Jeff Himler stories, Page 104
Car rentals relocated, new parking system on the way at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
For the first time, paid parking will be introduced at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport — although plenty of free spaces will remain. A new ticketing system for a preferred parking lot closest to the terminal at the Unity airport could be in place early next year, said Gabe Monzo, executive...
State tax-credit program will help Westmoreland County Food Bank add sprinklers
Money made available through a Pennsylvania tax-credit program will help the Westmoreland County Food Bank install a needed sprinkler system at its warehouse and offices in Salem. The food bank this week was awarded $15,200 through the Neighborhood Assistance Program. The program is providing a tax credit to PNC Bank,...
Stay in the car to see Santa during holiday happenings
Pandemic precautions mean kids may not get to sit on Santa’s lap this year. But there are several area options for families to have a drive-thru encounter with the jolly old elf, in a socially distanced take on the holiday tradition. Unity Instead of its usual Deck the Tree holiday...
Crabtree race organizers run with ‘Ugly Christmas Sweater’ theme
Things are expected to get ugly Dec. 12 in the village of Crabtree. But that’s just fine with Julie Watkins and Kathy Kuhns. They’re organizing the second annual St. Bartholomew Church Ugly Christmas Sweater 5K and 2-Mile Walk for 11 a.m. that day. About 150 participants came from as far...
Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center to begin remote instruction
Students at Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center will move to full-time remote instruction on Monday as Westmoreland County has experienced several weeks with a “substantial” level of covid-19 transmission and cases have been on the rise. Full remote instruction also is underway or imminent at the three school districts...
Virtual meeting set to update public on Laurel Valley road project in Unity
PennDOT will hold a virtual meeting this month for the public to review and comment on plans for the northern section of the proposed Laurel Valley Transportation Improvement Project. The project proposes an alternate, improved alignment for 11 miles of the Route 981 corridor, between Route 819 in Mt. Pleasant...
State loan could help add jobs at industrial park housing former Volkswagen, Sony plants
A state loan of $2.25 million could bring more than 100 new jobs to the RIDC Westmoreland industrial complex near New Stanton. The low-interest loan from the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority to the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania will help with a proposed $5.6 million renovation. The work...
Sweet, salty treats give shape to Latrobe gingerbread housesVideo
You could try to eat it when the holiday season is over, but it’s really intended solely as eye candy. Making a gingerbread house with all the trimmings has been a decades-long, year-end tradition for Lori Vaglia and her two daughters. This year, the Derry Township resident brushed up her...
Greater Latrobe switches to remote instruction, cites county’s rising covid cases
Greater Latrobe School Board has voted to switch to full-time remote instruction for all students from Friday through Jan. 18, as covid-19 cases in Westmoreland County continue to rise. The district had most recently been offering students the options of either in-person instruction five days per week or full-time remote...
Greater Latrobe loses senior high staffer to covid-19, reacts to state directive
A staff member at Greater Latrobe Senior High has died of complications of covid-19, according to the school district. Superintendent Georgia Teppert stated in an email sent to district faculty and staff on Thanksgiving Day that district officials learned Terri Sherwin, a senior high secretary, died Wednesday evening from covid-19...
Clergy covid-19 case suspends in-person Masses at 8 East Pittsburgh churches
The Diocese of Pittsburgh has suspended in-person Masses at eight churches in East Pittsburgh neighborhoods after a member of the parish clergy team tested positive for a covid-19 infection. The suspension, which extends through Dec. 4, affects churches in the newly formed St. Joseph the Worker Parish — including St....
Westmoreland County covid-19 transmission level rises, remains at ‘substantial’ level
Westmoreland County remained in the “substantial” level of covid-19 transmission this week, as it has been for more than a month. As health officials expressed concern about the transmission risk related to Thanksgiving holiday travel and gatherings, Westmoreland ended the most recent seven-day period with a case level of 321.2...
Pittsburgh region stood up to ‘Big Snow’ during 1950 Thanksgiving weekendVideo
Carl Huszar’s father and uncle had to walk several miles to get milk from a North Huntingdon farm because the roads were impassable. Faye Dames Matty, who now lives in Fort Myers, Fla., learned her father made it all the way from the Virginia military base where he was stationed...
Fire at East Pittsburgh apartment complex sends man to hospital
A Monday evening fire at an East Pittsburgh apartment complex displaced residents of three dwellings and injured one of them. The man suffered from smoke inhalation and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, according to C.J. Kaminsky, chief of the Rivers Edge Fire Department. The cause of the...
Covid-19 claims Jeannette elementary school secretary Dana Hall
The Jeannette community is mourning the loss of Dana Hall, a secretary at Jeannette City School District, who died over the weekend of covid-19 complications. Jeannette football Coach Roy Hall said that his sister-in-law was last at work a week and a half ago, before she became ill. The 55-year-old...
School districts must sign off on covid-19 safety procedures or go virtual by month’s end
School districts in Westmoreland, Armstrong and Allegheny counties have until 5 p.m. Nov. 30 to switch to full remote instruction or affirm that they are complying with the state’s covid-19 safety measures. Gov. Tom Wolf and Secretary of Health Rachel Levine announced the new directive Monday for all public schools...
Thanksgiving meal a treat for dogs, boost for Ligonier Valley animal rescueVideo
Zena displayed her genteel manners Sunday when she was served an early Thanksgiving meal. She slowly chewed her way through a turkey meatloaf and a side of sweet potatoes. She even licked the crumbs from the floor. The 3-year-old Lab mix was one of more than a dozen canines booked...
Pittsburgh police arrest man after hit-and-run, standoff in East Hills
Pittsburgh police took a man into custody after a hit-and-run crash and SWAT standoff early Sunday in the East Hills section of the city. Officers on patrol before 2:45 a.m. witnessed the head-on crash involving the man and a female driver in a second vehicle, who wasn’t harmed and refused...
Supporters of Trump election, Black Lives Matter engage in war of words in GreensburgVideo
A Saturday afternoon rally for those who don’t accept President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of this month’s election briefly spilled onto Greensburg’s Main Street as supporters of President Trump confronted motorists who drove by with signs and chants expressing a different view. As an estimated 200 people gathered for...
Motorcyclist heads to hospital after crash on Pennsylvania Turnpike in Donegal Township
A man was taken by ambulance to Forbes Hospital in Monroeville after his motorcycle crashed Saturday morning on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Donegal Township, according to responding firefighters. Josh Umbaugh, assistant chief with the Chestnut Ridge Fire Department, said the man suffered “road rash” scrapes in the wreck reported at...
9 die in covid-19 outbreak at Washington Township nursing home
Nine residents of Quality Life Services nursing home in Washington Township have died since Nov. 11, and the National Guard has been called in to assist, according to Chief Operating Officer Paul Maguire. About half of the deaths occurred at the nursing home formerly known as West Haven Manor and...
Derry Township authority rejects sewer line and trail bids; project survives vote to halt it
Derry Township Municipal Authority this week rejected bids for an over-budget sewer line and trail project. But the proposal, which would construct a recreational trail from Keystone State Park to New Alexandria, remains alive after authority members reversed their decision to halt it. The project also would provide sewage service...
Police: Man critically wounded, teenage boy grazed in struggle over handgun in Avalon
Investigators believe a struggle over a handgun led to a shooting in Avalon on Thursday afternoon that wounded a man and a teenage boy. The 23-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was in critical condition at an area hospital, according to Allegheny County Police, who assisted...
Civil War stories on display at Lincoln Highway museum in Unity
The Lincoln Highway Experience museum on Route 30 in Unity has joined forces with a community farther east on the historic highway to provide visitors a glimpse of Civil War-era life “On the Home Front.” The exhibit, on loan from the Bedford County Historical Society through Jan. 18, features a...
Latrobe’s Holly Jolly festivities include contest, crafts, shopping, virtual Santa visit
This year’s Holly Jolly holiday festivities in Latrobe will include a virtual visit with Santa and four days of extended downtown shopping promotions. As with the town’s Great American Banana Split Celebration in August, Holly Jolly entertainment this year will be streamed online, not presented in-person. It’s all meant to...
