Joe Napsha stories, Page 34
More storms could be in store for Western Pennsylvania
Western Pennsylvania could see some severe thunderstorms heading into Saturday afternoon and evening, but the potential for serious storms should dissipate by Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Meteorologist Timothy Cermak said the region can expect “low end strong to severe thunderstorm potential” in the late afternoon Saturday, he...
Palace Theatre director named Cultural Trust interim CEO
The Westmoreland Cultural Trust has named the operations and programming director for The Palace Theatre in Greensburg as its interim chief executive. Teresa Baughman, who has worked for the Trust since 1995, will lead the Trust in the role as interim CEO, in the wake of its former CEO leaving...
Police: 1-year-old child nearly drowns in Etna
A one-year-old child was hospitalized in critical condition Thursday afternoon after almost drowning in Etna, Allegheny County Police said. First responders performed life-saving measures on the child, who was reported unresponsive at about 3:40 p.m. in the 30 block of Sycamore Street, police said. The preliminary information suggests the child...
North Huntingdon police locate missing autistic teen
North Huntingdon police located a 16-year-old autistic boy who had been reported missing late Wednesday night. Authorities were looking for the boy who was missing from the Ridge Road area of the township. They reported in an alert after midnight that the child had been found....
Police: 1 of 2 victims in Brighton Heights shooting has died
One of two women shot in Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood Wednesday night has died, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Darkale Bonner, 35, died at a hospital just before 8:30 p.m., the medical examiner’s office said. The office said Bonner died from a gunshot wound to the head...
Fire damages house of Greensburg firefighter, neighboring apartment
A Greensburg firefighter whose home was damaged by fire Wednesday night received hugs of support from his fellow firefighters and first responders as he sat on his neighbor’s front porch steps and watced his colleague’s efforts to extinguish any hot spots. Greensburg Fire Chief Tom Bell said the home of...
North Huntingdon church hosts immigrant families
A North Huntingdon church with a mission to help international families adjust to life in Westmoreland County treated some of those families to an experience as American as a slice of apple pie. Calvary Church took three immigrant families out to the ballgame at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on June...
Greensburg Catholic Diocese: Westmoreland could be home for Ukrainian refugees
The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg has launched an initiative to help refugees from war-torn Ukraine by offering some of them the opportunity to settle in Westmoreland County. “It is an important part of the church’s mandate” to help those in need, said Bishop Larry J. Kulick. The diocese is planning...
Norwin area: Irwin church to offer meal to veterans; library to hold Trivia Night; seniors group plans bus trip and more
Irwin church to offer meal to veterans Military veterans will be able to get a free meal of Italian roast beef, vegetables, a dessert and beverage at 3 p.m. July 15 at First Presbyterian Church of Irwin at 617 Main St. To make reservations, call 724-863-5910, ext. 113. Norwin library...
2 more lawsuits target Mammoth Park’s Giant Slide
Two more individuals are suing Westmoreland County, claiming they were injured while riding the rebuilt Giant Slide in Mt. Pleasant Township’s Mammoth Park. Danielle Hunter-Campbell of Mt. Pleasant Township claims she dislocated and fractured her left ankle on Feb. 9; and Christina Savisky of Youngwood says she fractured her right...
Norwin area: Irwin Park renovations, West Newton car cruise, pickleball courts in North Huntingdon
Irwin Park renovations slated People using Irwin Park this summer will see improvements this summer as a result of a $362,746 project. Irwin Borough Council recently awarded a contract to Dunn Rite Construction of Forest Hills for the work to pave both parking lots at the park and improve the...
Opposition continues on proposed Yough river power plant
A proposed natural gas-fueled power plant a few miles north of West Newton would pump more pollution into a region that already has poor air quality, environmentalists and activists said at a community meeting this week. More than 100 people attended the meeting organized by the Environmental Health Project of...
Fayette County camp bus crash injures 25 kids, 3 adults
Nearly 30 people were injured when a summer camp bus veered off Route 711 in Fayette County and landed in a field early Wednesday, according to state police. Troopers and first responders were called to the intersection of Pine Slopes Road and Indian Creek Valley Road (Route 711) in Saltlick...
Battery suspected as cause of North Side fire
A fire in a Pittsburgh house last week may have been caused by lithium-ion batteries that ignited while being charged in a solar-powered, after-market charging system, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire said Tuesday. Firefighters responded to a one-alarm fire on June 23 inside a bedroom at a home along the...
Derry Township hay storage hut saved from fire
Quick action by a Derry Township farmer Tuesday morning saved a Quonset hut where fire had started in the storage area that held bales of hay, a fire official said. The fire at the Eaglehouse family farm on McCullough Road ruined the round hay bales, but the farmer was able...
Pair accused of defrauding SBA, banks of $14 million in covid-related aid
A Pittsburgh woman and a Detroit man have been accused of defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration and at least two lenders of about $14 millions by obtaining fake loans for hundreds of companies from a program designed to help business recover from the covid-related financial losses, the U.S. Attorney...
Concerns over proposed gas-powered plant in Elizabeth Township to be aired
Residents in communities along the Youghiogheny River in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties are expected to air concerns Tuesday during a meeting in West Newton about the potential environmental impact of a proposed natural gas-fueled power plant to be built in Elizabeth Township. The meeting, planned for 7 p.m. at the...
North Huntingdon gives preliminary OK for lithium-ion battery farm
Bear Peak Power received preliminary approval from North Huntingdon commissioners this week to build a lithium-ion battery farm. The Denver renewable energy company plans to build a battery energy storage system off Route 993 on a four-acre parcel between the Western Westmoreland Municipal Authority’s sewage plant and Ridinger Park Road....
Private Industry Council hires former Norwin administrator
A former Norwin administrator has been hired as the chief operating officer for a non-profit that operates employment, education and training programs in Westmoreland and Fayette counties Thomas Wrobleski, a former human resources director for Norwin, was hired recently as the COO for the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette Inc.,...
Highmark Health cuts 118 jobs
Highmark Health laid off 118 employees this week across the regional health insurer’s operations, the company said. The layoffs occurred across all departments and included a small number of management positions, said Lynn Seay, a Highmark Health spokeswoman. With the layoffs announced Wednesday, Highmark has eliminated 259 positions this year,...
Turnpike to close to westbound traffic from Breezewood to New Stanton overnight Saturday
An 86-mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s westbound lanes from Breezewood to New Stanton will be closed beginning 11 p.m. Saturday to about 6 a.m. Sunday for road construction work, the turnpike commission said. The seven-hour closure is needed for crews to safely implement an interim traffic crossover as part...
Morning roundup: Rostraver woman pleads guilty to credit union theft
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, June 23: Woman pleads guilty to $340,000 theft from credit union A Rostraver woman pleaded guilty this week to taking $340,200 from a Monessen-based federal credit union almost seven years ago, then staging a fire in the safe...
Norwin area: Library to hold program on canning; Irwin recognizes employees; Manor Lions to sell barbecue chicken
Library to hold canning class The basics of canning foodwill be explored in a program at 6 p.m. July 5 at the Norwin Public Library, 100 Caruthers Lane, Irwin. Ginny Fitzner, volunteer master food preserver with Penn State Extension Service, will lead the one-hour canning class, which provides an introduction...
Fire guts Irwin house
A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of a fire that gutted an Irwin house Wednesday night, a fire official said. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire at 535 Carroll Drive, Irwin Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Stitely said Thursday morning. The property is owned...
Morning Roundup: Pittsburgh man charged in connection to McKeesport hit-and-run fatal
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, June 22: Man arrested in fatal McKeesport hit-and-run Police arrested a 31-year-old man who they said fatally struck a woman in McKeesport with his vehicle early Thursday. Allegheny County Police said the suspect, Brandon Pendleton of Pittsburgh’s Sheraden...
