Stephen Huba stories, Page 6
Catholics halt adoption, foster care programs in Greensburg, Pittsburgh over state rule
Pennsylvania’s Catholic dioceses are challenging a recent state policy that has essentially put them out of the adoption and foster care business. The Diocese of Greensburg recently announced that its Catholic Charities agency was closing its adoption and foster care program after 65 years because the state’s nondiscrimination policy added...
Youngstown postmaster was dedicated to community
Dean Musick was a small-town postmaster whose mettle was tested in the Pacific Theater of World War II. “He was totally dedicated to his work, and he wouldn’t take a day off,” said his son, Craig Musick. “Work was always really important to him,” said his daughter, Debbie Musick. Mr....
Salvation Army ‘Kettle Pay’ option allows digital donations
One of the country’s oldest charitable giving campaigns is going digital. The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign, a fixture of the Christmas shopping season, will now give people the option to give not by dropping cash or coins in the kettle but by using their smartphones. The Salvation Army Western...
Report: Pennsylvania performance contributed to record natural gas growth in 2018
Largely because of growth in Pennsylvania and Ohio, U.S. natural gas production reached a new record in 2018 and saw the largest increase since 1930, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Pennsylvania had the largest year-over-year production increase for dry natural gas in 2018, increasing by 2 billion cubic...
Pennsylvania looks to help food banks trim food waste in state
Area food banks are hailing a new state grant program that aims to reduce food waste through the purchase of refrigerators, freezers, refrigerant vehicles and other equipment. “It really comes along at a good time,” said Dennis McManus, head of government relations for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in...
Dalai Lama’s physician to speak at Pittsburgh nonprofit ‘summit’
The personal physician to the Dalai Lama will be among the speakers at the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership Summit in Pittsburgh on Dec. 3. An American physician and a Buddhist monk, Dr. Barry Kerzin is one of 130 speakers scheduled to speak at the biennial event at the Wyndham Grand...
The price of history: Charleroi Elks building sells for $27,250Video
Charleroi said goodbye to a part of its history Tuesday with the sale of the Charleroi Elks Club Lodge 494. The ornate three-story, 115-year-old building on Fallowfield Avenue sold for $27,250 at a live auction conducted by the Rittenhouse Auction Co. The price is unofficial until the sale is approved...
Checkpoint to history: Berlin Wall falls, Cold War ends on Greensburg man’s watch
Three decades ago, on Nov. 9, 1989, U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Rafferty was at home in West Berlin when word came over the Armed Forces Network that East Germans would soon be able to travel unimpeded to the West. The communist government announcement came after months of civil unrest and...
Clergy visit highlights Pittsburgh-Ireland ties
Pittsburgh’s connections with Ireland may not seem apparent at first, but they are deep and ongoing — well beyond the late Pittsburgh Steelers President Dan Rooney’s stint as U.S. ambassador. An Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh event at the Duquesne Club in Downtown Pittsburgh on Nov. 6 provided an introduction to...
Rostraver man printed his love of God for others to see
Charles Gillingham spent the last few months of his life working on a religious tract he titled “God’s Road Map to Eternal Life.” The 10-page tract was an outgrowth of his desire to spread God’s word and of his interest in artwork and printing, said his daughter Christi Crawford. “He...
Greensburg jeweler resizes, polishes storefrontVideo
Downtown Greensburg’s business district just got another jewel. With the completion of the Beeghly and Co. Jewelers’ expansion project, the 400 block of South Main Street has a gleaming new building instead of two old brick buildings. Beeghly is showing off its new addition during a two-day grand re-opening party,...
Applications for heating help through LIHEAP open through April
Applications for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program for the 2019-20 winter season are being accepted by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. LIHEAP provides assistance to people who struggle to pay heating bills during the winter. Assistance is available to renters and homeowners, and benefits are paid directly to...
Squires retains Westmoreland County treasurer post
Westmoreland County voters returned incumbent Jared Squires to the treasurer’s office for a third term on Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the Westmoreland County Election Bureau. Squires, 42, a Republican from Mt. Pleasant Township, beat Democratic challenger Matt Mascara, 22, of Rostraver, with nearly 60% of the vote and...
DEA: Fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl being sent to North America
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued an alert about Mexican drug cartels manufacturing mass quantities of counterfeit prescription pills for distribution in North America. Based on a sampling of tablets seized nationwide between January and March 2019, DEA found that 27% contained potentially lethal doses of fentanyl, a dangerous...
Hempfield Walmart gets some soul (food)Video
How does a former Liberian refugee from New Jersey end up at a Walmart in Hempfield? With the help of prayer, some venture capital and a business partner who grew up eating soul food in Tifton, Ga. Adenah Bayoh and Elzadie “Zadie” Smith opened the first Cornbread restaurant in Maplewood,...
40 years later: Mt. Pleasant tie to Iran hostage crisis revisitedVideo
Editor’s note: Portions of a first-person account from Janice Steinhagen, formerly Janice Malego, appear in italics throughout this article. Janice Steinhagen’s story based on an exclusive interview with former Iran hostage Jerry Miele sits in a box with 40 years’ worth of newspaper clippings. But as a story, it looms...
Mascara challenges incumbent Squires for Westmoreland treasurer post
The race for Westmoreland County treasurer features a two-term incumbent and a newcomer with a political pedigree. Republican Treasurer Jared Squires, first elected in 2011, is running for reelection against Democratic challenger Matt Mascara. The treasurer’s office is responsible for overseeing money collected and disbursed by the county. The office...
Westmoreland County cold weather shelter program begins on Friday
Westmoreland County cold weather shelters will open on Friday, offering emergency lodging to residents who are homeless or without heat on cold winter nights. They will remain in service through March 31. Welcome Home Shelter in Greensburg and Union Mission in Latrobe will be open from 8 p.m. to 8...
CNX says it’s adjusting to low natural gas prices
CNX Resources continues to adjust to the low-price natural gas market but is generally optimistic about 2020, according to its third quarter earnings call. The Canonsburg-based natural gas exploration and production company said it expects to realize $25 million in savings from streamlining activities in the third quarter, including “reconfiguring”...
Customers to spend $1,047.83 this Christmas, despite tariffs, shorter shopping season
Trade wars and a calendar fluke will be among the things affecting shopping behavior during this year’s Christmas holiday shopping season. With new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods set to begin Dec. 15, shoppers who wait until later in the shopping season may end up paying more for some goods,...
Survey shows American Jews believe anti-semitism a problem after Tree of Life shootingsVideo
About nine in 10 Jews in the United States believe anti-Semitism is a problem in American life today, according to a survey by the American Jewish Committee. The survey measured American Jewish attitudes about anti-Semitism a year after the Tree of Life synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. The...
Homeless youth program to expand in 4 Western Pa. counties
A program to alleviate youth homelessness in four Western Pennsylvania counties is set to expand now that it has new funding. Valley Youth House, an agency based in Bethlehem, Pa., recently received $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to build on the host home model...
Federal money aimed at stopping Scottdale flooding
When heavy rains arrive, residents in Scottdale’s West Park neighborhood brace for flooding. “We have drainage up there but, when we get these rains, there’s no way they can handle it,” said Angelo Pallone, borough manager. Stormwater contributes to flooding along Anderson Run, one of three Jacobs Creek tributaries that...
1984 Greensburg Salem grad’s class ring, found on Calif. beach, now headed home
David Henry’s 1984 Greensburg Salem High School class ring is now also his lucky ring. Thirty-four years after losing it in the Pacific Ocean, Henry will soon be reunited with the white gold band. “It totally blew my mind,” Henry said, describing his reaction upon learning Wednesday that the ring...
Anti-Semitic action, rhetoric are pervading American public life, experts sayVideo
Bari Weiss was in Arizona when she heard about an anti-Semitic attack in her beloved Squirrel Hill. The details were sketchy at first, but it soon became apparent that a shooter had killed 11 people in the Tree of Life synagogue where she had celebrated her bat mitzvah 21 years...
