Quincey Reese stories, Page 29
Penn-Trafford Homecoming game, parade slated for Friday
The streets of Harrison City will be lined with floats Friday for Penn-Trafford’s Homecoming parade and football game. The parade kicks off at Penn Township Municipal Park at 6 p.m. The procession will feature the high school marching band, cologuard, cheerleaders and floats designed by several of the school’s clubs...
Local nonprofit Feeding the Spirit hosts annual fundraiser, notes increase in community need
Feeding the Spirit was founded in 2011 to provide food to those in need of a hot meal. Today, it serves about 250 meals every Thursday night at Greensburg’s Otterbein United Methodist Church and offers a wide range of crisis intervention support — all with grant funding and donations from...
Blood donations fall short by two-thirds in region, nonprofit says
Blood collection organizations say donations are down at least 25% — a trend they’ve been unable to break since the pandemic. The American Red Cross announced a national blood shortage last week upon receiving 30,000 fewer donations than expected in August. That’s a 25% decrease from the 12,500 donations it...
‘I have to be that 2%’: Jeannette woman receives ‘overwhelming’ support from community, high school football player
Lisa Friscarella cannot remember the last time she cooked a meal. After receiving a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis with a 2% chance of survival in late July, Friscarella has received “overwhelming” support from her neighbors, friends and family. Her sister created a “meal train” to make sure Friscarella, 41, of...
Blackthorne golf course, clubhouse will not close, township states
The owners of the golf course and clubhouse in Penn Township’s Blackthorne Estates housing community could be forced to sell their properties. The township commissioners voted at a meeting Wednesday to release a “Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law” document regarding the Blackthorne Estates golf course community. The document...
Live Casino Pittsburgh to host job fair
Live Casino Pittsburgh is looking to hire 35 to 40 employees during a job fair. The job fair will take place from 2 to 7 p.m. Monday at the Hempfield casino’s event space, the Venue Live. The casino currently employs more than 500 people, said Sean Sullivan, executive vice president...
Westmoreland Food Bank unveils new wheels, hopes to expand Mobile Market
The Westmoreland Food Bank averages 13 trips a month with its Mobile Market, a program started last October to deliver free fresh produce to community members in need. With the help of a $100,000 state grant and additional federal funding, the food bank hopes to double the number of trips...
‘I’m trying to link those little stories’: Trafford Historical Society gathers stories, unlocks community memories through map project
In the last days of her life, Nancy Woodall was flooded with memories of her childhood — all because of a yearbook and the Trafford Historical Society’s quest to identify the 250 oldest buildings in the borough. Woodall’s daughter, Lia, began searching years ago for a copy of her mother’s...
Scottdale Fall Festival to kick off 150th birthday celebrations
The Scottdale Fall Festival is a 49-year tradition in the borough. And because 2024 is the sesquicentennial of the borough’s founding, this weekend’s festival has a second purpose — to kick start a year of birthday celebrations for the borough. This year’s festival is also slated to be one of...
Monongahela mother charged after death of infant son
A Monongahela mother was charged with homicide following the death of her 12-day-old son Tuesday. Monongahela City Police and Tri Community Ambulance Service were dispatched to the home of Darian Helmantoler, 22, of Monongahela, just before 9 a.m. Tuesday, according to court documents. The Washington County 911 Dispatch Center reported...
Penn Township Fall Festival to continue 17-year tradition
The 16th annual Penn Township Fall Festival aims to live up to its original motto this weekend. “Our original concept was to continue bringing the community together,” festival co-chair Robert Kuster said. Kuster and fellow co-chair Michael Ginsburg came up with the idea for a fall festival when the township...
Export distillery to lead 3rd Bushy Run ‘History Speaks’ event of year
Bushy Run Battlefield will host the White Valley Distilling Company at a speaker event next week as part of its History Speaks series. Jimmy Battaglia, owner of the Export distillery, will teach attendees the history and techniques of whiskey distilling using a hands-on approach, said Scott Perry, member of the...
Penn Township gym to host fundraiser for children with cancer
Gianna Wilkie wants her two passions — fitness and Penn State’s THON — to “stay collided” in a spin class fundraiser slated for this month. As a Penn State student, Wilkie was highly involved in THON, an organization that raises money and offers support to families facing childhood cancer. In...
Bedford County turnpike plaza to close gas pumps for eight-week maintenance project Monday
The gas pumps at the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s westbound North Midway Service Plaza in Bedford County will close on Monday. The pumps will be unavailable for about eight weeks while the fuel provider, 7-Eleven, replaces the underground fuel tanks, lines and dispensers, spokesperson Crispin Havener said in a statement. While there...
Aldi in Hempfield nears opening day
The Aldi grocery store announced for Hempfield in February will open in a week. The store, located at 6207 Route 30 in the Hempfield Plaza, will be open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily starting Sept. 14. Customers can arrive at 8:45 a.m. for the official grand opening of the...
Community Bands of Westmoreland County brings ‘familiar’ music for all ages to community college
The Community Bands of Westmoreland County has performed in Washington, D.C., Gettysburg, Lancaster County and at the Flight 93 Memorial, but their at-home shows have been limited. This weekend, the group will bring its set of classic rock, marches, show tunes and patriotic selections back home for a performance at...
Hanna’s Town to host fifth Antiques & Collectibles market in 50th season
Historic Hanna’s Town will host its fifth Antiques & Collectibles market of the season this weekend, continuing its 50th year of the tradition. The market, which started in 1974, will feature more than 100 vendors offering a variety of vintage items, ranging from $1 to hundreds of dollars in cost....
‘Truly honored and very humbled’: Penn-Trafford nurse selected as grand marshal for township fall festival
Lisa Popovich was selected as a grand marshal for the Penn Township Fall Festival in 2008 for her efforts to bring a new, inclusive playground to McCullough Elementary. But when her mother-in-law died unexpectedly the night before the parade, she had to step down. Now, 15 years later, Popovich will...
Blackthorne clubhouse owner attempts to resolve dispute with golf course, lawsuit states
The owner of the clubhouse in Penn Township’s Blackthorne Estates community made an effort to resolve a dispute with the golf course owner, according to amended court documents. An update to a lawsuit filed by the township in May indicates that the clubhouse owner, Jeannine Schemm, was “willing to allow...
Salem weighs sewage treatment options, amid resident concerns
Lisa Segina likes the rural feel of her Salem home. But, as the township considers joining a growing countywide sewage authority, Segina worries Salem will be subject to property development in the future. Since parting ways with the Crabtree Sewage Authority, the township has relied primarily on taps into the...
Scottdale man charged with robbery, receiving stolen property after McCandless bank heist
A Scottdale man has been arrested after, police say, he robbed a Huntington Bank in McCandless on Tuesday, according to a criminal complaint filed by McCandless police . Raymond H. Zwibel, of Scottdale, was charged with robbery and receiving stolen property. About $1,500 to $1,600 was stolen from the bank...
2 dead, 7 injured in Fayette County vehicle crash
Two people died and seven were injured early Sunday in a head-on vehicle crash in Wharton Township. The crash, which involved two vehicles, happened just before 5:30 a.m., said state police and Fayette EMS Chief Rick Adobato. Troopers said the two vehicles collided head-on when one crossed over the center...
Manor Community Day revives community tradition, engages all ages
Lois Gongaware was 5 when she first began volunteering with Manor’s Labor Day carnival. Saturday, she made the Manor Fire Department’s “famous fried dough” for Manor’s first Labor Day celebration in 21 years — and her son and grandson were there to help. The fire department hosted the Labor Day...
Hempfield lifts probation for West Point Volunteer Fire Department
The West Point Volunteer Fire Department will be taken off probation for the first time in more than two years following a unanimous vote by the Hempfield supervisors this week. Hempfield fire Chief Anthony Kovacic recommended the move. Kovacic said the department missed five calls over the last seven months....
Paws in the Park invites dogs, owners to Bushy Run
Dog owners and their four-legged companions will feel right at home during Bushy Run’s Paws in the Park event in September. Paws in the Park, which first took place in 2019, will host a variety of pet-oriented vendors, adoption agencies and activities from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 9...
