Westmoreland category, Page 3
Embroiderers at Glenshaw Public Library document Pa.’s history for ‘America’s Tapestry’ project
Local embroiderers are spending their Thursday evenings for the next year at the Glenshaw Public Library, stitching the Pennsylvania panel for the “America’s Tapestry” exhibition, which is scheduled to be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing. Raven Fagelson, state co-director of the Pennsylvania...
4 more Hempfield fire stations take steps toward the township managing their affairs
Four Hempfield fire departments are taking additional steps toward dissolving their charters and moving under township management. The township’s Carbon and Hempfield No. 2 fire departments passed declarations of intent to dissolve in June. If approved by the Hempfield supervisors during the board’s meeting Monday, the departments will have taken...
Forward Township sunflower farm serves as great setting for photos
The Schwirian Farm Sunflower Festival in Forward Township returned this year after drought conditions and hungry deer wiped out the sunflower blossoms, forcing a cancellation in 2024. The event runs from rom 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily through July 31. Admission is free. Parking is $5. A section of...
Fraud case dismissed against Leechburg contractor
A judge on Wednesday dismissed the criminal case against a Leechburg contractor charged with defrauding a Unity couple in connection with a $59,000 home improvement project they claimed was never completed. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger ruled prosecutors had insufficient evidence to prove that Dawayne W. Redmond,...
Yarmulke-wearing inmate appears in Westmoreland County court
A Mt. Pleasant man attended a court hearing Wednesday with a yarmulke on his head, a week after he was denied transport from the county jail to the courthouse because he refused to remove it. Kort Noel Eckman, 49, sported a white head covering decorated with a floral pattern during...
Murrysville seeks funding help to upgrade Route 22 signal coordination
Murrysville officials want to upgrade the adaptive system used to coordinate Route 22 traffic lights through the town’s commercial corridor. “The system we have in place is about 12 years old, and we think it’s run its course,” Murrysville Chief Administrator Michael Nestico told council at its meeting this week....
State regulators: Lead in Laurel Highlands creek linked to shooting range
Spent shot from a sporting clays shooting range near Seven Springs Resort in Somerset County might be causing high lead levels in a Laurel Highlands stream, state environmental regulators said. State environmental investigators believe the lead pellets that fall to the ground after they’re fired at clay targets at Highlands...
Greensburg woman appointed to leadership role at Independence Health
Dr. Mary Elizabeth Kovacik Eicher always wanted to work close to her hometown. A clinical neurologist who joined Excela Health in 2019, Kovacik Eicher was named to a key leadership role last week by Independence Health, which was formed in the merger of Excela and Butler health systems in 2023....
Westmoreland happenings: Ice Cream Sunday, parish festival, class reunion, more
Church News • Level Green Presbyterian Church will host its annual Ice Cream Sunday at 10 a.m. July 27 at the church, 105 Olive Drive, Trafford. The theme will be “Caring for the Kids in Our Community” and will honor and bring awareness to those who work every day helping...
Unity pizza shop robber sentenced
A Unity man was ordered to serve up to an additional 23 months in jail for the armed robbery last year of a pizza shop. Austin M. Lewis, 25, pleaded guilty in April to two felony robbery counts and two related misdemeanor offenses in connection with a Jan. 8, 2024...
Family of South Greensburg man hit by snowplow files wrongful death lawsuit
The wife of a South Greensburg man who was hit by snowplow in January has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the landscape company hired to clear the parking lot were the crash occurred. Paul Tucci, 73, suffered fatal injuries as he walked to his vehicle Jan. 5 after an...
Failure to pay $3.6M in taxes on illegal workers leads to prison for Belle Vernon man
A Belle Vernon man who ran a temporary staffing agency and failed to pay $3.6 million in employment taxes for illegal employees will serve 2½ years in federal prison. Andy Ha, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty in February to...
Pittsburgh man charged with selling crystal meth, illegal firearm in North Huntingdon
A Pittsburgh man is charged with selling methamphetamine and an AR-15 rifle to an informant, according to North Huntingdon police. Chad T. Chamberlin, 51, of the city’s Bloomfield neighborhood, was charged with drug possession with intent to deliver, and possession of a firearm with an altered manufacturing number. In May,...
Mine-related sinkhole opens in Monessen
The 3-by-3-foot steel plate on State Road in Monessen may not look like much, but what it covers underground is much larger. Monessen officials have issued an emergency declaration in order to address a 12-by-15 hole caused by mine subsidence. “It almost looks like one of the old mine ‘portal’...
Jeannette man seeks to withdraw guilty plea in 2019 fatal shooting outside McKee Stadium
A Jeannette man accused in a fatal shooting outside the city high school’s football stadium told a Westmoreland County judge Monday that he was misled when he pleaded guilty to third-degree murder. Greg Harper, 46, is seeking to withdraw the guilty plea he entered in 2022, claiming his then-defense attorney...
Teen tells judge Derry Township couple’s abuse ‘ruined my life’
A teen told a Westmoreland County judge that years of physical abuse suffered at the hands of a Derry Township couple will have a lasting impact and left a permanent disfigurement. “It hurt so bad every day. It ruined my life pretty much, what they did,” the teen, now 16,...
North Huntingdon teen drowns in kayak accident in Erie
. Funeral arrangements have been set for a 17-year-old North Huntingdon girl who drowned in a kayak accident off Presque Isle in Lake Erie Friday night, the Erie County coroner said. The body of Madison Gallagher was found Sunday afternoon near the base of Presque Isle, where she was pronounced...
Open road tolling on Pa. Turnpike to launch statewide in early 2027
Traditional Pennsylvania Turnpike interchanges will be a thing of the past come January 2027, when the 85-year-old technology will be swapped for open road tolling across the entire roadway. Toll roads east of Reading and on the Northeast Extension were converted earlier this year to the open road tolling system,...
Irwin man charged with more than 100 counts of child pornography possession
An Irwin man has been charged with possession of more than 100 images and videos of child pornography, state police said Monday Joshua D. Ward, 34, of Third Street, is charged with 110 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and criminal use of a communication device, according to...
No injuries in Route 981 crash in Derry Township
Route 981 has reopened after a multi-vehicle crash Monday morning in Derry Township. First responders were called to the intersection of Route 981 and Lee-Valley Road around 7:21 a.m. for a report of a three-vehicle crash. Mutual Aid Ambulance spokesman Shawn Penzera said no one was injured in the crash....
Disc golf course proposed for Murrysville Community Park
Murrysville Council will consider whether to add a disc golf course to Murrysville Community Park. “It’s an extremely fast-growing sport, and it’s been on a real upward trajectory since covid,” said Dan Flanigan, a disc golf course designer with the Professional Disc Golf Association, which oversees leagues and tournaments across...
Murrysville residents report unpermitted solicitation
A pest-control company is pestering Murrysville residents. “We’ve had some issues lately with companies soliciting who do not have a permit,” Murrysville Chief Administrator Michael Nestico said at council’s latest meeting. “In particular there’s a pest-control company, Moxie, that we’ve had issues with lately, and it’s also been difficult to...
MAWC to update aging pressure flow controls
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members last week approved a $9.6 million project to install new equipment to better control water pressure. The project is part of upgrades that will enable staff to remotely adjust and monitor water flow, said MAWC manager Michael Kukura. Officials said the new equipment...
Brown University study flags 4 Southwestern Pa. nursing homes ‘at risk’ under Medicaid cuts
Four Southwestern Pennsylvania nursing homes could be in trouble after approval of the federal spending plan described by President Donald Trump as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” according to a Brown University study. But the variation in funding formulas could limit the impact on facilities identified in the study, according...
Free legal clinic in Greensburg to help families with custody and school law issues
prepare for the upcoming school year, Westmoreland County’s legal aid A free clinic in Greensburg focused on custody and school-related legal issues is being planned for Aug. 1 and participants can get private consultations with local attorneys volunteering their time. Panelists will be on hand to discuss general information about...
