Joe Napsha stories, Page 84
New North Huntingdon-Irwin area covid cases up slightly
The number of new coronavirus cases in the North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin area rose slightly from March 15 to 22, but the percentage increase remained below 2%, based on data released Monday by the state Department of Health. In the four ZIP codes covering North Huntingdon, Irwin, North Irwin, Westmoreland City,...
Local AmeriCorps members help land conservation, educationVideo
On a brisk Saturday morning, an AmeriCorps member with the Westmoreland Land Trust was overseeing the installation of three interpretative tablets by land trust members in the 58-acre nature reserve in the western section of North Huntingdon, just south of Brush Creek. The tablets, attached to wooden posts buried 30...
Youngwood man loses $3,100 in truck-buying scam
A 55-year-old Youngwood man lost $3,100 recently in a truck-buying scam over Craigslist when he reimbursed a Long Island, N.Y., buyer who had “overpaid” him with a worthless check, state police at Greensburg said. The victim intended to sell his truck for $2,500 on Feb. 26 to a buyer identified...
Man, woman arrested after fight outside North Apollo bar
A Vandergrift man was jailed after police said he fought with officers who were arresting him in connection to a disturbance Friday night outside a bar in North Apollo. Noah Helm, 24, is accused of becoming combative with a Kiski Township police officer as he attempted to arrest Helm along...
Owner of fire-damaged apartment house in Greensburg hopes to rebuild
The owner of a Greensburg rental property damaged by a fire Friday afternoon said he is awaiting an insurance adjuster’s report to determine his next step. Standing outside his three-story house at 34 Grant St. on Saturday, John Toth said that insurance adjuster and a city inspector were at the...
University of Pittsburgh sees spike in covid cases
The University of Pittsburgh said it has seen an 83% spike in new covid cases this past week and four of its campuses are in a “guarded risk posture.” Thirty-six students have tested positive for coronavirus since March 16, and 45 are in isolation at the Oakland campus, according to...
Irwin scraps plans to seek grant for fire hall project
Irwin officials have scrapped plans to apply for a grant for a new fire hall and possible municipal complex that was estimated to cost $1.2 million. Borough council decided last week not to apply for the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant, which has a March 31 deadline for applications. The...
Norwin-area charges filed as of March 18, 2021
Charges filed with North Huntingdon District Judge Wayne Gongaware. All individuals have the right to a preliminary hearing and are innocent until proven guilty before a judge in the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas. • Octavio Pons, 60, of North Huntingdon by township police with simple assault and harassment....
Boosters donation funds new Norwin baseball scoreboard
Two years in the making, Norwin is getting a new scoreboard for its high school baseball field. Like so many things over the past 12 months, plans to install a new scoreboard at the high school field were postponed because of covid, said Ronald Awenowicz, president of the Norwin Baseball...
Norwin-area happenings, March 25, 2021, and beyond
Irwin Scouts planning mulch sale Boy Scout Troop 284 of Irwin is holding a spring mulch sale. Black, brown and red mulch is available. Orders can be placed online at www.Troop284Irwin.com or mailed with payment to Boy Scout Troop 284, 1670 Craig Drive, North Huntingdon, PA 15642. A Orders must...
North Huntingdon OKs plans for Kenny Ross Mazda dealership move
North Huntingdon officials have approved site plans for a new Kenny Ross Mazda dealership along Route 30 that will be built adjacent to Kenny Ross Subaru. Township commissioners also approved plans to consolidate two parcels on the site, which previously was a nursing home, across an alley from the existing...
Westmoreland water authority offers site for mass vaccine, but no takers
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County is offering its warehouse in New Stanton as a site for covid-19 vaccinations. The site is close to a Pennsylvania Turnpike exit and has plenty of parking. The only problem is that the large providers — UPMC, Allegheny Health Network, Giant Eagle and others...
Irwin sponsors Easter Egg hunt
Irwin will hold an Easter Egg hunt from March 22 to 26 that will give children ages two to 12 from Irwin, North Huntingdon and North Irwin the opportunity to win prizes. Borough office employees will hide the plastic eggs along Main, Third, Fourth and Fifth streets and Irwin Park...
Norwin students criticize return to full-time in-school instructionVideo
Norwin’s plan to have students return to school five days a week beginning Friday was panned by eight high school students Monday, who claimed they are being made to choose between their health and their education. The students say social distancing is not possible in the high school, and not...
North Huntingdon-Irwin area covid cases drop again as of March 15, 2021
The rate of new coronavirus cases in the North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin area again fell during the past week, with state Department of Health reporting Monday there were only 32 new cases during the second full week of March. In the four ZIP codes covering North Huntingdon, Irwin, North Irwin, Westmoreland...
Lamp Theatre pavilion completion delayed
The delay in finishing the outdoor pavilion at The Lamp Theatre in downtown Irwin can be blamed on a familiar problem: a supply chain disruption caused by the covid pandemic. “Covid has held us back. We’re waiting for a lot of materials,” said John Gdula, president of The Lamp Theatre...
Life during covid: North Huntingdon home health care supervisor writes fiction novel to escape stressVideo
Editor’s note: This is an occasional series examining how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of members of our community. Since the onset of covid-19, there’s been no such thing as a routine home health care visit. Although the spread of coronavirus has slowed in the region, a North...
Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Yough plan graduations for their normal days
Unlike last year, when some high school graduations were pushed back to the summer, seniors at Penn-Trafford, Norwin and Yough will be among those who will graduate at the end of the regular school year. Penn-Trafford is planning to hold its commencement on Thursday, May 27, and Norwin seniors will...
Medical marijuana dispensary opens in IrwinVideo
For Raymond Myers of Irwin, the opening of a new medical marijuana dispensary in the borough is a blessing, a place he can walk to get medication for his anxiety, depression and back pain. “The medical marijuana has really helped me. I use wax and (marijuana) flower. This (Irwin site)...
Sewickley Township mobile home destroyed by explosion, no injuries reported
A state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of an explosion that destroyed a mobile home near Sutersville on Thursday night, a Sewickley Township fire official said. The man who lived at the mobile home on Sutersville Road, in the village of Gratztown along the Youghiogheny River, was not...
Norwin-area happenings, March 18, 2021, and beyond
Norwin library to feature author on women in WW II The Norwin Public Library is sponsoring a virtual program at 6 p.m. March 22 about women who were involved in the military during World War II. Author Kayleen Reusser, who has interviewed about 250 men and women while writing seven...
Norwin-area charges filed, March 11, 2021
Charges filed with North Huntingdon District Judge Wayne Gongaware. All individuals have the right to a preliminary hearing and are innocent until proven guilty before a judge in the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas. • Devon W. Anderson, 30, of Jeannette, by North Huntingdon police with receiving advancement payment...
Irwin OKs buying 75 refurbished meters; sets rates at 25 cents for half-hour
Irwin officials took steps this week to standardize parking rates in the borough at 25 cents for 30 minutes. It’s part of an ongoing process that will start with buying 75 refurbished digital parking meters that will replace mechanical ones. Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the standardized rate. It will...
New fed relief plan saves aid for 925,000 Pennsylvanians, state says
Congress extended a lifeline to about 925,000 Pennsylvanians who get federal unemployment benefits by giving final approval Wednesday to a $1.9 trillion covid relief package. The House on Wednesday passed the American Rescue Plan, after the Senate approved its own version of the controversial stimulus bill on March 6. President...
Irwin ponders upgrading parking meters — old ones give away time for too little money
Irwin officials have found that too many of the borough’s old parking meters have problems that make drivers happy — meters that give away more time than drivers pay for and rates so low that plinking a nickel into a meter gives the motorist 30 minutes of parking. The borough...
