Jeff Himler stories, Page 5

State police are searching for a missing New Derry man whose parked car was found Wednesday in Derry Township, three days after he was last seen. State troopers said they don’t suspect foul play in their search for 63-year-old John J. Dofollo. He was reported missing by family members when...

A Fairfield Township couple provided sanctuary to motorists stranded by an ice storm Sunday evening on Laurel Ridge, earning thanks in return for their hospitality. The ice-slicked surface of Route 271 left a Greyhound bus and dozens of other vehicles stuck for several hours on the western slope of the...

A group of Derry community boosters wants no moss to grow in Mossback Park, the town’s gathering spot for seasonal festivities. Increasing the number of events at the South Chestnut Street site is one of the goals of the Friends of Derry, a new nonprofit group dedicated to promoting community...

Failing private sewage systems have led to excess levels of ammonia and fecal coliform bacteria in Donegal Township’s Minnow Run. To help clean up that stream, whose waters ultimately wind up in Indian Creek and the Youghiogheny River, the township is preparing to construct its first-ever public sewage system. Tom...

Latrobe Municipal Authority customers will see a 50-cent hike in usage and debt service rates beginning Saturday and increases in sewage rates two months later. The authority meanwhile is asking customers to voluntarily conserve water since drought conditions have left levels below normal in its reservoir. A recent spate of...

Talks are underway for Mutual Aid EMS to once again house an ambulance and crew at Latrobe’s city hall after the service has been without a station in the city for nearly two years. Mutual Aid moved its equipment and personnel out of bays at the city building in April...

A Unity man who was severely injured in a head-on collision Monday in Ligonier Township has died. Colin Keough, 18, who lived on American Legion Road, was pronounced dead Tuesday in the intensive care unit at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, according to Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees. Keough...

The Union Mission’s emergency shelter for homeless men was at 108% capacity last year, with cots supplementing its 24 beds. Next month, the faith-based organization will open a new long-term shelter that is expected to relieve pressure on emergency shelters in Westmoreland County. “There are folks using emergency shelters where...

Two adults and five children were injured Monday morning after a two-vehicle crash between a Porsche and a Chevrolet Suburban on Route 711 in Ligonier Township, according to Ligonier Valley police Chief Mike Matrunics. The head-on collision occurred at about 8 a.m. when one of the vehicles apparently crossed the...

When Allied forces landed on the Italian coast at Anzio 81 years ago, they began a four-month battle that left some 7,000 of their 100,000 troops dead. That toll included 58 soldiers from the Keystone State — several residents of Westmoreland and Allegheny counties among them — who never made...

A Johnstown man will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole in the October 2020 shooting death of an Indiana University of Pennsylvania student at an off-campus apartment. Terrion Gates, 22, was convicted in September of second-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to robbery in the incident at the...

The Great Allegheny Passage bike trail between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, Md., has been a boon for communities that sit along it — and business owners hope a nearly $4 million study will provide a blueprint for boosting its impact in the region. A key component of the study will be...

Unity resident Tracy Lemmon is among those who are eagerly awaiting construction of a new alignment for Route 981 that PennDOT is planning south of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. “I’m actually very anxious for it,” she said during Thursday’s public display of plans for the second section of the Laurel...

Plans for the second, northernmost section of PennDOT’s Laurel Valley Transportation Improvement Project will be displayed for public comment Thursday at the Pleasant Unity fire hall. The open house session is set for 5 to 7 p.m. at 135 John George St. in the Unity Township village. The Laurel Valley...

Westmoreland Hospital’s unit for newborn babies in need of intensive care now is under the management of West Virginia University Medicine’s Children’s Hospital. It’s a switch from the Greensburg hospital’s previous relationship with UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Announced Tuesday, the partnership began Jan. 1 and has overseen at least...

Snow falling on Sunday in Southwestern Pennsylvania was the prelude to an arctic blast with sub-zero temperatures expected early this week. National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Modzelewski predicts 2 to 4 inches in parts of Westmoreland County and between 1 and 3 inches in Allegheny County with 5 to 9...

Allegheny County police are investigating a shooting that wounded a man Saturday evening in Forest Hills. The man was taken to an area hospital in stable but critical condition, police said. The man was found by first responders after the shooting was reported at about 6:45 p.m. in the 100...

Two men were killed when the vehicles they were driving crashed early Sunday on Ohio River Boulevard in Bellevue, according to Allegheny County police. The men were found dead at the scene by first responders, police said. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified one of the drivers as Israel...

A Butler County man has been convicted of raping a pre-teen child as a result of a statewide grand jury investigation of members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith. A Butler County jury on Friday found Shaun Sheffer, 46, of Harmony guilty of three counts each of rape and indecent assault,...

Firefighters from the Lloydsville and Crabtree stations in Unity had a head start last year when they answered a weekday call for a car crash on Donohoe Road. “We had a crew out the door within 30 seconds, they were on the scene within three minutes, and they had the...

Ligonier Valley residents will have to wait until at least Feb. 11 to learn who will represent Ligonier Township as a citizen member on the police commission. The Ligonier Valley Police Commission’s vote in December to reappoint Scott Gongaware as the citizen member was ruled invalid by a Westmoreland County...

A maintenance worker at the former Jeannette District Memorial Hospital was confused when he saw Rosemary Kindelan’s familiar face in the building on a Friday. “He threw his hands up in the air and said, ‘Don’t tell me it’s Monday,’ ” Kindelan recalled. Kindelan, who turned 99 on Dec. 27,...

Ligonier Township resident Scott Gongaware’s recent reappointment as a citizen member of the Ligonier Valley Police Commission was invalid, according to Westmoreland County Judge Harry Smail Jr. Smail on Monday barred Gongaware from participating in Tuesday’s meeting of the regional police commission as the judge granted a preliminary injunction on...

Potential solar farms would be confined to the eastern edge of Unity, in the vicinity of Chestnut Ridge, under a zoning ordinance amendment proposed by township officials. If approved, the change wouldn’t affect the existing case of Joseph Stas and GreenKey Solar, whose plan to develop a solar panel array...

Independence Health cut its operating losses by close to 50% in 2024, but those losses remain in the eight-figure range, prompting leaders of the regional health system to further reduce expenses. Excela and Butler health systems combined in 2023 to create a third, albeit smaller, health care giant in a...