Westmoreland category, Page 208

Hempfield Area officials defended the district’s proposal to permanently close Harrold Middle School at the final public meeting before the school board will vote on the plan in February. About 70 people attended Monday’s board meeting, many of them to speak out against the plan. Parents raised concerns over transportation,...

Greensburg’s police union has filed suit in Westmoreland County court seeking to block a change to a retirement savings plan it says would violate its contract with the city. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 56 argues in the civil action filed last week that Greensburg’s planned change of provider for...

Twelve homes in Jeannette were deemed public nuisances and ordered demolished Monday, adding to the city’s list of blight proposed to be removed through Westmoreland County American Rescue Plan funding. Fire Chief Bill Frye said he hopes to push as many as 100 properties through what can be a time-consuming...

One person was transported for treatment following a one-vehicle wreck Monday evening in Ligonier Township, according to responding firefighters. The rollover crash with entrapment was reported at about 7:15 p.m. on Laurel Ridge, a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher confirmed. Waterford and Ligonier firefighters were dispatched to the crash near the...

State police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a fraud suspect in an incident last month at the Hempfield Walmart. Police said a man shown in surveillance photos they released on Monday is suspected of making a fraudulent return of gift cards at the store at about 3 p.m....

A man being held at the Westmoreland County Prison was arraigned Monday on aggravated assault and terroristic threats charges after authorities said he injured three guards, according to court papers. Carl A. Jones, 33, of Irwin, is accused in the Oct. 31 incident at the Hempfield jail. Westmoreland County detectives...

After more than two days of searching, members of the Westmoreland County coroner’s office have located family members of an elderly East Huntingdon couple killed in a fire Friday. Coroner Tim Carson said Monday that they located a son in Swissvale. Ernest E. Wright Sr., 87, and his wife, Nancy...

Giant Eagle Inc.’s plans to build a car wash at the site of a former motel along Route 30 in Irwin moved a step closer last week when North Huntingdon officials approved the site plans and Irwin Borough’s planning commission gave its green light for the project. Although the car...

The Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s director and its top deputy will be getting raises approved last week by the authority’s board. The board unanimously authorized a more than 23% pay raise for Executive Director Alan Blahovec, his first raise since being promoted to the authority’s top job in 2014. Blahovec’s...

Dominick Domasky of Greensburg finally feels like he’s ready for Thanksgiving after he receives his truckload of turkeys, packed in boxes and stacked on pallets. “There’s four turkeys in a box, and they’re giant boxes, about 4 feet high,” Domasky said. “They bring these boxes out … one weird-looking dolly...

A Clairton man is in the Westmoreland County Prison after police said he was selling drugs during his work hours at a Rostraver store. Melvin T. Payne, 42, was jailed Thursday on $250,000 bail after police reported making two drug purchases through a confidential informant this month. He is facing...

On the wall opposite the entrance to the Fort Ligonier art gallery is the painting of a white-wigged soldier on horseback, apparently in the thick of battle. “Most visitors naturally assume it’s George Washington,” said Julie Donovan, the fort’s director of marketing and public relations. But it’s not. Rather, it’s...

A North Huntingdon man pleaded guilty this month in West Virginia federal court to stealing $3.5 million from a construction company he managed. A court date has not been set for Michael D. Allen, 60, to be sentenced on wire fraud and money laundering charges. Information filed Oct. 3 in...

Excela CEO John Sphon doesn’t expect either patients or staff to experience much of a difference in how they access or provide care as the Greensburg-based hospital system moves forward with a merger with Butler Health System. Sphon opened up about the plan Friday as the two organizations announced they...

It was midnight, and John Hartman really wanted a cup of coffee. The date was July 9, 1998. Hartman had just finished his shift with the North Franklin police and was getting ready to pick up a second shift, with the nearby North Belle Vernon police, that wouldn’t end until...

Smoke still rose Sunday from the burned remains of a home that sits on about 13 acres of farmland in East Huntingdon, two days after an elderly couple was killed in a fire there. Members of the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office have been working with state troopers and sheriff’s deputies...

For the 27th Annual Regional Juried Exhibition of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Council for the Arts, juror Paula Burleigh said she chose “artworks that asked me to find unexpected delight in the ordinary.” Her choices included works in various media by 53 regional artists, revealed during a Nov. 12 opening reception...

The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County and a union representing more than 260 workers have agreed to a new five-year labor contract. Authority board members last week approved the collective bargaining agreement with the Utility Workers of America Local 164 that includes pay raises totaling 14% over the life of...

Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has requested nearly $11 million in grants from the state’s covid-relief funds to pay for water and sewer system upgrades. Authority officials said last week identified five projects from different state programs funded with American Rescue Plan funds. “They would have gotten done but these...

After months of discussions, it’s back to the drawing board for the book policy committee in the Hempfield Area School District. The battle over what titles should be on the shelves of school libraries and what process could be used to deal with materials that are challenged because of graphic...

Gloved hands waved and blankets wrapped shoulders Saturday along Greensburg’s Main Street Saturday as holiday cheer was spread throughout the community. Onlookers exclaimed as groups of dogs and alpacas passed along the Holiday Parade route and tapped their toes while several marching bands and dance troupes played and shimmied their...

Lawsuits alleging fraud and requesting hand recounts of results in the races for Pennsylvania governor and U.S. Senator have been filed in Westmoreland County and across the state. As of Friday, four cases were filed in Westmoreland County from voters in Lower Burrell, Delmont, Hempfield and Loyalhanna. One case was...

Homicide charges against a Unity man suspected of killing Cassandra Gross were held for court Friday, despite unsuccessful searches for her body or remains in the last four and a half years since the Unity woman went missing. “Can you tell us how she died?” asked Marc Daffner, defense attorney...

Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Harry Smail Jr. on Friday announced he will run for a vacant seat on the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. Smail, 56, of Hempfield has served as a county judge since 2014. “My 8 1/2 years of experience in hearing a wide variety of cases is a...