Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 56
New nurses to get $7,500 bonus to work at Westmoreland Manor
Newly hired nurses will get a $7,500 bonus to sign on to work at Westmoreland Manor in Hempfield, which, like other care homes across the country, is plagued by staffing issues. Nursing aides hired after Sept. 1 will be awarded a $4,000 bonus to work at the county-owned care facility....
Westmoreland chief clerk granted raise for expanded duties
Westmoreland County’s chief clerk is getting a more than $7,100 raise that officials said will be partly covered using funds from the county’s $105.4 million American Rescue Plan allocation. Chief Clerk Vera Spina will have added responsibilities in addition to her jack-of-all-trades role as the point person for the county’s...
Judge adds $3.78 million to verdict in Westmoreland swimming pool injury case
A Westmoreland County judge awarded $3.7 million in delayed damages to a Vandergrift man who was left a quadriplegic after he jumped onto a raft in a friend’s swimming pool in 2013. After a trial in March, a jury issued a $19 million verdict, a record high in Westmoreland County,...
Hyde Park husband sentenced to up to 26 years in prison for wife’s death
Despite being convicted of her murder, Jeffrey Fondrk told a Westmoreland County judge Thursday that he misses his wife. “She was the world to me and I tried to take care of her the best I could. I regret her death and I miss her. She was a very good...
Westmoreland set to end deal with Monessen for blight project
Westmoreland commissioners on Thursday are expected to terminate a contract with Monessen to coordinate a plan to remove blighted properties in the city. Officials signed off on a $7,500 deal late last year in which the county planning department would oversee efforts to identify and publicize efforts to remove dilapidated...
Spirit cuts Fort Myers flights from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity
Spirit Airlines has eliminated its seasonal flights to Fort Myers, Fla., from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority, on Tuesday confirmed the Unity airport’s lone commercial carrier has slashed the route that over the past half-decade carried passengers on three flights a...
Westmoreland sells 135 tax delinquent properties at auction
Westmoreland County added more than $1.62 million to its coffers Monday from the sale of tax delinquent properties. The annual sale netted about $120,000 more than what buyers paid last year, when 125 properties sold for about $1.5 million; and fell just short of the total earned during the 2020...
Monessen man pleads guilty for fight with police, gun and weapons charges
Aliziah Feliberty had no answer when asked by a county judge Monday morning if he understood just what could have happened when he resisted arrest following a scuffle with police last year in Monessen. “What did you think you could have accomplished when you tried to disarm these two officers....
Mt. Pleasant Twp. property owner blames flooding on storm drain replacement delays
Shannon Pologruto frets when it rains. She knows just a moderate storm, such as the cell that moved through the Mt. Pleasant Township area Tuesday night, will result in substantial flooding at the Diamond Street apartment building she owns with her husband. “We had two feet of water around the...
Westmoreland County intends to file another lawsuit over opioid deaths
Westmoreland County has signaled it intends to file another opioid lawsuit with new litigation that names several national pharmacies as defendants. The county, through its private outside counsel based in Eastern Pennsylvania, made a court filing earlier this month in Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court, a formal step that launches...
Westmoreland Democrats say concerns abound as November election nears
Anger and discord among voters has made the campaign season leading up to the November general election a potential safety hazard for members of her party, Westmoreland County’s Democratic Committee chairwoman said Thursday. “It is not easy to be a Democrat in Westmoreland County, and it’s not always safe,” Michelle...
Convicted sex offender, Latrobe man pleads guilty to sexual assault
A Latrobe man convicted more than a decade ago in two cases in which he and family members were accused of enslaving teenage girls was sentenced Thursday to serve up to 10 years in prison for sexual assault. Jonathan Pollard, 33, pleaded guilty to one felony count of aggravated indecent...
7th suspect arrested in New Kensington shooting
A seventh person suspected in the July slaying of a man in New Kensington was arrested Thursday. Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced that 16-year-old Da’Montae Brooks was taken into custody at a home in Dunbar, Fayette County, by state police and members of an unspecified fugitive task force....
Westmoreland Democrats say concerns abound as November election nears
Anger and discord among voters has made the campaign season leading up to the November general election a potential safety hazard for members of her party, Westmoreland County’s Democratic Committee chairwoman said Thursday. “It is not easy to be a Democrat in Westmoreland County, and it’s not always safe,” Michelle...
Walk for suicide awareness set for Saturday at Twin Lakes Park
Laurie Barnett Levine doesn’t know what to make of the early registration numbers ahead of this weekend’s 16th annual Ray of Hope suicide awareness walk at Twin Lakes Park. “The number of people who are attending is going up. We’re not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad...
‘Neighborhood Karen’ blamed for Jeannette man’s arrest
The lawyer for a Jeannette man charged last year with obstruction of a police investigation told a Westmoreland County judge Tuesday the case is based on a bogus report from a “neighborhood Karen.” Defense attorney Robert Domenick argued that three criminal counts filed by Jeannette police against John Durbiano should...
Judge rules North Huntingdon robbery suspect to be prosecuted as an adult
A North Huntingdon man charged in late 2020 with the armed robbery of a man he paid $40 to drive him to Mt. Pleasant will be prosecuted as an adult, a Westmoreland County judge ruled. Elijah Ben Chaabane was less than two months shy of his 18th birthday when he...
Breast cancer awareness fundraiser planned for Sept. 10
Real Men Wear Pink, a concert and food festival, will be held Sept. 10 in Salem to raise money for the American Cancer Society. “We raised $13,000 the first year and $34,000 last year. This year we want to do better,” said organizer Chris Guido, a co-owner of All Saints...
Mother sues Penn Township Athletic Association after son is injured while pitching
The mother of a boy who was hurt while pitching batting practice last year for a Penn Township Athletic Association travel baseball team has sued the organization, claiming he was directed to participate in an unsafe drill. Judith Gross of Manor said coaches were negligent and careless when they ordered...
Upgrades eyed to aid Westmoreland airport’s future
More than $2.5 million in federal funds received this summer will be used to help navigate uncertainty caused by the announced purchase of Spirit Airlines, the director of the agency that runs Arnold Palmer Regional Airport said Wednesday. Officials remain cautiously optimistic about how competitor JetBlue’s proposed purchase of Spirit...
Monessen man sentenced to prison for gun, drug offenses
A Monessen man was ordered to serve up to eight years in prison this week after he pleaded guilty to illegal gun possession and drug charges. Police said Terrance Stepoli, 30, fled from officers who responded to a call of a fight at the former Sweeney’s Steakhouse in Rostraver on...
Unity man ordered to probation, house arrest after felony sex assault charges dismissed
A Unity man pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor sex charge this week after prosecutors agreed to dismiss more serious felony counts after he was accused of having sexual contact with a pre-teen girl in 2019. Christopher Simoncini, 36, was ordered to serve three years on probation, including a 12-month period...
Westmoreland courthouse ‘legend’ Myrna McCloskey mourned
Election nights at the Westmoreland County Courthouse used to be the place to be for local politicos to gather. Long after polls closed at 8 p.m., and after working a full day at the courthouse, it was common to see Myrna McCloskey seated at a small table in the commissioners’...
Charges withdrawn against man suspected in Unity woman’s disappearance
Criminal charges in three unrelated cases were dismissed against a man authorities have labeled a “person of interest” in a Unity woman’s disappearance. Charges of attempted burglary, forgery and tampering with evidence stemming from arrests in 2018 and 2019 were withdrawn against Thomas Stanko, 52, of Unity this month. Those...
Man enters guilty plea related to 2017 Youngwood house fire
An Irwin man pleaded guilty Monday to a misdemeanor charge stemming from a 2017 fire at his former home in Youngwood. Shaun Wallace, 41, was ordered to serve two years on probation and six months of house arrest for his involvement in the second of two fires police said were...
