Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 51
Westmoreland budget balanced with American Rescue Plan funds
More than $8 million in federal covid-relief funds will be used to pay annual subsidies that, in prior years, were paid for from the county’s general operating budget, Westmoreland commissioners said Thursday. The earmarking of American Rescue Plan funds to the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, Westmoreland County Community College and...
Appeals court overturns sexual assault convictions against former Mt. Pleasant cop
An appeals court has overturned two sexual assault convictions against a former part-time Mt. Pleasant police officer, saying the cases were prosecuted in the wrong county. A three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled allegations levied by two women who claimed they were sexually assaulted by John Brown, 49,...
Ohio truck driver pleads guilty to causing fatal crash on Interstate 70
Sheila Walton dabbed tears from her eyes as she told a Westmoreland County judge that the Ohio truck driver who initiated a fatal rear-end collision two years ago on Interstate 70 in South Huntingdon changed her family forever. Walton’s 27-year-old son, Dillon Walton of New Stanton, was killed as he...
Greensburg man’s rape sentence reduced
A Greensburg man convicted earlier this year for his role in the rape of a 5-year-old boy had his 168-year prison sentenced reduced on this week. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani overturned one of 22 convictions against Charles Jason Hunter, 36. Defense attorneys claimed prosecutors mislabeled one...
Judge rules Jeannette police arrest supported by evidence
A Westmoreland County judge this week ruled that Jeannette police had the legal authority to detain and charge a New Alexandria man after a car crash last year near a school. David Vucish, 50, claims police used excessive force during the May 11, 2021, incident and sought to have criminal...
Westmoreland will cut ties with renowned pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht
Westmoreland County is cutting ties with renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht. The county commissioners Thursday are expected to approve a one-year contract with Wecht’s former assistant to do autopsies for Coroner Tim Carson and rent the autopsy suite at Westmoreland’s forensics center in Hempfield. Wecht, 92, has worked as...
Westmoreland to launch human service grant program
Westmoreland commissioners said Tuesday the county will award $3 million in grants to help fund mental health and other human services programs in 2023. The grant program will be paid for with a portion of the county’s $105.4 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds. “We decided early on we...
20 years after daughter’s murder, former Monessen man in court, accused of violating sex offender sentence terms
Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani must have had a feeling of deja vu Monday when John Bright stood before him. Two decades ago, Feliciani was a court-appointed attorney representing the Monessen father as the man pleaded guilty to misusing burial funds donated for his murdered 8-year-old daughter. Bright,...
MAWC lifts boil water advisory for Hempfield, Unity
A boil water advisory issued over the weekend to about 4,500 Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers in Hempfield and Unity was lifted Monday afternoon. The authority said no contamination was found during tests of water lines affected by a leak that drained a water storage tank serving the area,...
Holiday sale brings out shoppers at Bushy Run Battlefield
Bill and Karen Gourdie were ready for the rush. The owners of Bushy Run Winery brought 30 cases to sell Sunday afternoon for the fourth annual Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society Christmas sale. “They’ll probably be all gone by the end of the day,” Karen Gourdie said. Husband Bill serves...
Pan Am Flight 103 parents say bomber’s arrest ‘bittersweet’
Shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, Glenn and Carole Johnson of Hempfield received the call they had been awaiting for more than three decades. The U.S. Justice Department told them Sunday the man who built the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, on Dec. 21, 1988, finally...
Arts, crafts featured at Greensburg library’s Family Maker Day
Maggie McCaffrey set out to paint sheep. Using a bamboo brush dipped in water, 13-year-old McCaffrey’s zen-like artwork started to drip and morph. So she pivoted and recast her picture as rain clouds. The 10th grader from Hempfield was among those who participated Saturday in the Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library’s latest...
Police investigate after wounded man walks into Pittsburgh hospital
Pittsburgh police said an investigation is ongoing to determine the circumstances that led to a man arriving on his own at a hospital Sunday morning with multiple gunshot wounds. The unidentified adult man presented himself at the hospital at about 6:20 a.m. and was listed in critical condition, police said....
Woman found dead in Elliott home under investigation
Pittsburgh police are investigating an apparent fatal shooting Saturday night inside a home in the city’s Elliott neighborhood. Police responded to a call at 11:35 p.m. from a family member at the home on the 900 block of Wilhelm Street who reported a woman in her 60s was found unresponsive...
Boil water advisory issued for MAWC customers in Hempfield and Unity
A boil water advisory was issued Saturday morning to about 4,500 Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers in portions of Hempfield and Unity. The advisory is expected to be in place until at least Monday morning, authority spokesman Matthew Junker said. Officials said customers will be notified when repairs are...
Judge dismisses charges against Jeannette man who refused to supply ID to police
A criminal case was dismissed against a Jeannette man charged with obstruction of justice based on allegations that he refused to identify himself to police last year. Jonathan Durbiano, 42, was detained by Jeannette police in the early hours of June 6, 2021, on Maryland Street. He also was charged...
Recipients announced for 2023 Westmoreland tourism grants
Michael Hartung wants more exposure for the Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department Museum, and, by virtue of a grant funded by Westmoreland County’s hotel tax, he now has the money to make that happen. “We’re trying to bring in people from the outside. The only people who come are firefighters or...
Felony charges dismissed as part of New Kensington man’s guilty plea
A New Kensington man pleaded guilty Monday to simple assault of three juveniles after prosecutors dismissed more serious felony charges. Lawrence William Barber, 67, was charged in January with multiple counts of child endangerment, corruption of minors, indecent assault and terroristic threats in connection with claims that he engaged in...
Westmoreland recount complete; officials say no evidence of widespread errors found
A court-ordered recount of four Westmoreland County precincts completed Monday revealed a three-vote change from unofficial results released last month. Westmoreland County Election Bureau Director Greg McCloskey said the review of more than 4,200 ballots cast in person on Election Day and ballots mailed in by voters from precincts in...
Westmoreland broadband survey identifies service gaps
Westmoreland County officials said an appeal will be filed early next year challenging data published by the Federal Communications Commission that claims most local homes and businesses have adequate high-speed internet service. That appeal will be based on preliminary results from a local study conducted this summer and fall that...
North Huntingdon care home, nursing agency sued by staffer following sexual assault claim
A former nursing aide is suing a North Huntingdon nursing home and a Murrysville-based nursing agency claiming both firms failed to conduct an adequate criminal background check, which led to her being sexually assaulted last year by a coworker. According to a three-count lawsuit filed last week in Westmoreland County,...
Penn Township man sentenced to probation for neglect of cows
A Penn Township man was ordered to serve two years on probation and repay humane agents more than $21,000 in connection with about a dozen malnourished cows that were confiscated from his property in March. David Parsons, 60, was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and 18 other related offenses...
Westmoreland deputy sheriff sentenced for drunk driving
A Westmoreland County deputy sheriff charged with drunk driving in May was ordered to serve one year on probation. Eugene T. Cavaliere, 59, of Youngwood appeared in court Wednesday to enter the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time nonviolent offenders. The diversionary program does not require those charged with crimes...
Court hearing held for all 7 suspects in July shooting in New Kensington
A Westmoreland County judge said he will consider early next year requests to transfer to juvenile court four criminal homicide prosecutions in connection with the July fatal shooting of a man in New Kensington. All seven suspects accused in last summer’s alleged murder of 39-year-old Jason Raiford appeared in court...
Latrobe man pleads guilty to sexual assault of teen
A Latrobe man pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Christofer R. Dowden, 23, has been in jail since his arrest in December 2020 and will remain behind bars for at least the next year under the terms of a proposed sentence. It was part of a plea...
