Westmoreland category, Page 699
State police looking for Hempfield hit-and-run driver
State police are looking for the driver of a blue Honda car that was involved in a hit-and-run this month in Hempfield. The Honda rear-ended another vehicle at 4 p.m. Jan. 16 in the westbound lanes of Route 30 at Millersdale Road, according to troopers. The drivers discussed pulling into...
County network brings broadband service to Westmoreland libraries
Patrons connecting to the internet at many Westmoreland County libraries may have noticed a marked improvement in download speed in recent months — and for good reason. Beginning in July and ending this month, 16 community libraries gradually gained fiber-optic broadband service through a project initiated by the Westmoreland Library...
Police: Mt. Pleasant Township man out on bail in domestic case tries to kill accuser
A Mt. Pleasant Township man who was freed Saturday on domestic violence charges is accused of going to the woman’s home that day and trying to kill her, according to state police. Troopers said John Michael Pisula Jr., 30, held a rifle to the woman’s head and apparently pulled the...
Westmoreland’s political future could hinge on outcome of 58th District special election
A harbinger of Westmoreland County’s political future, with the 2020 presidential election looming, could be the March special election to fill Justin Walsh’s former House seat. The outcome of the race to replace Walsh, a Rostraver Republican who now is a county judge, might be a predictor of local Republican...
Penn Township delays, expands flood relief projects
Penn Township residents will have to wait a little longer for relief from frequent flooding. The township decided to expand the scope of proposed projects along Hyland Road and in the Harrison Park neighborhood — two of the the most flood-prone regions — which required going back to the drawing...
Former Penn-Trafford baseball star who died in Penn Township crash remembered
A star baseball player died Saturday as a result of injuries he suffered when his car collided with a pickup in Penn Township, authorities said. Maclean Peter “Mac” Maund, 18, of Harrison City died at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, where he had been taken for treatment, according to his obituary....
Westmoreland County animal response team hosts training for regional firefighters, EMTsVideo
About two years after the Westmoreland County Animal Response Team formed, its members were called out to fire in Ligonier . CART Coordinator Lori Mozina thought it was odd, since the fire company was equipped with an oxygen mask suited to treat pets. “They had one at the station, but...
Newly accessible records tell story of Holocaust, journey of survivorsVideo
Steven Fenves and his family were swept up from their Yugoslavian home during World War II, when they were split up and forced into ghettos, then German concentration camps. That included Auschwitz, where his grandmother and then his mother died, caught in the Nazi death machine that slaughtered an estimated...
Liberating Dachau concentration camp uncovered horrors, area veteran saysVideo
At age 23 in the spring of 1945, Guy Prestia was in the Army fighting his way across southern Germany when his unit walked into hell on earth — the Nazi death camp at Dachau. “It was terrible. I never saw anything like those camps,” said Prestia, 97, who still...
Farmers, conservation districts applaud rollback of Obama-era clean water rule
Not long after he took office, President Trump issued an executive order asking the EPA to review a clean water rule that he said exemplified federal government overreach in the Obama years. The 2015 Waters of the United States regulation increased the number and types of waterways — reportedly 60%...
Hempfield junior ‘approaches service the same way she approached sports’Video
When Gianna Richason came home from volleyball practice during her sophomore year and told her parents she was quitting, they weren’t sure what to think. “The summer before that year, I had jaw surgery and couldn’t do anything for three months,” said Gianna, 17, of Hempfield. “I came back to...
Dominion plans natural gas pipeline replacement this spring
Dominion Energy Transmission Inc. is planning to replace 4.1 miles of natural gas pipeline in Salem, Hempfield and Penn townships starting this spring, the company said. Dominion recently received a State Water Quality Certification from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, meaning the project is consistent with state law, state...
Route 130 reopens in Penn Township following 2-vehicle crashVideo
A two-vehicle crash shut down Route 130 in Penn Township for more than four hours Saturday afternoon, according to authorities. The crash, involving a car and a pickup truck, was reported at 12:20 p.m. on Route 130 near Hungry Hank’s Pizzeria, a 911 supervisor said. “We had one patient in...
Innocence Institute founder will discuss overturning convictions in Murrysville
In 1989, Drew Whitley was sentenced to life in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. Seventeen years later in 2006, with the help of the Innocence Institute at Point Park University, he was exonerated and freed. One of the people who helped establish Whitney’s innocence will be the featured...
Financing plan eyed for potential $5.8M Eastern Westmoreland tech center renovation
Administrators at Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center are taking the next step toward a proposed renovation of the 43-year-old building — by working on a plan to pay for the project, which could cost more than $5.8 million. The center’s Joint Operating Committee this week authorized administrative staff to...
Shoppers return to Delmont Walmart following gas leak
The Delmont Walmart store was temporarily evacuated shortly after 5:30 p.m. Friday as area firefighters investigated an odor of natural gas. Crews traced the odor to a small leak in a gas line that supplies a roof heating unit near the store’s pharmacy, Forbes Road Fire Chief Bob Rosatti said....
State House scales back proposed emissions inspection overhaul
The state House scaled back a proposal that would have exempted many Pennsylvania drivers from vehicle emissions inspections — now calling for a study instead of an immediate overhaul. “They essentially gutted and replaced it,” said state Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and the driving...
Prosecutor says Derry man skipped sentencing hearing to take drugs
Glenn Levtzow apparently had a scheduling conflict Friday morning when he was due in court to be sentenced for his role in a friend’s overdose in 2017, a Westmoreland County prosecutor said. “He had better plans today. He is out smoking meth, according to the probation department,” Assistant District Attorney...
South Huntingdon carpenter is GOP nominee for 58th House special election
Westmoreland County Republicans selected a union carpenter making his first run for public office as the GOP’s candidate in a special election for the Pennsylvania State House 58th District seat. Eric Davanzo, 43, of South Huntingdon was nominated Thursday night to run against Democrat Robert Prah in the March 17...
Greensburg Salem School Board to search for new member following resignation
The Greensburg Salem School Board will be looking for a new member soon. Rachel Shaw announced her resignation this week. She was elected in 2017. Shaw took a job as mediator with the state’s Department of Labor, which prevents her from holding elected office. “I enjoyed my time on the...
Mt. Pleasant Township man accused of sexually assaulting 10-year-old
State police have an arrest warrant for a 76-year-old Mt. Pleasant man on charges of sexually assaulting a girl on multiple occasions nearly five years ago. Donald C. Werry of Brush Creek Road was charged by state Trooper Robert Politowski with aggravated involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, aggravated...
Greensburg police seek 2 suspects in strong-arm robbery
Greensburg police are looking for an Allegheny County man and a second unidentified male suspect accused in a strong-arm robbery, according to court papers. Investigators got an arrest warrant Friday for Jonathan Stewart Kostial, 26, of Moon, who is charged with robbery, strangulation, conspiracy, theft and related offenses. A Greensburg...
Former Murrysville massage parlor to be sold at sheriff’s sale
A prime commercial lot and building with a notorious past along Route 22 in Murrysville is slated to be sold at Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Sale March 2. The defunct Tokyo Massage Spa at 6428 William Penn Highway, which was shut March 22 after the arrest of owner Hui Xu, will...
Donora library to host Heinz history center’s traveling World War II exhibit
In the run-up to the 75th anniversary of World War II’s ending this fall, the Donora Historical Society and Donora Public Library will co-host the traveling World War II exhibit from the John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. For historical society volunteer Mark Pawelec, it’s a chance not only to...
Minor damage to Mt. Pleasant Post Office building in vehicle fire
A vehicle fire Friday caused minor damage to the Mt. Pleasant Post Office. An employee’s pickup truck parked near the rear of the Mt. Pleasant Township building caught fire around 11 a.m., according to Hecla Fire Lt. David Yuhouse. The flames reached to a roof extension on the building, but...
