Stephen Huba stories, Page 9
Pa. wants deer hunters to help control chronic wasting disease
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is seeking public comment on a proposal to more actively involve deer hunters in the fight against chronic wasting disease, or CWD. The commission released a draft report and is accepting comments through Feb. 29, 2020 — in time for implementation in the 2020-21 hunting seasons....
Rillton’s George Matovich valued family, heritage
Two things were important to George Matovich — his grandchildren and his Serbian heritage. He began taking one granddaughter to practices, games and tournaments when she was 6 years old and continued taking her throughout her school career. “He was always on the sidelines,” said his daughter, Melissa Aird. “I’m...
Reports: U.S. natural gas production, future supply at record levels
Two new reports tout the continued resilience and productivity of the nation’s natural gas industry, bolstered in part by the Marcellus shale play in Pennsylvania. Even at a time of low natural gas prices, which tend to put downward pressure on production, U.S. natural gas production set daily and monthly...
Scottdale company offers challenge grant for Westmoreland food bankVideo
In 2000, fundraising accounted for 10% of the Westmoreland County Food Bank’s budget. In 2018, that portion had risen to 60%. Food Bank CEO Jennifer Miller cited that number at Thursday’s Annual Partnership Luncheon to highlight the importance of partners — agencies, volunteers and donors. “Our partners are not taken...
Greensburg’s ‘Bridging the Gap’ poetry project to feature Pittsburgher’s ode
A Pittsburgh woman is the latest poet to have her work selected for the Bridging the Gap public art project — an installation which reveals poems gradually by displaying them in large letters on the North Main Street bridge. The first two lines of Michelle Stoner’s poem “Mile Marker 322,”...
Westmoreland team to tackle Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail as part of annual Crucible Hike
For Tina Grossman, the challenges of training for a 70-mile, three-day hike have been akin to the challenges life has thrown at her these past two years. In that time span, she lost both her husband and her mother. “This was my year of finding me,” she said. “I was...
Pennsylvania DEP to Sunoco: Your pipelines are showing
The state Department of Environmental Protection is ordering Sunoco Pipeline LP to cover up portions of its pipeline network that have become exposed over time. The order follows the discovery of an exposed pipeline in June by the state Public Utility Commission, which then requested that Sunoco report any additional...
Report: Natural gas drilling activity down amid low prices
Permitting activity for new natural gas wells in Pennsylvania is down significantly, as natural gas prices continue to tank, S&P Global reports. Unconventional well permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection were down by 23% in August and 14% in July compared to the same months last year, S&P...
Help the Bahamas recover through tourism, donations to Pittsburgh-based charity
Want to help the people of the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian? Visit the Caribbean island nation. Matt Hicks, an Apollo native who has lived in the Bahamas for more than four years, said he agrees with the country’s Ministry of Tourism that, well, tourism is among the best ways to...
Tree farm was Rostraver man’s biggest love
Whether he was teaching, selling Christmas trees or going to bat for Rostraver, George Martin put his all into his work. “His biggest love was his tree farm. This year he planted 18,000 Christmas trees,” said his wife, Patty. Mr. Martin operated Martins Christmas Tree Farm in Rostraver with his...
Greensburg Central Catholic marks 60 years of education, serviceVideo
Back in 1959, when Greensburg Central Catholic High School first opened, bishops railed against “the downward pull of secularism and paganism,” and priests and nuns kept students in line. Much has changed in the Catholic Church in the 60 years since. But on Monday, the continuing appeal of a Catholic...
Mastering nature: Pennsylvania Master Naturalist programs comes to Westmoreland
Scott Jones spent a career exploring environmental issues from the regulatory side as a hydrogeologist with the state Department of Environmental Protection. Now that he’s retired, natural resources are more of an avocation than a vocation. “I still have a really strong interest in the environment, but I was trying...
VP Mike Pence to speak at Flight 93 Memorial on 9/11
Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt will be the keynote speakers for the 18th annual 9/11 observance at the Flight 93 National Memorial on Wednesday, the National Park Service announced Friday. Pence last spoke for the memorial’s 9/11 observance in 2017. President Trump spoke in...
Sheetz: Perrier is a ‘soft drink’ subject to sales tax
Sheetz is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges it improperly charged sales tax for nonflavored mineral water sold at two stores in June. The Altoona-based gas retailer and convenience store chain said the lawsuit has no basis because Sheetz is only a state sales tax collecting agent...
S&T Bank approved for merger with DNB First
Indiana-based S&T Bancorp Inc., the holding company for S&T Bank, has received the necessary regulatory approval for its pending acquisition of DNB Financial Corp., the holding company for DNB First, the companies said. The Pennsylvania Department of Banking & Securities approved the definitive merger agreement this week. The closing of...
Unity firm gets state-backed loan for plant expansion
Product Evaluation Systems Inc. tests aerospace materials for strength and durability — two qualities that also are good for business. The state hopes that a new low-interest loan will improve the Unity company’s strength and durability. The $1.05 million loan from the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority, announced by Gov. Tom...
Monessen’s Temple Beth Am closing, estate sale FridayVideo
Jack Bergstein was there when the light went out. A lifelong member of Temple Beth Am in Monessen, the 79-year-old recently attended the deconsecration service for the Reform synagogue. Part of his job was to put out the ner tamid, the “eternal light” found in every synagogue in front of...
State officials pledge more ‘aggressive’ approach to combating overgrowth at Somerset County lake
Two state legislators are pledging a more aggressive approach to reclaiming a lake in Somerset County that experienced a serious fish kill this summer. State Rep. Matt Dowling, R-Uniontown, and state Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Connellsville, met with officials of the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission and Pennsylvania Game Commission last...
Staycation: Linden Hall in Fayette County
If you’ve never heard of Linden Hall, it’s OK. It says right on their website, “One of Pennsylvania’s best kept secrets.” The Linden Hall mansion sits on 785 acres nestled in the Laurel Highlands between Dawson and Perryopolis in northern Fayette County. Not far from the Youghiogheny River, Linden Hall...
Indiana County native, Cold War code-breaker, dies at age 101
Angeline Nanni could have lived her life in relative peace and quiet working at her sisters’ Blairsville beauty shop. Instead, she became part of one of the most important counterintelligence programs of the Cold War. Ms. Nanni and her compatriots in the Venona Project helped decrypt thousands of coded messages...
National conference on abandoned mine land coming to Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania has the most abandoned mine lands in the country, so it is only fitting a national conference on the issue is coming to Pittsburgh in September. “Pennsylvania has a lot of abandoned mine issues,” said Eric Cavazza, director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation. “We by far...
Westmoreland County Food Bank promotes September as ‘Hunger Action Month’
The Westmoreland County Food Bank is again teaming up with a Scottdale company to raise money for its food programs. The third annual “Day 2 Don8” on Sept. 28 will allow donors to match a $5,000 challenge gift from Penn Line Service Inc. “Penn Line has been a generous sponsor...
2-way flow of Laurel Pipeline approved by state commission
A petition to start bi-directional service on the Laurel Pipeline between Pittsburgh and Altoona has received the necessary regulatory approval from the state. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 5-0 to approve a joint settlement agreement between the Laurel Pipeline Co. and a group of complainants, including Giant Eagle and...
Sewickley Creek spill among those cited in $313K Sunoco Pipeline fine
Energy Transfer subsidiary Sunoco Pipeline LP has agreed to pay $313,000 in fines for environmental violations related to building the Mariner East 2 pipeline, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced Thursday. DEP said construction of the pipeline through Pennsylvania in 2018 resulted in spills of drilling fluid that got...
‘Everyone’s Friend’ Terry Ranieri, Hempfield’s most-beloved fan, laid to restVideo
Terry Ranieri will be remembered as a man with no malice in his heart. “I never met anyone as kind as Terry was. I don’t think there was anything you could do to make Terry dislike you,” said the Rev. Kenneth Bossart, who gave the eulogy at Ranieri’s memorial service...
