Westmoreland category, Page 67
Interest in online learning, cyber charters increase in wake of covid pandemic
As the covid-19 pandemic eased and Canon-McMillan School District reopened its doors in August 2021, elementary student Camille Postlewaite told her parents she did not want to return to in-person classes. “That was what she wanted to do, and we’re not big on, ‘Well, you’re going to do it this...
From technology to learning loss to mental health, covid’s impact on education still felt today
Wayne Walters can still recall the enormous logistical challenge of handing out thousands of paper packets of classwork to Pittsburgh Public Schools students in 2020. The covid-19 pandemic had taken hold in the region. Schools closed buildings, students were left to learn online, and educators scrambled over how best to...
IUP reaches deal with Torrance hospital for clinical training, addressing crisis in rural health care
Four years from now, there could be a dozen or so students from Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s medical school doing some of their clincal training at Torrance State Hospital near Blairsville. The experiences these IUP students from the proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine would face at the state hospital in...
Norwin Elks host annual Vietnam Veterans Luncheon
Robert and Joseph Tanyer weren’t even legally allowed to drink yet when the two brothers from Jeannette signed up for the Army and shipped out to Vietnam in the late 1960s. “I turned 21 while I was over there,” Joseph Tanyer said. “I didn’t think too much about it. I...
Pike County man to serve up to 23 months in jail for 2020 sexual assault
A Northeastern Pennsylvania man was taken out of a Westmoreland County courtroom in handcuffs Friday after being handed a jail sentence for sexually assaulting a teenage girl five years ago. Judge Christopher Feliciani sentenced David Stone, 62, of Dingmans Ferry in Pike County, to six to 23 months in the...
Hempfield officials make plans to spend $7.5M surplus
Hempfield officials are reallocating $7.5 million in surplus funds after higher than expected revenues in recent years. Township supervisors this week approved a plan to use the money to buy public works equipment, pay off fire trucks and foot the bill for a second road paving project, among other priorities....
Derry’s former Porcelain Park could be revamped as new commercial space
Brian Lawrence can see a light at the end of the tunnel when he looks over the 19 acres of empty land in Derry once known as Porcelain Park. Decades ago, 200 people came there to work for the borough’s main employer, a plant that produced ceramic insulators. If the...
Hempfield Area students hold a 12-hour Mini-THON to aid pediatric cancer patients
Nearly 260 of Hempfield Area School District’s juniors and seniors participated in a 12-hour, no-sitting Mini-THON Friday, a high school version of the popular Penn State THON fundraiser. This is the third year that the local district has held a fundraiser for Four Diamonds, the charity at Penn State Health...
Latrobe man convicted in stepbrother’s drug overdose death gets second chance from court
A prosecutor, a defense attorney and a judge worked together Friday to fashion a sentence that they hope will help a man who has struggled with a drug addiction — which led to the death of his stepbrother — get a second chance. Stephen A. Piper could have been sentenced...
Monessen man receives prison sentence for stabbing attack
A Monessen man was sentenced Friday to state prison for stabbing a man at an apartment complex where they lived in 2023. The victim of the attack declined to testify during the sentencing hearing for Robert W. Varner, 62, but the fact that he didn’t waive a mandatory two- to...
2 men sentenced in robbery of vape cartridges
Two men were sentenced to two years less one day on probation Friday for their roles in what police said was a robbery of $5,000 worth of vape cartridges. James Walter Ryan, 23, of Penn Township, and Kasean Lamar Dillard, 21, of Pittsburgh, both previously pleaded guilty to lesser charges...
Girls flag football: From high schools and colleges to the Olympics
Mackenzie Livingston played basketball in college, but if flag football had been an option, things might have been different. The nonstop action is something that has always drawn her to the game. “You are constantly doing something — pulling flags or going out for routes — it’s always something,” said...
Police suspect deaths of Crabtree couple were murder-suicide
State police believe two deaths stemming from a shooting in Crabtree nearly a year ago were the result of a murder-suicide. In a report issued Thursday, troopers identified Marie Southern, 61, as the victim. She was found wandering on Brown Lane in early April and appeared confused, troopers said. It...
A bird in the hand, and potentially in 22 nest boxes, leads Ligonier teen to Eagle Scout title
Oliver Sparks’ Eagle Scout project is for the birds — literally. The Ligonier Valley High School senior recently attained the top Scouting rank by updating and augmenting boxes that support nesting by various bird species at the Powdermill Nature Reserve’s Avian Research Center in Ligonier Township. “There were bird boxes...
Morning Roundup: Rostraver Elementary boosts police presence amid weapons, fight threats
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, March 28: Rostraver Elementary boosts police presence amid weapons, fight threats Belle Vernon Area School District Superintendent Timothy Glasspool said there will be increased police presence Friday following weapons and fighting threats made by students at Rostraver Elementary....
Standoff resolved in Monessen after police attempt to serve search warrant
A Brownsville man is behind bars after police said he shot at another man in Monessen late Thursday. Investigators said when they attempted to serve a search warrant early Thursday at a home near the shooting they learned Jay Din R. Eleam, 21, was reportedly hiding in an attic, possibly...
Western Pa. car dealers preparing for bumpy ride when tariffs kick in
Barry Freger, co-owner of Jeannette used car dealer Pinnacle Auto Sales, is scooping up as many late-model, low-mileage vehicles as possible. With a 25% U.S. tariff on auto imports set to begin April 3, Freger hopes to be ready when sticker shock, or a lack of available new models, sends...
Here are 5 things to do in Westmoreland this weekend: March 28-30
Indoors and outdoors, music and art, fun and fresh air and even more are planned for this weekend in Westmoreland County. What’s on your agenda? Here are some events to consider. March for Parks As the weather warms, the beautiful Westmoreland County parks will become more busy, with plenty to...
Floral designers complement art displays for annual Art in Bloom at Westmoreland Museum of American Art
Art in Bloom, an exhibit that combines the artwork in the galleries at Westmoreland Museum of American Art with creations from local florists, will be on display through Sunday at the museum in Greensburg. Admission is free for members and $10 for nonmembers through Saturday and free for all on...
5 Westmoreland teams leave Western Pa. Youth Football League to form their own
Pennsylvania’s largest youth football league got a little smaller this week, as five Westmoreland County teams opted to leave and form a league of their own in the wake of a police investigation. The Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League, in which the Westmoreland teams had been playing, is under scrutiny...
Greensburg teen escapes after alleged assault by man she met on social media
Investigators believe a Philadelphia man was intending to traffic a 13-year-old Greensburg girl when he paid for an Uber to drive her 280 miles across the state, where, police said, he sexually assaulted her. The girl managed to escape, and police on Thursday arrested Angel Lopez, 19, on 14 felonies...
Pennsylvania Lottery awards $1 million winner in Belle Vernon
Pennsylvania Lottery officials presented a commemorative $1 million check on Thursday to a Fayette County woman at the Belle Vernon sports bar where she purchased the ticket. Brittnee Boot purchased the winning “$1,000,000 Winnings” ticket at Foster House II in Belle Vernon. Boot was joined by Foster House II co-owner...
Greensburg’s SummerSounds announces 2025 lineup, aims to manage growing crowds
SummerSounds, a free outdoor concert series at Greensburg’s St. Clair Park, will feature several tribute bands and Sudanese pop-funk rock fusion in its lineup this year. The concert series amassed a combined attendance of 28,500 people and drew more than $1 million in economic impact to Greensburg last season, co-founder...
Female veteran from Greatest Generation: ‘Best thing that ever happened to me’
The world that young Emily Drake was navigating in the spring of 1942, armed with an Aspinwall High School diploma, was awash in war — in Europe, Asia, Africa and throughout the South Pacific. Drake, who lives in O’Hara, wanted to join the Women’s Army Corps to serve her country...
Greensburg’s Main Street reimagined with mix of housing, retail, restaurants
An ambitious attempt to revitalize some century-old buildings on Greensburg’s Main Street will likely involve some future scholars to reach its maximum potential. The Westmoreland County Housing Authority intends to convert the century-old First Commonwealth Building and adjoining PNC Bank buildings into housing, retail, office and meeting spaces in what...
