Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 93
Lawsuit alleges sexual assault at Geibel Catholic Junior-Senior High School
The parents of student at Geibel Junior/Senior High School in Connellsville filed a federal lawsuit against the school, two administrators and a former student, alleging repeated incidents of sexual assault and harassment never were properly investigated. According to the six-count lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh,...
Westmoreland courtroom closed due to pandemic case
Westmoreland County Court Administrator Amy DeMatt said a coronavirus outbreak hit the county criminal courts. As a result, cases scheduled Monday before one judge were canceled, though other courtrooms continued to operate as scheduled. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani and his staff were not at the courthouse on Monday....
Westmoreland debates how to count mail-in ballots that arrived minutes late on Election Day
Westmoreland County election officials said Monday that 375 mail-in ballots delivered to the courthouse nine minutes late on Election Day will not initially be added to the vote totals. County commissioners, acting as the elections board, approved the start of the process to review and count all 816 ballots that...
Interim warden appointed for Westmoreland County Prison
George Lowther knows about every inch of the Westmoreland County Prison, having started at the lockup 28 years ago as a part-time guard and working his way up to the deputy warden position. On Friday, Lowther, 60, of Latrobe, was named interim warden. He will replace Warden John Walton, who...
Westmoreland County elections worker tests positive for coronavirus
A temporary employee working this week in the Westmoreland County Elections Bureau tested positive for coronavirus. Commissioner Doug Chew said county officials were notified Thursday night of the diagnosis and that human resources staff was expected to begin investigatory work to determine if any other elections bureau employees are required...
Westmoreland County counts mail-in ballots
Former Vice President Joe Biden picked up a net gain of 640 votes in Westmoreland County on Friday as a final batch of mail-in ballots were counted and added to the totals from Tuesday’s election. County election officials spent the last two days reviewing as many as 4,000 ballots that...
Westmoreland officials deciding fate of 4K questionable ballots; 3,600 provisional ballots to be counted Friday
Westmoreland County elections officials on Thursday night continued to individually review by hand 4,000 potentially defective mail-in ballots that were set aside earlier this week. Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said it appears most of those ballots looked at so far have been approved for counting with only a small...
Joyce holds big lead for second term in Congress
U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-Blair County, appears poised to win a second term in office. On Wednesday afternoon, Joyce held a commanding lead over Democrat Todd Rowley of Donegal Township in Westmoreland County. According to unofficial results with more than 92% of state precincts reporting, Joyce received nearly 78% of...
Westmoreland vote count continues, showing Trump with expected big lead
President Trump is on his way to another big victory in Westmoreland County. According to unofficial results, with more than 77% of the vote counted, Trump continued to hold a commanding lead over former Vice President Joe Biden among county voters. With all 307 precincts reporting votes cast in-person on...
Davanzo defeats Prah in rematch for 58th District state House seat
Republican incumbent state Rep. Eric Davanzo has defeated Democrat Robert Prah Jr. in the race for a full two-year term representing the 58th state House District in central and southern Westmoreland County, according to unofficial results from Westmoreland County. With all votes counted, Davanzo received slightly more than 63 percent...
Reschenthaler maintains commanding lead to retain seat in 14th Congressional District
Republican incumbent Rep. Guy Reschenthaler of Peters defeated Democratic challenger Bill Marx in his bid to hold on for a second term representing the newly formed 14th Congressional District, which includes a large portion of western Westmoreland County, along with portions of Greene, Washington and Fayette. Though some mail-in ballots...
Covid-infected family votes at Westmoreland County Courthouse under special protocols
Westmoreland County elections officials took special precautions Tuesday as a family infected with the coronavirus appeared at the courthouse to cast ballots in the 2020 election. Two parents and their adult son called ahead to make arrangements to vote, said Commissioner Doug Chew. “I was the designated covid commissioner and...
Westmoreland County precincts busy, few problems reported
Voters who arrived at some Westmoreland County precincts Tuesday morning to surrender their mail-in ballots and instead vote in person were erroneously required to cast provisional ballots, according to county officials. County commissioners, during an update Tuesday afternoon, said some local judges of elections struggled with interpretations of Pennsylvania’s new...
Safety measures in place at Westmoreland polls
Voters who head out to the polls to cast in-person ballots will be safe, officials said Monday. All 307 voting precincts will be open Tuesday and safety measures were installed as the number of coronavirus cases continues to mount in Pennsylvania and Westmoreland County. Polls will be open from 7...
Covid infection doesn’t halt Westmoreland County’s Election Day preparations
Westmoreland County’s Elections Bureau office remained opened Monday after officials determined there was no widespread exposure to the coronavirus a day after an employee tested positive. That diagnosis was just another obstacle ahead of Tuesday’s election as officials continue to work through challenges related to mail-in ballots and the pandemic...
When will election results be known for Westmoreland, Allegheny, Pennsylvania?
Gov. Tom Wolf recalled that when he won office in 2014 and reelection four years later, media reports unofficially declared him the victor within minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m. “Ain’t happening this time,” Wolf said, acknowledging that Pennsylvania’s vote count is expected to take not minutes or hours...
Westmoreland County elections office extends hours, will remain open this weekend
With more than 22,000 mail-in ballots outstanding, Westmoreland County will keep its elections bureau office open until 8 p.m. each day through Nov. 3. The extended hours will start Fridayand continue through Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, including Saturday and Sunday. “Our concern is making sure every person who needs...
Penn Hills man pleads guilty to selling drugs that killed Lower Burrell man
A Penn Hills man will serve up to nine years in prison for selling fentanyl-laced heroin to a Lower Burrell man who died of an overdose in 2018. Christopher Krishawn Napper, 26, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony count of drug delivery resulting in death and another drug offense in...
Excela projects funded with $115M in bonds issued by Westmoreland County authority
Westmoreland County commissioners this week approved issuing up to $115 million in revenue bonds to be used by Excela Health to pay for capital improvement projects and to expand its service into new markets. Acting as the Westmoreland Industrial Development Authority, the commissioners unanimously signed off on the tax-exempt bonds,...
County backs grant for Rostraver landfill project over local objections
Editor’s note: This story was updated to amend incorrection information. Westmoreland County officials are moving forward with a proposed expansion of a natural gas distribution plant at a Rostraver landfill over the objection of local officials and residents. “Our residents will live in fear, fear from too many contaminants, for...
Gov. Wolf: Pennsylvania prepared for Nov. 3 election
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday the state is ready for Election Day. “Pennsylvania is prepared. We are protected for this election and voters can cast their ballots with confidence. We are going to have a fair election where everyone can vote without interference,” Wolf said. State election officials said...
Westmoreland County hands out grants to Excela, nonprofitsVideo
Excela Health received a $5 million grant from Westmoreland County Thursday to help the hospital chain recover revenue lost during the coronavirus pandemic. County commissioners also awarded 77 nonprofit agencies grants totalling nearly $1.2 million to help pay for expenses related to the pandemic. Commissioners conceded the surprise grant to...
Westmoreland commissioner claims county pay raises result of political threat
Westmoreland Commissioner Gina Cerilli on Thursday accused her Republican colleagues of buckling under a threat from the county controller when they granted a series of raises to his staff of auditors. “They should be ashamed,” Cerilli said about a reorganization of the auditing department that included $130,000 in raises handed...
Former Latrobe wrestling coach to serve probation for hazing incident
The former assistant wrestling coach at Greater Latrobe Area Junior High School was sentenced Wednesday to serve two years on probation in connection with hazing allegations. David F. Galando, 44, of Youngstown was charged in May with misdemeanor counts of child endangerment and failing to report potential child abuse allegations...
Steelers, Pitt broadcaster Bill Hillgrove to serve probation to resolve Murrysville DUI case
Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh football and basketball radio broadcaster William T. “Bill” Hillgrove will serve two years on probation after he was arrested in June for a drunken driving incident in Murrysville. Police said Hillgrove, 79, of Murrysville, was intoxicated when he crashed into the front windows at...
