Murrysville Star category, Page 98
Westmoreland food bank benefits from annual United Way fundraiserVideo
Rather than mapping out the most efficient route through the East Pittsburgh Street Shop ’n Save in Greensburg on Monday evening, Renee Sasanko spent her time deciding on a nonprofit organization that would benefit from a $750 donation. The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s annual fundraiser, which normally sends one...
No raises in new year for Westmoreland elected officials
Westmoreland County’s elected officials will not get raises in 2021. Annual cost-of-living raises earned by county commissioners and row officers since 1995 have been determined by changes to the consumer price index calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. For 2021, that index...
Delmont police, Sheetz collect about 10 tons of food for families, health care workers
’Tis the season for giving, and that sentiment isn’t lost on the organizations who interact with the public every day and have a ground-level view of the difficulty faced by not just families but also front-line health care workers. That’s why the Delmont Police Department decided to hold its first-ever...
Delmont updates stormwater ordinance, approves 2021 budgetVideo
Delmont council members approved an updated stormwater ordinance earlier this month that incorporates county and state requirements for best-management practices. The updated ordinance brings in elements of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s 2022 model ordinance, mandated by Act 167 and Westmoreland County’s integrated water resource plan. Communities that are...
Westmoreland County coronavirus rate five times higher than ‘substantial’ threshold
Westmoreland County’s coronavirus incidence rate — a statistic that tracks the spread of the virus through the population — has more than tripled in the last month. It was 516.5 for the most recently measured 7-day period, which ended Thursday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health data. That’s down...
Eastern area real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 20
Churchill Arlene Siegel sold property at 120 Thornberry Drive to Paul Rutherford and James Reese for $195,000. Delmont Sharon McGinnis sold property at 1114 Volek Court to Jack and Barbara Lyman for $335,000. Edgewood Dino DeFlavio sold property at 619 Greendale Ave. to Vane Investments Ltd. for $225,000. Michelle Gil...
Westmoreland County Sheriff won’t enforce Gov. Wolf’s new covid-19 orders
Add Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert to the list of law enforcement officers vowing not enforce Gov. Tom Wolf’s temporary covid restrictions. Last weekend, Wolf suspended all indoor dining, closed entertainment venues, limited indoor gatherings to 10 people and outdoor gatherings to 50 and restricted all other in-person businesses to...
Franklin Regional’s annual telethon transforms into live-streamed holiday showcaseVideo
During the annual Franklin Regional Telethon in December, the main hallway in the senior high school is, to put it charitably, a roiling mass of chaos. Multimedia students are scrambling to line up the next act in their live broadcast. High school clubs have tables set up from end to...
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Greensburg smashes fundraising goal, netting $233,950
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Greensburg hoped its online Guardian Angel Appeal fundraising campaign would raise about $50,000. Donors smashed that goal, then kept giving. The campaign raised $233,950. “There’s no way I could express how amazed I am at the success of the campaign, not because of any...
Murrysville council approves 2021 budget with no tax hike
Murrysville council approved a 2021 budget of $14.2 million that does not include a tax increase. Council voted 5-0 Wednesday to OK the budget, which will keep property taxes at 12.15 mills. Council members Jamie Lee Korns and Tony Spadaro were not present. Municipal officials said, while taxes have remained...
Leechburg native Msgr. Larry Kulick named new bishop of Diocese of GreensburgVideo
Catholics in the Greensburg Diocese are celebrating an early Christmas gift from Rome: the appointment of one of their own, Msgr. Larry J. Kulick, as bishop-elect. Pope Francis announced the appointment of Kulick, a Leechburg native, as the sixth bishop of the diocese early Friday. The appointment of the 54-year-old...
Franklin Regional 8th graders deck the doors with decorationsVideo
Eight-plus inches of snow didn’t chill the spirit — or the creativity — of Franklin Regional Middle School eighth graders, who joined their teachers Thursday in spreading some holiday spirit by decorating their classroom doors....
Franklin Regional joins other districts in second post-holiday shift to online learning
If Franklin Regional officials had not made the move to remote instruction the week following Thanksgiving, nearly 60 people with either a positive covid-19 test or a potential exposure would have come back into the senior high school, according to the superintendent. “During those days, from Nov. 26 through Dec....
Murrysville library issues ‘Winter Reading Challenge’ to patrons
For their “Winter Reading Challenge,” Murrysville Public Library officials are asking patrons to give themselves a literary challenge. “Most of our patrons tend to stick to a favorite type of book,” said library associate Janeene Foster. “A big part of this program is to challenge participants to step outside of...
No injuries as SUV goes over hillside near Murrysville-Plum borderVideo
Roads continued to prove slippery in the wake of heavy snowfall across the region, but no one was injured when an SUV went over an embankment near the Murrysville-Plum border on Thursday evening. Murrysville police said the SUV’s driver went off the roadway near the intersection of Saltsburg Road (Route...
Covid-relief grants available to Westmoreland emergency medical services
Twenty-one nonprofit emergency medical service departments are in line to receive $15,000 covid-relief grants as part of a new round of awards unveiled Thursday by Westmoreland County commissioners. Officials said nearly $400,000 remaining from grants earmarked for nonprofit agencies will be used to fund the program. “We are under a...
Gov. Wolf grants 5th extension to renew firearms carry permits
Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to grant a fifth consecutive extension to renew firearms carry permits through March 31 couldn’t have been more timely, according to Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert. The previous extension was set to expire Dec. 31 and Albert said his two deputies assigned the “appointment only” permit...
Westmoreland commissioners approve budget with no tax hike
The coronavirus has been good for Westmoreland County’s bottom line. Commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved a $339.7 million budget for 2021 that does not raise property taxes in part because federal covid relief money held back to pay for personnel and other expenses related to the ongoing pandemic. Property taxes...
Pandemic drives Pittsburgh region’s food insecurity to new heights, reshapes assistance efforts
Food insecurity is an ongoing problem in the Pittsburgh region, made much worse by the covid-19 pandemic. Area food banks have responded by redoubling their efforts while facing new challenges. With pandemic restrictions putting many American breadwinners out of work or reducing their hours, food banks this year have been...
Westmoreland County to settle lawsuit against Recorder of Deeds
Westmoreland County commissioners are expected to settle a federal lawsuit filed earlier this year by a former employee claiming she was fired by new Republican Recorder of Deeds Frank Schiefer after he took office in January. The $27,500 settlement includes no admission of wrongdoing, officials said Wednesday. The lawsuit was...
Westmoreland covid hospitalizations up but Excela officials say they can handle it
The number of patients hospitalized in Westmoreland County because of the coronavirus jumped 27% in the last few days — from 131 patients on Saturday to 166 on Wednesday, according to state data. That’s a 55% increase from Nov. 30, when the county reported its first triple-digit patient count. Excela...
Hearing loss no reason to exclude Delmont man’s confession to sexual assault charges
A Delmont man’s confession regarding the alleged sexual assault of guest in his home was legally obtained by police, a judge ruled. Robert Pantalone, 55, is awaiting trial on six sex-related counts that claim he forced himself on a woman as she slept on an air mattress in the basement...
Voice of Westmoreland to air local public health concerns in Zoom forum
A grassroots activist group will host a public Zoom forum with Westmoreland County commissioners Wednesday evening to air local concerns and urge them to take an active role in battling the region’s growing public health crisis. Although the county does not have an independent public health department, a spokesman for...
Masks, social distancing can’t stop the fun of Westmoreland Shop With A CopVideo
The smiles were evident Tuesday even behind the protective masks worn by young shoppers and their chaperones — police officers — at the Westmoreland County Shop With a Cop event at the Walmart in East Huntingdon. “This is by far my favorite day of the year,” said veteran Westmoreland sheriff’s...
Eastern area real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 13
Chalfant Mack Beall sold property at 127 Elizabeth Ave. to Bennett and Haley Shakoske for $97,000. Churchill Daniel O’Toole sold property at 1299 Rodi Road to Kati Burgess for $175,000. Edgewood Anna Mrea Csorba sold property at 120 Maple Ave. to JoJo Monaco and Tara Donofrio for $332,000. Irwin Alison...
