Quincey Reese stories, Page 24
‘Providing a little bit of light’: Penn Middle School supports community, local cancer patients in honor of late teacher
Up until three weeks before Jackie Landram died from ovarian cancer, she was doing what she loved: teaching. Landram taught seventh grade English at Penn Middle School in Penn Township for 16 years. She died at home at age 44 on Jan. 25, 2022, following a seven year battle with...
Westmoreland DA will review Penn Township police video before public release
The Penn Township commissioners voted Wednesday to allow the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office to review police body camera video before it is released to the public. Four months after police released body camera video showing an officer shooting a Ligonier Township man, District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli’s office requested in...
Penn Township eyes vote to permit Westmoreland DA to review police video before public release
Penn Township commissioners will vote Wednesday whether to allow the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office to review police body camera video before before it is released. District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli’s office asked police departments in late December to have prosecutors review their footage if there is a request to have...
Harvison Road bridge in Penn Township slated for summer removal
A bridge carrying Harvison Road over the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County’s Penn Township will be removed this summer, according to the turnpike commission. The commission announced in 2021 that it would remove the bridge as part of a $300 million-plus project to widen the toll highway between the Monroeville...
‘There needs to be somebody that looks like me’: Pittsburgh nonprofit creates recreation opportunities for people of color
Jaiya Hughes loves everything about winter. When temperatures drop, Hughes, 10, cannot wait to don her snow coat and boots and hit the hills of her East Liberty neighborhood in Pittsburgh, sled in hand. Her mother, Tazi Hughes, always joins in on the action. But when Jaiya sees fellow sled...
‘A celebration of what we bring to the community’: Westmoreland Cultural Trust hosts annual fundraising gala at Palace Theatre
Suits, ties and evening gowns will grace the stage of the Palace Theatre in Greensburg for the Westmoreland Cultural Trust’s “Party at the Palace” fundraising gala. The theme is “shaken, not stirred,” inspired by the way James Bond takes his martini cocktails. The trust has held the gala for 18...
Hempfield’s High Park fire station suspends service after nearly 2 years on probation
The High Park Volunteer Fire Department will no longer serve Hempfield after nearly two years on probation. The township received an email from High Park on Feb. 8 indicating the station wanted to discontinue its service. Hempfield Fire Chief Anthony Kovacic suspended operations at the station Tuesday. High Park has...
Greensburg council approves city workers as volunteer firefighters to respond to daytime calls
Greensburg council has made it easier for city workers who are volunteer firefighters to respond to emergency daytime calls. Council approved a resolution Monday to permit volunteer firefighters who work city jobs to answer fire calls during the regular workday. In Greensburg, 10 of the 15 public works employees are...
Mt. Pleasant, Yough host fundraisers for family of late referee
Referee Mike Roebuck was the kind of person a coach wants their athletes to be around, said Mt. Pleasant Area High School basketball coach Annie Malkowiak. Roebuck, 45, of New Stanton was officiating a junior varsity basketball game between Mt. Pleasant and Yough when he collapsed and later died at...
Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library hosts first vendor show, highlights local art, food
Jamie Keys likes to hang out in downtown Greensburg with friend and fellow art therapy student Olivia Andazola. The two second-year Seton Hill graduate students walked less than 10 minutes from their Greensburg apartment to participate in The Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library’s first vendor show. Keys brought original prints and trading...
‘I want them to express themselves’: Level Green parent launches Lego club
Keith Harmon estimates he has more than 200 pounds of Lego bricks in his Penn Township home. “There’s not a lot of room to move,” Harmon joked. “I have Lego stuff pretty much anywhere you can imagine.” Harmon, parent to a first grade student at Level Green Elementary, started a...
Logan Elementary benefits 100 students with gift drive, aims to continue support
The annual gift drive at Logan Elementary School in North Versailles helped bring a happy holiday to about 100 of the school’s students. The students received a backpack holding a wrapped gift, a hoodie and an essential item, such as clothing or hygiene products. The backpacks were left on students’...
‘A completely different world’: Virtual reality arcade opens in Westmoreland Mall
When Dan Roble first put on a virtual reality headset in 2016, his reaction was not what he had hoped. “It made me sick (after) the first 15 minutes or so,” said Roble, 35, of Latrobe. But the technology has improved significantly over the past eight years to prevent users...
Playstation, wallet stolen after home invasion in Lincoln Lemington
Seven people broke into a home Monday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln Lemington neighborhood and stole some of the resident’s belongings. Two men were in the home in the 1500 block of Oakdene Street when a woman approached the residents and asked to use a phone charger before six men kicked...
Former Greensburg Salem, Saint Vincent educator to showcase paintings at Greensburg library
Al Sanfilippo has always been interested in art. But it wasn’t until his retirement from a 50-year career in education that he started exploring his artistic ability at the Greensburg Art Center in Hempfield. About nine years later, Sanfilippo’s artwork is on display until mid-March at the Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library...
New Greensburg Central Catholic principal aims to ‘be a part of moving it into the future’
For Theresa Szmed, the past month has been all about listening. Szmed was hired as principal for Greensburg Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School in November and took the reins in January, with assistance from interim Principal Sharyn Zalno. “It’s been a fantastic adventure, and it’s been overall positive,” said Szmed,...
‘Non-stop sitcom with incredible music’: Split Stage Productions brings ‘Urinetown’ to Lamp Theatre
Split Stage Productions’ latest performance doesn’t take itself too seriously, said director Rob Jessup. The theater company, which opened in 2013, will perform the musical “Urinetown” Friday and Saturday and Feb. 8-10 at The Lamp Theatre in Irwin. The 16-person cast will tell the story of a post-apocalyptic world experiencing...
Building empathy, understanding: Pitt Greensburg reading initiative sparks community discussion
When Sheila Confer finished reading “Rising Out of Hatred” by Eli Saslow, she wanted everyone to experience the book. Confer, an instructor for Pitt’s Greensburg campus, gathered about 400 students and 100 community members to read the book in 2022 through a program dubbed Westmoreland Reads. Saslow, a writer for...
Irwin natives open Trafford brewery as gathering place for community
Brothers Chris, Nick and Mike Juricich have shared an appreciation for craft beer for as long as they can remember. The Irwin natives will set their passion into motion today with the opening of their latest entrepreneurial venture, Wye Beer Co., located on Forbes Road in Trafford. “Craft beer is...
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit honors 2 educators with awards
After working as a shipper for Age Craft Manufacturing in Greensburg for seven years, Don Sabolcik sought to become a paraeducator. Sabolcik, of Delmont, was inspired to change career paths after the Clairview School in Hempfield provided early intervention services to his son, J.W. This is Sabolcik’s third year as...
‘It gives them the confidence to go beyond’: Stage Right aims to welcome students of all backgrounds with grant
Stage Right in Greensburg distributes $30,000 in scholarships and financial aid to its students each year. About a third of a $175,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation in Pittsburgh will help the nonprofit theater company continue supporting students of all socioeconomic backgrounds, Executive Director Anastasia Robinson said. Stage...
Manor police officer accused of impersonating UPMC police, stealing credit cards, key from employee
A Manor Borough police officer is accused of breaking into a UPMC building, impersonating a UPMC police officer and taking credit cards and a key from an employee’s office. Justin R. Hall, 39, of Washington Township, was observed on security camera footage entering the UPMC Baum/Ross Building in Pittsburgh’s Oakland...
Manor police officer accused of impersonating UPMC police, stealing credit cards, key from employee
A Manor Borough police officer is accused of breaking into a UPMC building, impersonating a UPMC police officer and taking credit cards and a key from an employee’s office. Justin R. Hall, 39, of Washington Township, Westmoreland County, was observed on security camera footage entering the UPMC Baum/Ross Building, located...
Pittsburgh contractor accused of stealing more than $270,000 from couple
A Pittsburgh contractor arrested Tuesday is accused of stealing more than $270,000 from a couple who hired him to design a home more than three years ago. Page F. Thomas, 55, was hired in September 2020 by Douglas and Traci Borsch to design a home in Pittsburgh, according to a...
Western Pa. resident loses more than $1 million in widespread money laundering scheme, 2 men sentenced
Two California residents have been ordered to pay nearly $4.5 million combined in restitution as part of their federal sentences connected to an international money laundering scheme that impacted some Western Pennsylvania residents. Thien Phuc Tran, 34, and Ton Huynh Bui, 30, of Santa Ana, scammed people across the country,...
