Westmoreland category, Page 832
Wild for flowers: Spring blooming season finally arrives in Pittsburgh region
Wildflower season is arriving in Southwestern Pennsylvania. With warmer temperatures comes nature’s wonders springing from the earth in a variety of colors and shapes. Some wildflowers have already started blooming in lower elevations, and this week would be a good time to check out the early types, said Rachael Mahony,...
Southmoreland contracts with agency for classroom aides working with special needs students
A decision to outsource classroom aides who work with students with special needs has stirred emotions in the Southmoreland School District. The school board last month voted 6-3 to hire an outside agency — Education Solutions Services — in a move that will save the district approximately $489,000 over two...
Turnpike crash in Mt. Pleasant area clogs road
A two-mile backlog was reported on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Friday evening as a result of a tractor-trailer truck that hit a barrier and overturned in the westbound lanes at milepost 85 in Mt. Pleasant Township, a Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety supervisor said. The accident was reported at...
Westmoreland dog license checks begin next week
State dog wardens will begin checking for unlicensed and unvaccinated dogs beginning Monday, Westmoreland County Treasurer Jared Squires said . Inspectors with the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement Office will randomly canvass neighborhoods next week as part of its annual effort to ensure the animals are properly...
Greensburg sewage authority warns customers of proposed sale
The Greater Greensburg Sewage Authority is urging its customers to speak out against a potential sale of the sewer system to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County. Property owners in Greensburg, South Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg received a message on their water bill this month telling them to attend their...
Man ordered to stand trial for alleged rape of Ligonier Township woman
A 26-year-old Derry Township man was ordered to stand trial Friday for the alleged rape of a Ligonier Township woman last September. Ligonier District Judge Denise Thiel ruled there was sufficient evidence presented during a preliminary hearing for Khachek Alexan Hamerski to stand trial on charges of rape, sexual assault,...
Franklin Regional robotics team qualifies for FIRST World Championships in DetroitVideo
In the FIRST Robotics Greater Pittsburgh Regional competition, some high-school robotics teams are sponsored by technology titans such as Carnegie Mellon University, or have access to state-of-the-art facilities to create their robots. The FRobotics team members do their work in their mentor’s garage in Murrysville, and this year that work...
Excela’s top 2 executives are out, effective immediately
Excela Health System’s two top executives, CEO Robert Rogalski and COO Mike Busch, will step down immediately as the Westmoreland County hospital system seeks “fresh perspectives,” board chair Teresa Petrick said Friday. Petrick announced the unexpected personnel changes in an email. “We have been privileged to have Bob and Mike...
North Belle Vernon park to host fundraiser at Topgolf
A new event will help raise money for the North Belle Vernon Community Bank Park — an area for kids, people with special needs and those looking for a place to play soccer or dek hockey. On June 2, park founder Robert J. Sokol will host a Topgolf fundraiser with...
Hempfield grads-to-be to participate in senior walk
With about two months until seniors at Hempfield Area High School leave the district and move on to the next steps of their lives, they have one more chance to go back to where it all began. The Senior Walk gives graduating seniors the opportunity to walk the halls of...
Cell tower proposed for Manor-North Huntingdon border
Verizon Wireless customers in eastern North Huntingdon, Manor and the Adamsburg areas should get better coverage for phone and data if the company builds a cellphone tower on property Manor owns in North Huntingdon, a Verizon attorney said. The township zoning hearing board this week granted TowerCo 2013 LLC and...
Irwin church to perform ‘Living Last Supper’
“The Living Last Supper,” a dramatization of Jesus’ last meal before his crucifixion, will be performed by First United Methodist Drama Team from April 16 and 18. The free performance will begin nightly at 7 p.m. at the church, 210 Oak St., Irwin. Church members will perform as disciples, Jesus,...
Claridge fish fry top vote-getter
And the winner of the contest for best fish fry in Westmoreland County is … drumroll, please … the Claridge Volunteer Fire Department in Penn Township. Those Claridge firefighters were at the top of the Top 10 Fish Fries of Westmoreland County, according to Jason Saunders, president of The Print...
Nonprofit: Don’t forget aesthetics in Brewery Bridge redo
Officials with the nonprofit Latrobe Community Revitalization Program hope there will be an allowance for aesthetics when new side barriers are installed as part of a replacement of the Brewery Bridge on Ligonier Street in 2021. Executive Director Jarod Trunzo said the nonprofit is working with Latrobe and Westmoreland County...
Arsonist believed to be setting fires along Derry Ridge in Westmoreland County
A serial arsonist is believed to be on the loose along Derry Ridge in Westmoreland County, a forest fire specialist with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry said Friday. A remote fire Thursday in Derry Township where police and military helicopters were called in to direct...
SCORE to present workshops on social media, business basics
An organization of retired entrepreneurs will present two free workshops on business-related topics this month at the Norwin Public Library on Caruthers Lane in Irwin. Westmoreland SCORE — Service Corps of Retired Executives — will present “Small Business Basics” from 5-7:30 p.m. April 15 for those wanting to start their...
Pleasant Unity community breathes new life into ballfield
Almost 50 years after the last official pitch was thrown, a Pleasant Unity baseball field has new life breathed into it. Located behind the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department, what was once a grassy spot where kids occasionally threw a ball around, is now a functioning baseball field with an...
Hempfield historical society to reopen library with 3,500 history books
More than 3,500 Westmoreland County and family history books will soon be available to the public again at the former Zion Church in Hempfield. The Paul Miller Ruff Library in the former church is scheduled to reopen after being closed for seven months to reorganize the books, said Thomas Harrold,...
Juvenile probation director retiresVideo
Adeline Beighley was a pioneer for Westmoreland County’s probation program. She served as the county’s lone female probation officer when she was hired in 1978. Nearly a decade later she was promoted to supervisor and in 1997 named as the director of the newly created Juvenile Probation Office, where she...
Youngwood man guilty of sexual assault on 2 teen girls
A Youngwood man faces up to 114 years in prison because he was convicted Thursday of sexually assaulting two teenage girls in 2016. Westmoreland County jurors deliberated about an hour before finding Darell Deisean Walker, 23, guilty of multiple counts of sexual assault and other related offenses. They found him...
Westmoreland parks upgrades funded through hotel tax
In a continued effort to boost tourism, Westmoreland County leaders plan to spend more than a half-million dollars this year to improve parks. Commissioners on Thursday approved an annual tourism plan to spend the nearly $862,000 generated by additional hotel taxes imposed on daily room rentals. Construction of the first...
State lawmakers tour attractions in Laurel Highlands, Westmoreland County
The transportation-themed Lincoln Highway Experience museum in Unity played host Thursday to a group of special visitors: Members of the Pennsylvania House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee, who are on a tour of Laurel Highlands attractions. The committee leaders, Republican Chairman David Millard, of Bloomsburg, and Democratic Chairman Mark Longietti,...
Derry woman accused of filming sex acts with 4-year-old boy
A 32-year-old Derry woman was arraigned Thursday on child pornography charges after state police alleged her cellphone contained videos of her in sexually explicit positions with a 4-year-old boy. Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Department deputies located Tiffany M. Beeman at a drug rehabilitation facility in Greensburg, where she was arrested. Troopers...
Westmoreland pays $75K for fall at nursing home
Westmoreland County agreed Thursday to pay nearly $75,000 in state and federal fines imposed after a resident was injured last year at the county-owned nursing home. Those fines were issued following a state inspection last May at Westmoreland Manor, which revealed a nurse’s aide improperly attempted to lift a patient...
Export man accused of selling deadly heroin dose jailed on $250K bond
A 51-year-old Export man was arraigned Thursday on charges of delivering a fatal dose of fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a co-worker in December. Kelly R. Frank was charged with drug delivery resulting in death and possession with intent to deliver before Murrysville District Judge Charles Conway. He was ordered held...
