Jeff Himler stories, Page 66
Man taken to hospital after shooting, crash in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville
A man was taken to a local hospital after a shooting Saturday night in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood. City police, responding to a Shotspotter alert, found the man with a grazing gunshot wound at about 9:45 p.m. in the 200 block of Charles Street. Police believe a car the man was...
Greensburg VFD T-shirt sales benefit breast cancer patients
Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department is encouraging area residents to add some pink to their wardrobe. The department has fewer than 100 pink — or gray — T-shirts available for purchase in its annual sale supporting Westmoreland County families affected by breast cancer. “Cancer has touched a bunch of our lives,”...
Fort Ligonier offers items for bid online and at the Cannon Ball; Forbes Road Rum to be released
A dinner with “George Washington” and a VIP tour of Mount Vernon are among choice items that will be awarded during in-person bidding Friday at Fort Ligonier’s annual Cannon Ball. Dress is “smart casual” for the event, which will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. under tents in the...
Pitt looks to recruit Southwestern Pa. families for childhood cancer study
Several thousand parents across eight Southwestern Pennsylvania counties are being asked to participate in a University of Pittsburgh study examining a possible link between fracking — or other environmental risk factors — and childhood cancer. Researchers from Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health are hoping for a response from more...
Vandals damage historic camp at Laurel Hill State Park, ‘persons of interest’ sought
Vandals caused extensive damage last month at an historic camp at Somerset County’s Laurel Hill State Park, where officials are hoping to talk to a group of people who were seen at the site. The damage at Group Camp No. 5 was discovered and reported by the park maintenance staff...
Greensburg Salem focuses on failed cooling units at high school, two elementary schools
Greensburg Salem School District has faulty air-conditioning and cooling equipment at the high school and two of its three elementary schools. The school board is expected at its meeting Wednesday to seek bids to update the most critical units while district administrators have recommended a feasibility study to take a...
Saint Vincent College to break ground for new recreation and athletic center
Saint Vincent College is set to break ground Friday for its new Dunlap Family Recreation and Athletic Center. The new 72,000-square-foot building will be located near the Fred Rogers Center on the college’s campus in Unity. It will include facilities for recreation and exercise, intramural athletic competition and varsity athletic...
Music, storytelling, Vietnam ‘wall,’ Walk of Fame featured at Indiana festival
Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers will headline the musical entertainment this weekend at the 10th annual Northern Appalachian Folk Festival in Indiana County. The Pittsburgh-based band will take to the festival stage at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, bringing to a close two days of free activities focused in the 500 block...
‘Justice and Recovery’ to be addressed at Unity in the Community event in Greensburg
A Unity in the Community event slated Friday in Greensburg will promote “justice and recovery.” Those attending from 4 to 7 p.m. at the YWCA, at 424 N. Main St., will have the opportunity to learn about resources available in Westmoreland County from community leaders and organizations. Organizer and Greensburg...
Monessen man charged with assaulting police who responded to trespassing complaint
A Monessen man is charged with resisting arrest, assaulting police and using feces to vandalize a city holding cell. Charles Turman, 39, was placed in the Westmoreland County jail after the incident that began at about 10 a.m. on Friday in Monessen. Monessen police said they stopped Turman on Schoonmaker...
Grant funds app to support mental wellness for Seton Hill athletes
Seton Hill University is partnering with digital platform The Zone to help student-athletes connect to mental health services. Supported by a $25,000 grant from the Staunton Farm Foundation of Pittsburgh, the university will offer a mobile app to Seton Hill athletes, allowing them to request tele-help for mental health issues...
Pittsburgh police seek gun-wielding suspect in Downtown robbery
Pittsburgh police are looking for a male suspect they say threatened to shoot an employee while robbing a Downtown retailer. The robbery was reported shortly after 11 a.m. Aug. 29 at the Burlington Coat Factory, 339 Sixth Ave. When a female employee spotted the suspect stuffing clothes into his backpack...
Pittsburgh police officer injured while breaking up fighting juveniles in Squirrel Hill
A Pittsburgh police officer was injured as police used stun guns to subdue juveniles who were fighting Tuesday afternoon in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. City police responded to the fight shortly after 2:30 p.m. in the 2300 block of Murray Avenue. One of the youths became combative when an...
Coroner: Charleroi dirt bike rider killed in train collision in Washington County
A Charleroi man was killed Tuesday when the dirt bike he was riding was struck by a train in Charleroi. James Gaito, 36, was the sole person riding the bike, according to Washington County Coroner S. Timothy Warco. Gaito was not wearing a helmet when the collision occurred at about...
Greensburg’s second annual College Connect event to include comprehensive plan display
Greensburg leaders hope to bring together local college students and community residents and stakeholders for a dual purpose on Sept. 23. The second annual College Connect event will repeat last year’s effort to familiarize students with what Greensburg’s downtown business district and organizations have to offer while also giving the...
Seton Hill faculty member receives Black Educators’ Excellence Lifetime Award
A member of the Seton Hill University faculty has been recognized by the Pittsburgh-based State of Black Learning organization for her career achievements. Tricia Shelton, an assistant professor of education at Seton Hill, recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s Black Educators’ Excellence Awards. The ceremony was held...
Indie duo closes Greensburg concert season expected to match previous high attendance
Couples of all ages and families, too, turned out Friday evening to enjoy the guitar stylings and harmonized vocals of indie folk-pop duo The Sea, The Sea — the final act in this season’s SummerSounds weekly concert series at Greensburg’s St. Clair Park. Regular attendee Lynne Roth of Hempfield came...
1 flown to hospital after crash in Mt. Pleasant Township
One person was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital after a wreck Friday evening in Mt. Pleasant Township, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. First responders had to free the motorist from the vehicle after it crashed into a tree along Clay Pike Road near Stairs Road, the dispatcher said....
Police probe death of 14-year-old girl fatally shot inside car in Duquesne
Police are investigating a shooting Friday evening that left a teenage girl dead in Duquesne. Lajaponis Roberts, 14, died at the scene, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Allegheny County Homicide detectives said they learned Roberts was a passenger in a burgundy-colored Chevy Cruze when the shooting occurred. The...
Derry Township street to close; traffic restrictions extended on I-70
A Derry Township street is set to close beginning Tuesday as PennDOT extends detours and traffic restrictions for other work areas in Westmoreland County — including a stretch of Interstate 70. A section of Hickory Avenue, also know as North Valley Street, is scheduled to close at 7 a.m. Tuesday...
Indiana County man pleads guilty in sex assault of minor
A Smicksburg man has pleaded guilty to charges related to the sexual assault of a minor. Michael Stiles, 54, is charged with statutory sexual assault as well as involuntary deviant sexual intercourse with and indecent assault and aggravated indecent assault of a child under 16 years old. The victim reported...
Hannastown kids lead way in community-funded playground improvements
Kids in Hannastown staffed a stand selling lemonade, tea and cookies this summer, and the effort has paid off with new swings, climbing apparatus and other equipment at the community playground. Volunteers from the Hannastown Fire Department joined local families this week to help install the equipment, which was funded...
2 flown by medical helicopter after multi-vehicle crash in Fayette County
Two people were flown by medical helicopter for treatment at a trauma center as a result of a crash Thursday afternoon in Fayette County. The wreck involving four vehicles was reported shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Route 51, near Quaker Church Road in Perryopolis, according to a Fayette County 911...
Keystone State Park trail, spillway, scavengers spotlighted over Labor Day weekend
Butterflies, vultures and macroinvertebrates will be highlighted during free Labor Day weekend activities at Keystone State Park in Derry Township. Advance registration is not required for these family-friendly programs, led by park naturalist Jean H. Keene. Friday On Friday, from 4 to 6 p.m., Keene will lead a hike to...
Greensburg barber opts for retirement after more than 60 years in business
Ed DiOrio knows the long and the short of hair, and a related fact that’s kept him in business for more than 60 years: “Hair grows back.” At 85, the Greensburg man is retiring Thursday from his trade as a barber, along with the barber chair that has followed him...
