Westmoreland category, Page 288
Teens charged after leading state police on high-speed chase down Route 30
Three teens were taken into custody after state police said they escaped from Adephoi Village and led law enforcement on a high-speed chase Thursday night along the Route 30 eastbound corridor. State troopers initially responded to a report around 10 p.m. that an employee’s vehicle had been stolen at Technimark,...
Support continues after fire ravaged Elizabeth Forward High School auditorium
Nearly two weeks after a fire raged through the Elizabeth Forward High School auditorium, donations to the district keep growing. One GoFundMe has raised over $36,000 to benefit the district. Another drew more than $2,000 in support. A third raised $30. That money is in addition to equipment and dollars...
Pittsburgh, Greensburg dioceses permit eating meat on St. Patrick’s Day during Lent
Catholics in Western Pennsylvania will be allowed to eat traditional St. Patrick’s Day fare like corned beef, Reubens and Irish stew this year, despite the holiday falling on a Friday during Lent. Normally, Catholics abstain from eating meat on the Fridays of Lent., but Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik and Greensburg...
6-year-old Belle Vernon Area student dies after being hit by car
On Friday afternoon, the Rev. Mary Kay Glunt placed a pinwheel, colorful flowers and a stuffed white lamb in the yard of First Presbyterian Church of Belle Vernon. Amanda Woznick saw it and knelt in front of it, crying. Glunt’s mementos marked the scene where, hours earlier, Woznick’s 6-year-old daughter...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: Feb. 24-26
Historical trivia Join Westmoreland Historical Society for a night of trivia in celebration of Westmoreland County’s 250th anniversary from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at Yinzer Valley Farms, 681 Mulberry Hill Road, East Huntingdon. Ace Trivia will pose questions focusing on the county’s history since its founding Feb. 26, 1773....
Latrobe Municipal Authority offers to take lead on slippery subject
Latrobe Municipal Authority officials are aiming to reduce the amount of cooking fats and oils that, when disposed of improperly, clog sewerlines and pollute local waterways. “We have to do something,” authority board member Carl “Skip” Bollinger recently told city council members. “Our main problem is the Nine Mile Run...
Kosko joins GOP field for Westmoreland commissioner
Paul Kosko of Hempfield has joined a field of at least four candidates who are seeking two Republican nominations for Westmoreland County commissioner. Kosko, 62, joins incumbents Sean Kertes and Doug Chew, along with retired executive John Ventre, as candidates in the May primary as Republicans attempt to hold their...
Teacher-student ratio, staffing expected to hold steady during Hempfield Area transition
Now that Hempfield Area’s school board has approved middle school consolidation, the district has a hefty task at hand. Upcoming months will be spent reassigning Harrold students to one of the two remaining middle schools and moving faculty assignments as the district simultaneously prepares to embark on the $128 million...
Westmoreland Cultural Trust seeks controller, sees rebound from pandemic
Westmoreland Cultural Trust is in the market for a new fiscal manager as it looks to rebound from a pandemic-related drop in revenue and in events at its two Greensburg venues. Longtime controller John Bolha retired in 2021 after 19 years on the job. An interim controller filled in, and...
Former inmate claims mistreatment in Westmoreland jail
A former Westmoreland County Prison inmate claims his mistreatment while he was at the jail led to health issues that have left him confined to a nursing home, according to lawsuit filed this week. James Robert Frantz, formerly of Hempfield, contends he sustained injuries in a fight with another inmate...
Hempfield safety officer, volunteer firefighter running for township supervisor
Michael Wolford is a candidate for Hempfield Township supervisor. The 54-year-old township resident said he’s running to be the “voice of the community.” In a statement, Wolford said he wants to hone in on issues like public safety, volunteer firefighter support, tax dollar transparency, job creation to retain Hempfield’s younger...
Monroeville woman will present Nancy Drew ‘mystery history’ in Delmont
Tara Rotuna has been solving mysteries alongside Nancy Drew since she was 8 years old. Along the way, she solved some other mysteries, like the truth behind Nancy Drew author Carolyn Keene, and she started collecting Drew books and began attending themed conventions across the country. Rotuna, 52, of Monroeville...
Seton Hill production puts modern spin on Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’
History tends to repeat itself — a notion that will be explored in a Seton Hill University Theatre and Dance Program production of “Julius Caesar.” William Shakespeare’s classic drama of political intrigue and personal honor will be staged Friday and Saturday and March 3 and 4 in the university’s Performing...
Westmoreland municipal authority approves $31 million treatment plant expansion
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County will spend $31 million to expand and upgrade a water treatment plant near Connellsville — a 70% jump in the cost estimated when it was initially approved 27 months ago. Originally expected to cost about $18 million, the project’s price jumped in the intervening...
Westmoreland DA hopes to expand trauma intervention program in schools
A pilot program launched last year in response to the murder of an 9-year-old New Kensington boy has helped as many as 45 school-age children deal with ongoing trauma, according to the Westmoreland County district attorney. Nicole Ziccarelli wants to expand the program, which provides aid and comfort to children...
Norwin board members file suit over superintendent assessment
Four members of the Norwin School Board have sued the board president and two other directors, alleging a 2022 assessment of the superintendent was a fraud. The assessment excluded their comments and scores of his performance, according to a lawsuit filed this week in Westmoreland County court. Directors Christine Baverso,...
United Way shopping spree haul donated to Westmoreland food bankVideo
Sarah Garrison had to drive all the way from Fairmont, W.Va., to Greensburg to do her grocery shopping Wednesday morning. It was for a good cause: The Murrysville native’s mother, Kathleen Maurer, was chosen for the United Way’s annual shopping spree at the Charley Family Shop ’n Save on North...
Westmoreland Democrats seek to refocus commissioner campaign with Thrasher out of the race
Less than 24 hours after the surprise announcement that Westmoreland Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher would not seek reelection, county Democrats said Wednesday they are ready to move forward with a campaign to reclaim a majority at the courthouse. That plan, party officials conceded, is reliant on another candidate coming forward...
Javanese music comes to Greensburg, courtesy of Pitt ensemble
The music of the Sundanese people of the Indonesian island of Java is coming to Greensburg, courtesy of the University Gamelan of the University of Pittsburgh. The ensemble will play a free concert at 4 p.m. Sunday in the Seton Hill University Performing Arts Center, 100 Harrison Ave. A gamelan...
Latrobe man charged with crimes involving 15-year-old girl
A Latrobe man was arrested Tuesday on state police accusations that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl he met on Facebook. David A. Fortino, 35, is charged with criminal solicitation, indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor and related offenses. He is free on $25,000 unsecured bail. The accuser told...
Westmoreland happenings: Lenten fish fries, spaghetti dinner fundraiser, elder law seminar
Submissions from nonprofit organizations for Briefly Speaking can be emailed to Carol Pinto-Smith at cpinto-smith@triblive.com or mailed to Briefly Speaking, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084. Include a complete address and daytime phone number. Submissions are due at least two weeks before the event. Each announcement is printed once; there...
Arona man pleads guilty to fatal drunken-driving crash in Hempfield
An Arona man pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in a fatal crash nearly two years ago in Hempfield that killed a woman and injured her husband in a two-vehicle collision. Ronald A. Jaffre, 55, was charged last year with vehicular homicide and other offenses in connection with the April...
Westmoreland seeks housing options for juveniles charged with adult crimes
Westmoreland County court officials scrambled this week to find proper housing for juveniles who must remain incarcerated as they await trial on charges of serious adult offenses. As many as eight teens charged in Westmoreland County cases were being held in the youthful offenders pod in Allegheny County Jail, but...
Summer interns sought for Forbes State Forest conservation tasks
College students ages 18-22 who are interested in a nature-focused summer gig might consider applying for a spot in the Youth Conservation Corps program at Forbes State Forest, based in Laughlintown. The YCC program is sponsored by the Loyalhanna Watershed Association and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources...
Hempfield school board votes to consolidate 3 middle schools into 2
Despite pleas from parents and a petition that purportedly garnered more than 800 signatures, the plan to consolidate Hempfield’s three middle schools into two was approved Tuesday night. Only one school board director voted against consolidation, which will move all sixth, seventh and eighth grade students into Wendover and West...
