Stephen Huba stories, Page 3
Sheetz Christmas campaign collects $700K for children’s charity
Sheetz For the Kidz, a charity affiliated with the Altoona-based Sheetz convenience store chain, raised a record amount in its Christmas 2019 fundraiser for children in need, the company announced on Thursday. The $704,658 raised from in-store customer donations provided toys, clothes and other necessities for more than 9,600 children...
WCCC to host Greensburg Diocese’s men’s conference
Editor’s note: Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Diocese of Greensburg announced that “The Well” has been rescheduled for May 9, 2020. Six hundred Catholic men attended the Diocese of Greensburg’s 2019 men’s conference “The Well,” so local church leaders decided to hold another one. The second annual gathering, whose...
Social Security scam is top fraud targeting seniors
Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey took a break from President Trump’s impeachment trial long enough to attend a Senate hearing Wednesday on the latest telephone scam afflicting senior citizens. “For Americans who are worried about their loved ones … our efforts to stop con artists must be taken just as seriously...
‘Value-added’ products a boon to small farms
For smaller farms in Southwestern Pennsylvania, growing commodity crops may not be enough to keep them afloat. The grain farmer may have to learn how to mill flour. The fruit farmer may have to learn how to produce jam. The dairy farmer may have to learn how to make cheese....
412 Food Rescue expands mission in Westmoreland, other Western Pa. counties
A Pittsburgh nonprofit that “rescues” good food from going to landfills is expanding its services to surrounding counties through a smartphone app and a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. 412 Food Rescue, founded in 2015, redirects surplus food from local waste streams to nonprofits that serve people in need. In...
Farmers, conservation districts applaud rollback of Obama-era clean water rule
Not long after he took office, President Trump issued an executive order asking the EPA to review a clean water rule that he said exemplified federal government overreach in the Obama years. The 2015 Waters of the United States regulation increased the number and types of waterways — reportedly 60%...
Dominion plans natural gas pipeline replacement this spring
Dominion Energy Transmission Inc. is planning to replace 4.1 miles of natural gas pipeline in Salem, Hempfield and Penn townships starting this spring, the company said. Dominion recently received a State Water Quality Certification from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, meaning the project is consistent with state law, state...
Event at Pittsburgh’s Rodef Shalom to present new Holocaust research findings
New findings from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will be the topic of a presentation by Andrew Kloes next month in Pittsburgh. A Penn Hills native, Kloes is a researcher at the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Since 2016, he has...
Trump, a late convert to cause, attends anti-abortion rally
WASHINGTON — President Trump vowed to stand with anti-abortion activists Friday as he became the first sitting president to speak at the March for Life, an annual gathering that is one of the movement’s highest profile and most symbolic events. “Today as President of the United States, I am truly...
Former North Huntingdon Marine ‘happiest when his pockets were empty’
Don Kattic loved his fellow veterans so much that, whenever he presented an American flag to a veteran’s widow, he made sure to include taps. “He didn’t know how to play a musical instrument, so he would have a pretend trumpet and play taps on an old tape recorder,” said...
Scottdale library gets $50K donation from bank
Scottdale Public Library received a $50,000 donation from Scottdale Bank & Trust, the bank’s parent company announced. The donation was through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit, or EITC, a program of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Parent company Mid Penn Bank of Millersburg, donated a total of...
Greensburg Diocese 2019 Lenten Appeal generates almost $5 million for diocese, parishes
The latest Diocesan Lenten Appeal came in under the 2018 amount but still in keeping with recent trends, according to the Diocese of Greensburg. Totals for the 2019 appeal, one of three main sources of revenue for the diocese, were reported this monthin the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Accent. Pledges...
Westmoreland tourism grants top $300KVideo
From an indoor ax throwing business to art museums, and everything in between, Westmoreland County tourist destinations were seeing dollar signs on Friday. Festival organizers, hotels, parks and theaters all benefited from the latest round of tourism grants announced by the Westmoreland County commissioners and the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau....
Tenaska offering scholarships to students from Belle Vernon, Yough
Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners LLC, owner of the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station near Smithton, is offering $6,000 in scholarships for college-bound students in Westmoreland County this year. Tenaska manages scholarship programs in communities where its power plants are located and has given out approximately $760,000 in scholarships to date. This is...
Author of ‘Indianapolis’ to speak on World War II sinking, aftermath
Most people know the story of the USS Indianapolis from the movie “Jaws.” To them, it’s a story about sharks. But to best-selling author Lynn Vincent, the sinking of the USS Indianapolis is more a story of faith and leadership. On March 10, she will tell that story in Pittsburgh...
Pittsburgh native Bari Weiss wins book award for work on anti-Semitism
Pittsburgh native Bari Weiss won a 2019 National Jewish Book Award for her book “How to Fight Anti-Semitism.” Weiss, who grew up in Squirrel Hill and graduated from Shady Side Academy, won the Myra H. Kraft Memorial Award in the category Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice. Hers was one of...
Pa. churches, nonprofits can get grants to improve security
Religious organizations such as churches and synagogues looking to improve security can now get help from the state. Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday announced that $5 million in security grants is being made available to religious organizations and other nonprofits that serve communities deemed vulnerable to hate crimes. The Nonprofit...
Ruffed Grouse Society banquet to be held in Crabtree
The Western Allegheny Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society will holds its 29th annual Conservation and Sportsmen’s Banquet on Jan. 31 at Rizzo’s Malabar Inn, Crabtree. The banquet, which begins with a social hour at 5 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Ruffed Grouse Society and its efforts to enhance...
Report: 21% drop expected in 2020 natural gas impact fee
A state agency is predicting a 21% drop in natural gas impact fee revenue in 2020, largely because of falling natural gas prices. The Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office estimates that impact fee collections will total $198.2 million this year — down from $251.8 million last year. The 2019 fee must...
And the new Fiesta color is … Butterscotch
Fans of Fiesta dinnerware will have an orangey-yellow color to add to their palette this year. In what has become an annual rite of early January, the Homer Laughlin China Co. announced its newest Fiesta color — Butterscotch — Tuesday morning from the Atlanta Market, formerly the Atlanta International Gift...
United Methodists talk more about potential split over same-sex marriage, gay clergy
As Methodists in Western Pennsylvania consider the future of their denomination, a group that has proposed an amicable split explained the proposal in more detail Monday. Known as the “Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation,” the proposal allows for the formation of a new “traditionalist” Methodist denomination that would...
Latrobe man passed on his love of outdoors
David W. Planinsek’s life was devoted to the outdoors, whether he was responding to an environmental complaint or teaching a child how to fish. “I’m just one of many that he influenced,” said his son, David E. Planinsek, a state forester. Mr. Planinsek demonstrated respect for the natural world through...
Rabbit ‘king’ from West Newton presided at Pa. Farm Show
As he wrapped up his week at the 2020 Pennsylvania Farm Show, Zach Farlow found himself on Thursday at AngoraPalooza. The event, one of many he’s attended this week as 2019 king of the Pennsylvania State Rabbit Breeders Association, featured Angora rabbits and scarves made from Angora rabbit wool. “I...
Report: 2019 natural gas prices lowest in 3 years
A new report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) notes that natural gas prices in 2019 were the lowest in the last three years. That won’t come as a surprise to Marcellus shale gas drillers, who spent much of 2019 adjusting to a low-price market. Analysts believe low prices...
Temps across Western Pa. expected to jump by 50 degrees
If you didn’t like Thursday morning’s cold temperatures, be patient. By Saturday, temperatures will be in the mid 60s — a jump of more than 50 degrees from lows in the teens early Thursday morning. Kinda chilly this morning, huh? Many areas saw their coldest temperatures since December 20th or...
