Jeff Himler stories, Page 128
Donations sought to help Saint Vincent students deliver kids’ holiday wishes
Donations are being accepted to provide holiday gifts to local children as part of a community service project at Saint Vincent College in Unity. The SVC Wraps for Kids program has provided gifts for more than 1,250 underprivileged children over the past six years, with nearly 300 kids benefiting from...
Westmoreland Land Trust appointees include Allegheny Land Trust staff member
The Westmoreland Land Trust has three new board members, including a staff member of the neighboring Allegheny Land Trust. New Westmoreland trust board member Alyson Fearon, who plans to move from Monroeville to a new home across the county line in Murrysville, is the community conservation director for the Allegheny...
Expert: Large ‘mosquitoes’ are really disease-free crane flies
Homeowners who are concerned their backyards are being invaded by super-sized mosquitoes are really witnessing the annual emergence of harmless adult crane flies, according to the Westmoreland Conservation District’s Andrea Halfhill. She knows about mosquitoes, since she just finished monitoring the county’s population of the winged insects this year for...
Westmoreland Veterans Affairs director to be keynote speaker for Smithton dinner
Matt Zamosky, director of Westmoreland County Veterans Affairs, will address those attending an early Veterans Day dinner on Nov. 2. The program, including presentation of colors and recognition of Vietnam veterans, begins at 6 p.m. at the Smithton Volunteer Fire Department social hall, 609 Center St. It’s sponsored by the...
Police seek Jefferson Hills man charged with trying to rape boy
Authorities are searching for a registered sex offender from Jefferson Hills who is charged with attempted rape of a teen last month in Washington County. Russell Marycz, 43, is charged with attempted rape; kidnapping, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and corruption of minors; criminal solicitation; simple assault; and interference with custody...
Unity zoning panel OKs small cell antennae in Whitney, HostetterVideo
Six small cellular antennae soon could be rising above the Unity villages of Hostetter and Whitney. The township zoning hearing board this week approved the devices meant to improve service for Verizon wireless customers. Chairman Matt Cavalier, Timothy Thomas, Dorothy Zello and Judge Jim Kelley granted a special exception allowing...
Postal Service to honor Arnold Palmer with ‘Forever’ stamp
Golfing legend Arnold Palmer next year will share another distinction with fellow iconic Latrobe native Fred Rogers. The U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday it will issue a stamp next year honoring Palmer. A stamp recognizing Rogers, beloved host of the children’s television program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” was issued in 2018....
Study: Rail-trails inject $930M annually into Pa. economy
Walking and biking trails developed along railroad rights-of-way contribute $930 million annually to Pennsylvania’s economy, and the regional Great Allegheny Passage trail is an important part of that figure, the Rails-To-Trails Conservancy estimates. According to the conservancy’s methodology, that estimate is on the low end of spending along the state’s...
Ligonier Township ride, ‘ghost bike,’ honor cycle crash victim and stress road safetyVideo
A “ghost bike” placed in front of a tree on Route 30 in Ligonier Township will stand as a temporary memorial to a Hempfield man killed Oct. 1 when his bicycle was struck by a car at the site as he was riding up Laurel Mountain. Friends and family of...
Patron taken to hospital after car backs into Greensburg’s Szechuan Garden restaurantVideo
A patron dining at Greensburg’s Szechuan Garden suffered apparently minor injuries when a car backed into the front of the Chinese restaurant Sunday afternoon. The driver, a Greensburg woman, and a pet dog that was riding in her Honda Pilot sport utility vehicle weren’t injured in the wreck shortly before...
Strip District shooting suspect arrested; Pittsburgh police file additional charges
A man wanted in an Aug. 1 shooting in Pittsburgh’s Strip District is in the Allegheny County Jail charged with additional gun and drug-related violations. Authorities apprehended Treysaun Lockett-Tillman, 21, on Friday after U.S. marshals spotted him walking into a home on Joslyn Drive in Penn Hills. He was placed...
Man wanted in Florida surrenders after standoff on Pittsburgh’s North Side
A man wanted on a felony warrant in Florida was taken into custody after a three-hour police standoff that began Saturday night on Pittsburgh’s North Side. The incident began about 10:30 p.m. when Pittsburgh officers spotted a stolen vehicle parked outside a residence in the 3200 block of Lecky Avenue,...
Indiana County man killed in farming accident
An Indiana County man was fatally injured Friday afternoon when his jacket became caught in farming equipment. Leonard Mark Johnston, 57, of Creekside, was pronounced dead in a field off Johnston Road in Washington Township, Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman said. He attributed the death to multiple blunt trauma. Johnston...
Jeannette fest celebrates ethnic traditions, town’s resurgenceVideo
Visitors to Saturday’s fourth annual Ethnic Food and Fall Festival in Jeannette got a sampling of what the town has to offer gastronomically and culturally. “Part of our mission is to build awareness of our town,” said Donna McCullough, secretary of the Jeannette Business Association, which organized the festival. “We’re...
Flagger struck in South Huntingdon work zone, taken to hospital
A flagger was struck by a car Saturday morning in a construction zone on Route 31 in South Huntingdon, state police confirmed. Emergency crews responded about 8:30 a.m. to the site near the on-ramp to eastbound Interstate 70, a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said. The injured woman was able to...
3-vehicle crash in Indiana County kills 1, injures 3
A Creekside man was killed and three others were injured in a three-vehicle crash Friday afternoon in Indiana County. Robert Daniel Riddle, 61, died of blunt force trauma to the chest, Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman said. Riddle was taken by ambulance to Indiana Regional Medical Center, where he was...
Man stable after shooting at Bloomfield home
A man in his 30s was in stable condition after being shot in the leg early Saturday in Bloomfield, Pittsburgh police said. The man told police he and his girlfriend were at a residence in the 4500 block of Friendship Avenue when another man came to the door. Once the...
What’s in a name? High school stadiums, fields honor football standouts, coaches and supportersVideo
A football field, by any other name, would still measure 100 yards from end zone to end zone. But there are individuals, and stories, behind many names attached to local varsity gridirons and the stadiums that house them. Offutt Field in Greensburg and Weller Field in Ligonier are named for...
Trap shooting team gets go-ahead at Greater LatrobeVideo
Greater Latrobe School Board this week authorized formation of an intramural trap-shooting team. The proposed team, for students interested in shooting at clay targets, eventually could compete with others already established at Norwin and Connellsville, but possibly not in its first year, said Greater Latrobe Athletic Director Mark Mears. “We...
Public invited to Latrobe 4th of July planning session
The committee preparing Latrobe’s 2020 4th of July Celebration is inviting public input to its first official planning meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 23 in the city council chambers. “Anybody that wants to come, it’s open to the general public, the council, the mayor,” said Latrobe Fire Chief John...
Latrobe police get new 5-year contract, praise for arrests
Latrobe Council approved a new five-year labor agreement with the city’s police union. Covering more than a dozen officers, but excluding the police chief, the new contract will be in effect from Jan. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2024, and includes annual wage increases of 2.25%, according to city manager...
Program looks at history of firefighting in Latrobe
The 140-year history of organized firefighting in Latrobe is the topic of a new slide show the Latrobe Area Historical Society will present this week. The program is set for 9:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday at the society headquarters and museum, 416 Weldon St., Latrobe. Doors will open at 9...
Superintendent: Laurel Highlands bus driver fired after failing alcohol test
A Laurel Highlands School District bus driver has been fired after failing an alcohol test, according to school officials. Laurel Highlands Superintendent Jesse T. Wallace III said he was told the driver failed a random test conducted on Friday by the driver’s employer — district transportation contractor First Student. “I...
Former Army chief to speak at fundraiser for Westmoreland War on Terror monument
Retired Gen. George W. Casey Jr., who served as the Army Chief of Staff from 2007 until his 2011 retirement, will deliver the keynote address to those attending a dinner Nov. 1 in Hempfield that will raise money for the planned Westmoreland County Veterans of the War on Terror monument....
Route 30 eastbound reopens after 2-car crash in Hempfield
Eastbound traffic on Route 30 resumed just before 10 p.m. Monday, about 90 minutes after it was shut down for a two-vehicle crash in Hempfield. Rescuers shut down traffic at the Route 119 intersection while crews responded to the wreck reported just after 8:30 p.m. near the Cedar Street exit,...
