Joe Napsha stories, Page 119
Westmoreland transit authority to seek bids for bus and shared ride operatorVideo
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority will not renew its contract with the operator of its bus and shared ride system in 2020 because the authority could not reach an agreement with that company on the rates for next year. National Express LLC, wanted to charge rates the transit authority considered...
Kenny Ross Auto pledges donation on car sales to help veteransVideo
The Kenny Ross Auto Group of eight dealerships is supporting area veterans with its pledge to donate $10 to the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania for every car sold at the dealerships between Sept. 3 and Oct. 31. The money donated by Kenny Ross Auto Group will go to the...
Penn Township annual CROP Walk slated
A group of Penn-Trafford area churches are encouraging people to join a walk around historic Bushy Run Battlefield in Penn Township on Oct. 13 as way to raise money to battle against hunger locally and globally. Penn-Trafford CROP Hunger Walk wants to have 100 walkers obtain donations and pledges totalling...
Watershed group to hold field day at Lowber mine drainage treatment site
Those who want to walk around the Lowber Abandoned Mine Drainage Treatment project in Lowber, Sewickley Township, now have an almost mile-long path to view the expansive treatment site that purifies water before entering Sewickley Creek. “The trail not only adds yet another location for people to enjoy the natural...
WCCC to get $6.5 million in state aid
Westmoreland County Community College will receive about $3.25 million in state aid to update the college’s overall administrative computer system. The money will be used to update the school’s software that is used by human resources, accounting, student affairs and foundation departments, said college President Tuesday Stanley. “We’ll improve how...
Jeannette to maintain increased game security
Increased security at Jeannette’s home football games will remain in place for the final two home games of the season, a school district official said. Fans entering McKee Stadium for the Sept. 27 game against Brownsville and the Oct. 18 game against Riverview will continue to pass by a metal...
Penn-Trafford school collecting toys for cancer patients
Penn-Trafford’s Sunrise Elementary School is collecting toys, books, coloring books, stickers, art supplies, blankets and crafts for oncology patients being treated at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in Lawrenceville. The drive, which will run from Oct. 7-11, is in honor of Lilli Durante of Manor, a kindergarten student battling a...
Hazmat team, firefighters respond to chlorine leak in Unity
A Unity man who mixed chlorine in his house Thursday night needed the assistance of Westmoreland County’s hazardous materials team and local firefighters because of the fumes in his residence, a county public safety supervisor said. The man who lives along Primrose Lane in the township’s East High Acres neighborhood...
Microburst slams Delmont, topples trees
Lisa and Lou Garbin’s two-story garage behind their Delmont home was saved from being cut in half Wednesday night when a large tree toppled by a storm crashed through the roof and landed on the upper floor. “We were saved by a couch,” Lou Garbin said of the tree that...
More than 100 hoarded dogs rescued from Ross home
More than 100 dogs were rescued from a woman’s home Wednesday night in Ross, where the owner had hoarded the animals, some of which are “emaciated” and needed immediate medical attention, a humane association said. Animal Friends of Pittsburgh’s medical staff, including a veterinarian and veterinarian technicians, went to the...
Jeannette to increase security measures at football games
Fans attending Jeannette’s home football games at McKee Stadium will be required to enter through the main gate on Park Street to be checked with a metal-detecting device, the school district said Wednesday. Superintendent Matthew Jones announced the heightened security in the wake of the fatal shooting of a Jeannette...
Penn-Trafford to honor military, first responders at football game
Penn-Trafford will recognize active military personnel and veterans, as well as first responders and their families at the high school football game Friday. A light dinner will be served at 6:15 p.m. and a pregame ceremony to honor the guests will begin at 7 p.m. The Penn-Trafford band will play...
Bushy Run Battlefield hosts whiskey distilling program
Thirty years before farmers and distillers in Western Pennsylvania rebelled against an unpopular federal tax on their cash product — whiskey — British and colonial troops defeated a force of Native Americans at the Battle of Bushy Run in August 1763, in what is now Penn Township. Fast forward some...
Jeannette to hire private firm to bolster football game securityVideo
The Jeannette School District intends to hire a private security company that will station four guards at McKee Stadium for Friday’s football game, complementing a contingent of officers from the Jeannette Police Department and state police. The school board Monday voted to hire Tactical Enforcement Agents, a Pittsburgh area security...
Irwin hires assistant manager
Irwin will once more have a manager and an assistant manager to operate the town’s government. Council voted unanimously on Sept. 3 to hire Stacie Santimyer as the borough’s assistant manager at an annual salary of $35,000, said Shari Martino, borough manager. Santimyer, aNorth Huntingdon resident, will begin her new...
Norwin library to hold genealogy class for beginners
The Norwin Public Library will hold a “Genealogy For Beginners” class at 1 p.m. Sept. 27 for people who want to trace their family tree, but have hesitated because they are not computer-savvy. This class will show participants how to make a simple family tree using materials that may be...
Woman hurt when SUV overturns in 2-vehicle crash on Route 30 in UnityVideo
Firefighters had to cut off the roof of an overturned sport utility vehicle Thursday afternoon to free the woman who was trapped after her SUV collided with another vehicle along Route 30 at a Unity furniture store, fire officials said. The woman, whose identity was not released, was transported to...
Police: Man who snatched baby brother arrested after cops surround in Clairton woods
A man who fled into the woods with his baby brother Thursday morning was arrested after allegedly holding a Clairton woman against her will inside a residence, police said. Allegheny County Police said the suspect, Erron Jenkins, 22, fled with his 1-year-old brother from the rear of a house in...
Mt. Pleasant woman helped organize girls softball
As Title IX was leveling the playing field for girls in athletics, Florence DeSimone was doing her part for equality in athletics in Mt. Pleasant by helping to organize a softball league for girls in the 1970s. “She played softball, and so did her sister and her daughters,” said her...
Two killed in Penn Hills crash
Two Verona residents were killed Sunday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash along Hulton Road in Penn Hills, Allegheny County police said. Scott Bennett, 42, and Ashley Nicole Giordano, 26, were killed in the accident along the 900 block of Hulton Road, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner said. Both victims were...
World War II vet who trained at Saint Vincent College had to jump from plane over enemy territory
Bernard J. Harrington, a co-pilot on a World War II B-24 Liberator heavy bomber who flew 35 combat missions over Germany, Italy, the Balkans, picked a good spot to land when he and his crew had to bail out their airplane. Mr. Harrington was on his 19th mission when his...
Fire at vacant Greensburg home considered arson, chief says
Greensburg police have arrested a city man in connection with an arson early Monday morning of a vacant house, police said. The suspect, Brian Valore, 33, of Greensburg, was being held in the Westmoreland County Prison on Monday on arson and arson-related charges in connection with the fire at 526...
Sunday storm sets Sept. 1 record for rain in Allegheny County
September in Allegheny County got off to its wettest start ever, according to the National Weather Service. The storm that swept through northern Allegheny County and southern Beaver, Butler and Armstrong counties on Sunday broke a 117-year-old record for rainfall on Sept. 1, the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh said....
Mt. Lebanon man drowns in family outing at Ohiopyle
A Mt. Lebanon man drowned Saturday in a rafting accident along the Youghiogheny River at Ohiopyle State Park in what was a weekend outing for family and friends, the Fayette County coroner said Monday. Peter Quigley, 46, of Pine Tree Road, was pinned underwater when he fell out of a...
Costs, freight service likely to keep more Pittsburgh-Harrisburg trains off the tracksVideo
Two passenger trains run between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg each day. High operating costs and frequent freight trains all but dash hopes of adding another — even a shorter jaunt around the famous bend to Altoona and back. “It really comes down to the cost-effectiveness of it,” said Jennie Granger, PennDOT...

