Megan Tomasic stories, Page 42
School reopening plans could change multiple times prior to first day
Weeks before students are expected to return to school, some districts are scrapping reopening plans in an effort to match state guidance and to account for spikes in coronavirus cases. At least two area districts, Franklin Regional and Bethel Park, drastically altered health and safety plans school leaders worked on...
Hempfield approves reopening plans with phasesVideo
After months of work, Hempfield leaders approved a health and safety plan that will welcome students back through a blended approach. On Monday, board members unanimously approved the plan, which will bring back students in a phased approach starting Aug. 27. An initial phase has students following a staggered schedule...
Census Bureau: In-person census counts to ‘present low risk’ of transmitting coronavirus
As in-person counting efforts kick off across the country for the decennial census, bureau officials are working to keep staff and members of the public safe from the coronavirus. “Participation in 2020 census interviews should present a low risk of transmission of covid-19,” according to the Census Bureau. In-person enumerators...
Hempfield plans to play fall sports despite state recommendation
Hempfield plans to proceed with fall sports despite Gov. Tom Wolf’s recommendation they be delayed until 2021. In a letter posted on the district’s website, Superintendent Tammy Wolicki wrote school officials plan to move forward with their athletic health and safety plan passed by the board in June. The plan...
Dealer school open house scheduled for this weekend at Hempfield mini-casino site
The public has its first chance to tour the new dealer school at Westmoreland Mall this weekend, which is slated to produce employees for the casino under construction at the Hempfield facility. From 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, those interested in the school can speak with experienced table game dealers...
Better Business Bureau issues warning about possible scams related to census
The Better Business Bureau of Western Pennsylvania issued a warning regarding potential phishing scams related to the census. The census, which determines how federal funds are distributed along with the number of congressional seats each state is allocated, has been sending emails encouraging people to respond to the once-a-decade survey...
Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure goes virtual this year
Thousands of Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure participants may not be gathering in Schenley Park this year, but event organizers are not letting that stop their mission. The race, which typically draws 15,000 people to the Flagstaff Hill section of the park, will celebrate its 28th year virtually, said...
Hempfield schools working to launch elementary cyber programVideo
More than 300 students are interested in joining an elementary cyberschool program for the coming school year, according to Hempfield Area officials. The program, announced in May, adds kindergarten through fifth grades to an existing cyber program for older students. The elementary program was created to provide students with options...
Hempfield Area names new assistant superintendent of elementary education
Hempfield Area School District has a new assistant superintendent for the 2020-21 school year. Kimberlie Rieffannacht was approved unanimously by the school board this week for the assistant superintendent of elementary education position. The job was previously held by Matthew Conner who was named assistant superintendent for secondary education last...
Census Bureau announces date change for in-person counts
Local communities could be left scrambling after the Census Bureau confirmed there will be one less month to collect population counts vital for determining how federal funds are dispersed and the number of representatives each state has in Congress. The final date for collecting the once-a-decade survey is Sept. 30...
Hempfield releases additional details before next week’s vote on reopening plans
Hempfield Area School District officials laid out additional details regarding a proposed reopening plan that will be voted on next week. During a special meeting Monday, district officials discussed ways to handle positive coronavirus cases that may occur if classes begin through a blended approach starting Aug. 27. According to...
Live! Casino Pittsburgh betting on dealer school to fill positionsVideo
An empty storefront in Westmoreland Mall is beginning to look like a casino for the start of Westmoreland County Community College’s dealer school. Eight blackjack tables that can be converted for games such as Texas Hold ’em, Let it Ride and Criss Cross poker fill the space. A roulette wheel...
Earlier census deadline could cause W.Pa. officials to accelerate counts
In an unprecedented move, leaders with the Census Bureau are cutting short in-person counting efforts for the 2020 census, efforts that largely impact hard-to-count populations. The decision, reported by NPR, moves the deadline for in-person census surveys from Oct. 31 to Sept. 30, potentially leaving some communities with uncounted residents...
Mutual Aid Ambulance Service expands coverage area for 2nd time this year
For the second time this year, Mutual Aid Ambulance Service is expanding into new territory. The Greensburg-based company is now the exclusive provider of emergency medical services for the 44 square miles of Bullskin in Fayette County. Bullskin supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to implement the changes to the area that...
Census Bureau to send out emails to spark response rates
The Census Bureau is making one last effort to contact people who have not yet responded to the once-a-decade survey by sending out emails. Households in low-responding census tracts will receive an email from 2020census@subscriptions.census.gov encouraging people to fill out the form online, as well as informing them why the...
Pa. commissions denounce Trump memo excluding those in U.S. illegally from census
Several Pennsylvania commissions are denouncing an executive memorandum signed by President Donald Trump last week that seeks to bar people who are in the United States illegally from filling out the census, the once-a-decade survey that determines federal funding and congressional seats. Trump, who signed the memorandum July 21, said...
New VP named to oversee development of 2 state casinos, including Westmoreland siteVideo
A 25-year gambling industry veteran will lead the expansion of two new casinos in Pennsylvania, including the soon-to-be mini casino in Hempfield. Joe Billhimer was named executive vice president of the Maryland-based Cordish Gaming Group, a division of The Cordish Companies, which owns the $150 million casino under construction at...
Local lawmaker calling for end to sportsbook tax
A Pennsylvania lawmaker is calling for the elimination of “unnecessary” taxes on legal sportsbook operators. Regulated sports betting operators are required by the Internal Revenue Code to pay a 0.25% federal excise tax on all wagers as well as a $50 annual tax for every employee engaged in receiving bets,...
Hempfield approves consolidation of 2 parcels in industrial park, making way for new manufacturing company
A manufacturing company hoping to set up shop in Hempfield’s Westmoreland County Technology Park II is in the final phases of purchasing almost 11 acres of property. According to Jason Rigone, executive director of the county’s Industrial Development Corporation, Red Fish, which represents the start-up company Fossil Industries, reached a...
Hempfield moves forward with creation of 2 nonprofit organizationsVideo
Two nonprofit organizations are being created to benefit Hempfield parks and the township’s fire department. Supervisors began the process of creating Friends of Hempfield Parks and the Hempfield Township Fire Relief Organization by voting this week to draw up organizational documents. Friends of Hempfield Parks originally was proposed in January...
Hempfield moves forward with proposed zoning changes
Marijuana manufacturing and processing facilities wanting to open up shop in Hempfield are restricted to specific areas of the township. During Monday’s public meeting, supervisors voted to limit where the facilities can open to agricultural, light industrial and heavy industrial zones by special exception. It was one of several changes...
Power mostly restored after Monday’s storms roll through region
Power was expected to be restored by about 6:30 a.m. to the last of the homes affected by Monday’s storm-related outages, according to the West Penn Power website. There are about 40 customers without electricity in Westmoreland County and less than 10 in Allegheny County, after storms rolled through the...
30 years later, Americans with Disabilities Act still lauded but ‘work is never done’
When Dick Thornburgh witnessed the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act 30 years ago, he knew his son’s life would be changed forever. The Pittsburgh native and former Republican Pennsylvania governor was the U.S. attorney general at the time. Leading the Justice Department, he was integral in working out...
Hempfield looking to create fire relief association
Hempfield supervisors are looking to create a nonprofit organization that would assist with funding for the township’s fire department. Supervisors are expected to take the first steps in creating the Hempfield Township Fire Relief Association, which will be a charitable wing to support the volunteer fire service. “A nonprofit corporation...
Legal experts: Mask requirements likely don’t violate Americans with Disabilities Act
Cries from across the country claiming constitutional rights are being stripped away by mask requirements might not be as valid as some people think. Mask requirements, put in place to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, are being challenged with lawsuits claiming they violate the Americans with Disabilities Act....
