Maddie Aiken stories, Page 14

Watercolor paintings, emotion-filled photographs, bold quotations and more line the sidewalk outside Chambers Hall at Pitt-Greensburg. The artwork makes up “Black Lives in Focus,” a multimedia exhibit that puts Black experiences in the campus spotlight. The exhibit, which comprises 21 art panels and 10 text panels, has traveled to all...

Food truck fans in Penn Township are in for a treat this April. Township commissioners greenlighted a resolution that will bring food trucks to 1115 Harrison City Export Road. Nicassio Enterprises received conditional-use approval to bring the vendors to the property, which is located about half a mile from the...

As a political science major, Juliet Montes Duran dedicates her time to learning about local, national and international governments. Until last week, however, she couldn’t participate in the government of the country she grew up in. The sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg became a naturalized U.S. citizen...

More housing is headed to Penn Township. Township commissioners have approved Blackthorne Estates’ phases VI-B and VII, which will add 77 townhouses to the luxury golf course community more than 25 years in the making. The townhouses, to be built by Ryan Homes, will feature three bedrooms, 2½ bathrooms, two-car...

Allegheny County Police have arrested two people allegedly responsible for the March 20 stabbing of a woman in Edgewood. Chazadee Miller, 24, and Shayron Coleman, 27, face felony and misdemeanor charges for the assault, according to court documents. At 3:25 a.m. on Sunday, the woman was stabbed in the shoulder...

Firefighters are responding to a house fire on Kairenbrook Drive in Fairfield Township. The fire started at about 10 a.m. Wednesday on the second floor of the residence, according to a Westmoreland County dispatcher. There are no people reported inside the home, but there are animals inside. There are currently...

One person died Wednesday morning in a crash between a vehicle and CSX train in Sutersville, railroad officials said. The collision occurred at 10:35 a.m. near Second Avenue and Fourth Street, according to the Westmoreland County dispatcher. The Westmoreland County coroner, who was called to the scene shortly after the...

A show steeped with tradition is “a perfect match” for Penn-Trafford High School’s 50th anniversary, according to spring musical director Tom Bekavac. The Penn-Trafford Drama Guild will perform “Fiddler on the Roof” this April. The Tony Award-winning musical tells the story of a Jewish family that faces cultural changes and...

Most people in Western Pennsylvania are still waiting to receive their boxes of Girl Scout cookies, but not inmates at SCI-Fayette. The state prison received over 1,100 boxes of cookies this year during its third sale to benefit Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania. Inmates had the opportunity to buy up to...

This story was updated March 18, 2022, to correct Hempfield Manor’s ownership information. Since March 2020, long-term health care workers have been sick more, battled stress and fought fatigue because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Pennsylvania Health Care Association hosted a “Day of Caring” Thursday at Hempfield Manor to mark...

Bots battled, sparks flew and high school students cheered at Westmoreland County Community College. The college on Tuesday hosted the second round of preliminaries for BotsIQ, a regional competition in which student-made robots fight each other gladiator-style. A third round will be held Thursday on the Hempfield campus. Dozens of...

Melva Simon never sat still. The Mt. Pleasant native served as a Navy secretary during World War II, co-ran an orchard, raised a family, co-taught premarital classes at her church and kept up with a myriad of hobbies. “Don’t tell her she can’t do something,” Melvajo Bennett, Simon’s daughter, said....

Millions of children grew up singing songs including “It’s You I Like” and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” with Mister Rogers — but those children, now grown, might not realize the musical depth present in “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” The Fred Rogers Center at Saint Vincent College in Unity this month...

A search is underway for an Apollo man who police said crashed a stolen car in a residential yard in Kiski Township. At about 5:45 p.m. on Friday, Korry Reese, 35, crashed the car in the yard along Canal Road and fled just as a Kiski Township police officer arrived,...

A 23-year-old Plum man who was shot in the chest last week has been upgraded to stable condition, Allegheny County Police said Tuesday. Officers responded to the shooting at about 8 p.m. Friday along the 7800 block of Saltsburg Road. The man, whose name was not released, was taken by...

A boy is in the hospital after he was shot in Homestead on Friday evening. At about 5 p.m., police responded to the shooting at the intersection of East 20th Avenue and McClure Street, according to a news release from Allegheny County Police. The injured boy suffered two gunshot wounds,...

Sarah Schadler said she has a “really hard time” throwing old books into the dumpster. The McCullough Elementary School library aide in the Penn-Trafford School District instead saves unused, outdated books — some with copyrights as early as 1954 — for future library projects. Her latest project featured a Cinderella-style...

Don’t get too sappy about it: The 2022 maple sugaring season is nearing its end in Western Pennsylvania. Dan Roseum, owner of Roseum Maple Syrup in Murrysville, expects the season to last one or two more weeks at most. The Pennsylvania season, which typically begins in early February and ends...

Riley Davison’s Wednesday was filled with excitement for one reason: “smashing bots.” The Pine-Richland senior was among dozens of high school students who crowded in Robert Morris University’s John Jay Center for the 17th annual BotsIQ, a regional competition in which student-made robots fight each other gladiator-style. In one corner,...

When children learn to read, the skill “opens the world to them,” according to Amber Power, executive director of Bella Terra Stables in Murrysville. Bella Terra Stables is one of many local organizations that offer unique ways to encourage children to read. “If you can make reading fun for kids...

Larry McCloskey began playing the drums when he was 6 years old. By age 10, he was already playing in local nightclubs. The North Huntington resident’s youthful passion for the drums later spiraled into a lifelong musical career. McCloskey, who also was known professionally as Larry Mardell and Larry McCluskey,...

Children’s books, mystery novels, adventure tales and more line the walls of the Westmoreland County YWCA’s basement. The gently used books are the association’s latest venture to promote literacy and affordability in the community. For $1 per inch, Greensburg locals can purchase books through the YWCA’s year-round used bookstore. The...

There’s something fishy in Westmoreland County’s waters. During the next three months, hatchery-raised rainbow, brown and brook trout will be released into the county’s waters for anglers to catch during trout season, which opens statewide April 2. Locally, the first trout of 2022 were released Tuesday in Loyalhanna Creek. Throughout...

Local manufacturing apprentices put their skills and knowledge to the test Friday in a competition to determine who is best at metal working in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The competition, hosted annually by the Pittsburgh chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association, featured eight apprentices from six local manufacturing companies. This...

The last football game that Rob Frederick watched his brother Ron coach wasn’t a Southmoreland game. Instead, it was a youth football league game in which Ron’s son, Colin, played. Rob said he was “captivated” watching Ron coach Colin. There was more pep in the proud father’s step that game....