Westmoreland category, Page 833
3 Pittsburgh-area organizations win state environmental awards
A Westmoreland County organization and two in Allegheny County were among 18 people, organizations, businesses, and local governments that were awarded the 2019 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. The Allegheny Land Trust in Sewickley was recognized for its Greenprint Planning Tool; the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy got the award for the...
Fire damages prairie dog exhibit at Living Treasures Wild Animal Park
A fire early Friday damaged a wooden frame and wires at Living Treasures Wild Animal Park in Donegal Township, said owner Tom Guiher. Fire officials confirmed a heating pad in the prairie dog exhibit started the fire. No animals were injured, but the exhibit was damaged, Guiher said. The prairie...
Jury convicts driver of third-degree murder in 2016 East Huntingdon pedestrian death
Jurors deliberated about three hours Friday before convicting a New Stanton man of third-degree murder in the death of an East Huntingdon pedestrian on Christmas Eve 2016. Matthew Ramsay, 31, was found guilty of being under the influence of drugs when he deliberately veered his car across traffic on Ruffsdale-Alverton...
Jury convicts Latrobe man of third-degree murder in robbery-turned-homicide case
A Westmoreland County jury Friday convicted a Latrobe man of a lesser charge of third-degree murder for his role in a robbery plot that turned deadly when a Good Samaritan was gunned down as he attempted to intervene. Colin Gearhart, 19, was also found guilty of robbery and conspiracy counts...
Feds seize $600K from accused Mt. Pleasant doctor; plea hearing delayed
The federal government wanted more than $600,000 connected to a former Mt. Pleasant doctor who has been charged with illegally selling opioid medication. This month, the government got it. But prosecutors will have to wait until June for a plea hearing that has been delayed since October for Mamdouh El-Attrache,...
Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce moving back to renovated Greensburg office
The Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce is set to reopen its doors now that renovations are complete. Temporarily housed at Kennametal in Latrobe, chamber employees will move back into their offices on Tollgate Road in Greensburg next Friday, said Chad Amond, chamber president and CEO. The $300,000 project included aesthetic...
Jeannette police: Woman shot during child custody incident
Jeannette police and Westmoreland County detectives are looking for two people they said are involved in a shooting that injured a woman Friday in Jeannette. Police said the shooting started as a child custody incident before 2 p.m. at a North Third Street home. DeJanette Crosby, 23, was visiting her...
Hempfield Senior Citizens Prom lets residents relive high school dance
It’s a senior prom, but it’s not for seniors in high school. The 21st annual Senior Citizens Prom gives Hempfield Area School District residents 65 and over the chance to relive their high school days. “It’s just a wonderful event for seniors to come out and see people they haven’t...
Hempfield graduation gets pushed back a day
Hempfield Area seniors will have to wait an extra day to get their diploma. Originally scheduled for May 30, graduation will now be held May 31, rain or shine. The last day of school also is pushed back until May 31 to make up days lost due to snow, frigid...
Primary candidate slate set for Murrysville, Export, Delmont
The seats of Murrysville council members Josh Lorenz, Jamie Lee-Korns and Tony Spadaro will be up for election in the May 21 primary, and with Lorenz at his term limit, at least one new face is guaranteed come 2020. Municipal council terms are staggered such that three seats will be...
No decision about coroner’s inquest in death of Greensburg woman shot by police
Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha said Friday he will decide later whether to hold an inquest into the death of a Greensburg woman who was fatally shot by police this week. After county detectives are finished investigating, Bacha said he will confer with District Attorney John Peck to decide if...
Credit union offers member scholarships up to $2,000
The Westmoreland Water Federal Credit Union is seeking applications for $3,500 it will give out as part of its 2019 Founders’ Memorial Scholarship program. Applicants must be members of the credit union in good standing, and there are three scholarships available for $2,000, $1,000 and $500. Anyone who is eligible...
Hempfield program to focus on benefits of stream buffers
Planting suitable trees and shrubs in areas bordering streams is an important step for improving water quality, according to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Alysha Trexler, a watershed project manager with the conservancy, will discuss the benefits of such riparian buffer plantings during a Thursday presentation in Hempfield at the J....
Ligonier Township bridge completion delayed yet again
Recent bad weather is being blamed for a continued delay in reopening both lanes of traffic on a replacement bridge on Route 711 in Ligonier Township. The bridge over Mill Run, north of Ligonier Borough, is being replaced by Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners, as part of a public-private partnership with...
Police investigating armed robbery at Hempfield convenience store
State police are looking for a man who robbed a Hempfield convenience store late Wednesday. The suspect entered a 7-Eleven at the intersection of Route 136 and Fosterville Road at 10:35 p.m. and displayed a knife, troopers said. The suspect, a white male, fled with cash and a pack of...
North Huntingdon McDonald’s reopened after evacuation
A Westmoreland County McDonald’s is reopened after an evacuation late Thursday night. The fast food restaurant at 9051 Route 30 in North Huntingdon was closed temporarily after someone used pepper spray inside the building, police Chief Robert Rizzo said. It happened just after 10 p.m. March 14. Township police, fire...
Unity board OKs Eagles Landing subdivision, La Carrozza site plan
Unity Township supervisors approved a subdivision to allow the proposed development of 17 new housing units off Grayhawk Court. The supervisors at the board’s meeting on Thursday also approved site plans for a wedding reception center and a small addition to the Walmart store on Colony Lane that will be...
Level Green Lions to serve breakfast Saturday
The Level Green Lions plan to make breakfast featuring buckwheat and blueberry pancakes with link sausages and beverages, from 7 a.m. to noon March 16 at the Lions Community Building, 123 Murrysville Road, Level Green. The cost is $6 for adults and $3 for children under 10 years old. Pancake...
6 injured in crash that closes Route 136 in Hempfield
A young boy was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital Thursday night, one of six people injured in a two-vehicle crash that shut down a portion of Route 136 in Hempfield for almost five hours, a fire official said. The boy who was flown to Pittsburgh was in a car with...
Detective: Latrobe teen knew about robbery plan that resulted in death
Westmoreland County investigators said that despite claims that he wanted to stop a robbery at his own home, a 17-year-old Latrobe teen allowed the plot to go forward, and his friend was shot and killed. Detective Ray Dupilka testified Thursday in the third day of the second-degree murder trial of...
Greensburg woman accused of defrauding elderly Derry Twp. woman
A Greensburg woman hired to take care of an elderly Derry Township woman is accused of buying herself gift cards totaling almost $2,200 by using a woman’s credit card at two area supermarkets, state police at Greensburg said. The suspect, Mary Ellen Poscich, 45, allegedly defrauded the woman out of...
Westmoreland commissioner endorses chief of staff in Republican primary
Westmoreland County Commissioner Charles Anderson on Thursday endorsed his chief of staff, Sean Kertes, as his replacement. Kertes, 32, of Greensburg, has worked for Anderson, a two-term Republican commissioner, since 2016. Anderson announced earlier this year he will not run for re-election and will retire at year’s end. “From my...
Mental health advocate says sufferers typically are victims, not violent perpetrators
Many Americans have experienced some form of mental illness and getting the appropriate treatment is important, said Laurie Barnett Levine, director of Mental Health America of Southwestern Pennsylvania. But there is a stigma associated with mental illness that may act as a barrier for some to get help. “Mental health...
Driver accused of killing East Huntingdon pedestrian declines to testify at his trial
During a pre-dawn Christmas morning interrogation with police, Matthew Ramsay insisted he didn’t know he hit and killed a pedestrian hours earlier in East Huntingdon. Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Kevin Wheelden testified Thursday that Ramsay appeared sluggish and tired and spoke with slurred speech as he was questioned by police...
Harm reduction movement pushes addiction advocacy, needle exchange in Westmoreland County
The Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Coalition wants to spark a conversation and continued commitment to action around addiction and substance abuse in Westmoreland County. Among its goals: expand access to Naloxone and medication-assisted recovery programs and establish sterile needle exchanges for intravenous drug users. The Philadelphia-based coalition on Saturday will hold...
