Quincey Reese stories, Page 12

Two years ago, 6-year-old Liam Lavelle took a ride with his dad on the lawn mower — something he had done many times before. The mower’s blades were not engaged, and the bagging system was turned off as Liam’s dad, Zach Lavelle, drove the vehicle to the edge of his...

Workers have been clearing uprooted trees and broken branches from Winifred Sherman’s yard since a tornado whipped past her Penn Township home Wednesday. But with the potential for flash flooding, a tornado, hail and strong winds in this weekend’s forecast, local tree services and power companies may need to hit...

Darla Cynkar couldn’t believe it when her husband, Jim, told her a tornado had just whisked by their Penn Township home Wednesday night, toppling trees and scattering branches across their yard. She was even more shocked and heartbroken to hear that a fallen tree struck and trapped their 16-year-old pony,...

As discussions of artificial intelligence technology make their way into classrooms across the country, education experts speaking at a national conference in Pittsburgh Tuesday urged teachers to take part in the conversation. Mike Searson summarized it simply: educators cannot handle AI the same way they addressed the rise of social...

When people ask Cindy Marten what she does for a living, she does not tell them she is the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. After 34 years as an educator and school administrator, she tells them she is a teacher. “I was born, literally, to be a...

Manor is one step closer to making its Community Day celebration an annual tradition again. The festival was hosted by the local fire department every Labor Day for about 80 years before it ceased in 2002. The borough revived the tradition last year. Last year’s event drew about 1,000 people....

The use of AI in classrooms, the importance of educator diversity and dealing with angry parents are just a few of the topics that will be discussed at a national education conference in Pittsburgh beginning Sunday. More than 200 state government officials, representatives from educator preparation programs and school district...

Residents who use the Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s shared-ride program will see a fare increase effective this fall following approval of the authority’s 2024-25 budget Thursday. Details of the fare increase will be presented at the authority’s board meeting in July, said Deputy Executive Director Ashley Cooper-Brounce. The shared-ride service...

Penn Township commissioners approved the preliminary development plan for a new Pennsylvania Turnpike maintenance complex featuring nearly 8 acres of solar panels. The complex — which will contain an office space, truck and maintenance garages and a salt storage building — will be located on a nearly 42-acre property with...

Kevin Vought arrived at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, weed trimmer in tow. He would not leave the Braddock Road Avenue graveyard for more than nine hours. Vought is one of two volunteers cutting the grass at the cemetery since it lost its grass cutting service last year....

It’s not often that Penn-Trafford business teacher Kim Stefkovich is left speechless. But when Pittsburgh native and NFL player Damar Hamlin gave her a hug and thanked her Sunday for the $8,000 donation Stefkovich’s students made to his charity, words escaped her. “When I went up to meet him at...

Ashley Kertes had a love for the Greensburg community and a desire to make it better. Kertes served as executive director of the Greensburg Community Development Corp. and, in March 2022, shifted to associate administrator to the superintendent and community outreach in the Greensburg Salem School District. After Kertes’ unexpected...

A new Pennsylvania Turnpike maintenance complex in Penn Township could feature nearly 8 acres of solar panels to offset energy costs, according to preliminary plans. Township commissioners next week will consider the plans for the complex, which is scheduled to be built by fall of 2026, according to the turnpike...

Property tax bills will be going up by about $30 per year after a divided Penn-Trafford School Board approved a 1 mill tax hike. The board voted, 6-3, in favor of the 1.1% increase that will support a $68.5 million budget the board also approved Monday. Board members Bryan Kline...

Nine-year-old Lillie Bouch stood before the Penn-Trafford School Board on Monday with more than 50 parents, students and teachers behind her. Some attended the meeting to witness the board vote on a five-year contract for teachers and the 2024-25 district budget. But nine parents, students and a district employee came...

Almost nothing could deter Brianna Savko from teaching. Generally modest pay, an all-time high annual attrition rate of 7.7% and a statewide shortage of more than 2,000 teachers were not enough to change her mind. “There’s a passion there, and I don’t care what the money is behind it when...

Nearly 30 third grade students from Aquinas Academy, Hempfield Area and Greensburg Salem school districts marched into the Greensburg Salem Middle School auditorium Thursday evening to “Gonna Fly Now,” known colloquially as the “Rocky” movie theme song. But only Amanda Wang remained on the auditorium stage when “We Are the...

When Allison Huffman decided to pursue the Gold Award at the end of her 12 years in Girl Scouts, she knew she wanted to teach children about mental and physical health. But she had no idea she would learn just as much as the 80 children she taught. Huffman, 17,...

Thousands of teaching positions in Pennsylvania were vacant or filled by someone on an emergency certificate in the past year, leaving education across the state in crisis mode, one industry onlooker said. More than 2,000 teaching positions were vacant in Pennsylvania as of October, according to data released by the...

Carly Bouch wants answers from the Penn-Trafford School District administration. The Trafford resident is among several parents in the district who attended recent school board meetings to learn more about five longtime educators being shifted to different schools in the district next fall — including four elementary teachers who have...

A summer food truck series launched last year in Penn Township is returning for a second season. The series — which kicked off last week — features a variety of food trucks, games for children and a new band each night. It takes place across five Friday nights from May...

Retired Greensburg police Officer Regina McAtee collected another $5,160 pension payment June 1, one month after pleading guilty in federal court to engaging in a methamphetamine distribution operation with the former city police chief. McAtee, 51, of New Kensington has received about $56,500 in pension payments from the city since...

A man was shot multiple times in Pittsburgh’s Homestead neighborhood Monday night. Allegheny County Police responded to a shooting in the 300 block of East 18th Avenue around 8:45 a.m. A man was found to have been shot multiple times and transported to a local hospital in critical but stable...

About 50 reenactors portraying 18th century military units from across the globe roamed the grounds of Fort Ligonier during Memorial Day weekend as musket and cannon fire pierced the air. Revolutionary War era reenactors intermingled with French and Prussian militia units, an Austrian officer and a Hungarian soldier, said Matt...

Zoltan and Patrick Cendes have helped to build 100 patio homes and 30 single-family homes in the Totteridge Golf Course housing community in Salem since becoming majority owners in 2015. This month, they acquired full ownership of the more than 500-acre property while finishing development of 30 new homes, said...