Westmoreland category, Page 418
Judge says no evidence Westmoreland DA favors the famous
A Derry Township man will serve three days in jail for driving his Dodge Charger 120 mph on Route 22 while drunk nearly two years ago after a judge rejected a defense argument that prosecutors gave preferential treatment to a local celebrity and unfairly rejected a bid by a “blue...
Guilty plea entered in Greensburg woman’s fatal overdose
An Allegheny County woman pleaded guilty to supplying the fatal dose of heroin used in the overdose of a Greensburg woman in May 2019. Britnee R. Clark, 41, of Avalon was one of three people charged in connection with the death of 59-year-old Roxanne Gongaware, whose body along with drug...
NTSB: Speed, road conditions played big role in fatal Mt. Pleasant turnpike crash
The driver of a tour bus involved in a deadly 2020 Pennsylvania Turnpike crash likely was traveling at unsafe speeds on a wet road, causing him to lose control of the vehicle, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB’s unanimous adoption of the drafted probable cause came more...
Troopers: Hempfield woman accused of cutting boyfriend with knife in altercation after DUI crash
A Hempfield woman was arrested this week on aggravated assault and drunken driving charges after state police say she cut her boyfriend’s hand with a knife and punched him during a Jan. 31 argument when she crashed her SUV. Jessica L. Fink, 39, is accused of driving erratically after departing...
Greensburg police: 2 men jailed on multiple charges after 8-mile chase, crash
Two men inside a stolen car that led Greensburg police on an 8-mile pursuit early Tuesday through the city and north on Route 119 before crashing into an embankment near Crabtree were ordered to jail on numerous criminal, traffic and theft complaints. Darnelle L. Wade, 37, of New Kensington and...
Greensburg Civic Theatre stages multi-award-winner ‘Rent’
Edward Bostedo loves “Rent” so much that he has a lyric from the musical tattooed on his leg. When Greensburg Civic Theatre needed a director for its upcoming production of the multiple award-winner, he applied right away and was accepted. Though the Delmont resident has been directing community theater for...
Asbestos issues drive up costs for demolition of Franklin Regional elementary
The bulk of Franklin Regional School District’s capital plan for the coming school year is demolishing the former Heritage Elementary School, although the cost has gone up substantially after asbestos was discovered in the building. A little less than half of the $2.25 million capital budget for the 2022-23 school...
How the Huey helicopter made its way to Lynch Field
It came by police escort, not air. The 1966 U.S. Army Huey helicopter retired at Lynch Field has been there since the mid-1990s, a product of the vision of late Greensburg Fire Chief Edward Hutchinson. He and fellow firefighter Lou Battistella picked it up in September 1995 in Washington, Pa....
Pa. mine cleanup funding seen as game-changer
Pennsylvania could clean up the vast majority of the state’s abandoned mines and the pollution caused by them with a $245 million federal allocation annually for the next 15 years, a Westmoreland County conservation official said. “This pot of money has the potential to make one of the largest impacts...
Intersecting histories of Lincoln Highway, Saint Vincent College topic for museum talk
Saint Vincent Drive serves as the main entrance to the same-named college and archabbey from modern Route 30, also known as the Lincoln Highway. The interwoven histories of the highway and Saint Vincent’s neighboring educational and monastic communities will be explored in a Feb. 12 program at the Lincoln Highway...
Covid-19 surge at Westmoreland jail eases, inmate transports to resume
Transportation of inmates to court hearings will resume Wednesday as the number of coronavirus cases at the Westmoreland County Prison continues to decline. Common Pleas Court President Judge Rita Hathaway rescinded a court order issued in late January that halted inmate transfers amid a wave of new cases that saw...
North Huntingdon man, now 19, seeks to move armed robbery case to juvenile court
A now 19-year-old man should be prosecuted in juvenile court for a 2020 armed robbery of two men in Mt. Pleasant, a psychologist told a Westmoreland County judge. Dr. Michael Crabtree, a professor at Washington and Jefferson College who was hired by the legal defense team, said Elijah Chaabane’s life...
Deputies seize cache of ammunition, firearms from Sewickley Township man’s mobile home
Six days before state troopers arrested a 39-year-old Sewickley Township man on rape charges, county sheriff’s deputies seized more than a dozen handguns, rifles and shotguns from his home, according to court documents. Steven K. Stemmler, who resides in the KOA Campground on Waltz Mill Road, was arraigned Thursday on...
Small plane makes emergency landing at Arnold Palmer airport; no injuries reported
No injuries were reported when a small plane made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff Monday morning at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. The chartered plane carrying nine passengers and three crew members experienced smoke in the cockpit about 20 miles into its flight, according to Gabe Monzo, executive director of...
Route 31 in Donegal Township closed for hours after chain- reaction crash involving 3 trucks
Jesse Bash had stopped his black four-wheel drive pickup truck on Route 31 in Donegal Township Monday to make a left turn into a furniture outlet store where he works when the driver of a tri-axle truck behind him “began really laying on his air horn.” “I was really starting...
Greensburg police looking for suspect in ‘smash and grab’ theft at Lynch Field
Greensburg police are looking for a man accused of smashing the window of a vehicle parked Sunday at Lynch Field and taking a purse. A woman reported the incident just before 2 p.m. outside The Aerobic Center, according to Capt. Shawn Denning. A center manager told investigators that the suspect’s...
Frontier bids $2.9 billion for rival budget airline Spirit
Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines are proposing to combine in a $2.9 billion deal that would create a larger discount airline to compete against the nation’s dominant carriers and, they say, promote lower fares. Both are ultra-low-cost carriers that tempt travelers with rock-bottom prices for no-frills service but often generate...
Man killed in Hempfield UTV crash
A Hempfield man died Sunday evening when the utility terrain vehicle he was driving collided with a tree, according to Westmoreland County deputy coroner Sean Hribal. Joseph Weisend, 51, sustained multiple blunt force injuries around 5:30 p.m. in the crash along Rocky Mountain Road. Investigators said Weisend was driving a...
Union Mission staff, Latrobe community raise funds to help injured employee
Union Mission staffers are no strangers to fundraisers, routinely raising money to help pay for programs at their Latrobe area shelter. But circumstances were far different Sunday as staff and volunteers gathered to help one of their own who continues to fight for her life in a Pittsburgh hospital. Mary...
Hempfield supervisors to consider zone change to former Cherry Creek Golf Course
Hempfield supervisors will consider a zoning change at the former Cherry Creek Golf Course, potentially paving the way for a new housing development in the southern portion of the township. A hearing is scheduled 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at the township municipal building to discuss changing around 100 acres of...
Greensburg property owner on new garbage contract: ‘We are stuck with this huge 31% increase’
Some city property owners are questioning Greensburg leaders after they approved a contract with Waste Management that funnels an $80,000- per-year franchise fee into the city’s coffers while increasing garbage rates by almost 32%. In December, the city approved the five-year contract, which outlined the franchise fee collected from Waste...
Westmoreland County schools working on time capsule to preserve items until 2072
If you filled a shoebox with things that exemplified education spanning over 100 years, what would you put into it? School districts around Westmoreland County will be answering that question as they contribute to a large time capsule that will be opened in 2072. Westmoreland Intermediate Unit director Jason Conway...
Bear reports spike during pandemic as harvests also rise in Western Pa.Video
Looking at the statistics, it appears there are more black bears in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. But state officials aren’t sure if that really is the case. For the public, however, it seems black bears are popping up all over urban settings. In late December, a Pennsylvania Game Commission game...
IRS wants cut of internet sales topping $600 or more per yearVideo
Online sellers who hope to cash in on anything from baseball and football card collections to a valuable old toy may now have to pay a portion of the proceeds to Uncle Sam if they use a third-party payment platform to collect the proceeds. “It will be a change for...
Weather can be second foe for firefighters battling blaze on frigid winter day
Darting in and out of a smoke-filled building in search of occupants and scaling a ladder to the roof as flames roar is dangerous work, even in the best weather conditions. Add frigid temperatures, whipping wind and falling snow, and the dangers multiply dramatically for firefighters trying to save lives...
