Quincey Reese stories, Page 8
Penn Township Ambulance ‘overwhelmed, gratified’ by statewide EMS award
Overwhelming. Gratifying. Those were the words Operations Director Ed Grant used to quantify his emotions May 8 as Penn Township Ambulance was named the EMS Agency of the Year by a statewide organization. The Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council, an advisory board with more than 200 members, recognized the ambulance...
Derry Area principal tapped to fill administrative vacancy at Greensburg Salem
Derry Area High School Principal Kara Gardner will serve as Greensburg Salem’s first assistant superintendent, filling a gap left by the resignation of the district’s human resources director earlier this year. Gardner, 36, of New Alexandria, began her career in education at Homer-Center Elementary in Center Township. She worked as...
Police seize 2 pounds of methamphetamine from Derry man’s car
A Derry Township man was arrested Thursday after police seized two pounds of methamphetamine from him, according to court documents. Todd F. Stumpf, 59, is charged with possession with intent to deliver. Police received a tip Wednesday that Stumpf was traveling from Maryland to Blairsville, carrying two to four pounds...
Divided Greensburg Salem board OKs $535K student tech purchase
A divided Greensburg Salem School Board approved spending more than $535,000 over four years to replace aging computer tablets and laptops that officials say will no longer function when the next Microsoft Windows update comes in October. The board voted 5-4 to buy 900 iPad tablets for the district’s high...
Greensburg Salem contends with $2.1M budget deficit
Greensburg Salem will need to close a $2.1 million gap in its 2025-26 budget as it contends with rising health care and cyber charter tuition costs. The district’s projected budget includes $51.9 million in revenue and about $54 million in expenses — a deficit that would require a 9.2-mill increase...
Transparency, recreation and solar: 7 candidates share key issues in East Huntingdon races
Seven candidates are vying for two supervisors seats in East Huntingdon, as the township navigates a commercial solar lawsuit and brainstorms how to use the former Ruffsdale Elementary property it bought more than four years ago. Incumbent Justin G. Morrow, a Republican who works for the township’s road crew, is...
‘She earned it’: Penn Township native secures bronze at World Special Olympics
Penn Township resident Kaitlin Grove came to the base of the World Special Olympics ski course with arms raised and a smile across her face. Grove, 28, received a bronze medal in the giant slalom event, taking her place on the podium in Turin, Italy. She was the only Western...
Hempfield Area to present new details on high school renovation, district budget next week
Hempfield Area School Board will present next week a schematic design for the district’s high school renovation. The district has discussed in recent years overhauling the high school building — gutting and renovating the interior while leaving most of the exterior intact. School officials declined to share details of the...
Penn-Trafford School Board tasked with closing $400K budget deficit
Property tax bills could increase by about $80 per year in Penn-Trafford School District following preliminary budget approval by a divided school board this week. But the tax hike would still not be enough to cover the more than $400,000 deficit in the district’s 2025-26 budget, business manager Brett Lago...
4 Western Pa. high schools to compete in national robotics competition
Plum Senior High School’s robotics team has spent hundreds of hours designing, building and refining a 15-pound machine to compete for a national title this weekend. But the 23-student team is fully prepared to watch their labor of love shatter to pieces. Plum is one of dozens of schools that...
Penn-Trafford School Board candidates run unopposed; police chief runs for spot
Four candidates — three incumbents and one newcomer — will run for the four available seats on the Penn-Trafford School Board this spring. Region II incumbents Bryan Kline and Richard Niemiec, along with Region III incumbent Toni Ising, will seek another four-year term. Penn Township Police Chief John Otto is...
If Harvard loses its tax-exempt status, Western Pa. universities, nonprofits could be in trouble
Harvard University could lose hundreds of millions of dollars annually if the federal government is able to revoke its tax-exempt status. But University of Pittsburgh law professor Philip Hackney suspects the move, vocalized by President Donald Trump for a second time Friday, could mean big trouble for higher education institutions...
Greensburg Salem collecting dress clothes donations for 8th grade graduation event
Cleaning out your closets this spring? Greensburg Salem is collecting gently used dress clothes for eighth grade students in need of semi-formal attire for the middle school graduation dinner and dance. The dance was launched by then-assistant principal Joseph Nava in the 1970s to celebrate students’ transition from middle to...
Color analysis, collectibles and women’s fitness: Westmoreland County welcomes 3 new businesses
Friends Angela Vaslavsky and Sarah Thompson knew it was time for a life change. But neither of the Unity residents imagined they would discover that change when they went to House of Colour Mt. Lebanon to receive a personal color analysis. “We were on a self-care journey ourselves,” Thompson said....
Greensburg Community Development Corporation grows roots with new director, vision
After three years of frequent leadership turnover, the Greensburg Community Development Corporation has a new executive director who aims to guide the 50-year-old nonprofit through its new strategic plan and quest for business development funding. Hempfield resident Nancy Ligus takes the helm of the corporation from former board president Elsie...
Penn Borough man accused of setting fire to his home
A Penn Borough man was charged Tuesday after he was accused of setting fire to his own home about a week prior, according to court documents. Andy J. Broadway, 43, is charged with three counts of arson and other related offenses in connection with a fire that damaged his Victor...
Pa. educators push for additional dollars to equitably fund schools
New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent Chris Sefcheck is grateful for the unprecedented funding that was granted to Pennsylvania’s public schools this academic year. But, as education experts continue to note inadequate funding among the majority of the state’s K-12 schools, Sefcheck knows there is still a long way to go in properly...
Pittsburgh Symphony performance at Saint Vincent will honor late archabbot
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will honor a late Saint Vincent Archabbey Basilica archabbot during a performance Wednesday in Unity. The show, “Music for the Spirit,” will pay tribute to Douglas R. Nowicki, OSB, the 11th and second longest-serving archabbot in Saint Vincent’s 178-year history. He oversaw the expansion and renovation...
Lights, camera, action: Westmoreland leaders to take stage in talent show fundraiser
It’s not every day a county commissioner, university professor and pastor end up in the same room. But this week, all of those roles and more will be showcased in the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition’s “Westmoreland Has Talent.” The fundraiser — held occasionally since 2019 — will take place 6 to...
Manor church aims to build community connections through free cooking lessons
Basic knife skills, baking and stove-top cooking are among the topics Manor’s Refuge Church plans to cover in its latest community outreach program. The church, located along Broadway Avenue, is launching a series of free cooking lessons to teach community members how to prepare healthy meals for their families. The...
2 earthquakes recorded about a hundred miles from Pittsburgh
Two earthquakes occurred about a hundred miles southwest of Pittsburgh this week near the same southeastern Ohio town. A 3.1 magnitude earthquake occurred just after 4 a.m. Tuesday about a mile away from Pleasant City — a 0.18-square-mile village east of Columbus. A 3.4 magnitude was recorded near the area...
Morning Roundup: Liberty Tunnel overnight lane closure extended
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, April 25: PennDOT extends Liberty Tunnel closures The state Department of Transportation will continue its overnight lane closures of Pittsburgh’s Liberty Tunnel starting Sunday night. The tunnel has been under a partial lane closure from 8 p.m. to...
Penn Middle students bring cult classic film turned musical ‘Mean Girls Jr.’ to stage
Penn Middle School student Felice Hutchison has learned there is more to the movie-turned-musical “Mean Girls” than the title may imply. Hutchison is one of dozens of Penn Middle students who have rehearsed since November for their performance of “Mean Girls Jr.,” slated for April 25 to 27 in the...
Pittsburgh man accused of burning girlfriend with hot iron
A Pittsburgh man who police say attacked his girlfriend with a hot iron, burning her over about 60% of her body, was arrested Thursday morning. Burton L. Byrd, 55, of Pittsburgh’s Perry South neighborhood, is charged with various crimes including aggravated assault, kidnapping, intimidation of witnesses or victims and unlawful...
Hot enough for ya? Temperatures move above typical April in Western Pa.
Surprised by this week’s rise in temperatures? According to the National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh office in Moon, there is some validity to that reaction. Temperatures are forecast to reach into the low 80s on Thursday, with a 30% chance of going above 82 degrees, said meteorologist Liana Lupo. Late April...
