Joe Napsha stories, Page 59
Norwin considers anti-bullying policy with prevention, intervention
Norwin school officials want to implement a new comprehensive initiative in the next year to tackle the issue of bullying — both in-person and online — in an effort to prevent it and to intervene when it happens. The district administration wants to develop a Norwin-focused policy that will have...
Voice of Westmoreland organizer: Spend ARP funds on housing, mental health resources
The new organizer for the Voice of Westmoreland, a progressive citizens activist group, wants to increase its efforts “to hold our local officials accountable.” Voice of Westmoreland, or VOW, wants Westmoreland County commissioners to spend some of the $105 million the county has received through the American Rescue Plan on...
Derry Township kitchen fire causes $30,000 in damage
A kitchen fire at a Derry Township patio home Monday evening caused between $30,000 and $40,000 in damage, a fire official said. Bradenville Fire Chief Mark Piantine said the fire was caused by burned food in the oven of a four-unit home on Spring Crest Circle. He said the blaze...
Woman hit by vehicle in Scottdale, dispatcher says
A woman was hit by a vehicle in Scottdale early Monday night, according to a Westmoreland Public Safety supervisor. It happened on Pittsburgh Street at 6 p.m. and Mutual Aid Ambulance responded to the scene, the supervisor said. Scottdale police could not be reached for comment. Additional details were not...
Norwin proposes policies to handle tricky topics like critical race theory
Norwin School Board unveiled a proposed “controversial issues” policy Monday to act as a guide for teachers on matters of race and other topics. The proposed policy comes after several months of debate among board members, students and residents about whether critical race theory is being taught in some lessons....
Sewickley watershed group seeks leader
The Sewickley Creek Watershed Association is seeking a new leader: an environmentalist who would work for about 20 hours a month for the nonprofit that seeks to conserve and improve the 168-square-mile watershed that stretches from Greensburg south to Lowber. “It really must be someone who cares about the environment,”...
Former Westmoreland County commissioner Richard Vidmer dead at 77
Richard “Dick” Vidmer was a fighter, whether it was on the football field as a star quarterback for Hempfield Area High School and the University of Michigan, as a Westmoreland County commissioner from 1985 to 1999, or as one who engaged in an almost 40-year battle — both public and...
Pittsburgh teen reported missing found safe
Pittsburgh police reported Thursday morning that a juvenile who had been missing since Saturday has been located unharmed. Police did not say where Jordan Boyd, 13, was found. He had been last seen in Observatory Hill around 6 p.m. Saturday. Police said Jordan may have been in the North Side...
‘We need to be careful about our biases,’ Pitt Greensburg professor says in talk about white privilege
White privilege — and its impact on society — does not mean that things are easy for white people, but “you have fewer barriers,” a University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg professor said recently during a program at the downtown YMCA. “Nobody should feel bad about these privileges. If I recognize...
Victim in fatal Butler crash identified
A 47-year-old woman was the victim in a fatal crash near Slippery Rock in Butler County early Tuesday morning, state police at Butler said. Ruth A. Alben of Slippery Rock was killed when the vehicle she was driving eastbound on Branchton Road went through a flashing red traffic signal without...
Woman taken to hospital after car goes into Monongahela River in Braddock
Braddock police reported that a woman’s car went into the Monongahela River from a boat launch ramp late Tuesday night. Police said they are investigating the incident that occurred around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday but declined to discuss details. The woman was rescued and taken to an area hospital, a police...
Pittsburgh region’s economy remains slow to recover from pandemic downturn
The Pittsburgh region’s economy continues to lag behind its pre-covid levels from 2020, when there were 64,000 more nonfarm jobs in the seven counties and 54,600 more people in the labor force, according to the February employment report released Tuesday. “It may take us years to get back to pre-pandemic...
Prayer vigil for Ukraine set for Saturday in Greensburg
A group of area religious leaders will lead a prayer vigil for the people of Ukraine from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Bononi & Bononi parking lot at the corner of South Main and East Third streets in Greensburg. “We want to present a unified message on Russia’s...
At least 1 killed in crash on Route 8 in Butler County
At least one person was killed early Tuesday in a two-vehicle crash involving a log-hauling truck along Route 8 in Slippery Rock Township, according to Butler County 911. The crash happened just after 6 a.m. at the intersection of Branchton Road, said Butler County Emergency Management Coordinator Robert McLafferty. A...
FBI: Sextortion of teenagers is growing problem
Teenagers, primarily boys, are being lured with the offer of money by “females” in return for sending sexually explicit photos and videos over social media, only to discover that they become victims in an elaborate extortion scheme seeking more money, according to the FBI in Pittsburgh. The FBI said Monday...
Tractor-trailer overturns on turnpike ramp near Cranberry
A tractor-trailer overturned Monday morning at the Cranberry exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Marshall that links the toll road to Interstate 79, a turnpike official said. The accident happened on the deceleration ramp of the turnpike around 9:30 a.m., said turnpike spokeswoman Susan Jones. Cranberry firefighters were dispatched to...
Scrap yard worker burned in Washington Township
A worker was burned using a torch at scrap yard Monday in Washington Township, a Westmoreland County Public Safety supervisor said. The incident occurred around noon at B&M Auto Recycling scrap yard along Silvis Road, the 911 supervisor said. Fire units were called to the scene to extinguish some vehicles...
Police: Driver seriously hurt in Penn Township crash
A man was seriously injured early Monday morning when his pickup truck hit a tree at the Bushy Run Battlefield site in Penn Township, police said. The man, whose name was not released, was freed from the vehicle by Harrison City firefighters using a metal-cutting tool, said Chief John Otto...
Pittsburgh man, 48, killed in Carrick shooting
A Pittsburgh man was shot and killed in the Carrick section of Pittsburgh late Sunday night, Pittsburgh police said. Authorities said Michael E. Flaherty, 48, of Pittsburgh was found inside a residence in the 500 block of Maytide Street just before 9 p.m. Police found him with a gunshot wound...
3 people shot in Pittsburgh’s Hill District
Three men were shot early Monday in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Pittsburgh police said. Police said that one man was hit in the abdomen and the other was shot in his lower back in the 2200 block of Webster Avenue, shortly before 12:45 a.m. Both men were transported to a local...
Truck drivers needed: job fair to offer opportunities
Edward Roberts recalls how a trucking company offered a student — who had left his minimum wage job to obtain a commercial driver’s license in his driver training school in New Stanton — a shot at a $90,000-a-year job. He would just need to take long-distance routes that would require...
Moratorium lifted on Pennsylvania utility shutoffs; services can be interrupted beginning Monday
It’s no April Fools’ joke — utility companies across Pennsylvania can begin turning off services for delinquent customers beginning Monday under state regulations lifting a ban on winter shutoffs. “There are still a substantial number of at-risk residential and business customers” although the number of accounts in arrears has continued...
Norwin area: Egg hunt, Democrats meet
Irwin to hold Easter egg hunt The annual Easter egg hunt in downtown Irwin for children ages 2 through 12 will be held April 4-8. Each child can collect only one egg in the hunt. There is no prior registration required. The person finding the “golden egg” wins the grand...
Irwin planners recommend approval for senior citizen housing project
A proposed $12 million, 50-unit senior housing project in Irwin was recommended for approval by the borough’s planning commission by a 2-1 vote. But the Westmoreland County Housing Authority project is opposed by some North Huntingdon residents, who say in addition to increasing traffic it could possibly reduce the value...
Sage’s Army still waging battle against drug abuse; mission continues after 10 years
Norwin graduate Troy Jones hit rock bottom four years ago when he “died.” It happened as Jones was driving on Route 30 in North Versailles, as a result of a dose of heroin laced, unknown to him, with fentanyl, a deadly drug that dealers often add to heroin and cocaine....
