Joe Napsha stories, Page 95
Mt. Pleasant nursing home workers picket for wage hikes, better contractVideo
Workers at a Mt. Pleasant nursing home formed an informational picket line outside the facility Thursday afternoon as part of an effort to get a better contract with higher wages without higher health care insurance premiums. Holding up signs saying “We Deserve a Fair Contract,” about 15 to 20 members...
2 Norwin students test positive for coronavirus
A Norwin High School student and a Hahntown Elementary school student will have to stay away from school until completing isolation procedures after testing positive for coronavirus, school officials said Thursday. Superintendent Jeff Taylor said the school district is working with the state Department of Health to help identify the...
Irwin Ghost Walk canceled by covid-19 concerns
The popular Irwin Ghost Walk usually held during the Halloween season is another in a long string of events canceled to prevent the spread of covid-19. Instead, those interested in Irwin’s Ghost Walk can take a self-guided walk around the downtown business district during the last two weeks of October...
North Huntingdon church plans pet blessing
A North Huntingdon church is planning an event to bless pets this month in honor of St. Francis. The Blessing of the Pets, a reminder of the sacrifice of Christ, will be held for individual pets brought to the pavilion at New Hope Presbyterian Church, 12727 Lincoln Way, from noon...
‘Trying to survive’: Claridge tavern faces fine, complaints, state probe over outdoor concerts
Weekend concerts that draw large crowds outside a Claridge tavern have spawned a series of complaints to Penn Township police, a local citation and sparked an investigation by the state liquor control enforcement agency. Concerts at SchoolHouse Tavern on Main Street are “totally out of hand,” with an estimated crowd...
Pittsburgh area jobless rates drops to 10.2%
The seven-county Pittsburgh area unemployment rate continued to fall in August, dropping 2.3 percentage points to 10.5%. But the decrease is deceiving because almost 13,000 people dropped out of the labor force last month, the state said Tuesday. The jobless rate for the region — Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette,...
Norwin to unveil school reopening plans
Norwin’s 5,300 students and their parents should learn next week the “specific dates and timeline” for when they can return to school five days a week, as well as the option of going fully online. Superintendent Jeff Taylor said he intends to reveal in an email on Oct. 7 what...
Greensburg neighborhood doesn’t let covid-19 crash partyVideo
A group of Greensburg neighbors, some of whom have lived along the same street in the northern end of the city for at least 40 years, gathered Friday afternoon for a country music concert and fellowship that made the oft-used quote from Mister Rogers really ring true — it truly...
Norwin foundation seeks money for scholarships, programs
A foundation that has provided more than $560,000 in scholarships to Norwin students since 2007 wants to raise $7,500 during the school district’s homecoming festivities next week. The Norwin School District Community Foundation will conduct its annual Days of Giving from 8 a.m. Wednesday through Oct. 4, with the goal...
Ligonier Valley Rail Road Association gets a Doodlebug
A mini trolley car that children rode at amusement parks will get new life at the Ligonier Township railroad museum, along with a new coat of paint and complete refurbishing to get it back running next year. “We hope this Doodlebug will rival our main attraction — the (1905 Bobber)...
St. Agnes Church in North Huntingdon to host dinner
St. Agnes Parish, 11400 St. Agnes Lane, North Huntingdon, will hold a drive-thru Fall Food Fest from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 10 or until the meals are sold out, unless they are preordered. Patrons can choose from one of the following: kielbasa and kraut, Italian roast beef or...
Pennsylvania takes step to stop jobless benefits fraud
The state is taking additional steps to prevent criminals from illegally siphoning money from a federal unemployment compensation program by filing fraudulent claims, including delaying payments to allow for more time to verify the identity of those seeking the benefits. Those benefits, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits, are designed for...
Pennsylvania doles out half of federal $300 weekly benefit fund
Pennsylvania has distributed more than one-half of its allocation of $2.8 billion in federal money that is the source of the $300-a-week checks being sent to the eligible covid-19-related jobless, state officials said. The state has sent $1.5 billion to unemployed Pennsylvanians through the federal government’s Lost Wages Assistance Program,...
Norwin rejects efforts to ask controversial director to resign; Censure move fails
The Norwin School Board on Monday refused to ask for the immediate resignation of a member whose statements on a private conservative Facebook page were deemed offensive by some members. An attempt at censure failed as well. By identical 6-3 votes, the majority of the board turned back attempts at...
North Huntingdon man recognized for helping keep Linn Run park trout stream cleanVideo
On a warm September morning atop a wooded ridge where only insects and a small stream break the silence in Linn Run State Park, Dennis “Denny” Hess shoveled pure limestone into the water to neutralize acid rain in the water so the insects that trout thrive upon can populate the...
North Huntingdon emergency management coordinator resigns
North Huntingdon is searching for a new emergency management coordinator after the man who held the position for 13 years resigned. Township commissioners accepted the resignation of Gene Komondor, who agreed to remain in the post until a replacement is selected, said Commissioner Zachary Haigis, board president. “I’m hopeful he’ll...
Pennsylvania’s cut of $300-a-week jobless aid half gone, apply now before it’s too late, state says
A week after the Trump administration abruptly announced that hundreds of thousands of covid-19-related jobless Pennsylvanians would receive an extra $300 weekly for six weeks only rather than through the end of the year, as initially promised, the state said it already distributed almost half of its allocation. Pennsylvania sent...
Pennsylvania jobless rate drops in August, lowest since March
Pennsylvania’s economy continued to improve in August as the state regained slightly more than half of the jobs it lost since the pandemic-related economic shutdowns of March and April, with the jobless rate falling 2.2 percentage points from July to 10.3%. The unemployment rate for August is the lowest rate...
Western Pa.’s Negro Mountain retains its name despite controversy and efforts to erase it
An Allegheny Mountain ridge stretching some 30 miles from the Casselman River in southern Somerset County to Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland has been the focus of controversy as attempts continue to change a name dating to the French and Indian War. The name in question: Negro Mountain. The...
GNC sold to Chinese pharmaceutical group
GNC Holdings Inc., the Pittsburgh-based international health and wellness chain, has been for sold for $770 million to a Chinese pharmaceutical firm in a deal approved Thursday in bankruptcy court in Delaware. Harbin Pharmaceutical Group Holding Co., an affiliate of GNC’s largest shareholder that owns 40% of the company, also...
Norwin superintendent to explain how district will transition to fully in-school or all online
Norwin officials plan to reveal at Monday’s school board meeting the district’s plans for evaluating how to transition from its hybrid model of two days in school and three days of online learning to either fully in class five days a week or to a completely remote online learning model....
Speakers at Greensburg rally urge action to achieve unityVideo
Marguerite Babcock of Cook Township sat on a bench at St. Clair Park in Greensburg on Thursday as speakers stressed the need for unity in a country deeply divided less than two months before the presidential election. “I’m extremely concerned about the high level of divisiveness and nastiness that has...
Braddock-based SCO drug-dealing gang member gets 9 years in federal prison
A former Braddock man who was part of a drug-dealing operation was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Pittsburgh to nine years in prison, the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh said. Jaymare Jackson, 30, was identified as being part of the self-titled Braddock street gang, “SCO,”which dealt drugs in the Braddock...
Area happenings
Flu shots available at church Flu vaccinations will be provided at New Hope Presbyterian Church, 12727 Lincoln Way, North Huntingdon, at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 27, after worship service. Those receiving the shot do not need to participate in the service. The church will follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines for...
Pair accused of trafficking 400 ‘bricks’ of fentanyl
A Philadelphia woman and Dominican Republican man arrested by the state police in a traffic stop along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mt. Pleasant Township have been charged by the federal government with possessing about 400 “bricks” of fentanyl, a powerful painkiller that is mixed with heroin to make a deadly...
