Westmoreland category, Page 527
Wait over, visits at Westmoreland Manor to resume
After more than a year of meeting through windows or via video chats, Westmoreland Manor residents will have an opportunity to meet in person with family and friends starting Saturday. Officials announced Friday that outside visits for the nearly 300 nursing home residents at the county-owned facility in Hempfield will...
Former Pirates pitcher Vazquez to claim teen accuser lied about her age
A judge on Friday rejected a defense request to dismiss three sex-related charges against former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez, who claims his female accuser told him she was almost an adult when police say they engaged in sexual activity. Vazquez, 29, is in Westmoreland County Prison without bond as...
Excela Health creates vaccine registry
Excela Health established a registry for anyone who wants to get the coronavirus vaccine. Those who register will receive a notification when an appointment is available to them as health system officials said they were assured they could expect consistent distributions of the vaccine in the coming weeks. Chief Medical...
After 2 more covid cases, Penn-Trafford extends high school closure through March 31
After two additional covid-19 cases were reported — making a total of a dozen cases in 15 days — Penn-Trafford officials have extended the closure of Penn-Trafford High School through March 31, Superintendent Matt Harris said in a letter. The district originally planned to close Friday, through the weekend, and...
Dispatch: 2 people taken to hospital after tree falls on car in North Irwin
Two people were injured after a tree fell onto a car Friday, a North Huntingdon dispatcher confirmed. The incident, which occurred in the 2700 block of Morris Avenue in North Huntingdon, involved one vehicle. Crews responded to the area around 11:35 a.m. According to the dispatcher, both people were taken...
Local schools prepare for state mock trial showdown
Students from three area high schools, including Greensburg Salem, will take their legal skills to a virtual courtroom this weekend to compete for the state mock trial title. This year, 232 teams from 199 schools competed in district and regional mock trial competitions. Of those, 16 qualified for the state...
Franklin Regional Junior Olympics team qualifies 12 wrestlers for state championships next week
When the Franklin Regional Junior Olympic wrestling team walks onto the floor April 1 for the state championships, it will do so with more wrestlers than any other school in its region. In the KeyStone State Southwest Qualifier, held March 22-23 in Monroeville, FR’s team qualified a dozen wrestlers, and...
Pittsburgh photographer is The Westmoreland’s new resident artist
Gavin Benjamin, the new artist in residence at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, has found a creative haven in Pittsburgh. The former New York City resident said the Steel City’s affordability gives him the opportunity to live in what he calls “Gavin’s bubble.” “It’s the only place I found...
Greensburg Diocese to broadcast Easter Sunday Mass, livestream Holy Week
The Diocese of Greensburg will broadcast and livestream its Easter Sunday Mass and will stream Holy Week liturgies for those unable to attend due to physical limitations, age and illness. Easter Mass will be at 10 a.m. April 4, broadcast on the Pittsburgh CW (check local listings) and on 106.7...
Allegheny, Westmoreland report highest daily covid totals in more than 2 months
Allegheny and Westmoreland counties on Friday saw their highest totals of newly reported covid cases in more than two months. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Allegheny reported 586 additional coronavirus cases, its highest since 670 on Jan. 13. Westmoreland’s total of 166 is its most since 173 on...
Suicide at Westmoreland jail disclosed months later, results in homicide case being dropped
A woman’s death at Westmoreland County Prison in December was confirmed Thursday, more than three months later. According to Coroner Ken Bacha, Linda Kay Quidetto, 43, of Sharon, Mercer County, was pronounced dead at 3:06 a.m. on Dec. 11 in the emergency room at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg...
Town hall meeting planned for Norwin school board candidates
Nine candidates for Norwin school board will discuss issues and field questions from voters in a town hall meeting April 26 at Norwin High School. Voters in the primary will choose four candidates for the school board. Two are incumbents — Brian Carlton and Raymond Kocak — while newcomers are...
Covid cases force Penn-Trafford High School closure on Friday
After being notified of its 10th positive covid-19 case in the past 14 days, Penn-Trafford High School will be closed Friday through the weekend, reopening Monday, March 29. During that time there will be no extracurricular activities for students, district officials said in a Thursday letter to district families. State...
Jeannette man charged with ethnic intimidation
Jeannette police charged a man with ethnic intimidation and related offenses this week after they said he called another man a racial epithet during a fight, according to court papers. Police were called to Jeannette Manor on South Fourth Street at 9:30 p.m. Sunday for a reported fight. Witnesses told...
Jailed Youngwood man accused in fatal overdose furloughed to attend drug rehab
A Youngwood man awaiting trial on charges he sold drugs used in the fatal overdose of a Greensburg woman in 2019 will be furloughed from Westmoreland County Prison to attend an inpatient drug rehabilitation treatment program. Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani on Wednesday granted the request from Matthew Thomas Caughey,...
Bushy Run Battlefield Museum to reopen April 30
The Bushy Run Battlefield Museum in Penn Township will be able to reopen on April 30, the first time since the Wolf administration shut down state-owned facilities a year ago in its efforts to stem the spread of coronavirus. The museum at the site of the August 1763 battle that...
New Kensington police accuse Jeannette man of sexually assaulting girl, who became pregnant
New Kensington police have charged a Jeannette man with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, who became pregnant. Police said they began investigating last September after getting a report that a teen had given birth to a son in November 2019 at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh. The father was identified...
Postal Service searching for ‘alternate quarters’ after Wendel post office closure
Real estate professionals with the U.S. Postal Service are searching for “alternate quarters” after the post office in the Hempfield village of Wendel shuttered last month, officials said. The post office, located at 369 Wendel Rd., closed Feb. 13 because the Postal Service lost its lease on the building, officials...
Wildlife, habitat enthusiasts sought for Pennsylvania master naturalist training
Anyone interested in promoting pollinator habitats or tracking bird migrations might want to join the ranks of Pennsylvania’s master naturalists. Volunteers from Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties can sign up for 55 hours of training in the late summer and fall, which is the first step in becoming certified in...
Pennsylvania passes 1 million covid cases
Pennsylvania passed 1 million covid cases on Thursday. The milestone comes as vaccinations continue amid rising cases statewide and stable cases closer to home in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,000,240 cases, a rise of 3,623 cases from Wednesday. The seven-day average of cases is...
Derry Borough man charged with abusing 2 children
A Derry Borough man was arrested this week after, police say, he assaulted two children. Robert William Kmecak, 38, is charged with strangulation, child endangerment, indecent assault, corruption of minors and simple assault. Borough police said one of the children reported being sexually abused by Kmecak in December. The second...
Judge rejects appeal in Youngwood man’s murder case
A Westmoreland County judge rejected the appeal of Youngwood man who last year was sentenced to serve up to 70 years in prison for his role in a 2017 robbery that resulted in the death of a drug dealer. Christopher James David, 43, in September pleaded guilty to third-degree murder,...
Pitt-Greensburg theater production a dark dive into ‘Hamlet’
Pitt-Greensburg Theatre Company’s spring production is Shakespeare — but not Shakespeare for purists. “’Dark Hamlet’ is a collage production of William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet,’ using a severe cutting of the text and the technology of video conferencing to create a morphine dream for the audience — and for the character of...
Pittsburgh man charged after Rostraver homeowner stopped break-in
A Pittsburgh man is accused of trying to break into a Rostraver home after police said he claimed to have used a “bad dose of laced marijuana,” according to court papers. A homeowner held LeBarron J. McCoy, 36, at gunpoint Friday until township police arrived. McCoy is charged with burglary,...
Section of Clay Avenue sidewalks set for replacement in Jeannette
The replacement of curbs and sidewalks on a section of Clay Avenue should be completed in June, said Ed Antonacci, Jeannette’s city engineer. But the price could rise because some property owners between Sixth and Seventh streets didn’t respond to requests from city officials seeking information about openings below the...
