Megan Tomasic stories, Page 28
Hempfield students participate in mock accident scenario ahead of promVideo
About 500 juniors and seniors gathered behind the press box at Hempfield Area High School Tuesday afternoon as a mock accident scene played out before them, part of an attempt by first responders across the county to warn students about the dangers of impaired and distracted driving prior to the...
Hempfield No. 2 becomes 2nd chartered member of township fire department
A month after the North Hempfield fire station became the first chartered member of the Hempfield Township Fire Department, a second station has followed suit. During a township meeting Monday evening, supervisors accepted the declaration of intent for the Hempfield No. 2 station, meaning the township will acquire the Thornton...
Hempfield hires new director of finance
Hempfield supervisors Monday hired Lloyd Fait as the township’s director of finance. Fait is taking the place of current finance Director Melanie Phillips, who previously announced her retirement. Phillips served as the township’s first director of finance and has held the position for the past six years. She will remain...
42 new covid cases reported in Penn-Trafford area between April 19-26, 2021
New covid-19 cases reported in the Penn-Trafford-Jeannette area decreased over the past week compared to the week prior, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. In all, 42 new covid cases were reported between April 19-26 for the six ZIP codes covering most of the three communities. That’s...
Police: 1 person dead after U-Haul crashes into Shaler home
One person died after a U-Haul truck crashed into a Shaler home Monday afternoon, according to a Facebook post put up by the Shaler Police Department. Crews responded to the intersection of Reese and Grant avenues around 1:30 p.m. in response to a vehicle crash into a structure. Update: The...
1st phase of construction approved for Valley Green development in Hempfield, with conditions
Hempfield supervisors this week approved a motion that would pave the way for new residential homes at the former Valley Green Golf & Country Club as long as the developer meets several conditions. In a unanimous vote Monday, supervisors granted conditional approval for 63 lots along Valley Green Road. The...
Hempfield Area temporarily closes middle school; PSSAs postponed
A Hempfield Area middle school will close for two days this week because of positive covid-19 cases, district leaders announced Monday. Students at West Hempfield Middle School will participate in remote learning Tuesday and Wednesday after two students at the school tested positive for covid-19 and were at the building...
Elon Musk, Starlink look to stars to fill internet broadband gaps, including across Western Pa.Video
Dictated by the peaks and dips of Western Pennsylvania’s rolling landscape, internet service is often spotty — even nonexistent — for thousands of people based on topography and a lack of infrastructure for high-speed internet services. But an ambitious project by billionaire Elon Musk promises lofty goals for those struggling...
Hempfield to revisit possible Valley Green project next weekVideo
Some of the first plans for residential development on the former Valley Green Golf & Country Club in Hempfield will be put in front of township supervisors Monday. If passed, the plans would grant conditional approval for the Valley Green subdivision for the purpose of a residential plan consisting of...
Draft of Hempfield Area’s budget shows $1.2 million deficit, but numbers expected to improve
Hempfield Area School District is facing a $1.2 million deficit in one of the first drafts of the 2021-22 budget, but that number is expected to shrink before a final budget is adopted. Business Manager Wayne Wismar cautioned this week that many unknown factors will impact the budget in the...
More than 1,000 items donated to Greensburg shelter by tech school students
A Greensburg emergency shelter this month received more than 1,000 items donated by students at the Central Westmoreland Career and Technical Center. The donations to the Welcome Home shelter were part of a community service project started by senior Lexi Puskar. “I said, ‘I think that would be good’ …...
Pittsburgh police: Man in serious but stable condition after Spring Hill shooting
A man is in serious but stable condition after police say he was shot in Pittsburgh’s Spring Hill neighborhood Wednesday evening. Pittsburgh police responded to a Shotspotter alert and a 911 call for shots fired in the 2100 block of Rhine Street around 8:15 p.m., according to Pittsburgh Public Safety...
Changes made to Greensburg zoning ordinance in effort to reduce red tape
Recent amendments made to a Greensburg zoning ordinance will make it easier for homeowners to make improvements, such as building decks and sheds. The changes, which city council passed unanimously, reduce the required space between buildings and other structures. “… People wanted to put sheds up, they wanted additions, decks,...
Hempfield Area OKs study for renovating or rebuilding high school
Members of the Hempfield Area School Board are moving forward with a feasibility study that will look into the possibility of renovating or rebuilding the high school. Board members on Monday unanimously voted to hire SitelogIQ, a Minnesota-based company that has an office in Oakmont, at a cost that will...
Hempfield Area to replace football field, resurface track
Officials with the Hempfield Area School District are moving forward with a more than $800,000 project to replace the track and artificial turf at the high school stadium. Work on the project, approved unanimously by school board members during Monday’s meeting, will begin immediately following graduation, which is scheduled for...
Latrobe Little League working to recover after $4,000 worth of equipment lost in fire
Almost $4,000 worth of equipment used by the Latrobe Little League was lost this week after a fire engulfed a shed used by the organization, president John Russo said. Police, who responded to the fire at Legion Keener Park in Latrobe shortly after midnight Monday, are investigating the incident, Chief...
Hempfield Area temporarily closes high school due to covid-19 cases
Hempfield Area High School students will complete classes remotely two days this week due to covid-19 cases, district leaders announced Monday. According to a letter from Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, high school students will attend online classes Tuesday and Wednesday after additional students tested positive for the virus and were in...
54 new covid cases reported in Penn-Trafford area between April 13-19, 2021
Fifty-four new covid cases were reported in the Penn-Trafford-Jeannette area between April 13-19, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Since the pandemic began, the six ZIP codes covering most of the three communities have seen a total of 1,988 confirmed cases. As of April 19, there were...
Turnpike officials install first solar microgrid on Hempfield bypass property
A microgrid consisting of more than 3,200 solar panels is under construction at a Pennsylvania Turnpike maintenance facility in Hempfield. Located at 241 AKH Maintenance Lane along the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass, the facility is the only turnpike campus that will use solar panels for power. “The turnpike is looking...
‘Moral scandal’: Gov. Wolf proposal, lawsuit aim to cut Pennsylvania school funding gap
Even if Gov. Tom Wolf’s fair funding formula proposal passes the Legislature, area schools still could face a funding gap that has plagued Pennsylvania districts for years. The gap — highlighted in 2015, when it was reported that Pennsylvania had one of the nation’s starkest spending gaps between rich and...
Pennsylvania casinos top $400M in March, shatter monthly revenue record
Monthly casino revenues in Pennsylvania for the first time topped $400 million in March, according to figures released by the state Gaming Control Board. Combined gambling revenues totaled more than $403 million, up significantly from the $154 million in revenues seen in March 2020, when non-life-sustaining businesses were forced to...
Early-morning fire damages modular classroom at Indiana elementary school
An early morning fire on Friday caused the roof of a modular classroom at an Indiana Borough elementary school to collapse and left the school filled with smoke, officials said. Indiana Borough Police, who were the first to respond to Eisenhower Elementary School around 1:50 a.m., observed a working fire...
Police: 1 person dead, another injured after crash in Duquesne
One person died and a child was injured after a single-vehicle crash in Duquesne early Friday morning, according to Allegheny County police. Crews responded to Route 837 near North Second Street around 3:30 a.m. where they found a man ejected from a vehicle and a child still inside the car,...
Hempfield Area temporarily closes middle school because of covid-19 cases
A Hempfield Area middle school is closed today due to positive covid-19 cases, according to district officials. Students at West Hempfield Middle School are attending classes remotely after the district was informed that two students contracted the virus and were at school while infectious, according to a letter from Superintendent...
‘Fame The Musical’ connects Hempfield students from opposite sides of the state
More than 200 miles separate Hempfield Area High School in Westmoreland County from Hempfield High School in Lancaster County. This year, however, the schools will be but a mouse click apart and students are sharing more than a name. Young thespians from both schools are rehearsing for performances of “Fame...
