Jeff Himler stories, Page 36
Tractor-trailer cab burns in Oakmont, no injuriesVideo
No one was injured but traffic had to be detoured when a tractor-trailer cab caught on fire Tuesday afternoon on Allegheny Avenue near the Riverside Community Church in Oakmont. Oakmont firefighters responded to the blaze just before 5 p.m., according to fire Chief Joe Flanick. The fire occurred as the...
Firefighters called to rescue motorist from Ligonier Township flooding; several roads closed
Flooding and downed utility lines caused the closure of several roads around Westmoreland County from Tuesday to Wednesday as a storm pounded the region with rain and high winds. Firefighters from Ligonier and Waterford were dispatched around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to assist a motorist from a vehicle in a flooded...
Latrobe consultant to create plan for possible walking, biking improvements in Greensburg
Gibson-Thomas Engineering will work with a steering committee to study Greensburg’s environment for walkers and bicyclists, among others. The city council on Monday selected the Latrobe firm as its consultant for developing an active transportation plan. Such a plan emphasizes forms of mobility including “walking, biking, using a wheelchair, connecting...
Pittsburgh-area developer eyes purchase of former Derry ceramics plant site
A long-vacant former industrial site in the middle of Derry Borough could see renewed life if all goes well with the planned purchase of the 18-acre site by a Pittsburgh-area developer. Westmoreland County’s Land Bank and Redevelopment Authority have a conditional agreement to sell the former Porcelain Park at Route...
Greensburg Salem offers students customized help as many fall short of expected academic growth
Greensburg Salem elementary students are getting a daily break from regular classroom instruction to receive a half hour of personalized help with academics or social or emotional needs. The move comes after just two out of 21 grade- level groups in grades K-8 last school year met or exceeded the district...
Ruby, milk glassware, images from past recall defunct Westmoreland Glass plant
The abandoned Westmoreland Glass Co. plant in Hempfield has deteriorated into a shadow of its former self, but the varieties of glassware produced at the site for nearly a century have not lost their luster for collectors and local historians. “They made high quality white milk glass, and they painted...
Greensburg Community Development Corp. looks to hire events staffer, join forces with SummerSounds
Greensburg Community Development Corp. is looking to hire an events manager, a new position that will be key in the organization’s plan to collaborate with Greensburg’s seasonal SummerSounds concert series. The events manager will be the nonprofit’s second full-time staff member, joining executive director Alec Italiano. According to the online...
Snowstorm forecast prompts vehicle restrictions on Pennsylvania Turnpike, other major routes
Vehicle restrictions will be in place beginning Saturday on portions of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and other major highways in the state as officials prepare for an expected weekend snowstorm. Starting at noon, PennDOT restrictions will take effect on the section of the toll road stretching from the New Stanton exit...
Greensburg Salem plans session to review, get feedback on school facilities
The state of Greensburg Salem School District’s facilities will be the topic of a public meeting set for Jan. 17 in the high school auditorium. “It’s really an informational meeting, to talk about the current state of the facilities,” said district Superintendent Ken Bissell, “so we can start to collect...
Code Blue shelter plan set for Allegheny County with frigid weather forecast
Frigid temperatures are forecast in Allegheny County beginning Thursday night, prompting a Code Blue Action to provide shelter for the homeless. County and Pittsburgh officials said the Code Blue will go into effect throughout the county at 7 p.m. Thursday and is expected to continue through Friday night, depending on...
Man struck by vehicle in Pittsburgh’s Arlington neighborhood
A man was in stable condition after being struck by a hit-and-run vehicle Saturday night in Pittsburgh’s Arlington neighborhood. City police found the man was alert and conscious, but complaining of leg and abdominal pain, after he was struck at about 10:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of Arlington Avenue....
Suspect, officer injured as Pittsburgh police answer gun call in Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood
A suspect and a responding Pittsburgh police officer were injured Saturday evening when police responded to a report of two men with a firearm inside a vehicle in the city’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood. At about 6:45 p.m., officers approached the vehicle in the 7200 block of Everton Street and found a...
Man found fatally shot in Pittsburgh’s Arlington neighborhood
Pittsburgh police found a fatally shot man inside a home in the 2200 block of Arlington Avenue Saturday night. Officers responded shortly before 8:30 p.m. to a 911 call for shots fired inside the residence in the city’s Arlington neighborhood. The man was identified as Grant Maynard Gibeault, 25, of...
Police: 3 men arrested after killing Murrysville man over $400K debt
Authorities have arrested three men in the death of a Murrysville businessman whose body was discovered Friday in Clarion County. George Dayieb, 57, of Murrysville, had been reported missing and endangered to Murrysville police. He was found by investigators inside a trailer with a single gunshot wound to the back...
Westmoreland 250: Area natives have made their mark
Westmoreland County has played an important part in the development of Pennsylvania and the nation, so it seems natural that many of its sons and daughters have made major contributions of their own. As 2023 comes to a close — and with it, the 250th anniversary of the founding of...
3 injured in Uniontown stabbing
Three people were injured in a stabbing incident reported Saturday morning in Uniontown. One person was taken to a hospital while two others were treated in the 60 block of Butler Street, according to a Fayette County 911 supervisor. The injury to the person who was hospitalized was not life-threatening...
Peoples Gas seeks state approval of rate hikes in 2024
Peoples Gas is proposing base rate increases for customers that could take effect in September if approved by Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission. If the entire increase is approved, residential customers who annually use 80,000 cubic feet of gas and are served by the company’s Peoples Natural Gas division will see...
Fayette County native Rachel Duda takes over reins of PennDOT District 12
A 1984 fire that destroyed Rachel Duda’s childhood home in Fayette County had a major impact on her life in more ways than one. For two years, Duda lived with relatives in California. That’s where she set her mind on a career in civil engineering, one that has led her...
Westmoreland natives killed in Christmas Eve 1944 U-boat attack have lives preserved digitally
Christmas Day 1944 never came for four Westmoreland County natives and 759 fellow servicemen who were passengers on a World War II troop transport ship headed for Cherbourg, France. On Christmas Eve, about 5 miles from its destination, the SS Leopoldville was torpedoed by a German submarine and sank, taking...
Greensburg Salem High School show-and-tell introduces fourth graders to exotic species
Jayceona Smith had something to prove when she gingerly touched her finger to the back of Arthur, a curly-haired tarantula. “I want to see the alligator, the snake and the tarantula,” said Smith, one of the fourth-grade students at Greensburg’s Nicely Elementary who had a chance to see and learn...
Holiday tree house: Ligonier Township home decked out with dozens of themed Tannenbaums
Jane Mattern decks out more than 40 Christmas trees, at least one for every day of the holiday season and for every room of her family’s expansive Ligonier Township home. The variously themed trees range from an 18-foot live Fraser fir that stretches toward the living room’s cathedral ceiling to...
Pennsylvania Turnpike preps for 5.2M holiday drivers, up from 2022
Regional highway travel during the extended holiday week is expected to see an uptick of about 2% compared to the same time the previous year, while air travel should see a slightly higher gain. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is preparing for the increase in holiday travel on the state toll...
Beams placed for new Route 51 bridge over I-70 in Rostraver
The area’s first significant snowfall of the season Tuesday didn’t stop progress on reconstruction of the Route 51 interchange on Interstate 70. On Tuesday night, crews from contractors Golden Triangle and JC Lee set in place beams for a new bridge that will carry Route 51 over the interstate in...
Pennsylvania senators, congressman urge federal committee to block foreign sale of U.S. Steel
Three Democratic U.S. lawmakers from Pennsylvania are calling for a federal committee to block the proposed sale of U.S. Steel to Japan-based Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns. In a letter Tuesday to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman and U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio said...
Allegheny County adds 32 emergency shelter overflow beds; low temps in 20s to continue
Allegheny County has added 32 overflow beds to its emergency shelter system as several nights of below-freezing temperatures are expected in the Pittsburgh area. The additional capacity, as of Monday evening, included 20 beds for single women at the Salvation Army Family Caring Center. A dozen overflow beds for any...
