Westmoreland category, Page 526
Rising lumber prices a pain in the pocketbook, push new house prices up $24,000
In 40 years of building homes in Westmoreland, Allegheny and southern Butler counties, Ray Snoznik, owner of R.A. Snoznik Construction Inc. of Murrysville, never has seen such a jump in lumber prices in one year. “It’s up 188% from last year. We’re trying to adjust (to the price hike), but...
Youngstown, Whitney-Hostetter fire departments complete merger
The Whitney-Hostetter Volunteer Fire Department will cease operations as it merges with the nearby Youngstown fire department, officials announced Monday. The newly formed Youngstown-Whitney Volunteer Fire Department will continue to be known as Station 39. The merger, announced on the Youngstown department’s Facebook page, was a years-long process, according to...
Relief on soaring lumber prices unlikely until at least fall
The demand for lumber is outstripping supply, pushing lumber prices up and, in turn, raising the the price of a typical new home by $24,000. This “perfect storm” of factors will not let up in the short term, according to a chief economist for a national building association. “Lumber prices...
Allegheny County and Pennsylvania see highest covid hospitalizations in a month
Covid hospitalizations on Tuesday continued to increase in Allegheny County and Pennsylvania, according to state data, reaching levels previously reached a month ago. Pennsylvania The number of covid-19 patients hospitalized in the state grew to 1,980 on Tuesday, the 10th consecutive day hospitalizations have increased. It was the most people...
New North Huntingdon-Irwin area covid cases down slightly
The number of new confirmed covid cases in the North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin area dipped slightly from March 22 to 29, compared to the previous seven-day period, according to data released Monday by the state Department of Health. There were 47 new confirmed cases in the four ZIP codes covering most...
Westmoreland commissioners to host 2nd info session on covid-19 vaccine
Westmoreland County’s Republican commissioners are hosting an information session this week about covid-19 vaccines. The goal of the session, hosted by Commissioners Doug Chew and Sean Kertes, is to help residents understand vaccine development. Scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, the event will feature Dr. Sharon Riddler, a professor...
North Hempfield station becomes 1st chartered member of Hempfield Township Fire Department
More than a year after Hempfield leaders began the process of creating a single department, the North Hempfield station has become the first chartered member of the Hempfield Township Fire Department. During a meeting last week, supervisors unanimously authorized an agreement of acquisition with the North Hempfield Volunteer Fire Company...
Hempfield’s Spartan to Spartan program gives high school students a chance to teachVideo
Susan Barbe-Stas knew if she wanted to make this school year worthwhile then she couldn’t dwell on the cancellation of Hempfield Area High School’s preschool program. Knowing students in her child development class would not be working with students at Little Spartan Preschool, the family and consumer sciences and preschool...
Idlewild sets opening date, hiring 600 workers
A summer favorite is opening just in time for Memorial Day after a shortened year in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Idlewild & SoakZone in Ligonier Township will open May 29, officials announced Monday. The amusement park’s 144th season will see the return of attractions that didn’t open last...
More coronavirus cases reported at Westmoreland jail
Westmoreland County Prison has 38 active cases of the coronavirus in inmates, Warden Bryan Kline said Monday. Nine prisoners at the Hempfield lockup are considered to have recovered after previously testing positive, he said. Those with active infections are being quarantined throughout the jail. There has been an increase in...
Wall of Faces project to honor Vietnam casualties nears completion; all Pennsylvania photos found
On March 29, 1973, combat and combat support units withdrew from South Vietnam, and the Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017 permanently designates that date every year as National Vietnam War Veterans Day. It is a time not only to recognize the service of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam, but...
Rising covid cases in Pennsylvania not as steep as late 2020 surge
There’s no doubt coronavirus cases are on the rise in Pennsylvania. But the cases do not appear to be increasing at the rate seen in early November. The state’s current week-over-week numbers indicate cases are rising an average of 20-30%, whereas, in November, the week-over-week rates were averaging in the...
Stage Right performs ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ at Westmoreland County Community College
Stage Right’s Professional Company staged its first Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, “The Pirates of Penzance,” during in-person and live-streamed performances Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Science Hall Theater on the campus of Westmoreland County Community College. The show featured Kevin O’Leary as the Pirate King, Anthony Marino Jr....
Amid loss of Iron City contract, City Brewing eyes ownership, management changes, adds jobs in Latrobe
New investors and a restructured management team are expected to take over in April at City Brewing, according to the Wisconsin-based company that operates Latrobe’s brewery. Meanwhile, the company says the pending loss of Iron City Beer production should have little effect at the plant, where new jobs have been...
Westmoreland women entrepreneurs take on challenges, find formula for successVideo
Dorothy McElwain found a new use for the skills she’d honed working for others. Lois Runzo responded to the challenge of transforming a financially troubled company. Faerie Grace reinvented the way she communicates with clients while staying true to her strengths. All three women found fulfillment heading their own businesses...
Fayette artist’s creativity unearthed at old mine along Great Allegheny Passage
An abandoned coal mine is telling its story in new ways along the Great Allegheny Passage in northern Fayette County. The cement walls of Banning No. 2 are a perfect canvas for Rachel Sager’s preferred method of art — mosaic. She and artists from around the world are using the...
Former shrine for St. Philomena part of Seton Hill University’s campus lore in Greensburg
Tucked into a quiet corner of Seton Hill University’s campus is a now empty space that once bustled with visitors hoping to get a peek at the shrine for St. Philomena. The shrine, protected by a triangular structure made of stainless steel and limestone, was erected on land originally owned...
‘Pittsburgh On Your Plate’: Manor woman’s cookbook draws on local culinary influencesVideo
Joanne Niehl’s first cookbook, self-published for a family reunion, drew almost exclusively on recipes from her family. It also got her reminiscing about the memories behind the meals. “We called it ‘Down the House,’ because, when we were growing up, we’d always head to the family house in Braddock on...
Great Allegheny Passage, named 20 years ago, continues to grow in popularity, importanceVideo
The task of naming the network of trails stretching from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md., was brought up at an initial planning meeting in the mid-1990s. Ideas were thrown out. But naming something that didn’t yet exist took a backseat to the actual work, Linda McKenna Boxx said. “Let’s see if...
Life during covid: Greensburg paramedic recounts virus toll
Editor’s note: This is an occasional series examining how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of members of our community. The life of a paramedic got a lot harder a year ago, and it hasn’t eased up yet. “It just causes a normal day to be four times as...
Jeannette native turns 100, recalls winter combat against German forces in 1945
Sam Joseph is celebrating his 100th birthday today at Weatherwood Manor in Hempfield. Seventy-six years ago, he was among Allied troops pushing into Germany’s Rhineland, battling to bring World War II to an end on Europe’s Western Front. The intervening decades melted away this past week as the Jeannette native...
North Huntingdon company lands Defense Department contract for 3D printing lab
A North Huntingdon-based firm with an international reach has landed a Defense Department contract to build a 3D industrial sand and metal printing lab using binder jet technology that can make replacement parts inside a 40-foot-long shipping container that can be set up where the military needs it. The “3D...
Latrobe council honors visually impaired teen for leadership, service to othersVideo
At 17, Adison Lemmon knows where she wants to go. On track to join the National Honor Society and to graduate from Greater Latrobe Senior High this semester, a year earlier than usual, the Unity teen wants to become an early childhood and special education teacher. Her choice of career...
Penn Township soldier, other veterans to be recognized for heroism at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial
A Penn Township soldier who was awarded the Silver Star posthumously for his heroic actions to save fellow soldiers 51 years ago in the Vietnam War officially will join a hall of heroes Sunday in Pittsburgh. Army Spc. 4 Larry L. Hohman of Paintertown will be inducted into the Hall...
Norwin High School closed 2 days because of covid cases
Norwin High School was closed Thursday and Friday because of a spike in positive covid cases during what was to be the first full week of in-person instruction this school year and will not reopen until April 6 because of the scheduled spring break. Superintendent Jeff Taylor announced on Wednesday...
