Westmoreland category, Page 558
Westmoreland County shows signs of covid cases dropping
Westmoreland County’s seven-day average of new coronavirus cases (90) remained in double digits for the fourth straight day after averaging triple-digit new cases every day from Nov. 12 through Jan. 30. The county on Wednesday reported 115 additional covid-19 cases, as well as four deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department...
Drugs, $10K seized from Jeannette home; 2 arrested
Police seized nearly $10,000 and drugs from a Jeannette home Tuesday and arrested a man and 17-year-old boy inside, according to court papers. Larry Frederick, 31, who is wanted by authorities in Philadelphia, is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bond. City police and agents from the state...
DA rules fatal shooting at South Huntingdon party a justified homicide
A June fatal shooting at a South Huntingdon party has been ruled a justified homicide, said District Attorney John Peck. David J. Hoffman, 44, of Sewickley Township, was drunk when he fired a shotgun, hitting Michael Scott Brown, then 24, once in the leg, Peck said. Brown returned fire, killing...
Hempfield supervisor seeks district judge post
Longtime Hempfield supervisor R. Douglas Weimer has announced his candidacy for an open district judge seat in the township. Weimer, 50, was first elected township supervisor in 2001. He has worked as a public educator for three decades and is an active member of many community organizations and nonprofit agencies....
Covid cases prompt Hempfield elementary school to close for remainder of the week
A Hempfield Area elementary school is closed temporarily after two students tested positive for covid-19, district leaders announced this week. West Point Elementary School was closed Wednesday. Students will receive remote instruction until the school reopens Monday. According to a letter from Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, the school is closed for...
Megan Loughner announces campaign bid for Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts
The woman poised to become the acting Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts later this month hopes to fill the post in a more permanent manner. Megan Loughner, 35, a Republican from Unity, said she will seek a full four-year term this year to run the courthouse office that handles all...
Westmoreland events include chicken dinner, food drive
Arts • A free Café Art program, featuring Ginger and Gary Hepler, will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Greensburg Art Center, 230 Todd School Road, as part of the center Vision Exhibition. The presentation will include their combined art of painting and welding. Light refreshments...
Westmoreland County fields bids to print, mail ballots for primary
Westmoreland County has received proposals from seven companies to print and mail ballots for the spring primary, including one from the Cleveland-based firm that has yet to be paid as a result of production delays last fall that impacted thousands of local voters. Elections Bureau director JoAnn Sebastiani said Midwest...
Murrysville will hold public hearing on earned-income tax hike proposal
Murrysville council will take public comment March 3 on what could be its first tax increase in 13 years. The public hearing will explore a proposal to double earned-income taxes from the current 0.5% to 1%. “This goes back to our fiscal analysis and the need to identify alternate revenue...
Dollar General opens new store on Route 30 in Unity
Dollar General has opened a new store in Unity on Route 30 — becoming the retail chain’s third location along a 7-mile stretch of the highway. The new store, located at the intersection of Smith’s Hill Road, is situated between plaza-based Dollar General stores at the Latrobe 30 Shoppes, farther...
Jeannette man charged with threatening 1-year-old and baby’s mother
State police charged a Jeannette man on Tuesday with repeatedly threatening to harm a baby boy after abandoning the toddler’s mother in Hempfield during a weekend argument. Timothy J. Mooney Sr., 45, who also has a Homewood address, was arraigned on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and...
2 Greensburg police officers up for promotions
Two Greensburg police officers are up for promotions as the city continues to fill gaps left by the resignation of Chief Chad Zucco last year. City council will vote next week on promotions for Sgt. Donald Cole to lieutenant, and patrolman Reginald Harbarger Jr. to sergeant. The department has had...
Penn-Trafford-Jeannette covid cases tallied for week of Feb. 2, 2021
Covid cases in the Penn-Trafford-Jeannette area continued to drop over the last week, with 27 new cases in the seven-day period ending Feb. 2, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Since the pandemic began in March, the six ZIP codes covering most of the three communities have...
Loyalhanna Township man charged with possessing child pornography
Working on a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, state police troopers seized a Loyalhanna Township man’s cell phone and arrested him Monday on child pornography charges, according to court records. John E. Zanandrea, 56, was arraigned on charges of criminal use of a communication facility,...
Westmoreland County nears 25,000 covid cases with Tuesday’s additions
Westmoreland County had an additional 117 covid cases Tuesday, according to the state Department of Health. The newly reported cases continue a recent trend in the county. In the past 14 days, Westmoreland County has seen seven days with newly reported cases below 100, and seven days with more than...
National mask mandate that covers public transportation goes into effect
If you’re not wearing a mask, you’re not going to be able use public transportation or fly out of Pittsburgh International Airport, under an executive order President Biden issued that goes into effect today. Wearing masks as a protective measure during the coronavirus pandemic has been required since May 2020...
Franklin Regional wants to improve high schoolers’ experience during 2nd semester
Ron Suvak, principal at Franklin Regional Senior High School, said his goal for 2021 was simple: To ensure students’ second semester experience is better than the first, educationally, socially and emotionally. Suvak presented school board members with the results from a recent survey of high school students, focused on their...
Norwin to expand in-class elementary teaching
Norwin plans to give its 1,850 elementary school students the option of returning to school four days a week beginning Feb. 15, which doubles the number of in-class instruction days under the hybrid instruction model Norwin has used since school began. Superintendent Jeff Taylor said students in the four elementary...
Kennametal quarterly earnings up
Strong sales for the October through December quarter combined with savings from its restructuring and modernization initiatives helped to boost the quarterly net income of Kennametal Inc. to $20.2 million and earnings to 23 cents per share, a turnaround from losses a year ago, the metalworking toolmaker said Monday. Pittsburgh-based...
Greensburg area man’s frustration ends, finally gets unemployment benefits
Seven months of frustration trying to get the state to release thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits from last year ended for a Southwest Greensburg man this past weekend when he got a long-awaited check from the Labor Department. “I won’t have to worry so much,” Scott Flanigan, 58, said...
Nonperishables sought for Derry, Franklin Regional ‘souper bowl’ food collections
Derry churches and a Franklin Regional elementary school are among local organizations taking part in food drives timed in conjunction with the culminating contest of the NFL season. A Souper Bowl of Caring collection will take place noon to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Derry First United Methodist Church on...
Westmoreland judge rejects bid to toss sex charges against suspended Pirates pitcher
A Westmoreland County judge denied suspended Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez’s bid to dismiss sex and pornography charges, setting the stage for a trial scheduled to begin in March. Vazquez, 29, was charged in August 2019 after police in both Westmoreland County and Florida contended the Venezuela-born athlete had sexual...
Coronavirus spread continues to slow in North Huntingdon-Irwin area as of Feb. 1
The spread of covid cases in the North Huntingdon, Irwin and North Irwin areas dropped again over the past seven days, falling to just 47 new cases from Jan. 25 to Feb. 1, a 1.8% increase in total cases, according to data released Monday by the state Department of Health....
Pittsburgh man charged by Penn Township police with sexually assaulting teenage girl
Penn Township police said a 23-year-old Pittsburgh man caught in the back seat of his car with a teen last month falsely claimed the girl was his relative and that she had suffered a medical emergency. After further investigation, Det. Brad Buchsbaum and Sgt. Joseph Lewis determined his story was...
Pandemic causes Catholic churches to modify Ash Wednesday services
Covid-19 pandemic precautions have prompted area Catholic parishes to modify procedures for Ash Wednesday. The Diocese of Greensburg announced celebrants at its churches in Westmoreland, Armstrong, Fayette and Indiana counties will eliminate direct contact with parishioners during the services, to help protect the health of those attending. Similar changes will...
