Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 105
Westmoreland County government offices closed on Good Friday
The Westmoreland County Courthouse, district courts and other government offices will be closed in observance of the Good Friday holiday. Friday’s closing was previously scheduled and not part of the county’s coronavirus response plan. Government offices are expected to reopen 8:30 a.m. Monday....
No hotheads allowed: All who enter Westmoreland County Courthouse have temperature taken
Steve and Sarah Zolock knew they were healthy but a quick check as they entered the Westmoreland County Courthouse confirmed their unofficial diagnosis. The Zolocks, who traveled from their Rostraver home on Thursday to renew permits to carry concealed guns, were required to complete a cursory screening before they were...
Cleanup underway at Rostraver’s Cedar Creek Park after storm topples 65 trees
Cedar Creek Park in Rostraver is expected to remain closed until at least Saturday as work crews clean up more than 65 trees felled during Wednesday morning’s storm. “Many of them were 60-to-80-foot pine trees and it will take a couple of days to clear,” said Greg McCloskey, director of...
Family friends from Murrysville, Greensburg now share a liver despite pandemic
Julia Bolkovac has known Jimmy Singer her whole life. When the Murrysville native learned Singer of Greensburg was in desperate need of a liver transplant, Bolkovac couldn’t act fast enough to serve as his donor. But, when Bolkovac’s job as a cardiac nurse at UPMC Shadyside in Pittsburgh put her...
Westmoreland County worries about dwindling cache of protective gear
Shortages of personal protective equipment such as gowns and masks have become dire in Westmoreland County. The county’s supply is dwindling as the number of coronavirus cases rises, infecting staff and residents at two or more local nursing homes, where supplies are desperately being sought, Public Safety Director Roland Mertz...
Winners of Pa. House special elections sworn into office
State Rep. Eric Davanzo and two other victors from last month’s special election were sworn in to office Monday in Harrisburg. Davanzo, R-South Huntingdon, will complete the remaining nine months in the seat previously held by state Rep. Justin Walsh, who resigned in January after he was elected to be...
‘Pandemic’ overtime pay cost Westmoreland County nearly $700K in 1st 2 weeks
Westmoreland County paid $678,000 in overtime wages to more than 1,200 employees for nearly two weeks of work in late March during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Commissioners instituted “pandemic” pay for staff required to report in person for work at the courthouse and in other county offices...
Westmoreland court reductions extended through April 30
Most Westmoreland County courts will remain shuttered through April 30. Common Pleas Court President Judge Rita Hathaway on Monday extended the current reductions of court functions as part of the state’s coronavirus response plan. The order cancels all trials in April, as well as other basic court functions such as...
Westmoreland County company turns out vital parts for coronavirus test kits
The frontline fighters against the coronavirus in Westmoreland County most certainly include medical professionals, first responders and other health care workers treating patients. But workers at Latrobe-based Carclo Technical Plastics are quietly supporting their efforts through the manufacturing of tiny plastic collection tubes used around the globe in coronavirus testing...
Westmoreland to charge fee for paying criminal court costs via credit card
Criminal defendants who make restitution and court cost payments by credit card now have to pay for that service. Westmoreland County commissioners this week authorized a 2.95% surcharge on all credit card transactions made in the county’s Clerk of Courts office. Until now, Westmoreland County taxpayers paid the credit card...
Commercial flights at Arnold Palmer airport to cease next week
Commercial flights at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport will stop starting Wednesday and, as a result, about a third of its 90 workers will be furloughed, officials said. Spirit Airlines, the lone commercial carrier at the Unity airport, will continue to operate its daily schedules through Tuesday but then will halt...
Hundreds of Westmoreland County employees to be furloughed Friday
Furloughs of hundreds of Westmoreland County employees will begin at the end of the workday Friday, but the final number of workers who will be off the job still is in flux, officials said. Commissioners last week announced that budget strains caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic prompted a suspension...
Westmoreland checking for covid-19 symptoms at 911 center, may expand to courthouse
Westmoreland County on Thursday started screening public safety employees for coronavirus symptoms and could soon expand the program to include courthouse staff and visitors. Commissioners approved a monthlong contract with Amerisafe Group to furnish trained employees to conduct screenings at the county’s public safety headquarters on Donohoe Road in Hempfield,...
Westmoreland DA opposes county-paid expert for Penn Township murder appeal
Westmoreland taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for an expert to testify on behalf of Greensburg woman appealing her 2006 murder conviction, according to the county’s top prosecutor. In court documents filed Wednesday, District Attorney John Peck said expert testimony is irrelevant in the pending appeal of Jennifer...
Cost savings of postponed primary in Westmoreland could be eaten up by mail-in ballots
The five-week postponement of Pennsylvania’s primary could save Westmoreland County taxpayers up to $84,000. Commissioners said they will rescind the deal to rent ballot scanners that are no longer needed for the primary but that additional costs still could be accrued to pay for an unanticipated increase in mail-in ballots...
Westmoreland jail population declines; Allegheny jail serves as model during pandemic
The number of adults and juveniles incarcerated in Westmoreland County corrections facilities continued to drop over the past week as the jail and juvenile detention center saw fewer new commitments while the public deals with the coronavirus pandemic. The jail had 519 inmates Monday, a decrease of more than 40...
Westmoreland officials say first responders are running out of personal protection equipment
Westmoreland County’s first responders could run out of personal protective equipment by next week, public safety officials said Monday. Public Safety Director Roland Mertz said the county’s stockpile of masks, gloves, medical gowns and other equipment used by first responders is quickly drying up, a situation made worse by the...
Westmoreland County under stay-at-home order as confirmed coronavirus cases grow
Westmoreland County residents have been ordered to stay at home. Gov. Tom Wolf announced an additional nine Pennsylvania counties will be under restrictions as part of the state’s efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The new order, which is in effect from 8 p.m. Friday through April 6,...
Westmoreland County to further reduce bus service during coronavirus crisis
Westmoreland County transit officials will further reduce commuter and local bus service starting March 30. Ridership has dropped about 80% over the last two weeks amid the coronavirus pandemic, Transit Authority Executive Director Alan Blahovec said Thursday. All non-life sustaining businesses in the state have been ordered closed, resulting in...
Westmoreland prepares to lay off hundreds of county workers
About 500 nonessential Westmoreland County government employees will be furloughed on April 3, county commissioners said Thursday. The layoffs come as county officials deal with balancing vital government functions during the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing budgetary concerns complicated by large overtime payments doled out to essential employees who were required...
Sheriff: Westmoreland gun permits will be issued starting next week
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert said his office will resume issuing permits to carry concealed guns next week. “We were getting a lot of blow back,” Albert said about his decision earlier this month to suspend the service as part of the county’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. The permitting...
Inquest unlikely for fatal New Kensington shooting
Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha said Wednesday it is unlikely he will convene an inquest into a police-involved shooting this month in New Kensington that left a Lower Burrell man dead. “It looks like it is rather justified at this point,” Bacha said. Marc N. Morgan, 62, was killed March...
Mail-in voting proving popular in areas hardest hit by coronavirus
A lot of Pennsylvanians plan to vote by mail in the postponed spring primary. State officials said Wednesday that applications to vote by mail have topped 129,000. State lawmakers voted to move the primary to June 2, a postponement expected to be approved by Gov. Tom Wolf. The five-week delay...
Davanzo victory pre-certified in 58th state House race
Westmoreland County’s Elections Board on Wednesday pre-certified Republican Eric Davanzo’s victory in last week’s special election to fill the vacant state House seat in the 58th District. Davanzo, a union carpenter from South Huntingdon, defeated Democrat Robert Prah Jr. and Libertarian Ken Bach and will be seated next month to...
Westmoreland County controller’s office bustles to open contract bids, pay billsVideo
Jim Roach, owner of Wexford Contracting in Zelienople, said he needed a reason to leave the house. So Roach made the long drive in to Greensburg on Tuesday to attend a public bid opening at the Westmoreland County Courthouse. He was one of two bidders who attended. “I had to...
