Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 30
Western Pa. candidates line up for spring primary
Republican Rep. Jill Cooper will have a primary challenger this spring for her Murrysville-based seat in the state House. Cooper, the first-term incumbent, appears to be the lone member of Westmoreland County’s state House delegation to face a primary challenge. Nomination petitions to appear on the April 23 primary ballot...
‘I don’t love you,’ daughter tells Apollo father convicted of mother’s murder
Emily Steele told her father that she and her surviving family no longer want to have any relationship with him following his conviction for the first-degree murder of her mother. Steele, 20, sat in the witness chair Monday and directed her father, seated just feet away in a blue prison-issued...
Monessen woman, 2 men plead guilty to animal cruelty
A Monessen woman and two men will serve probation sentences for the mistreatment of more than 60 animals. Charolette Fiem, 49, pleaded guilty Monday to 20 charges including five felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. Ryan Fiem, 44, and Christopher Conaway, 33, pleaded guilty to 16 misdemeanor and summary...
Tuition hike contemplated after county cuts funding to WCCC
A tuition increase could be in store for Westmoreland County Community College students this fall after a $1 million cut in funding from the county, the school’s board of trustees chairman said Friday. “As of now we don’t want to raise tuition, but everything is on the table,” said board...
Unity couple found not guilty in retrial concerning sexual assault allegations of teen accuser
A Unity couple said the words uttered in court at the conclusion of their weeklong trial was what they waited nine years to hear. Bruce Palmer collapsed into the arms of his wife and audibly sobbed as the jury foreman read they were not guilty to charges of sexual assault...
Vandergrift man convicted in sexual assaults of 2 children
A Westmoreland County jury deliberated more than five hours before returning guilty verdicts against a Vandergrift man for the sexual assaults of two children. Following a three-day trial that ended Wednesday night, Timothy Robert Johnson, 38, was found guilty of nine felony counts including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, conspiracy, indecent...
Westmoreland sheriff appoints new chief deputy
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert on Thursday announced the hiring of his fourth chief deputy since taking office in 2020. Albert, a Republican who was elected to his second four-year term last fall, named Jennifer Shipley as his second in command. Shipley, 37, of Youngwood has worked in the Sheriff’s...
Westmoreland County commissioners approve $2.7 million boost in pay
Raises for Westmoreland County’s union and nonunion employees will cost taxpayers an additional $2.7 million in 2024. Commissioners ratified a union contract and approved pay hikes for nonunion workers Thursday. A new three-year labor deal with the Service Employees International Union Local 668 and Healthcare Pa. includes average raises of...
Register of Wills says work continues to ease backlog as office restructuring OK’d by commissioners
A restructuring and boost in staff pay approved by Westmoreland County commissioners is expected to improve operations in the Register of Wills office. Filing delays and other deficiencies prompted Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton to be admonished last week by a county judge, who issued a court order that...
Woman testifies about alleged rapes as retrial begins for Unity couple
A 25-year-old woman returned to the witness stand Wednesday, six years after she first testified about allegedly being raped and sexually assaulted when she was an adolescent. The woman testified before a Westmoreland County jury she was 12 when she was subjected weekly rapes and other sexual activity at the...
Therapist acquitted in case involving boy with autism at Greensburg day care
Tonya Piper said she will not return to her career caring for special needs children even after a jury found her not guilty of an alleged assault against a boy with autism. Piper, 52, of New Stanton was emotional after the verdict was returned Wednesday and said she was grateful...
Trial begins for therapist charged with assault of autistic boy
Cassandra Colligan testified she knew almost immediately a 4-year-old autistic boy was mistreated while attending a Greensburg daycare in 2022. Colligan, a speech therapist for the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit told jurors Tuesday she watched as behavioral health therapist Tonya Piper violently slammed a child into a chair and up against...
Westmoreland commissioners OK road trips for public meetings
The Westmoreland County commissioners are heading out into the countryside. Commissioners announced Tuesday they will conduct three public meetings outside of the Westmoreland County Courthouse this spring and summer. “We’ll, hopefully, have the public there,” Commissioner Sean Kertes said. Here are the locations, times and dates: • The activity center...
Arnold teen charged with fatal New Kensington shooting pleads guilty to lesser charge
Westmoreland County prosecutors on Monday dismissed homicide charges against an Arnold man in the fatal shooting of a man at a New Kensington apartment building in July 2022. Jonathan Felder, 19, pleaded guilty to one lesser count of conspiracy to commit robbery. He was one of seven youths charged in...
Experts say voters will have the final say on register of wills’ job performance
Voters ultimately will decide whether embattled Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton can remain in her post beyond her current four-year term that started in January, political experts say. Westmoreland County judges this week intervened in the oversight of Hamilton’s courthouse office — which processes adoption and estate records —...
Homicide charge dropped against teen in 2022 fatal shooting in New Kensington
Westmoreland County prosecutors on Friday dismissed murder charges against a Pittsburgh teenager and allowed him to plead guilty to lesser charges in connection to a fatal shooting 19 months ago in New Kensington. Avian Molter, 16, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and the illegal possession of a firearm...
Arnold woman tells judge fatal overdose ‘could have been me’
A Pittsburgh man was ordered to serve up to eight years in prison for providing fentanyl-laced heroin to a Lower Burrell woman who died from an overdose in 2021. Otis L. Henley, 47, pleaded guilty to drug delivery resulting in death and other related offenses in connection to the May...
Greensburg Rialto shooter denied shortened prison sentence
A Westmoreland County judge Thursday rejected a request to shorten the prison sentence of one of the two men convicted for their roles in a downtown Greensburg shootout in early 2022. Evan Curley, 25, of Greensburg pleaded guilty to aggravate assault in connection with a confrontation in front of the...
Connellsville teen pleads guilty for role in New Kensington fatal shooting and later assault of a shelter worker
A Connellsville teen pleaded guilty Wednesday in juvenile court to his role in the July 2022 fatal shooting of a man in New Kensington. Braedon M. Dickinson, 16, was one of seven suspects charged with the killing of 39-year-old Jason Raiford in front of the Valley Royal Court Apartments. Dickinson...
Judge says court intervention needed to improve Westmoreland County Register of Wills office
Westmoreland County judges issued new deadlines and warnings Wednesday to Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton to properly file and process court documents. A hearing was held in response to allegations that her office has failed to process documents related to adoptions, estates and appeals. Hamilton was questioned for more...
Connellsville teen pleads guilty for role in New Kensington fatal shooting and later assault of a shelter worker
A Connellsville teen pleaded guilty Wednesday in juvenile court to his role in the July 2022 fatal shooting of a man in New Kensington. Braedon M. Dickinson, 16, was one of seven suspects charged with the killing of 39-year-old Jason Raiford in front of the Valley Royal Court Apartments. Dickinson...
Raises rejected for retired Westmoreland County employees
For the first time in 13 years, Westmoreland County’s 1,400 retired government employees will not receive cost-of-living increases. “This is a very difficult budget, and one where we couldn’t afford to do a COLA this year. Difficult decisions had to be made,” Commissioner Ted Kopas said. Retirees received 8.1% cost-of-living...
Latrobe social worker pleads guilty to sex crimes against teen clients
Victims and their supporters stood and cheered Tuesday as a former Latrobe social worker was led out of a Westmoreland County courtroom in handcuffs. Gregory P. Miscik, 63, pleaded guilty to 13 charges stemming from seven separate cases involving 10 victims. The charges involved sex crimes against teenage clients dating...
Strike averted: Union approves new contract with Westmoreland County
More than 500 Westmoreland County courthouse and nursing home employees ratified a union contract Monday. Approval of the three-year deal averted a strike that would have started Friday if a deal wasn’t reached. Rank-and-file members of the Service Employees International Union Local 668 and Healthcare PA overwhelmingly voted to accept...
Westmoreland register of wills faces more questions about office’s handling of filings
Westmoreland County Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton conceded Monday her office has been scrambling to keep up with its workload. “We understand it is an issue, and we are making progress slowly and we will do whatever we have to do to make it happen,” Hamilton said after another...
