Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 114
Westmoreland judge rejects Hyde Park man’s appeal of sexual assault conviction
A Westmoreland County judge ruled the evidence presented against a Hyde Park man at his June sexual assault trial was sufficient to support the guilty verdicts rendered by jurors. In a 16-page opinion issued Wednesday, Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio rejected the appeal by Larry Lee Redmond. Redmond, 40, was convicted of...
Candidates tied in 10 Westmoreland elections
Westmoreland County elections officials will meet Friday at noon to break ties in 10 local municipal elections. Elections Bureau Director Beth Lechman said multiple candidates in the Nov. 6 election finished with identical vote totals for council seats in Arona, Hyde Park, Laurel Mountain, North Irwin, Penn and Sutersville along...
Transportation projects for Western Pa. prioritized
Planners have identified 123 road, bridge and transportation improvements needed in southwestern Pennsylvania, and said a list of priority projects — including a handful in Westmoreland County — will be adopted by next summer. The Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, or SPC, and PennDOT on Wednesday afternoon outlined proposals that could be...
Almost $3 million in upgrades expected for Westmoreland County’s 911 system
Westmoreland County commissioners are expected this week to approve more than $2.7 million in upgrades to the 911 emergency dispatch system. Public Safety Director Roland Mertz said Tuesday that plans call for replacement of aging computer-aided dispatch equipment and installation of a new transmission tower to provide better radio service...
First graduate of Westmoreland County’s Veterans Court says he’ll return as a mentor
Ryan Skuta was home about a year after his third tour of duty, a four-month stint as a freelance infantryman fighting with the Kurds against ISIS in 2016, when he was arrested in Jeannette and charged with drunk driving. On Tuesday, Skuta, 33, of Irwin, became the first graduate of...
Westmoreland County union workers reject proposed new contract
Members of Westmoreland County’s largest bargaining unit rejected the terms of a new labor contract for more than 600 government workers. The county’s existing four-year contract with the Service Employees International Union Local 668 and SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania expires at the end of December. Negotiations on a new labor pact...
Former Jeannette doctor sentenced to house arrest for patient overdose deaths
A North Huntingdon doctor will serve two years on house arrest and five years on probation for over-prescribing drugs used by two patients who died of overdoses. Dr. Michel Toret, 73, of Jeannette, told a Westmoreland County judge that the practice of medicine has changed during his four decades as...
Political signs waning in mid-November
From Labor Day through early November, most busy roadsides and intersections are awash in political campaign signs. The small placards emblazoned with a candidate’s name appear by the thousands as office seekers fight for name recognition and public awareness of their campaign efforts for the hundreds of political offices up...
Man sentenced to at least 12 years in prison for child rape incident in Arnold
A Washington, D.C., man was sentenced Friday to serve up to 34 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of an Arnold teenager. Following a jury trial in August, Delonte Haynes, 28, was convicted of four charges, among them rape of a child and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse,...
Hempfield man pleads guilty but mentally ill in elderly father’s beating deathVideo
A Hempfield man pleaded guilty but mentally ill on Friday for the murder of his elderly father last December. Douglas F. Novak, 41, told a Westmoreland County judge he has suffered from mental illness for more than two decades. After a five-month stay in treatment facility following his arrest, he...
Youngwood man jailed since 2017 released
A Youngwood man, jailed since his arrest two years ago on charges that he assaulted a woman in her home, was released on nominal bond Thursday. Charles Agger Jr., 53, was arrested in November 2017 and charged with felony counts of aggravated assault, strangulation and burglary after police said climbed...
Waterline under Kiski River near Apollo to be replaced
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has approved a $1.76 million project to install a new waterline under the Kiski River. Officials said about 1.5 miles of pipe will be installed, including an 800-foot section of 20-inch, fused PVC material. It will run below the river bed to service customers...
Water line under Kiski River near Apollo to be replaced
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members on Wednesday approved a $1.76 million project to install a new water line under the Kiski River. Officials said about 1.5 miles of pipe will be installed, including an 800-foot section of 20-inch fused PVC material, that will run below the bed of...
Hearings on sex charges, extradition set for suspended Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez
A Westmoreland County judge will hear evidence next week to determine whether suspended Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Felipe Vazquez can be extradited to Florida to answer sexual assault charges. Later that same day, Vazquez is scheduled to appear before East Huntingdon Magisterial District Judge Charles Moore for a preliminary hearing...
Westmoreland could add special election for state House seat to April’s primary ballot
A special election to replace state Rep. Justin Walsh should be held in conjunction with the upcoming presidential primary in April, Westmoreland County’s top election official said. “It’s much easier to do it at the same time as the primary. It’s just adding another race to the ballot,” said Beth...
Westmoreland courts holding $80,000 owed to crime victims
Nearly $80,000 owed to about 250 crime victims is being held by Westmoreland County, according to Clerk of Courts Bryan Kline. The cash represents court-ordered restitution payments to victims who moved and have not updated their home addresses with the county, he said. Money can be held for a year,...
Jeannette man sentenced to up to 7 years for drug possession
A Jeannette man will serve up to seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to drug offenses following a traffic stop in North Huntingdon and Sewickley townships last year. Harold Louis Shields IV, 37, formerly of Pittsburgh, was arrested after a March 16, 2018, incident in which police...
Westmoreland election results show GOP strength, impact of straight party voting
Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew cruised to victory last week to secure a new GOP majority on the Westmoreland County Board of Commissioners and, in doing so, finished more than 5,000 votes ahead of two better-financed Democratic incumbents. Political observers said the Republican wins for commissioner and four other...
Greensburg woman convicted in torture death to get another psych evaluation
Nearly a decade after Angela Marinucci and five other Greensburg roommates were arrested and charged with the torture slaying of a mentally challenged woman, Westmoreland County taxpayers continue to pay their legal bills. Common Pleas Court Judge Rita Hathaway this week approved the payment of another $1,150 to a private...
Paper ballot count doesn’t change Westmoreland commissioner election results
A count of the handful of paper ballots cast in Tuesday’s election saw Democratic Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli slightly extend her lead over colleague Ted Kopas for the third and final seat on the three-member board of commissioners. Elections bureau officials on Friday recanvassed all absentee ballots cast and...
Review coming for close Westmoreland commissioner race; recount not automatic
Results of Tuesday’s Westmoreland County Commissioners election are expected to be officially certified by Nov. 27. Three-term Democratic incumbent Ted Kopas lost his seat by just 234 votes to fellow incumbent Democrat Gina Cerilli, who came in third in Tuesday’s four-candidate race. Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew secured to...
County finances top priority list for new Westmoreland commissioners
The first order of business for Westmoreland County’s new board of commissioners will be to look at the county’s balance sheet, but what they will find remains an open question. Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew, along with holdover Democrat Gina Cerilli, will take office in January after winning in...
Westmoreland sheriff-elect promises changes when he takes officeVideo
A shake-up is coming to the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office, but no one will lose their job in the process, the new sheriff-elect said a day after defeating the two-term Republican incumbent. Voters selected James Albert, 69, a Democrat from New Alexandria, over Jonathan Held to take over the office...
GOP seizes back control of Westmoreland commissioner board; Cerilli ekes out final seat
Republicans reclaimed a majority on the Westmoreland County board of commissioners. Voters elected GOP political newcomers Sean Kertes and Doug Chew to the three-member board. Democrat Gina Cerilli finished third for an apparent second term in office. In doing so, county voters on Tuesday turned out incumbent Ted Kopas in...
James Albert defeats Jonathan Held in Westmoreland sheriff raceVideo
Jonathan Held, Westmoreland County’s long-embattled sheriff, lost his bid for a third term in office Tuesday. Democrat James Albert, a retired Greensburg district judge, defeated the Republican incumbent to bring an end to a tenure marred by a dozen discrimination lawsuits and pending criminal public corruption charges. With all 305...
