Jeff Himler stories, Page 88
Unity takes shot at larger grant for proposed fishing pier
Unity is pursuing a new direction in its search for funding of a proposed handicapped-accessible fishing pier on the township lake. The supervisors originally applied in May 2020 for a $58,000 grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program. This week, they agreed...
Art displays add appeal to Latrobe’s monthly Shop Hop
Inclement weather this week postponed Latrobe’s dedication of its recent downtown improvements, but town merchants pressed on with an event intended to attract patrons and promote local artists. The combined inaugural Art Walk and monthly Shop Hop allowed visitors to 10 downtown businesses to hunt for bargains while checking out...
Fireworks display planned Saturday night in Unity
A local businessman is planning a public fireworks display Saturday night in Unity. Marcus Wisneski’s show, “Here Comes the Boom,” is set for about 8:30 p.m. at Latrobe Speedway, during a break in the Night of Thunder dirt track racing. “We want to shoot off before they do their feature...
Greensburg Salem postpones meeting after audience members defy mask requirement
The Greensburg Salem School Board meeting this week ended before it began. The board postponed its voting meeting until Sept. 15 after several people attending Wednesday refused to don required masks. Board President Ron Mellinger Jr. told the crowd of about 40 gathered in the middle school auditorium that the...
Indiana’s Appalachian fest combines music, contests, remembrance of sacrifice, success
The Northern Appalachian Folk Festival will return to downtown Indiana Thursday through Saturday with live music, vendors, workshops, children’s activities and storytelling and fiddle contests. On Saturday, there will be a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks and honoring two Indiana County residents who were killed...
Virtual Westmoreland historic tour highlights vanished buildings
Westmoreland County Historical Society is preparing for its second Historic House Tour that will have a virtual format. This time around, participants in the annual tour will explore structures that are “Gone But Not Forgotten.” The featured buildings include the Mountain View Inn, which was a longtime landmark along Route...
Unity woman employs pageant title, awareness group to help fellow concussion sufferers
When vision care assistant Jayden Moffa helps patients at Willowbrook Eye Care Associates, she can empathize with them from personal experience. Vision therapy helped the Unity resident overcome two concussions she suffered beginning in 2014, while she was a student at Greater Latrobe Senior High. As she worked through the...
Greater Latrobe, Greensburg Salem to comply with Pennsylvania’s K-12 mask mandate
Students, staff and visitors entering Greater Latrobe and Greensburg Salem school buildings will be required to wear face coverings beginning Tuesday. In a letter posted on the Greater Latrobe website, Superintendent Georgia Teppert said that district will make a change from its recent mask-optional health and safety plan and will...
Loaded handgun found in purse at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport checkpoint
A Cambria County woman was stopped by Transportation Security Administration officers on Friday when they discovered a loaded gun in her purse at the security checkpoint at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity. It was the fifth handgun caught at the airport so far in 2021, up from three found...
Latrobe to celebrate downtown upgrades, promote local art and businesses
Latrobe will welcome visitors Wednesday to help celebrate completion of downtown infrastructure improvements. The public also will find retail bargains and art displays throughout the business district as part of an Art Walk event and monthly Shop Hop Night promotion. Activities begin at 3 p.m., when city officials, merchants and...
Diocese of Greensburg marks 9/11 anniversary with Mass, online video series
The Diocese of Greensburg plans to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks with a remembrance Mass and an online video series. Bishop Larry J. Kulick will host the Mass at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg. The public is invited to attend. The...
Shooting in Pittsburgh’s East End leaves man with multiple wounds
A man was taken to a local hospital with multiple gunshot wounds following a shooting Thursday night on Frankstown Avenue, in Pittsburgh’s East End, a city Public Safety spokesman said. The man was alert and in stable condition, according to the spokesman. City police responded just before 10 p.m. to...
Bethel Park man charged with homicide by vehicle in death of man in wheelchair
A Bethel Park man is charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of a controlled substance in the July 15 death of a man seated in a motorized wheelchair in Homestead. Eric Walker, 50, also is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Anthony Donofrio, 72,...
Man in stable condition after shooting in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood
A man was taken to a local hospital in stable condition as a result of a shooting Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood, according to a city Public Safety spokesman. City police responded shortly before 2:30 p.m. to a Shotspotter alert in the 300 block of North Aiken Avenue. Officers...
Derry Township chainsaw injury sends man to hospital via helicopter
A man was flown to a trauma center for treatment after being injured by a chainsaw Thursday in Derry Township, according to emergency responders. Bradenville firefighters were dispatched at about 4:30 p.m. to establish a landing zone for a medical helicopter in the middle of Laughlin Farm Road, according to...
Parents urge Greensburg Salem to defy state mandate, stick with mask-optional school planVideo
Some Greensburg Salem parents urged the district to stick with its recently approved mask-optional policy inside its schools, despite a statewide K-12 mask mandate set to take effect Tuesday. At this week’s board discussion meeting, Ryan Silowash and Susanna Dejeet, both of Salem, and Carrie Hamley, of Greensburg, all spoke...
Greensburg Salem weighs hiring to alleviate large kindergarten class size
Greensburg Salem is considering adding an elementary teacher to help reduce large kindergarten class sizes at Metzgar Elementary. The school board is expected to vote at its Sept. 8 meeting on whether to advertise the position. District administrators recommended the move after noting there are as many as 28 kindergarten...
Roads in North Huntingdon, Sewickley to close for work on slides, culvert
PennDOT will close roads in North Huntingdon and Sewickley townships beginning Sept. 7 for slide repairs and a culvert replacement, respectively. Both closures will involve marked detours. The slide repairs will occur along a section of Guffey and Turner Valley roads, located between Guffey and Volk Road, and are expected...
84 Lumber looks to add 35 regional employees at Hempfield hiring event
Building materials supplier 84 Lumber scheduled a hiring event Wednesday in Hempfield as it looks to fill 35 positions at five locations in the Pittsburgh region. Job seekers can interview for openings from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott, 700 Power Line Drive. Candidates can connect...
Allegheny City Civil War veteran’s effects fetch more than $4K at auction
A cache of military relics and a wooden locker belonging to an Allegheny County Civil War veteran sold for $4,600 at auction on Sunday, commanding more than 250% of its estimated value. The collection of items originally belonged to Alfred W. Kredel, a German-American resident of Allegheny City’s Troy Hill,...
Unity native, medical student caps undergrad swim career with Academic All-American honor
Time is precious for Mikayla Bisignani as she begins her first year as a Pitt medical student. Still, the Unity native hopes to find the opportunity to take her standout swimming career in a new direction, as a coach. She’s been offered a part-time assistant swimming/strength and conditioning position at...
Saint Vincent debuts new galleries to public for 8th Catholic Arts Biennial
Those attending Saint Vincent College’s Eighth Catholic Arts Biennial exhibit will be greeted by new surroundings and fresh perspectives that reflect the intersection of modern faith and social concerns. The juried show will be on display Sept. 7 through Oct. 29 in the Verostko Center for the Arts, a new...
Hempfield Area lists 4 elementary covid cases on first day of school
Hempfield Area School District began the 2021-22 school year with four confirmed or probable cases of covid-19 among elementary students. There were three cases on Thursday, the first day of school, among students at Maxwell Elementary and one at West Hempfield Elementary. The cases were posted Friday afternoon on a...
Civil War cache on auction block chronicles Allegheny City veteran’s 2 tours of duty
Allegheny County Civil War veteran Alfred W. Kredel was granted an invalid pension of $6 per month in 1884, for wounds he received 22 years earlier during action at Gaines’ Mill in Virginia. On Sunday, the record of that pension, other personal effects related to the Troy Hill resident’s Union...
Farm’s excess ears provide fresh corn for Westmoreland Food Bank recipientsVideo
Ideal growing conditions this summer left John and Sam Greenawalt up to their ears in excess sweet corn on their Sewickley Township farm. That overabundance now is a windfall for the Westmoreland County Food Bank and the families it serves. About 30 volunteers gathered Wednesday morning at one of the...
