Renatta Signorini stories, Page 135
4 Republican state lawmakers from Westmoreland County seeking re-election
Four Republican state lawmakers representing Westmoreland County this week announced their joint candidacy for their respective seats. Reps. George Dunbar, Eric Nelson and Mike Reese and state Sen. Kim Ward are seeking re-election. Dunbar, 59, of Penn Township, represents the 56th District, which includes Penn Township, North Huntingdon, Trafford, Irwin,...
Terrelle Pryor’s girlfriend, charged with attempted homicide, remains in jail without bail
A Munhall woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend, former NFL player and Jeannette football star Terrelle Pryor, during a fight Saturday remains in the Allegheny County Jail without bail, according to court records. Shalaya Briston, 24, is charged with attempted homicide and aggravated assault. Pryor, 30, is charged with simple...
Westmoreland Mall loyalists cling to Black Friday tradition, leery of its evolutionVideo
Westmoreland Mall isn’t the shopping center Bev Queer and Carol Gowatski remember. They used to gravitate toward the Bon-Ton department store. But then that closed in 2018. Sears was usually a good option, too, but that retailer closed its doors earlier this year. “Pretty soon there’s not going to be...
‘Miracle’ reunion leads to adoption for thankful Greensburg family, teen
Amanda Ferree reached forward and squeezed the girl’s shoulder as they walked, both dressed in plaid button-down shirts, into a Westmoreland County courtroom. Her husband, Ian, wiped tears from his face on the witness stand as he recounted the fateful steps that brought the girl into their lives. And Leesa...
Jeannette ready to ring in the holiday season
The holiday spirit will officially arrive in Jeannette on Saturday. The second annual Sparkle of Christmas parade starts at 6 p.m. on Clay Avenue, but festivities kick off on Fifth Street and inside the Jeannette American Legion at 4:30 p.m. “We turned it into an event,” said Laura Smith, organizing...
In Jeannette, taxes to drop but fees to increase
There will not be a property tax increase in Jeannette next year and residents will pay less in earned-income taxes under the city’s proposed 2020 budget. But, garbage service will cost a little more and the city plans to add fees for two services that currently are free. The proposed...
Rostraver man gets house arrest in drunken-driving crash that injured girl
The most serious charges against a Rostraver man were dropped Wednesday in exchange for a guilty plea in connection with a November 2018 crash that left a 12-year-old girl injured. Anzalone Jones, 63, was sentenced to six months of intermediate punishment and 90 days of home electronic monitoring on charges...
Father of New Kensington cop killer denied house arrest while awaiting trial
Gregory Baucum Jr. won’t have his bond lowered or be released from jail on house arrest while he awaits trial. Baucum, 49, is the father of convicted New Kensington cop killer Rahmael Sol Holt. Baucum is in the Westmoreland County Prison, awaiting trial on charges of threatening or intimidating witnesses...
Pittsburgh man gets 12½ years in federal prison for drug trafficking
A Pittsburgh man was sentenced Monday to 12½ years in a federal prison for distributing crack cocaine in the West End, according to prosecutors. Tyree Davis, 35, pleaded guilty to the offense in July. He was one of several people targeted in an investigation that focused on the GBK street...
Residents hoping for light at end of Ohiopyle tunnel project
A pedestrian tunnel is beginning to take shape in Ohiopyle as the second phase of a construction project there continues. Most of the $12.4 million project, including the rehabilitation of a bridge that carries Route 381 over the Youghiogheny River, is expected to be completed by Memorial Day. The project,...
Mt. Pleasant man charged with throwing cat against a wall
A Mt. Pleasant man remains in jail on allegations he seriously injured a cat he threw against a wall. Tyler Robert Kebberly, 21, is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bond on an aggravated animal cruelty charge, a felony. Police arrested him Friday. Investigators were called by Green...
Turkey Trot serves as family tradition for Greensburg woman, family
On Thanksgiving morning, Doris Daigle can be found in one place — the intersection of Westminster Avenue and West Pittsburgh Street in Greensburg. She will be looking up the hill through her red-framed eyeglasses at a sea of runners closing in on the finish line of the city’s annual Turkey...
Police: Export man seriously hurt in motorcycle crash
An Export man was seriously injured Tuesday after being thrown from a motorcycle during a crash, state police said Thursday. Daniel H. Loughner, 35, was taken to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville after the crash on Kennedy Avenue at 1:16 a.m. Troopers said Loughner was traveling at 45 mph near...
Westmoreland County Prison inmates charged with hiding drugs in peanut butter jar
Two inmates at the Westmoreland County Prison were arrested this week after county detectives said they hid paper containing synthetic marijuana inside a jar of peanut butter, according to court papers. Jail guards found the paper inside a cell occupied by Dameon Jerod Hill, 30, and Allen Coker III, 25,...
Florida woman arrested in Westmoreland County, charged with vehicle break-ins, fraud
A Florida woman allegedly involved in a group that targets affluent suburbs for thefts and financial crimes is facing charges in Westmoreland County after cashing a stolen check at a Hempfield bank, according to state police. Emily Elizabeth Helmer, 31, of Bradenton, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of dealing in...
Harbor Freight Tools set to open Rostraver store
Harbor Freight Tools will open a new location in Rostraver Township on Dec. 7 at 8 a.m., according to company officials. The first 500 customers at the store at 120 Finley Road will receive a free tape measure. The store is in a building that previously housed a Kmart, which...
Jeannette firefighters to be outfitted with body armor
Jeannette firefighters are getting body armor to protect them during calls where violence might be a factor, said Fire Chief Bill Frye. The department is getting 18 vests at $875 each for paid and volunteer firefighters. Frye said the department’s relief association is footing the bill of more than $13,000...
Police: Father charged after 2-year-old shoots mom in Derry Township
A 2-year-old boy accidentally shot his mother in the leg this month as she tried to take a loaded weapon out of his hands in Derry Township. On Tuesday, state police charged the father, David Vincent Marghella Jr., 25. Trooper Steve Limani said the weapon was left unsecured Nov. 1...
Jeannette hemp plant reopens, but employee pay issue remains
A hemp-drying facility in Jeannette reopened over the weekend after ventilation was added. Current and former employees, however, still say they have not been paid for weeks of work. Patriot Shield Security was permitted to reopen on a temporary basis after an inspection late Friday, said Bill Whetzel, the city’s...
Voting open for PennDOT ‘Paint the Plow’ contest
Voting opened Monday for the best student-created design on PennDOT snowplow blades this winter. Eight finalists from high schools in the department’s four-county District 12 area are vying for votes in the Paint the Plow contest. The theme this year is “Don’t Rush in Ice and Slush.” Students from the...
Jeannette: Hemp drying facility could reopen under certain conditions
If Patriot Shield Security addresses odor complaints at their hemp drying facility in Jeannette, the company will be permitted to resume operations on a temporary basis, said city solicitor Tim Witt. “That needs to immediately be brought into compliance before anyone operates in that building again,” he said. The company...
Police: Latrobe woman sexually assaulted 2 teen boys
A Latrobe woman is accused of sexually assaulting two teenage boys — the first starting in 2004 and the second in 2016, according to state police. Shanda Rae Hitchcock, 33, was arrested Thursday on charges of rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors and related offenses....
1 hospitalized after crash involving school bus, SUV in West Newton
One person was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital Friday after a two-vehicle crash involving a school bus and an SUV in West Newton, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. Firefighters freed a person from the SUV in the crash just before 9 a.m. on East Main Street, the...
Jeannette man sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for online drug purchase
A Jeannette man was sentenced Thursday to 15 months in a federal prison for ordering drugs online to distribute locally along with weapons violations, according to U.S. Attorney Scott Brady. James Robert Czachowski, 22, was ordered to spend three years on supervision after being released from prison. He pleaded guilty...
Ligonier Valley police seek attempted homicide suspect
Ligonier Valley police are looking for an Allegheny County man charged with attempted homicide for allegedly shooting at a woman in Ligonier Township on Monday. An arrest warrant has been issued for Michael J. Harris, 29, of Munhall, who police said directed the shots at the woman as she was...
