Westmoreland category, Page 711
Westmoreland Cleanways closes recycling center pending planned move
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling has closed its Unity recycling center until it moves to a proposed new location in the township, near Pleasant Unity. In the meantime, local residents have other options for recycling items such as paper and appliances containing Freon, but there are no nearby substitutes for the...
Find out if that brooch is worth a bundle at appraisal day in Hempfield
If you have a piece of jewelry or furniture and you’re wondering if it’s just old, or may hold some value, bring it to the Westmoreland Historical Society’s “Antiques Appraisal Day” and find out. Historic Hanna’s Town will hold the appraisal event from 4 to 8 p.m. Feb. 25 at...
Police looking for tire thief at Salem impound lot
For the second time in a month, someone broke into a Salem Township impound lot and stole tires off a vehicle parked there, according to state police. The first break-in happened sometime between mid-December and Jan. 7. Troopers said someone cut a chainlink fence surrounding the Slate Dump Road lot...
South Huntingdon couple celebrates 70 years of marriage
The decades-long love story of Thomas and Pauline Babyak started in the Jacobs Creek post office. Pauline Babyak worked as a clerk there in the 1940s. Thomas Babyak, then recovering from surgery, worked as a truck driver for a dry cleaner. “He would come around every week,” Pauline Babyak said....
Ligonier Township couple credits faith, ‘love of family’ for 75 years of marriageVideo
Wilma Riffle Pechart remembers Jan. 21, 1945, like it was yesterday. “There was at least 8 inches of snow on the ground, and it was very, very cold. We didn’t send out a single wedding announcement, either,” Wilma Pechart, 91, recalled Saturday at her home in Ligonier Township, with husband,...
Police: Two girls accused of breaking into cars after escape from Derry Twp. group home
Two teenage girls who escaped from a group home in Derry Township last week are being held in Westmoreland County’s juvenile detention center after their arrests for allegedly breaking into multiple cars in an apartment complex, state police reported. The girls, ages 14- and 16-years-old, escaped late Monday from Adelphoi...
Excela Latrobe introduces improved surgical robotVideo
Students from Greater Latrobe and Ligonier Valley school districts joined other local residents Friday in trying out the controls of an improved surgical robot introduced during an open house at Excela Latrobe Hospital. Seventeen Excela surgeons use the robot and one like it at Excela Westmoreland Hospital to perform precision...
Prohibition thinned ranks of Western Pa. distilleries, breweries — but some survivedVideo
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s whiskey industry overflowed with more than 100 distilleries making rye whiskey between the 1880s and early 1900s, but they went dry when Prohibition took effect a century ago. “The distilleries had to close and most did not reopen” when Prohibition was lifted in 1933, said Samuel Komlenic, a...
War on alcohol: An experiment that was a ‘catastrophic failure’
The United States was a battleground before World War I — with armies of people opposed to liquor and saloons lobbying politicians and marching on Washington, D.C., in their mission to outlaw what they considered a scourge on nation’s morality — alcohol. “Prohibition had been a long time in coming,...
One woman’s marathon journey to a perfect fit in the classroomVideo
Vicky Krug was determined to become a teacher. Her resolve only grew during nearly two decades she spent as a social worker, substance abuse therapist, substitute teacher and tutor earning multiple degrees and certifications along the way. A brain injury she suffered when her car and a truck collided on...
Scouts — both boys and girls — clash at Pinewood Derby in IrwinVideo
Cub Scout Pack 293 leader Daryl Muzy admits technology has improved significantly in the 50-year history of the North Huntingdon-area Cub Scout pack’s annual pinewood derby race. Instead of eyeballing the finish line, as was once done by the scoutmasters, the speedy wooden cars now cross a laser beam that...
Westmoreland bus authority pays $12,500 in overtime in 1st week of running service
Westmoreland Transit Authority paid out about $12,500 in overtime wages for the first week in January after it assumed control over bus and paratransit services from a private contractor. Officials said scheduling procedures that had been in place for years as well as a driver shortage required the agency to...
Federal authorities join East Huntingdon gas tanker explosion probeVideo
Federal investigators have joined the probe of a fuel tanker explosion Friday that leveled an East Huntingdon tanker truck garage and sent three workers to a Pittsburgh hospital, including one with critical burns. Officials from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and U.S. Department of Transportation gathered Saturday...
Lights sought for Miracle League field in Murrysville Community Park
A request by Miracle League of Western PA officials to add lighting to the Bill Mazeroski Miracle Field at Murrysville Community Park could end up as a delicate dance balancing player safety and respect for nearby residents who were told the park would not be lit. “There were commitments made...
Cops: Missing Ruffsdale girl, 13, found safe
A 13-year-old Ruffsdale girl who went missing this week was found safe late Friday, state police said. Troopers issued an alert early Friday saying Lainey Ucman had not been seen since 9 p.m. Thursday in the area of Story Frye Road in South Huntingdon. Late Friday, state police in Belle...
Greensburg police ask for help identifying burglary suspect
Greensburg police are asking the public’s help identifying a suspect in a burglary Saturday in the city’s Northmont area. An unknown suspect reportedly burglarized a residence during the morning hours and fled in a Subaru SUV. Police described the burglar as a white male about 5 feet 5 inches tall...
Dollar General considers new store in Unity
A new Dollar General store could be coming to Route 30 in Unity. Next week, the township zoning hearing board is scheduled to hear from developers of the store proposed along the eastbound lanes of the highway at Smith’s Hill Road, just east of Beatty Crossroads. At 6 p.m. Jan....
3 injured in tanker truck explosion inside garage near New Stanton
Three people were reportedly burned Friday in a tanker truck explosion inside an East Huntingdon garage, Westmoreland County 911 said. The explosion occurred about 4:25 p.m. at 1528 New Stanton-Ruffsdale Road near New Stanton. Evening commuters headed south on Interstate 70 around 5 p.m. could see the smoke plume from...
Westmoreland tourism grants top $300KVideo
From an indoor ax throwing business to art museums, and everything in between, Westmoreland County tourist destinations were seeing dollar signs on Friday. Festival organizers, hotels, parks and theaters all benefited from the latest round of tourism grants announced by the Westmoreland County commissioners and the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau....
State police seek missing Ruffsdale girl
State police are seeking a 13-year-girl who has been missing since 9 p.m. Thursday. Lainey Ucman was last known to be in the area of Story Frye Road off Route 981 in South Huntingdon, police said. She may be driving a white hatchback-style 2017 Ford Focus. The car has a...
Youngwood tattoo artist arrested after sheriff’s deputies find suspected LSD in shop
When Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies went looking last month for the subject of an arrest warrant, they found suspected LSD instead at a Youngwood tattoo parlor, according to court papers. Deputies on Friday arrested the tattoo artist Ulises F. Osorio, 30, of Hempfield, on drug and related offenses. Investigators said...
Jury in Jeannette slaying rejects twin defense, finds Penn Hills man guilty of murderVideo
A Westmoreland County jury wasted little time in rejecting a man’s claim that his identical twin was the shooter in a brazen daylight murder in downtown Jeannette. Jurors deliberated about two hours before finding Darrelle Tolbert-McGhee of Penn Hills guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Michael Wilson, a...
Police: Pair dumped mother cat, 4 kittens at Hempfield shopping plaza
A Southwest Greensburg man and woman are accused by police of dumping a mother cat and four kittens behind a shopping plaza in Hempfield. Samantha Talley Smith and Corey William Seabol, both 26, are charged with cruelty to animals and neglect of animals. Seabol faces additional citations of driving while...
Police: Youngwood pair left behind 3 cats, turtle, bearded dragon at apartment
Two former Youngwood residents are accused of leaving behind three cats, a bearded dragon and a turtle when they abandoned a borough apartment, according to police. Emily Elizabeth Cisar and Jeffrey Andrew Houston, both 26, are charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and related offenses. Houston faces an additional charge...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: Jan. 17-19Video
Depending on your holiday/travel plans, this week may have been the first full work week since sometime last year. It’s not easy getting back into that full-time production mode. Luckily, the weekend looms for most of us. Get out and hear some music, get some culture, maybe even dare your...
