Quincey Reese stories, Page 19
Hempfield casino to move poker room, build high-limit gambling space in $3M project
Live Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield’s Westmoreland Mall will move its poker room and create a new high-limit gambling space in a $3 million construction project slated for completion in October. Mascaro Construction, based in Pittsburgh’s Chateau neighborhood, started renovations two weeks ago, casino General Manager Sean Sullivan said. Nearly half...
Greensburg covers $10K cost of blood storage coolers for Mutual Aid, becomes 2nd municipality to support service
Greensburg will donate $12,000 to Mutual Aid EMS that will cover the cost of two blood storage coolers, becoming the second municipality to give direct financial support to the ambulance service. Mutual Aid launched its blood program in May, outfitting two of its vehicles with bags of blood, transfusion equipment...
Great Allegheny Passage to close 2.5-mile section in Fayette County through mid-October
A 2.5-mile section of the Great Allegheny Passage in Fayette County will close Monday until mid-October for a gas line replacement project. The closure runs from Dunbar Township’s Adelaide neighborhood to Dawson, between mile markers 92 and 94.5 on the 150-mile hiking and biking trail that runs from Pittsburgh to...
Greensburg, Southwest Greensburg honor 43 in latest Hometown Hero banner ceremony
Although he didn’t talk about it much, Charles Galbraith was proud of the two years he served in the Army. Galbraith is one of 43 veterans, first responders and local officials who were honored Saturday evening at St. Clair Park with Hometown Hero banners in Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg. Galbraith...
Drug case proceeds against suspect in fatal Export shooting
A man who police say was involved in a deadly shooting last month in Export waived his right to a preliminary hearing on drug charges Tuesday, sending that case to Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court. Matthew A. Miller, 32, of Export has yet to be charged in connection with the...
‘It takes a village’: Parents of Penn Township boy injured in lawn mower accident reflect on trauma, recovery 2 years later
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...
Severe weather forecast, flood watch issued after 5 tornadoes hit Western Pa.
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...
‘He was a joy’: Penn Township family mourns loss of pony after tornado
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,...
Avoiding AI not an option for teachers, education experts say at Pittsburgh conference
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...
Working conditions are driver of national teacher shortage, federal education deputy says at Pittsburgh conference
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 to host expanded Community Day celebration in August
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....
AI, educator diversity and angry parents: National education conference comes to Pittsburgh
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...
Westmoreland transit authority votes to increase driver wages; eyes shared-ride fare increase
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 approves new turnpike maintenance facility; details of interchange still up in air
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...
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery struggles to maintain property amid rising costs, fewer lots purchased
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....
Penn-Trafford students raise $8K for Damar Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation
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 memorial fund aims to help Greensburg area as she tried to do
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...
New turnpike maintenance facility in Penn Township would be solar powered
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...
Some board members oppose Penn-Trafford’s 1% tax hike because it isn’t big enough, they say
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...
‘You’re breaking all of our hearts’: Parents, students push for answers from Penn-Trafford school board amid principal swaps
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...
Student teaching stipend aims to fill void for aspiring educators, but some say program needs more support
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...
Local third graders buzz through Greensburg Rotary Club spelling bee
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...
‘It’s given me a lot of confidence’: Penn Township Girl Scout troops honor Gold Award recipients at bridging ceremony
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,...
Western Pa. education leaders seek solutions to statewide teacher shortage crisis
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...
Parents, students question Penn-Trafford principal shuffling
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...
