Jeff Himler stories, Page 10
Ligonier Valley OKs proposed school budget with no tax hike
Ligonier Valley School Board has opted for a proposed $36.36 million district budget that avoids a property tax increase, a little over a week after reaching a 4-4 split vote over a real estate levy to support the spending plan. Since the successful budget vote occurred at a special meeting...
Ligonier Valley School Board can’t agree on appointment to vacancy; county court to decide
It will be up to the Westmoreland County Court to fill a vacant seat on the Ligonier Valley School Board after the remaining eight board members on Wednesday failed to agree on any of six applicants for the opening. At least three of those who sought a temporary appointment to...
Latrobe names police chief to take on interim city manager role
Latrobe police Chief Richard Bosco will be overseeing administrative tasks as well as law enforcement since being appointed interim city manager at Tuesday’s council meeting. It’s similar to multiple duties he handled while employed at Lincoln Borough from 2013 through 2022. In that Allegheny County community he was director of...
Pets perish in Memorial Day mobile home fire in Hempfield
A Hempfield family was displaced and lost their pets when a fire broke out in their mobile home Monday morning on Robin Drive. The man and woman who rented the dwelling weren’t at home when flames were reported shortly after 8 a.m., but multiple cats perished inside, according to Don...
Sons of Union Veterans pay tribute at Westmoreland’s last Civil War veteran gravesite
A Plum woman who teaches students about American history learned about her own ties to one of the most significant chapters in that history Monday when she joined fellow descendants of Civil War veterans at the Irwin gravesite of her great-great-great-great-grandfather. Local members of the Sons of Union Veterans presented...
McKeesport man killed in shooting at Clairton picnic
A McKeesport man was fatally shot Sunday night at a picnic in Clairton, according to authorities. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as 23-year-old Brendan Michael Parsons and listed the death as a homicide caused by multiple wounds to his neck and trunk. He was found dead...
Westmoreland WWII airmen remembered 80 years after perishing in Tokyo POW prison fire
Two Westmoreland County airmen who survived the loss of their B-29 bombers during separate World War II missions over Japan were among POWs who perished 80 years ago when the military prison where they were being held was destroyed during an American firebombing raid on Tokyo. The stories and sacrifices...
Route 130 slide repair will trigger detour in Penn Township
A portion of Route 130 will be closed to traffic beginning Tuesday as crews conduct landslide repairs in Penn Township, just west of Jeannette. The closure will be in effect between 14th Street and Burrell Hill Road and is expected to continue through late August. A detour will be in...
Greater Latrobe selects Hempfield Area administrator as new school superintendent
Greater Latrobe School Board has looked to a neighboring school system to find the district’s next superintendent. The board voted Thursday to hire as its top administrator Kim Rieffannacht, currently assistant superintendent for elementary education at Hempfield Area School District. Greater Latrobe approved a five-year contract with Rieffannacht, with an...
Ligonier Valley deadlocks on proposed $36M school budget, eyes special session to revisit
The Ligonier Valley School Board plans to meet Wednesday, May 28, in an attempt to break a 4-4 tie over approval of a proposed 2025-26 district budget. At the special 10 a.m. session in the district administration building, the board also will consider applicants for a seat on its roster...
Demolition eyed for condemned Latrobe apartment building
A condemned apartment building on Latrobe’s Main Street, now under new ownership, is targeted for demolition. The timing of when the six-story building at 333 Main St. could face the wrecking ball will depend on the efforts of its owner, The Latrobe Foundation, to find funding for razing it, according...
Cedar Street exit improvements planned to boost safety on Route 30 in Hempfield
PennDOT is planning to add signs, road markings and a high-friction road surface to improve safety for motorists exiting westbound Route 30 at Cedar Street in Hempfield. The improvements are designed to help prevent crashes by giving drivers advance warning to move into the correct lane and to slow down...
Rossi leads GOP field, Kozar tops Democratic ballot in Greater Latrobe School Board race
Yelayna Rossi led the balloting for four Greater Latrobe School Board seats, with all of the 20 precincts reporting in Tuesday’s Republican primary. Rossi, who is the daughter of local state Rep. Leslie Rossi and is a 2020 Greater Latrobe graduate, received just over 18% of the votes from among...
Hempfield Area School Board eyes $114.5 million budget, 4.35-mill tax hike
The Hempfield Area School Board is proposing a 2025-26 district budget of more than $114.5 million, including a potential 4.35-mill property tax increase. The tentative tax hike would cover about $2.6 million of a roughly $2.8 million budget deficit, with a $172,000 funding gap remaining. Superintendent Mark Holtzman said the...
Greater Latrobe eyes $68.4M budget, still uncertain about teacher turnover, funding gap
Greater Latrobe School Board is proposing a $68.4 million district budget for the coming school year, but administrators have yet to recommend how to close a projected funding gap of close to $680,000. Also to be decided is how to replace more than a dozen retiring teachers. One of those...
Daytime I-70 restrictions slated during bridge inspections in Westmoreland
Motorists can expect to encounter daytime single-lane restrictions beginning Monday on a section of Interstate 70 in Westmoreland County. The traffic restrictions are scheduled between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. daily through Wednesday and will affect both eastbound and westbound lanes at various points between Exits 42 (North Belle Vernon)...
5 Republican contenders featured in race for 2 Ligonier Township supervisor’s seats
Republican voters in Ligonier Township will have five candidates to consider Tuesday as they select their party’s nominees for two seats on the five-member board of supervisors. The need for expanded public sewage service in the township, the future of the former Ligonier Beach property and township officials’ partial oversight...
Idlewild & SoakZone improves coasters, adds ice cream treat, welcomes duck for 148th season
A familiar ride with a fresh look will greet fans of coaster thrills when Idlewild Park opens for its 148th season on Saturday. And next month, the Ligonier Township amusement park will gain an added attraction with the arrival of the World’s Largest Rubber Duck. Park visitors this season will...
Motorcyclist killed in collision with car in Derry Township
A motorcyclist was killed in a collision with a car Thursday afternoon in Derry Township. Jarad R. Boyle, 49, of Derry Borough was pronounced dead at the scene on Route 982 at Lincoln Avenue, according to Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson. The crash occurred at about 4 p.m. just outside...
2 campaigns promote candidates for 4 Ligonier Valley School Board seats
Seven candidates, divided into two campaign camps, are running for four seats on the Ligonier Valley School Board. Campaigning jointly and appearing only in the Republican primary are three incumbent board members — Donald L. Gilbert Jr., Cindy Brown and Josi Bennett — along with Robert J. Fryman, who previously...
4 incumbents, 6 challengers in running for Greater Latrobe School Board
A crowded field of 10 candidates is in the hunt for four seats on the Greater Latrobe School Board as the district seeks a new superintendent and decisions loom regarding proposed replacement of the junior high’s leak-prone roof and the future of several aging buildings. Of the four incumbents, a...
Terry Carcella departing as Latrobe’s city manager for similar post in Springdale
Latrobe officials will look to reassign administrative responsibilities temporarily as City Manager Terry Carcella departs this month to take on a similar post in Springdale Borough. Springdale Council voted Tuesday to hire Carcella, initially paying him a prorated salary of $85,000 through the end of the year. Carcella said his...
Owner of Janet’s Dance Studio in Irwin inspired generations of students
Janet Naughton had the spirit of a Broadway hoofer and the calling to share her talent with generations of younger aspiring dancers. Naughton, who died Thursday at 88, wasn’t tall enough to realize her dream of becoming a Radio City Rockette. But she was overjoyed when students at her Irwin...
‘You’re going to find it’ at Hanna’s Town antique sale, now in its 52nd season
Janie Hess-Gray’s favorite find at a past Hanna’s Town Antiques and Collectibles Sale was a green glass buoy, or fishing float. “It’s very beautiful,” she said. “We were just talking about putting it out on our porch for the season.” At Sunday’s season opener of monthly sales at the historic...
Teens from Trafford, North Versailles charged as adults in North Braddock shooting
Allegheny County police have charged two teens as adults, stemming from shots fired into an occupied car on May 4 in North Braddock. Nasir Williams, 15, of North Versailles, and Jmeire Estes, 17, of Trafford, are charged with gun violations, conspiracy and multiple counts of aggravated assault and recklessly endangering...
