Renatta Signorini stories, Page 131
Staycation: Plenty of year-round activities at OhiopyleVideo
Ohiopyle State Park is home to a plethora of outdoor activities any time of the year. Pennsylvania’s largest state park, it attracts millions of visitors annually and is centered around the tiny town of Ohiopyle in Fayette County, which had a population of 57 people in 2018, according to census...
Toomey-led federal animal cruelty law awaits Trump’s signature
A bill making “heinous” forms of animal cruelty a federal felony was awaiting the president’s signature after it passed the House and Senate in recent weeks. The PACT — Prevent Animal Cruelty and Torture — Act makes crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating and impaling of animals punishable by up to seven...
Ligonier Valley grad gets juvenile justice scholarship
Angel Scritchfield might be done with the juvenile court system, but the lessons she learned are going to stick with her. “It just kind of helped me figure out how to make my life better as a whole,” she said. That attitude and Scritchfield’s strides in life won her a...
Experts weigh in on medical marijuana and the workplace at Greensburg workshopVideo
High on the to-do list for bosses and business owners is to consider that some employees might use medical marijuana and how that could affect workplace operations, experts said Thursday in Greensburg. “As employers, this requires our utmost attention and we really have to stay on board with the latest...
Former Donora man sentenced to federal prison for fentanyl shipments from China
A former Donora man was sentenced Tuesday to four months in a federal prison for conspiring to have fentanyl shipped from China into the United States and a weapons violation, according to court records. Christian B. Drennan, 28, now of St. Clairsville, Ohio, was ordered to spend three years on...
442 tons of prescription drugs collected nationwide during DEA Drug Take Back Day
Nearly 442 tons of prescription medications were collected nationwide during the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Oct. 26. That includes nearly 37,000 pounds collected by Pennsylvania police departments. The agency released figures on Monday. Three police departments in Westmoreland County participated in the event as...
Cops: Pair used fake IDs to buy $24K of iPhones in Westmoreland, elsewhere
A New York City man and woman are accused of using fraudulent identification cards to buy $24,000 worth of iPhones in Westmoreland and surrounding counties, according to state police. Jose Miguel Jorge, 31, and Jessica K. Cocco, 41, allegedly used identification information for people living in Utah, Missouri and Minnesota...
Ohio men accused of burglary after being found sleeping in Salem house
An Ohio man was arrested Sunday after he apparently broke into a Salem home and went to sleep, according to state police. Brendan Scott Szrenkanyi, 37, of Cleveland, is charged with burglary, criminal trespass and loitering at night. A Salem resident called state police at 2:41 a.m. Sunday after he...
2 arrested in Jeannette pistol exchange
Two men were arrested last week in Jeannette after police said they exchanged a pistol that had the serial number obliterated. Timothy Joshua Bertrand, 28, of Jeannette, and Joseph Raymond Thornton, 52, of Manor, are both being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail. City police and agents from...
First graduating class of Westmoreland County Veterans Court set
The first graduate of Westmoreland County Veterans Court will be recognized on Nov. 19. County officials reinstated the program in May for veterans charged with certain crimes, allowing them to earn a reduced sentence. Veterans work through the six- to 12-month program that gives them opportunities to address issues such...
Braddock police chief suspended with pay after arrest
The police chief in Braddock has been suspended with pay while an investigation into accusations of domestic violence are investigated, the borough’s mayor said Sunday. Guy Collins, 59, was arrested Saturday and is charged with simple assault. “We are investigating this to the fullest potential because we take domestic violence...
Hempfield building destroyed in fire
A Hempfield building was destroyed in a fire early Sunday. The blaze was reported at 4:33 a.m. at a structure on secluded Smith Road near Historic Hanna’s Town. A Westmoreland 911 dispatcher said no injuries were reported. Hempfield fire officials did not respond to a request for information. The property...
Railcar enthusiasts to collect toys, cash for Toys for Tots on railroad line
The annual caravan of festive railcars collecting items for Toys for Tots will make the 40-mile trek from East Huntingdon to Hempfield on Nov. 16. Members of the North American Railcar Operators Association will brave the weather to collect new, unwrapped toys or monetary donations for children in need. The...
New playground for Greater Parkview Church daycare is immediate hit with kids
The Stafford house was the place to be for children growing up in one Greensburg neighborhood. With six siblings and a pool, the West Pittsburgh Street home was always a busy place. “All of the kids hung out here,” said Dorothy Gerhardt. “It was fun growing up here.” Now, that...
Police: $33K worth of heroin, fentanyl seized from McKeesport home
More than $33,000 worth of heroin and fentanyl was seized from a McKeesport home Friday and two people were arrested, according to the Allegheny County Police. Camille Ann Pruitt, 27, of McKeesport, and Tyjior Leslie Brown, 18, of Pittsburgh, are facing drug and conspiracy charges. Authorities served a search warrant...
Charges against Steelers’ Anthony Chickillo withdrawnVideo
Charges against Steelers linebacker Anthony Chickillo were withdrawn Wednesday in Fayette County court. Chickillo, 26, was arrested Oct. 20 by state police on accusations that he assaulted his girlfriend at Nemacolin Woodlands in Wharton Township. District Attorney Richard Bower said both parties decided not continue with prosecution after 90 minutes...
Westmoreland Register of Wills race pits office holder against longtime office worker
The race for Westmoreland County register of wills pits the incumbent against one of the office’s longtime staff members. Democrat Katie Pecarchik, 51, is challenging Sherry Magretti Hamilton, 42, a Republican who is in her first four-year term. Pecarchik, a Hempfield resident, questions how much time Magretti Hamilton spends at...
Jeannette man identified as victim of fatal shooting
An aspiring rapper who was a father of two died Monday night in a shooting in Jeannette that left two people wounded. Mariell McGowan, 29, of Jeannette was fatally shot about 5:30 p.m. on Cuyler Avenue, just a few doors down from his mother’s home and a block from the city...
Greensburg physician pleads guilty to unlawful prescribing, money laundering
A Greensburg physician pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to unlawfully dispensing buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone or Subutex. Nabil Jabbour, 68, of Hempfield, also pleaded guilty to health care fraud and money laundering, according to U.S. Attorney Scott Brady. Jabbour operated clinics on Harvey Avenue in Greensburg and East...
3 charged in shooting death of Brutus, a pit bull mix found dead in North HuntingdonVideo
Three people were arrested Monday in connection with the fatal shooting of a dog that was found over the summer muzzled and tied to a North Huntingdon railroad post. Ashley Nichole Kunkle, 30, her mother Sandra D. Cancino, 55, both of Yukon, and her boyfriend Anthony Keith Harper, 28, of...
Police seek suspect accused of breaking into 2 Westmoreland Mall stores
State police are looking for a man who they said broke into two stores at Westmoreland Mall. The suspect pried open the back doors of Leggings Park and Icy Roll 2.0 at the Hempfield mall just before 6:30 a.m. Friday, according to troopers. The man unplugged security cameras and stole...
Former Jeannette Glass site officially sold to Elliott Company
After years of local government control, Elliott Company now officially owns the former Jeannette Glass site. Groundbreaking for the company’s planned cryogenic pump test stand will take place Dec. 3. The Westmoreland Industrial Development Corp. in March 2018 approved a resolution authorizing the sale of the 13-acre property to Elliott...
3 Westmoreland locations collecting prescription medication for Take Back Day
Three police departments in Westmoreland County will be participating in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Take Back Day initiative on Saturday. The departments will be collected unused, unwanted or expired prescription medication in the nationwide effort to prevent those pills from ending up in the wrong hands. The administration holds two...
Police: Driver under the influence of cocaine in Salem crash that killed 1, injured 2
State police accuse a former New Alexandria man of being under the influence of cocaine during a fatal crash in Salem over the summer. Brian Keith Clemons, 42, of Normantown, W.Va., was arrested Wednesday in connection with the Aug. 10 crash on Route 22. He is charged with homicide by...
Volunteers pull about 300 tires from Yough River
Sixty-five volunteers pulled about 300 tires from a 4-mile stretch of the Youghiogheny River on Sunday, according to Westmoreland Cleanways director Ellen Keefe. But there is still more work to do. “We are definitely planning to do this next year,” she said. “This will become an annual event it looks...
