Jeff Himler stories, Page 32

It will cost Greensburg less than it expected to complete repairs to the Dr. Robert W. Queale parking garage on Maple Avenue. Council last week awarded the project to Allegheny Restoration, which submitted a total bid of about $140,000 for the two-phase project. That was well below the costs cited...

Palmer Shonk felt right at home Saturday as he joined fellow pipers to play skirling march tunes on the main field of the Ligonier Highland Games. Shonk, of Avalon, led an ad hoc band of 12 bagpipe players and six drummers in competition in the 64th games at Idlewild and...

A Saltsburg man was fatally injured when his motorcycle crashed early Saturday in Avonmore. Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said Tate Matthew Kaleda, 27, was riding east on Route 56 when he failed to negotiate a right-hand curve in the road at about 2:15 a.m. The motorcycle crossed into the...

A Jeannette man is charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment after leading troopers on a high-speed chase Friday night in Greensburg and Hempfield, state police said. During the chase that began shortly before 10 p.m., suspect Paul Raymond Good IV, 41, crashed his Chevy Silverado pickup truck into a...

Bill Hodge, a member of First Baptist Church of Greensburg for 93 years, has a reserved seat at every service. It’s on a raised platform in a rear corner of the church sanctuary, where Hodge operates the camera that streams the sermons of his pastor, the Rev. Scott Jones, and...

Nick Van Bibber is in the midst of a battle against cancer that has put an emotional and financial strain on him and his Penn Township family. “It’s a roller coaster ride,” said his mother, Silvia. Friends are rallying around the 23-year-old to organize a charity car show Sunday. Their...

Greensburg community leaders have scaled back the scope of a proposed master plan for revitalizing the city’s downtown business district. Instead, a project steering committee has decided to focus on a specific site plan for developing the vacant lot at 225 S. Main St., where the former Advance Furniture building...

Work on Interstate 70 in South Huntingdon will restrict westbound traffic to one lane for two overnight periods beginning Sept. 13. The restriction will be in place between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. between the Yukon and Mt. Pleasant/West Newton interchanges and is scheduled to end on the morning of...

The annual Greensburg Salem Alumni Picnic for all graduating classes will be held 1 to 4 p.m. Sept. 30 at Mt. Odin Park in Greensburg. Food and beverages are included in the cost: $10 in advance by Sept. 20, $15 on the day of the event. There is no cost...

The public is invited to a free health and wellness fair Thursday at the Hempfield office of nonprofit Disability Options Network. No registration is required for the event, set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Eastgate Plaza shopping center on Route 30 east of Greensburg. Those who attend...

Greensburg Salem is rethinking its approach to developing an outdoor classroom at the high school as construction proceeds on a new basketball court in a grassy area behind the middle school. Superintendent Ken Bissell said he would like to get community input while the district considers other potential facility projects,...

Bay of Fundy salmon, Syrian specialties and generous servings of pumpkin waffles and pancakes are among the flavorful options awaiting diners who partake of the offerings during Greensburg Restaurant Week. Slated Monday through Sept. 17, the semi-annual event showcases the diverse menus of 14 restaurants in Greensburg and nearby communities,...

A section of Wyano Waltz Mill Road (Route 3010) in South Huntingdon will close Monday so PennDOT crews can replace a bridge over a branch of Sewickley Creek. The closure, between Markeys Road and Waltz Mill Road, is expected to continue through mid-November, depending on weather conditions. PennDOT will post...

A routine inspection of the Speers Bridge will trigger daytime single-lane restrictions on Interstate 70 beginning Monday. The lane restrictions are expected to continue through Friday, Sept. 15, on the bridge, which carries I-70 over the Monongahela River, affecting both eastbound and westbound traffic between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m....

First Presbyterian Church of Greensburg has upped its curb appeal this year by replacing overgrown foliage on it grounds at 300 S. Main St. with new landscaping elements. It was time to refresh the plantings of rhododendrons and yew trees after more than two decades, according to the church’s pastor,...

Some have been hand-­molded, others shaped on a spinning wheel. More than 80 pieces of ceramic art will be featured in “From The Earth,” the next exhibition at the Greensburg Art Center, opening Saturday at 230 Todd School Road, in Hempfield. “We have some amazing pottery here, it’s a really...

Sue Soltis of Derry Township can empathize with those who have been touched by the rising number of suicides in Westmoreland County, which accounted for a record number of 62 deaths last year. She found help with a Survivors of Suicide bereavement support group in Pittsburgh when her family was...

Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department is looking to step up participation in its annual T-shirt sale so it can help “knock down” breast cancer. As in each of the past six years, the department’s goal is to sell more than 200 of the shirts, allowing it to donate $2,000 to the...

Tammi Morton of Freedom, Beaver County, completed Monday’s Run For Autism 5K race in just under 45 minutes. Then she took her place at the finish line in Youngwood, handing out medals to all those who completed the event’s longer half marathon course. Morton was among those present who had...

A man was upgraded from critical to stable condition after a stabbing Monday morning in Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington neighborhood, according to a city Public Safety spokesperson. City police found the man with stab wounds to his arm and abdomen when they responded to the incident reported shortly before 9 a.m....

Six people were taken to area hospitals after a pickup truck crashed Sunday night in Penn Township. The crash was reported shortly before 9 p.m. on a stretch of Baughman Road between Bushy Run and Dutch Hollow roads, according to Claridge fire Chief Ron Supancic Jr. Ambulances transported two adults...

One person was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment Monday morning following a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 79 near the Wexford exit, according to an Allegheny County 911 dispatch supervisor. The crash was reported shortly before 6:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes of the interstate, partially blocking traffic....

Mt. Pleasant-area homes that have endured for generations will be showcased this month during the Westmoreland Historical Society’s latest Historic House Tour. The self-guided tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 16. It includes stops at four houses in Mt. Pleasant Borough and three dwellings in neighboring Mt....

Christa Stedeford, a first-grade teacher at Hutchinson Elementary in Southwest Greensburg, spent part of her summer vacation in the Dominican Republic. In addition to her personal gear, she prepared for the trip by packing baseball shirts, gloves, balls and batting helmets that were purchased for youth teams in Southwest Greensburg...

Midnight will be leading the way Oct. 28 when costumed folks march through town in Greensburg’s Halloween parade. The 4-year-old husky-golden retriever mix earned that honor Thursday when she won the title of the city’s official pet ambassador during the Greensburg Night Market. Owned by Gene and Tiffany Kowalewski of...