Jeff Himler stories, Page 106
Increase in covid-19 cases prompts closure of Hempfield Area High School
Hempfield Area High School is closed through Friday, following an increase in covid-19 cases at the school. Superintendent Tammy Wolicki announced the closure in a letter posted Tuesday on the district website. She said the decision was triggered when another high school student’s positive case was reported to the district...
Westmoreland GOP rally short on candidatesVideo
Tuesday’s Westmoreland County Republican Committee rally in Hempfield was short on candidates but strong on local party support. More than 50 GOP faithful attended the evening event, spilling from the main room of All Saints Brewing Co. onto the patio. Committee Chairman Bill Bretz, who expressed confidence in county support...
New owner recreates former Latrobe bakery’s all-wood facade, proposes rebirth as cafe
Yesterday’s views are new again on Latrobe’s Main Street. Motorists and pedestrians who look left as they travel northeast on the street will see the restored, ornate facade of the 1890 Mozart Hall, bracketed by twin onion domes. To the right, work is underway on recapturing the past glory of...
Latrobe chamber shoe drive sends 2,600 pairs to developing nations
The Latrobe community put its best feet forward in an end-of-summer closet clearance that netted about 2,600 pairs of shoes for a good cause. Beginning in August, the Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce accepted donations of gently worn and new shoes in a drive held in conjunction with...
Worker’s potential coronavirus exposure temporarily closed Latrobe municipal building
Latrobe’s municipal building was closed to the public for part of the day on Thursday following a worker’s possible exposure to the coronavirus. City Manager Michael Gray said a company arrived Thursday evening to disinfect the building, which reopened for normal business on Friday. Latrobe-GLSD Parks and Recreation Commission, which...
Westmoreland high school students strive to soar in Young Engineers rocket challenge
Conditions were on the breezy side for launching model rockets Thursday at Youngstown’s ball field, but area high school students enrolled in the Young Engineers program had the right stuff. “The wind was a little bit challenging, but out of 28 launches, we only lost three rockets,” said Kennametal staffer...
Bradenville firefighters prepare to break ground for larger station
The Derry Township Volunteer Fire Department is preparing to break ground in the coming weeks for a new fire hall it has been looking forward to for decades. The $1.8 million fire hall and public safety building will stand along Bradenville’s School Street, across from the department’s original garage and...
Police seize 2K stamp bags of suspected heroin, arrest suspect in South Greensburg
State police netted 2,050 stamp bags of suspected heroin and more than $2,100 in cash Wednesday in a South Greensburg bust that led to the arrest of one man. Chyrone Lamar Rodgers, 32, is charged with possession of and intent to deliver the controlled substance. He was arrested without incident...
Latrobe police get Taser, training funds, seek grant for body camerasVideo
Latrobe police are working to upgrade their equipment and training with the help of donations and grants. City council this week authorized application to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for a $33,530 grant to support purchase of body-worn cameras for the police department. City Manager Michael Gray said...
Veterans Affairs: Direct deposit, periodic review recommended to get most out of benefits
U.S. Veterans Affairs officials are urging those who receive veterans benefits to sign up for electronic deposits to avoid extra fees and lower the risk of identity theft. During a dial-in virtual meeting Wednesday, Under Secretary for Benefits Paul Lawrence told former military members in Pennsylvania to consider switching from...
Greater Latrobe decision to keep schools open amid covid-19 cases draws flak
Greater Latrobe School District’s decision to continue in-person instruction while reporting new covid-19 cases among students has prompted an email response protesting the decision. The anonymous email, signed “The Parents of the Greater Latrobe School District,” was sent to Superintendent Georgia Teppert on Wednesday. It charged that administrators failed to...
Latrobe sets stormwater fee payment schedule
Latrobe residents will have about three months to pay the city’s new annual stormwater management fee after they receive their bill at the beginning of each year. City Council on Tuesday set the billing cycle for the fee that is meant to support Latrobe’s efforts to comply with a state...
Missing person sought in Bolivar area
State police and firefighters were searching for a missing person late Tuesday night in the Bolivar area. According to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher, police called for assistance in the search shortly after 9 p.m. Bolivar firefighters responded, along with the county Rough Terrain Support Unit Team. The search remained...
Greater Latrobe reports new coronavirus cases, continues full-time classroom instruction
Greater Latrobe School District buildings are remaining open for full-time, in-person instruction despite new positive coronavirus cases reported at the senior high and at Latrobe Elementary School. Nine students have tested positive for the coronavirus since the school year began on Aug. 30, Superintendent Georgia Teppert told the school board...
Penn-Trafford High School to reopen despite increase in coronavirus cases
Penn-Trafford High School is set to reopen as planned on Wednesday despite an increase in coronavirus cases at the school from two to five. District Superintendent Matthew Harris reported Tuesday that three students at the high school had tested positive for the coronavirus, in addition to two other positive cases...
Metzgar Elementary closed amid 5 coronavirus cases at 2 Greensburg Salem schools
James H. Metzgar Elementary School in Salem is closed through Friday, after three students tested positive for the coronavirus. They are among five positive cases among Greensburg Salem students that occurred over 14 days and were announced late last week in a letter to parents posted online by Superintendent Gary...
3 Hempfield Area High students positive for coronavirus; school, athletics shut down
Hempfield Area High School is closed Tuesday through Friday after three students tested positive for the coronavirus. School administrators were notified of the positive cases over the weekend, according to a letter to parents from Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, posted Sunday on the district website. During the five-day closure, all students...
Loyalhanna Watershed art auction features online bidding, in-person viewing
Loyalhanna Watershed Association is going online with its 36th annual art auction, a major fundraiser for the organization based near Ligonier. The benefit event, slated Saturday through Oct. 24, features 24 nationally known and local artists. In recent years, it has drawn close to 200 people to the Latrobe Country...
Future of field in question for Derry youth soccer programVideo
Five-year-old Sawyer Beggs and Dillon Morrow, 15, are both second-generation youth soccer players from Derry Township. Their families would like them, and generations to come, to continue playing the sport at the local Paskovitch Field. To ensure that end, the Derry Area Youth Athletic Association soccer program is seeking donations...
Jacobs Creek Watershed group moves to historic West Overton, begins stream projects
Jacobs Creek Watershed Association is partnering with West Overton Village, taking up residence at one of the historic site’s restored buildings while working to improve a stream on the property. The watershed group in August moved its headquarters from an office in the Scottdale Borough building to a former worker’s...
Unity man steps down as township auditor, takes on code enforcement post
Unity Township is looking for a replacement auditor after a member of that elected board resigned and took on a new role as the township’s part-time code enforcement officer. The township supervisors on Thursday accepted the resignation of Greg Fumea from the three-member board of auditors and hired him to...
State awards $42K for Ligonier Beach redo; accessibility improvements proposed
Ligonier Township was awarded a $42,500 state grant toward the cost of renovating the former Ligonier Beach swimming pool and restaurant as a recreational site. “It’s nice that we got this funding, but it wasn’t the total amount we wanted,” said Terry Carcella, township manager. While township supervisors have yet...
Mt. Pleasant set to increase weekly in-person instruction from 2 days to 4
Mt. Pleasant Area students next month will be able to double the number of days they receive in-person instruction from district teachers. The school board voted at a special Wednesday meeting to modify the district’s hybrid instructional model, allowing students to report to classrooms four days per week instead of...
Interstate 70 ramp to close, part of improvements between Yukon, Madison exits
Westbound motorists looking to leave Interstate 70 at the Yukon exit will have to jump off earlier, at the neighboring Madison exit, when reconstruction of the Yukon off-ramp begins Monday . The ramp in South Huntingdon is slated to close at 12:01 a.m. and is expected to remain closed through...
Mountain View Elementary student tests positive for coronavirus
A student at Mountain View Elementary School tested positive for coronavirus, but the school will remain open for in-person classes. Greater Latrobe School District Superintendent Georgia Teppert reported the positive test result in a letter to district parents posted on the district website. She said district officials were notified of...
