Jeff Himler stories, Page 90
Citizens Bank set to close Ligonier, New Kensington, Ross branches
Citizens Bank is set to close branches in Ligonier Borough, Ross Township and New Kensington by early December. Bennett Griesmer, spokesman for Citizens Financial Group, confirmed the New Kensington branch, at 901 Fifth Ave., is slated to close Nov. 17, while additional closures are set for Dec. 7, at the...
Latrobe council meeting postponed due to lack of quorum
Latrobe Council’s monthly voting meeting has been postponed to Aug. 23 because the seven-member panel lacked a quorum to hold the session as regularly scheduled, on the second Monday of the month. The postponement was attributed to “reasons beyond our control” in a posting Monday on the city’s Facebook page....
Mock military engagement attracts all ages to anniversary event at Bushy Run BattlefieldVideo
Fred Lucas traveled from Bloomington, Ind., to help lead Graham’s Company of the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment into battle in Penn Township. He joined dozens of other reenactors who converged on Bushy Run Battlefield Saturday and Sunday to replay the two-day 1763 engagement between British and American troops and their...
Turnpike crash near Donegal sends Florida man to Pittsburgh hospital
A Florida man was taken to a Pittsburgh trauma center after the truck he was driving overturned Saturday on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Donegal, according to state police. Police said speed was a factor when Courtney Mills, 26, of Orlando, lost control of his westbound truck at 2:30 p.m. just...
Masks recommended, not required, at weekend Masses in Greensburg Diocese
Wearing of masks is recommended, but not required, for those attending Masses this weekend in the Greensburg Catholic Diocese, while covid-19 transmission in Westmoreland County has risen to a substantial level. Covid protocols will be a topic for discussion at Monday’s meeting of a diocesan committee that formed to address...
Remembering fallen of 14th Quartermaster focus of bike runVideo
Spc. Frank Keough of North Huntingdon was short but mighty, according to his sisters. At 5 feet, 5 inches, “He was always the smallest, but it didn’t stop him,” according to Denise Samuels of Irwin, one of eight siblings who grew up in the large Keough clan. “He was the...
Truck overturns, closing Interstate 70 westbound at New Stanton
The westbound lanes of Interstate 70 were closed for several hours in the vicinity of the Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange in New Stanton after a tractor-trailer overturned Saturday morning. The rig overturned on the off-ramp from the turnpike to I-70 shortly before 10 a.m., a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said. No...
Reenactment of 18th century battle returns to Bushy Run this weekend
After a year’s hiatus because of pandemic conditions, reenactors will gather this weekend at Bushy Run Battlefield in Penn Township to restage the clash between British and Native American forces that took place on the site in August 1763. The British victory at Bushy Run helped lift a Native American...
College-age crew takes on trail tasks at Forbes State ForestVideo
Before the week is out, Bill Repko’s crew will have hauled, shoveled and raked crushed sandstone along about 700 feet of a mile-long trail near the summit of Laurel Ridge. Guided by the retired Greater Latrobe school teacher, the team of five area college students is wrapping up improvements to...
Greensburg Salem eyes covid mask recommendation, not mandate
The Greensburg Salem School Board is considering a health plan that would recommend, but not mandate, masks for all who enter district school buildings. At this week’s board discussion meeting, there was passionate debate about the proposed mask policy, including the choice of wording. The board is expected to take...
Officials identify Mt. Lebanon man killed in suspected double murder-suicide
Officials on Wednesday released the name of a man killed along with his wife nearly a week earlier in a suspected double murder-suicide in Mt. Lebanon. John Tratras, 66, died in the shooting incident at about 2:40 a.m. Thursday in the Gilkeson Road home he shared with Ana Tratras, 59,...
Westmoreland Airport Authority director new head of state aviation council
Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo has been selected to lead a statewide industry organization. Monzo is the new president of the Aviation Council of Pennsylvania and will oversee the organization’s various committees. He has served on such panels for more than three decades. Part of his mission...
Fallen Heroes Run will honor 14th Quartermaster reservists killed by Iraqi missile
Motorcyclists are invited to visit Hempfield on Saturday to “ride for a reason” — honoring the ultimate sacrifice 30 years ago made by 13 members of the local Army Reserve 14th Quartermaster Detachment. The third annual Fallen Heroes Run, organized by nonprofit Operation Vet NOW, will begin at 10:30 a.m....
Majority of Spirit flights canceled Monday at Westmoreland, Pittsburgh airports
Numerous Spirit Airlines flights at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport and Pittsburgh International Airport were canceled Monday, mirroring problems at other airports the low-cost carrier serves. The Florida-based airline issued a statement indicating the problem was triggered by a series of “weather and operational challenges” over the weekend. It said rumors...
Unity supervisors weigh zoning request for proposed school bus terminal at airport
Unity supervisors are expected in August to rule on zoning approval sought for a proposed school bus terminal at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Earlier in July, the Westmoreland County Airport Authority provisionally approved a 5-year agreement with DMJ Transportation, for storing 30 buses and other smaller vehicles next to the...
Youngwood animal shelter, anxious canine benefit from Eagle Scout projectVideo
Rhyann craves attention. When left by herself, she has taken out her frustration on office doors and chairs. The 10-year-old pit mix has been a resident for about two years at the Youngwood shelter of Animal Friends of Westmoreland. Because of her severe separation anxiety, she has been through a...
Arnold Palmer airport offers 2 round-trip tickets in Steelers Week promotion
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority will be giving two travelers a free ticket for a southern trip as part of a Steelers Week promotion beginning Monday in Unity and Latrobe. Visitors to the authority’s Arnold Palmer Regional Airport may enter for a chance to win a round-trip ticket to any...
Latrobe adds extra day, downtown activities to banana split celebration
This year’s planned banana-themed festivities in Latrobe have grown to include a second day of activities. The Downtown Latrobe Banana Split Celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 20. The day will include live entertainment, activities for kids and, of course, helpings of the frozen...
Loyalhanna Watershed’s Harvest Dinner features outdoor picnic setting for 2nd year
Loyalhanna Watershed Association will hold its annual Harvest Dinner outdoors for the second year in a row. Compared to past indoor, chef-prepared meals, the outdoor a la carte format Saturday, Aug. 7, allows more people to attend while maintaining social distancing during the pandemic. “We had over 250 people last...
Latrobe, Unity residents and businesses invited to enter Steelers Week decorating contest
Residents and business owners in Latrobe and Unity are being challenged to show how they “Bleed Black and Gold” in a decorating contest that will be featured as part of a Steelers Week promotion Monday through Aug. 6 in the two neighboring municipalities. Sunday is the deadline to register for...
Greater Latrobe OKs mask-optional plan for 2021-22 school year by 6-3 vote
Greater Latrobe School Board has voted 6-3 against requiring face coverings for students or staff when a full schedule of in-person classes begins Aug. 30 for the 2021-22 school year. According to the district health and safety plan, recommended by Superintendent Georgia Teppert at a special Tuesday meeting, face coverings...
National Night Out police outreach returns in Mt. Pleasant, other communities
Mt. Pleasant’s Night Out will be back Aug. 3, after a year off because of pandemic restrictions, and organizers expect the event to be bigger, and better, than ever. It’s part of the National Night Out campaign that is held on or around the first Tuesday in August in many...
First Commonwealth set to reopen Unity branch that was struck by SUV
First Commonwealth Bank’s Unity branch will reopen at 9 a.m. Wednesday, ending a temporary closure caused when an SUV crashed into the building early Friday evening. No injuries were reported in the wreck that occurred shortly before 5:30 p.m. along Route 30 at Sharky’s Drive. Brian Schultheis, chief of the...
Latrobe wants to raze 3 dilapidated houses, eyes county funding program
Latrobe hopes to tap a Westmoreland County grant program to help demolish three vacant, dilapidated houses. The funding originates with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and is administered by the county redevelopment authority. If approved, it would require a $250 local match for demolishing a house the...
Civil War communications spotlighted at Hanna’s Town encampment, reenactments
Five cannons, 10 presenters, a regimental band and a working telegraph station will help bring the mid-19th century back to life during a Civil War battle reenactment and encampment Saturday and Sunday at Historic Hanna’s Town. Hempfield resident Bob Sidley is helping to organize the weekend event as a member...
