sure,” Seneca Valley softball coach Marlesse Hames said of her daughter, sophomore...
Former North Huntingdon emergency management coordinator tapped for top Mutual Aid Ambulance post
A former head of North Huntingdon’s emergency management operations has been tapped to lead Mutual Aid Ambulance Service Inc., Westmoreland County’s largest ambulance service. Gene Komondor of North Huntingdon, who was the township’s emergency management coordinator from 2007 to October 2020 and had operated an ambulance service, started his new...
