Norwin Star category, Page 102
Coronavirus surge forces Westmoreland schools to decide on in-person, fully remote learning
Under guidelines from the state departments of education and health, school districts in counties with a “substantial” rate of community coronavirus spread are advised to revert to fully remote classes. The decision, however, rests with school districts. The county on Friday marked a second week of “substantial” coronavirus transmission levels...
Alien invaders welcome at North Huntingdon homeVideo
It might be time to break out the tin foil hats — an alien invasion is taking place in North Huntingdon. Three silver aliens with glowing green eyes stand at the ready, two holding toy guns, in a neighborhood along Dianthus Street, their spaceship glowing red, white and blue. It’s...
Norwin area sees 60% jump in covid-19 numbers in past week
The Norwin area, which has a population of about 35,000, has had 584 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the pandemic hit the region in March, up from 356 cases on Oct. 12, according to state Department of Health data released Monday. The rise in cases in the Norwin area —...
Coronavirus changes North Huntingdon VFW post’s Veterans Day celebration
Like so many other aspects of life, the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on large gatherings forced changes in the annual Veterans Day celebration at the J. Howard Snyder Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 781 in North Huntingdon. Instead of a large gathering inside the VFW post, Commander Kory Bulloch said...
Norwin postpones school reopening, closes middle school
Faced with more coronavirus cases at school and in the community, Norwin School District officials said Monday the middle school will close for at least two days this week and the full reopening of its schools will be postponed from Nov. 4 until at least Nov. 18. Two positive cases...
Westmoreland Prison Board moves ahead in search for new wardenVideo
The Westmoreland County Prison Board will accept applications through Friday for a new warden to succeed John Walton, who announced last month he was resigning and retiring. Walton, 61, of Mt. Pleasant Township, submitted his resignation Sept. 28, claiming it was the result of “a public character assassination and campaign...
Norwin seeks volunteers for input in a master facilities plan
Norwin is seeking volunteers from the North Huntingdon-Irwin area who want to serve on a new facilities action committee that will review the state of the school district’s buildings and grounds. Superintendent Jeff Taylor said Monday the school district has not set a target number for the volunteers on the...
North Huntingdon names new emergency management coordinator
A retired North Huntingdon police officer is the municipality’s new emergency management agency coordinator. Township commissioners unanimously appointed Robert Dippolito on Oct. 21 to the post, succeeding Gene Komondor, who resigned in September after serving 13 years in the role. Dippolito, who retired in May 2019 after serving 29 years...
Norwin notebook: Krevokuch earns walk-on offer from Pitt
Norwin senior tight end and defensive end Tanner Krevokuch has been in contact with Pitt coach Tim Salem of late and the conversation sparked greater interest. After sending some highlights, Krevokuch (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) received a preferred walk-on opportunity with the Panthers. Central Michigan had offered him last year, but...
Norwin golfers relish 1st trip to WPIAL championship
As Sal Cerilli walked up the 18th fairway on the Gold course at Cedarbrook, he felt a sense of finality kick in. The Norwin senior, while enjoying the sights and sounds of the Knights’ maiden trip to the WPIAL Class AAA boys golf championship, knew this was the end of...
Eastern area real estate transactions for the week of Oct. 25
Churchill Mario Berges sold property at 3418 Ridgewood Drive to Lucas and Jessicah Lahitou for $368,000. Delmont Vincent Benaquista sold property at 578 Monticello Drive to Joen and Jennifer Vasquez for $210,000. Forest Hills Umberto Liberati sold property at 318 Ave. A to Winfred Gyambiby for $90,000. Estate of Oriente...
WPIAL Class 6A roundup: No. 3 Central Catholic rolls past Baldwin
Adam Obrin threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns as No. 3 Central Catholic earned a 49-6 victory over Baldwin (2-3, 1-3) in Class 6A Conference play Friday night. Eddy Tillman ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns for the Vikings (4-2, 4-2), who led at halftime, 35-0. The Vikings...
North Huntingdon residents seek demolition of smelly ‘cat house’
Residents living near the odor-emanating North Huntingdon house where some 70 cats had to be rescued want the township to tear it down now, not years from now. “The place stinks,” is how James “Rick” Keenan described the neighboring house at 820 Leger Road, where Matthew Jacobs previously lived with...
Police: North Huntingdon cat hoarder said animals took over his house
Police said a North Huntingdon man told them he stopped staying at his township home because cats had overrun it. In September, authorities rescued 73 cats from the property on Leger Road and removed 11 that died. Since being surrendered to Frankie’s Friends in New Kensington, another 22 cats died...
Westmoreland County schools could face difficult closure decisions as coronavirus risk remains high
Westmoreland County school districts face difficult choices as the county’s coronavirus transmission risk is expected to remain “substantial” for at least another week when the state updates its three-tiered Early Warning Monitoring System. Leaders will need to weigh student safety and legal liability as they decide whether to close schools...
Westmoreland County: Almost 70,000 mail-in ballots approved
The Ohio company processing mail-in ballots for Westmoreland County has sent more than 64,000 to the post office and is up-to-date with its processing, a county election official said Thursday. Midwest Direct of Cleveland, which prints and mails the ballots, handled 64,604 ballots as of Tuesday, with an additional 3,800...
North Huntingdon police get 4-year contract extension
North Huntingdon police officers agreed to a wage freeze next year followed by pay raises of 2% in 2022, 2.5% in 2023 and 3% in 2024 under a four-year contract extension reached with the township. Township commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved the contract that township Manager Jeff Silka called a...
Irwin’s faulty parking meters ‘bagged’ until recalibration
Irwin police will not be writing tickets for vehicles in spaces with an expired meter until they can be recalibrated. The decision to suspend ticket writing at expired meters was prompted by a Westmoreland County Bureau of Weights and Measures’ inspector finding faulty meters in a group of about a...
Westmoreland County says mail-in ballot backlog cleared
Westmoreland County officials reported all but about 4,100 requested mail-in ballots have been sent to voters. The county elections bureau said as of Wednesday morning, more than 64,600 ballots were mailed, clearing a backlog of requests caused by delays at the Cleveland company hired to print and mail them. “The...
North Huntingdon close to resolving backyard chicken battle
North Huntingdon officials appear to be on the cusp of resolving a months-long disagreement on rules for governing the raising of backyard chickens, a dispute that at times has been emotional and acrimonious. The township commissioners on Wednesday are scheduled to consider authorizing employees to draft an ordinance that would...
Norwin girls volleyball, Latrobe boys soccer shut down because of covid-19 concerns
The Norwin girls volleyball and Latrobe boys soccer teams have shut down for 14 days because of possible exposure to covid-19. Norwin canceled its last four matches and Latrobe its final four games. If Norwin (5-4) qualifies for the WPIAL playoffs, based on results of other matches, the team might...
Westmoreland sheriff wants deputies to patrol polling places on Election Day, in case needed
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert on Tuesday said he will assign deputies to patrol near the county’s 307 polling locations on Election Day. The first-term sheriff said he has received no specific information about threats but he wants deputies at the ready should disturbances or calls of voter intimidation arise...
North Huntingdon-Irwin covid-19 cases up almost 20% in 1 week
The number of coronavirus cases in the North Huntingdon and Irwin areas took another jump in the past week, rising about 20% at the same time cases have been increasing in Westmoreland County, according to data from the state Department of Health. The community of about 35,000 residents saw 443...
Westmoreland prison, manor register additional coronavirus cases
An additional seven guards and nine inmates have tested positive for coronavirus at the Westmoreland County Prison in Hempfield, bringing the total to 11 guards and 45 inmates. The courts have halted transfer of inmates to the courthouse in Greensburg, according to county Solicitor Melissa Guiddy. “All inmates will appear...
Norwin tracks 7 more cases of coronavirus; school board majority supports full reopening
On a day when the Norwin announced seven more cases of coronavirus cases among students and staff, a majority of the Norwin School Board supported plans for students to return to class five days a week next month, rather than the current hybrid plan. Three high school students, two Hillcrest...
