Jeff Himler stories, Page 18

The Battle of Attu, on one of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, is known by historians as the “Forgotten War” of World War II. A Derry Township man is making sure his great uncle, one of the 549 U.S. troops killed in that battle, isn’t forgotten. David W. Bates, a native of...

Mt. Pleasant VFW Commander Joe Zelenak was invited to speak at a recent mid-week luncheon meeting of the Mt. Pleasant Rotary Club. Instead of telling the service organization about his veterans group, Zelenak learned he was chosen as the Rotary club’s 2023 Citizen of the Year. “We all said the...

U.S. flags fly along the streets of downtown Mt. Pleasant Borough on Memorial Day and other national holidays. A clock keeps time at the town’s Veterans Park and local Little League players take a swing at a home run at restored Willows Park Field. The common denominator in those community...

A high school prom and reunion, set to a string of popular songs, will unfold on stage for those who purchase tickets for “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” the first production in Saint Vincent Summer Theatre’s upcoming season. This season marks Greggory Brandt’s 10th as producing artistic director of summer theater at...

A 13-year-old Buffalo Township boy bicycling home from a candy store with a friend died after being struck by a pickup Friday evening, police said. Dylan Tarbi died just before 8:30 p.m. after being flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office. Township...

A Rochester man’s apparent drowning death Friday in Donegal Township is under investigation by state police and Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson. Carson said it appears that Glenn T. White, 58, was the victim of an accidental drowning when he jumped into a pond to retrieve an injured bird, went...

One person was flown to a Pittsburgh trauma center after a crash involving two motorcycles Friday afternoon in Hempfield. The patient, who was in critical but stable condition, was flown to UMPC Presbyterian Hospital, according to Shawn Penzera, public information officer for Mutual Aid Ambulance Service. No other injuries were...

A Prussian invasion is anticipated this weekend at Fort Ligonier. Reenactors portraying Prussian soldiers who engaged in combat during the mid 18th century will take up residence for a historical military encampment Saturday and Sunday at the reconstructed fort. Based in the Midwest, the infantry brigade will be on hand...

Greater Latrobe School Board this week unanimously approved a proposed $66.67 million budget for the 2024-25 school year that calls for no increase in the district real estate tax. Business administrator Dan Watson presented revised figures that allow for a balanced budget, wiping out a potential revenue shortfall of about...

When Sandy Spence was a young girl, she would visit Mt. Pleasant’s L.E. Smith Glass plant, where her father, Cedric Spence Jr., began work as a foreman in 1946. On Monday evening, she traveled from her current home in Lewes, Del., to revisit the site virtually. Donning virtual reality goggles,...

Former Somerset County District Attorney Jeffrey Thomas will serve two years of probation after pleading no contest to a charge that he assaulted his wife in 2021. The probation period will run concurrently with the 2½ -to-7-year prison term Thomas is serving for the sexual assault of a Windber woman,...

A week of games and amusement rides is set for 6 to 10 p.m. each day this week, Tuesday through Saturday, at the Latrobe Fire Department Carnival. Patrons can come early, at 5 p.m., to get a taste of carnival fare when the food stand opens at the town’s First...

The price is right for Dane Dyson. When the 22-year-old Yough Senior High graduate realized it would cost him $22,000 to attend a career school to learn the tricks of the plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning trades, he opted instead to join a local union apprentice program. Dyson...

Latrobe Art Center on Monday will kick off its fourth annual Fred Rogers-inspired Week of Kindness by hosting an informational gathering for educators and child caregivers. Held in partnership with the Fred Rogers Institute and WQED Education, Monday’s session, set for 4 to 6 p.m., is titled “Educator Playground: Being...

More than two dozen residents of a Latrobe personal care home will need to find other accommodations before July 8. Latrobe Manor administrator Kim Cecere said this week the home is working with families of its residents to find other placements for them. The 28 residents include elderly people and...

Visitors to an event Monday at Mt. Pleasant Area Junior-Senior High will gain a multi-faceted perspective on a mainstay of the community’s once-thriving glass industry. District students and staff, local historians and a technology consultant have combined efforts for a community showcase focusing on the former L.E. Smith Glass factory....

Greater Latrobe School District officials have proposed a 2024-2025 budget with $66.6 million in spending and a projected revenue shortfall of about $859,000. The school board is expected to vote on the tentative spending plan on Tuesday but administrators are biding their time on making any recommendation about a related...

Derry Borough this week is coping with the loss of one of its veteran public servants, with the unexpected death of council President Al Checca. Checca, 57, who survived three kidney transplants, died late Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Pittsburgh’s UPMC Presbyterian Hospital. He’d been recovering there for nearly a...

Latrobe Council has approved a proposal from Tudi Mechanical Systems to upgrade heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment at city hall and lighting at the municipal parking garage and solid waste transfer station. City manager Terry Carcella said the McKees Rocks contractor will install nine new air handlers at city...

Greensburg attorney James Antoniono will oversee the Westmore­land County Register of Wills Office, effective May 28, according to a court order issued Monday. The county’s elected register of wills, Sherry Magretti Hamilton, “has forfeited her role as the sole and chief administrator of the office by being derelict in her...

North Huntingdon resident Tony Janczewski isn’t happy that the median barrier proposed for a stretch of Route 30 in the township could add two miles to his daily trip to work. According to Route 30 improvement plans displayed last week at the Hartford Heights fire station, Janczewski would have to...

Officials and family members gathered Saturday at Ligonier Valley Cemetery to make sure future generations don’t forget the battlefield bravery displayed by two Congressional Medal of Honor recipients who are buried there. While a local veterans honor guard provided a military salute, state officials dedicated the nearby Route 711 span...

A former Penn Hills School District employee is charged with stealing nearly $7,000 worth of equipment from the high school field house. Patsy Seneca, 70, of Penn Hills was captured on surveillance video loading items from the field house into his pickup truck on the morning of May 1, according...

Residents from around Western Pennsylvania enjoyed a colorful sky show late Friday and early Saturday as a strong solar storm sparked a display of the northern lights in many areas around the United States. WTAE meteorologist Jill Szwed said it’s the strongest geomagnetic storm since Halloween 2003 and offered an...