Quincey Reese stories, Page 20
AI, educator diversity and angry parents: National education conference comes to Pittsburgh
The use of AI in classrooms, the importance of educator diversity and dealing with angry parents are just a few of the topics that will be discussed at a national education conference in Pittsburgh beginning Sunday. More than 200 state government officials, representatives from educator preparation programs and school district...
Westmoreland transit authority votes to increase driver wages; eyes shared-ride fare increase
Residents who use the Westmoreland County Transit Authority’s shared-ride program will see a fare increase effective this fall following approval of the authority’s 2024-25 budget Thursday. Details of the fare increase will be presented at the authority’s board meeting in July, said Deputy Executive Director Ashley Cooper-Brounce. The shared-ride service...
Penn Township approves new turnpike maintenance facility; details of interchange still up in air
Penn Township commissioners approved the preliminary development plan for a new Pennsylvania Turnpike maintenance complex featuring nearly 8 acres of solar panels. The complex — which will contain an office space, truck and maintenance garages and a salt storage building — will be located on a nearly 42-acre property with...
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery struggles to maintain property amid rising costs, fewer lots purchased
Kevin Vought arrived at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, weed trimmer in tow. He would not leave the Braddock Road Avenue graveyard for more than nine hours. Vought is one of two volunteers cutting the grass at the cemetery since it lost its grass cutting service last year....
Penn-Trafford students raise $8K for Damar Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation
It’s not often that Penn-Trafford business teacher Kim Stefkovich is left speechless. But when Pittsburgh native and NFL player Damar Hamlin gave her a hug and thanked her Sunday for the $8,000 donation Stefkovich’s students made to his charity, words escaped her. “When I went up to meet him at...
Ashley Kertes memorial fund aims to help Greensburg area as she tried to do
Ashley Kertes had a love for the Greensburg community and a desire to make it better. Kertes served as executive director of the Greensburg Community Development Corp. and, in March 2022, shifted to associate administrator to the superintendent and community outreach in the Greensburg Salem School District. After Kertes’ unexpected...
New turnpike maintenance facility in Penn Township would be solar powered
A new Pennsylvania Turnpike maintenance complex in Penn Township could feature nearly 8 acres of solar panels to offset energy costs, according to preliminary plans. Township commissioners next week will consider the plans for the complex, which is scheduled to be built by fall of 2026, according to the turnpike...
Some board members oppose Penn-Trafford’s 1% tax hike because it isn’t big enough, they say
Property tax bills will be going up by about $30 per year after a divided Penn-Trafford School Board approved a 1 mill tax hike. The board voted, 6-3, in favor of the 1.1% increase that will support a $68.5 million budget the board also approved Monday. Board members Bryan Kline...
‘You’re breaking all of our hearts’: Parents, students push for answers from Penn-Trafford school board amid principal swaps
Nine-year-old Lillie Bouch stood before the Penn-Trafford School Board on Monday with more than 50 parents, students and teachers behind her. Some attended the meeting to witness the board vote on a five-year contract for teachers and the 2024-25 district budget. But nine parents, students and a district employee came...
Student teaching stipend aims to fill void for aspiring educators, but some say program needs more support
Almost nothing could deter Brianna Savko from teaching. Generally modest pay, an all-time high annual attrition rate of 7.7% and a statewide shortage of more than 2,000 teachers were not enough to change her mind. “There’s a passion there, and I don’t care what the money is behind it when...
Local third graders buzz through Greensburg Rotary Club spelling bee
Nearly 30 third grade students from Aquinas Academy, Hempfield Area and Greensburg Salem school districts marched into the Greensburg Salem Middle School auditorium Thursday evening to “Gonna Fly Now,” known colloquially as the “Rocky” movie theme song. But only Amanda Wang remained on the auditorium stage when “We Are the...
‘It’s given me a lot of confidence’: Penn Township Girl Scout troops honor Gold Award recipients at bridging ceremony
When Allison Huffman decided to pursue the Gold Award at the end of her 12 years in Girl Scouts, she knew she wanted to teach children about mental and physical health. But she had no idea she would learn just as much as the 80 children she taught. Huffman, 17,...
Western Pa. education leaders seek solutions to statewide teacher shortage crisis
Thousands of teaching positions in Pennsylvania were vacant or filled by someone on an emergency certificate in the past year, leaving education across the state in crisis mode, one industry onlooker said. More than 2,000 teaching positions were vacant in Pennsylvania as of October, according to data released by the...
Parents, students question Penn-Trafford principal shuffling
Carly Bouch wants answers from the Penn-Trafford School District administration. The Trafford resident is among several parents in the district who attended recent school board meetings to learn more about five longtime educators being shifted to different schools in the district next fall — including four elementary teachers who have...
Penn Township brings back summer food truck series for 2nd year
A summer food truck series launched last year in Penn Township is returning for a second season. The series — which kicked off last week — features a variety of food trucks, games for children and a new band each night. It takes place across five Friday nights from May...
Ex-Greensburg officer still getting $5K pension payment a month after pleading guilty to drug distribution
Retired Greensburg police Officer Regina McAtee collected another $5,160 pension payment June 1, one month after pleading guilty in federal court to engaging in a methamphetamine distribution operation with the former city police chief. McAtee, 51, of New Kensington has received about $56,500 in pension payments from the city since...
Man critical after shooting in Homestead
A man was shot multiple times in Pittsburgh’s Homestead neighborhood Monday night. Allegheny County Police responded to a shooting in the 300 block of East 18th Avenue around 8:45 a.m. A man was found to have been shot multiple times and transported to a local hospital in critical but stable...
Fort Ligonier reenactors portray historical figures from across globe
About 50 reenactors portraying 18th century military units from across the globe roamed the grounds of Fort Ligonier during Memorial Day weekend as musket and cannon fire pierced the air. Revolutionary War era reenactors intermingled with French and Prussian militia units, an Austrian officer and a Hungarian soldier, said Matt...
Totteridge majority owners take full acquisition of course, continue to expand housing community
Zoltan and Patrick Cendes have helped to build 100 patio homes and 30 single-family homes in the Totteridge Golf Course housing community in Salem since becoming majority owners in 2015. This month, they acquired full ownership of the more than 500-acre property while finishing development of 30 new homes, said...
Fayette man dies after touching live electrical circuit while fixing air conditioner, coroner says
A Fayette County man died Wednesday after touching a live 480-volt open circuit while operating on an air-conditioning unit, according to Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson. James A. McGalla Jr., 33, of Fairchance was working on an air-conditioning unit when he came into contact with the open circuit, Carson said....
Greensburg Catholics to mark Corpus Christi with procession to courthouse
Parishioners at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg will celebrate a feast day Sunday with a procession from the church to the Westmoreland County Courthouse. This will be the first time Bishop Larry Kulick will lead a procession to the courthouse, a few blocks away from the church on Main Street,...
Man found in Brighton Heights with neck stab wound
A man was found with a stab wound in his neck late Saturday in Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood. Pittsburgh police officers were dispatched to the 300 block of McClure Avenue around 10 p.m., according to Emily Bourne, public information officer for Pittsburgh Public Safety. The man who had been stabbed...
1 person hospitalized after McKnight Road crash; lanes closed
One person was transported to a hospital Saturday afternoon following a vehicle crash on McKnight Road in Ross. The person was driving near the 7800 block of McKnight Road around 12:45 p.m. when they crashed into an electrical pole, according to Brian Kohlhepp, public information officer for the Ross Township...
Blairsville man dead after crashing motorcycle over embankment in Derry Township
A man died when the motorcycle he was driving went over an embankment in Derry Township on Saturday morning, according to Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson. Joshua M. Haynes, 24, of Blairsville, was traveling south near 216 Derry Lane just before 9 a.m. when his vehicle left the roadway and...
State trooper receives multiple doses of Narcan after drug bust in Murrysville
A Pittsburgh man is charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and illegal possession of narcotics following a drug bust Thursday evening in Murrysville, after which a state police trooper had to receive multiple doses of Narcan, according to court records. The trooper, who was transported to AHN Hempfield Hospital, was...
