Future raises for Westmoreland elected officials under review
The Westmoreland County commissioners signaled Thursday they might soon overhaul the decades-old method used to calculate annual pay increases for the county’s elected officials. A policy enacted in 1996 ties raises for elected officers to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Under this formula, these officials are slated for a 3.25%...
Westmoreland commissioners pass budget, look to assign blame for ‘precarious’ finances
The Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday passed a $466 million budget for 2026 that holds the line on property taxes despite a nearly $15 million deficit. The shortfall will be offset by surplus funds. To reach the final figure, commissioners slashed an anticipated $30 million deficit in half through personnel...
Westmoreland jury donation program raises over $100K for local nonprofits
Westmoreland County jurors have donated more than $100,000 to local charities over the past decade. It’s a program first implemented in 2016 that allows jurors to forgo their daily pay, which in turn is donated to local charities. Jurors are paid $9 a day for their first three days of...
2 Westmoreland water authority workers awarded Carnegie Medal for lifesaving rescue
Pete Dunegan was repairing an underground water tank in Mt. Pleasant Borough last year when a pipe inside the tank broke loose. It dislodged from a support and pinned him, nearly severing his leg and at the same time releasing water into the enclosed vault. Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County...
Some furloughed Westmoreland County workers recalled as commissioners weigh additional returns
More than a third of the Westmoreland County employees furloughed in October have returned to work, commissioners said Tuesday. “More are scheduled to come back next month,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes. Cash flow issues that resulted from a four-month state budget impasse and a subsequent freeze on allocations for mandated...
Scottdale parents tell judge they struggle to balance child’s welfare with their own safety
A national news story this weekend reminded Mary and Raymond Holoman of the painful dilemma parents face when they become victims of their child’s violence and addiction. The Holomans told a Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday they would allow their 20-year-old son to return to their Scottdale home after he...
Westmoreland DA calls county grand jury a success; says another panel possible
Westmoreland County’s first investigating grand jury in more than three decades wrapped up its work with recommendations of criminal charges in three cases last week. The grand jury, which initially included 23 members and 15 alternates, recommended criminal charges be brought against four defendants, including former Ligonier Valley police Chief...
Westmoreland housing authority secures federal funding to build Mt. Pleasant townhouses
The Westmoreland County Housing Authority has announced that a portion of its $5.6 million project to build 20 townhouses in Mt. Pleasant Township will be paid for through a federal grant. Officials said the agency secured a
$1.25 million grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh through its...
Westmoreland County air show on hiatus for 2026 as authority seeks headliner amid facilities update
Westmoreland County’s annual air show could be grounded in 2026. Gabe Monzo, executive director of the county’s airport authority, on Friday reaffirmed a recommendation he made earlier this week to implement a one-year hiatus of the two-day event at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport that draws tens of thousands of spectators....
Dog licenses fees increase for 2026
Dog owners in Pennsylvania will pay more to license their pets in 2026. The state’s Department of Agriculture said dog license fees will increase $2 for the upcoming year and could rise another $1 in 2027 under legislation signed into law in 2023 by Gov. Josh Shapiro. That law set...
3rd trial results in guilty verdicts for New Kensington man charged with 2020 slaying
Felicia Williams and her family said justice was finally served after a Westmoreland County jury convicted a New Kensington man in the fatal shooting of her brother nearly six years ago. After three days of testimony and two hours of deliberations Wednesday, jurors found Letresse Tareke Williams guilty of second-degree...
Arnold man cleared of assault on inmate during sheriff transport
A Westmoreland County jury on Tuesday acquitted an Arnold man of assaulting a female inmate while the two were being taken to jail in the back seat of a sheriff’s car. Jurors deliberated one hour before returning not-guilty verdicts on charges of aggravated harassment by a prisoner and indecent assault...
Monzo to retire as head of Westmoreland airport authority
Gabe Monzo, who has seen plenty of takeoffs and landings during his more than four decades working for the Westmoreland County Airport Authority — including the last 17 as its executive director — announced Tuesday he will retire from that role at the end of April. “While the responsibilities seem...
Derry Township man gets prison for assault and strangulation of girlfriend
A Derry Township man was ordered to serve up to five years in prison for the assault and strangulation of his live-in girlfriend in early 2020. Wayne Nestler Jr., 36, pleaded guilty Monday to two felony counts of strangulation and one misdemeanor offense of simple assault in connection with allegations...
Third trial for man charged with 2020 New Kensington killing begins
For the third time in the last 18 months, a Westmoreland County jury is hearing evidence against a New Kensington man charged with the fatal shooting of an Arnold drug dealer nearly five years ago. Letresse Tareke Williams, 35, is charged with second-degree murder, robbery and other related offenses in...
Construction of driverless vehicle test track in East Huntingdon reaches the start line
Construction of a 2-mile track in East Huntingdon to test autonomous vehicles and train first responders is underway, with the facility expected to be in operation by late 2026. The project’s first phase, which includes the test track and supporting infrastructure, is expected to cost about $30 million. Work crews...
Greensburg man sentenced to jail for child porn possession
A Greensburg man was ordered to serve time in jail for possessing child pornography. Trent E. Sullivan, 26, formerly of Salem, pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts in March after police found multiple images of child pornography on his home computer and cell phone in March 2021. According to court...
Treatment of Jewish inmate improving at Westmoreland jail, attorney claims
A Mt. Pleasant man awaiting trial for allegedly trying to kill his mother has recently been granted access to some kosher foods necessary for his religious beliefs while jailed in Westmoreland County, his lawyer said Thursday. Attorney Amy Levenson Jones said Westmoreland County prison officials have improved conditions for her...
Inmate relieved of freedom for holding-cell assault
An Arnold man pleaded guilty to charges that he urinated on another inmate while in a holding cell earlier this year at the Westmoreland County Courthouse. Tahnook Sewell, 23, was charged in connection to an incident on July 21 that police said was recorded on security cameras recorded video a...
East Huntingdon man sentenced for shootout with state police
An East Huntingdon man, convicted last fall of firing shots at two state police troopers, was sentenced Tuesday to serve up to 44 years in prison. James R. Miller Jr., 63, declined to speak and presented no witnesses on his behalf during the court hearing in which prosecutors said his...
Westmoreland hospital, former nurses sued over patient photos
A Greensburg hospital and two fired nurses have been named as defendants in a negligence lawsuit filed by the daughter of one of up to 10 former patients whose images were recorded and distributed without consent last year. The three-count lawsuit filed last month contends Independence Health System Westmoreland Hospital...
Westmoreland preps for 1st snowfall with reduced staff amid limited furlough savings
Furloughs will leave Westmoreland County with just half of its staff available Tuesday morning to maintain 52 miles of roads during the season’s first significant snowfall. Public Works Director Dante DeCario said all four remaining employees will begin salting and clearing county roads as early as 3 a.m. and will...
$500K invoice: Westmoreland awaits response from state over lost interest income
Westmoreland officials said the county has yet to receive a response to an invoice sent last month to the state, seeking money they claim is owed as a result of the state budget impasse. Controller Jeffrey Balzer in October sent a bill to Gov. Josh Shapiro claiming the county is...
Westmoreland transit authority cuts ties with state lobbyists
A divided Westmoreland County Transit Authority board fired the agency’s state lobbyists this week. Four of the board’s seven members voted against retaining the Harrisburg-based firm, Malady and Wooten, which has represented the county transportation agency’s interests to state officials since 2022. The authority, which operates fixed-route local and commuter...
How Westmoreland County uses blue ‘pills’ to break more than 200 election ties
Brian Carnahan didn’t even know he’d be a candidate for public office until he cast a write-in vote for himself on Election Day. That single vote was enough to put him into a five-way tie for the position of inspector of elections at his Jeannette 5th Ward precinct for the...
