Norwin Star category, Page 95
Irwin hires 4 police officers
Irwin Borough’s police department has added new four new officers to its ranks this week. Borough council on Tuesday approved hiring both full-time and part-time officers, in part to replace three officers who have left in the past month. Two part-time Irwin officers, Cody Stanoszek of North Huntingdon and Justin...
Covid case trend continues to drop in Norwin area
For the second consecutive week, the spread of new covid cases in four ZIP codes in the North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin area has slowed, falling to 5.1% for the week ending Jan. 4, according to data from the state Department of Health. The state said there were 2,121 confirmed covid cases...
Uncounted ballots discovered among Westmoreland County voting equipment
Westmoreland County elections officials disclosed Monday that 21 uncounted provisional ballots submitted at a North Huntingdon voting precinct on Election Day were discovered last week among computer equipment used at the polls in November. Elections bureau staffers found the unopened ballots during a routine inspection of voting machines stored at...
Eastern area real estate transactions for the week of Jan. 3
Delmont Steven Smith sold property at 5 W White Oak Drive to Michael Daverio for $180,000. Export Kim Eberman sold property at 2797 Italy Road to Robert McGrath for $79,700. Christopher Schmader sold property at 5829 Madison Ave. to Farbarik Enterprises LLC for $27,000. Ken Blunkosky sold property at 5928...
Pandemic plagued schools in 1st semester, likely to continue after holidays
While the end of a tumultuous first semester is in sight, school districts plagued with uncertainty and ever-changing situations brought on by the coronavirus pandemic are far from in the clear as record-breaking cases are continually reported, leaving no set plans going into the spring months. As the first semester...
White Oak restaurant donating Tuesday eat-in proceeds to servers
Thousands of restaurant servers like Kelly Matey lost a third of their wages and months worth of tips last year because of the state’s ban on indoor dining for almost three months in the spring and then again three more weeks over the busy Christmas and New Year’s holidays. “It...
Mt. Pleasant boy, 15, charged as adult in armed robbery
A 15-year-old Mt. Pleasant Township boy is charged as an adult in an armed robbery this month outside his home, according to court papers. Kyle Ray Franklin was arrested Tuesday and is being held on $50,000 bail. He is the second juvenile suspect to be nabbed in the Dec. 19...
Hempfield photographer found innovative way to stay in business during pandemicVideo
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series highlighting five people whose lives were reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic. Back before the covid pandemic slammed the economy and limited what people could do outside their homes, Dennis Pushkar expected that his Impressions Photography would build on what had been...
Penn-Trafford-Jeannette area covid cases rise slightly
The Penn-Trafford-Jeannette area saw a 5% jump in confirmed covid cases over the past week, with the addition of 68 cases, based on data from the state Department of Health. The health department counted 1,310 confirmed covid cases in the three communities as of Dec. 29, up from 1,242 as...
Irwin man accused of stabbing someone outside bar
A 26-year-old Irwin man is in the county jail on $75,000 bond after police say he fought with two brothers late Monday outside a Main Street restaurant-bar and stabbed one man in the neck. Joshua James Robison was arraigned Tuesday on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, harassment, possessing...
About 50% of Westmoreland County covid cases, deaths have come in December
Westmoreland County reported the most new coronavirus cases in about two weeks Tuesday. There were 466 new cases reported, the most since 542 cases were announced Dec. 15. Tuesday’s new cases bring the county’s total to 18,855. In December, there have been 9,594 cases reported, which account for about 51%...
Norwin sees downward trend in new covid cases
The North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin area saw fewer new coronavirus cases on Monday compared to a week ago, continuing a downward trend that has seen the week-to-week percentage increase drop below 10 percent for the first time since Thanksgiving, according to data from the state Department of Health. Since the pandemic...
North Huntingdon man jailed after 3 township officers hurt during welfare check
A North Huntingdon man is being held in the county jail after police said three township officers were hurt when they performed a welfare check at his house earlier this month, according to court papers. Kevin Michael Shouse, 23, is charged with several counts each of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment,...
Eastern area real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 27
Churchill Norene K D’Amico Ficery sold property at 306 Surrey Place to Julian Toker for $299,000. Edgewood Estate of Eugene Stern sold property at 520 Locust St. to Lawrence Connelly III and Carla Rosemarino for $266,849. Forest Hills Anna Geanous sold property at 245 Avenue B to Peachpit LLC for...
Checkpoint shields installed to boost covid-19 protection at Arnold Palmer airport
Acrylic shields are in place at the security checkpoint at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport as an added measure to help prevent the spread of covid-19. Installed the week of Dec. 18, the shields are meant to provide enhanced protection for passengers boarding Spirit Airlines flights and Transportation Security Administration officers...
Teen charged as adult in Mt. Pleasant Township armed robbery
A North Huntingdon teen was arrested by state police Wednesday in connection with an armed robbery Saturday in Mt. Pleasant Township. Elijah Ben Chaabane, 17, is charged with robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor, theft and related offenses. He is being charged as an adult. Troopers were...
Irwin police, fire, EMS get stuffed Moose dolls for childrenVideo
Irwin’s police, firefighters and emergency medical services received two dozen cuddly Moose dolls recently to give to children when they are in stressful situations. The brown Tommy Moose stuffed animals adorned with a red shirt and yellow antlers were distributed at the Irwin Fire Department Friday by members of the...
Postal Service struggles with record demands as Christmas draws near
First it was the election and questions about whether the Post Office could be relied upon to deliver millions of mail-in ballots. Now, barely six weeks later, an unprecedented uptick in packages from online shoppers and staff shortages exacerbated by a rash of covid-19 outbreaks are combining to strain the...
North Huntingdon auto dealership spreads Christmas joy with boxes of foodVideo
Like millions of other Americans, it’s been a terrible year for Michelle Davis of Monroeville. She lost her job months ago as a food delivery person for InstaCart when the economy plunged and covid spread across the region. Her father died last week in New York of a non-covid-related illness,...
Westmoreland County issues final covid-relief grants
More than $615,000 in covid relief grants were handed out Tuesday to local volunteer fire departments and emergency medical service units as Westmoreland County exhausted its share of federal stimulus money to help struggling businesses, nonprofits and municipalities amid the ongoing pandemic. Commissioners awarded 24 volunteer fire departments and 10...
Westmoreland commissioners rescind covid grant to Salem gym, allow North Huntingdon to keep money
Westmoreland County commissioners on Tuesday rescinded a nearly $5,000 grant awarded last week to a Salem gym after it refused to accept a provision that requires recipients to pledge to adhere to state covid guidelines. Officials said representatives of Matshark Fitness, which operates as Wallace Training Systems, declined to sign...
Westmoreland food bank benefits from annual United Way fundraiserVideo
Rather than mapping out the most efficient route through the East Pittsburgh Street Shop ’n Save in Greensburg on Monday evening, Renee Sasanko spent her time deciding on a nonprofit organization that would benefit from a $750 donation. The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s annual fundraiser, which normally sends one...
Norwin-area covid cases increase, but at slower pace
The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in the Norwin area ending the week of Dec. 21 trended below the previous week , the first time since the Thanksgiving holiday , according to the state Department of Health. The number of new covid-19 cases last week increased by 229 to...
No raises in new year for Westmoreland elected officials
Westmoreland County’s elected officials will not get raises in 2021. Annual cost-of-living raises earned by county commissioners and row officers since 1995 have been determined by changes to the consumer price index calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. For 2021, that index...
Westmoreland County coronavirus rate five times higher than ‘substantial’ threshold
Westmoreland County’s coronavirus incidence rate — a statistic that tracks the spread of the virus through the population — has more than tripled in the last month. It was 516.5 for the most recently measured 7-day period, which ended Thursday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health data. That’s down...
