Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 68
Firefighters respond to blaze in Homer City
Multiple fire companies were dispatched to a structure fire Sunday morning in Homer City. According to Indiana County 911 as many as a dozen fire departments responded to 315 Main St. shortly after 5 a.m. where a two-story apartment building was reported as engulfed in flames. An Indiana County 911...
Hempfield boy, 6, wins top speed at Scouts’ Pinewood Derby Championship
Bradley Walker couldn’t contain his excitement as he clutched his sleek, blue racer in one hand and his trophy in the other as the 6-year-old kindergarten student from Hempfield celebrated his victory Saturday morning. Walker was among the more than 175 kids who raced homemade wooden cars down a 40-foot...
Westmoreland DA Nicole Ziccarelli seeks removal of 2 elected constables
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli is seeking to remove two elected constables from office, one in Arona and another in New Kensington. Ziccarelli, a first-term Republican who took office in January after ousting Democrat John Peck — who served as the county’s top prosecutor for a quarter century —...
Uniontown man withdraws guilty plea in East Huntingdon baby’s drowning death
A Uniontown man who agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge in the 2019 drowning death of a baby in East Huntingdon will go to trial after a judge allowed him to withdraw his admission of guilt. Derrick A. Bass, 31, now claims he is innocent of the murder...
Motorist in driveway crash that injured 3 at Derry birthday bash found not guilty of assault
A Greensburg man was found not guilty of serious felony offenses for the assaults of three people caused when he ran over them with his pickup two years ago in the driveway of a Derry Township apartment building. Police said Dominic G. Bellone, now 21, was drunk when he backed...
Western Pa. health care facilities in compliance with federal vaccine mandate
Western Pennsylvania’s health care facilities largely are in compliance with the first deadline of a federal mandate requiring employees to be vaccinated against covid-19. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month upheld the mandate requiring all employees at health care providers that receive federal funding to be fully vaccinated by...
Greensburg man sentenced for sex with teens
A Greensburg man was ordered Monday to serve two years on probation for having sexual relations with two teen girls. Jerome J. Garrett, 21, pleaded guilty in November to two felony counts of statutory sexual assault. Police said Garrett assaulted two girls, then 14 and 15 years old, during a...
Westmoreland prison officials say covid cases on the decline
The most recent surge of coronavirus cases at Westmoreland County Prison appears to have peaked. Warden Bryan Kline said Monday that no additional cases among inmates have been diagnosed since late last week. The number of inmates who were in quarantine reached as high as 102 on Jan. 26. That...
Westmoreland commissioners approve $1.3 million plan for 2022 tourism
The Westmoreland County commissioners approved spending $1.3 million to promote what one called the “crown jewels” of the region. The money, generated through a portion of the county’s 5% hotel tax, will pay for marketing efforts as well as upgrades to parks, the purchase of property and grants to help...
Visitation and inmate transfers halted as covid-19 surges through Westmoreland County Prison
Westmoreland County Prison brass on Thursday suspended inmate visits as another surge of covid-19 cases has erupted at the lockup in Hempfield. Warden Bryan Kline said more than 100 inmates have the coronavirus and additional cases are expected once pending test results are reported. The outbreak involves about 20% of...
Judge rules that Greensburg police illegally searched sleeping man’s car
A Westmoreland County judge has ruled that police illegally searched a sleeping man’s parked car outside of a Greensburg convenience store. City police had no legal authority to search the vehicle, in which they found drugs, cash and a loaded weapon, without a warrant, Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani...
Greensburg man not guilty in shooting at New Kensington police
A Greensburg man was acquitted Wednesday of the attempted murder and assaults of three New Kensington police officers who were shot at as they rode in an unmarked surveillance van during a search for a suspect in an unrelated criminal case two years ago. After nearly three hours of deliberations,...
Greensburg man not guilty in shooting at New Kensington police
A Greensburg man was acquitted Wednesday of the attempted murder and assaults of three New Kensington police officers who were shot at as they rode in an unmarked surveillance van during a search for a suspect in an unrelated criminal case two years ago. After nearly three hours of deliberations,...
Jury split in verdicts for Norwin teacher, husband in middle school musical case
A Westmoreland County jury acquitted a Norwin Middle School teacher of failure to comply with child protective service laws but found her husband guilty of a similar charge. The jury deliberated more than five hours Tuesday before it rendered its mixed verdict to clear English teacher Tobitha Sasso, 42, of...
Trial begins for Greensburg man charged with attempted murder of New Kensington cops
New Kensington detective Sam Long told a Westmoreland County jury the shots came suddenly as he and two other investigators circled a block in an unmarked white van on the lookout for man wanted for attempted murder. “We circled again and were on Kenneth Avenue when I saw legs, then...
Testimony concludes in trial of Norwin teacher and husband
Two people who helped Norwin Middle School students prepare for a musical performance told a Westmoreland County jury on Monday that a man they knew had been convicted of a crime was present for rehearsals but did not actively interact with children. But a group of students who were in...
Westmoreland officials favor congressional map that unifies county
Westmoreland County could be consolidated into one congressional district or see some of its western and northern communities split off into another that includes parts of Pittsburgh and the city’s eastern suburbs under proposals that redraw the map determining Pennsylvania’s representation in Washington, D.C. The state will lose one seat...
Westmoreland transit authority approves new garage project in Hempfield
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority is rolling ahead with plans to build a new $10.5 million storage garage for the agency’s bus fleet in Hempfield. The 16,000-square-foot garage is to be built at the authority’s existing maintenance facility property on Route 66 to provide indoor storage for up to 20...
Norwin teacher, husband in court over participation in ‘Frozen Jr.’ performance
Lawyers for a Norwin middle school teacher and her husband on trial for charges they did not comply with child safety laws told a Westmoreland County jury on Friday no crimes were committed. Tobitha Sasso, 42, and Brad Geyer, 39, both of Greensburg are on trial for misdemeanor charges related...
Westmoreland municipal authority, CNX reach deal to reforest reservoir site
Thousands of new trees will be planted around the Beaver Run Reservoir as part of a $1.8 million plan finalized Wednesday to reforest about 140 acres where more than 50 gas wells have operated over the past decade. Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members signed off on the reforestation...
Judge rejects former Greensburg man’s appeal in sex case
A former Greensburg man serving up to 10 years in prison for sex crimes against a juvenile will remain behind bars after a Westmoreland County judge rejected an appeal. David A. Baker, 35, pleaded guilty in August to two felony counts of taking sexually explicit pictures and video of a...
Water rates stand pat in new Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County budget
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County water customers will see no rate changes for the next year under part of a new $107.6 million operating budget unanimously approved Wednesday by the agency’s board of directors. Water rates last were increased in 2017 as part of a three-year plan to raise revenues...
Westmoreland commissioners approve airport bond refinancing
Westmoreland commissioners have approved refinancing more than $5 million in bonds for the county’s airport authority, a move officials said will save taxpayers nearly $140,000 annually through 2029. Tuesday’s unanimous vote completes the required approvals needed to move forward with the financial plan that commissioners and the airport authority board...
Self-defense claim made in Lower Burrell baby shower shooting
A Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday lowered the bond of an Arnold man who police said shot three people during a baby shower last fall at the Lower Burrell fire hall in Kinloch. Isiah Jumaane Hampton, 25, is awaiting trial on two counts of aggravated assault and one charge of...
Attempted murder charge dismissed in Upper Burrell man’s attack on mother
An Upper Burrell man who police said pointed a gun and pulled the trigger during a domestic dispute two years ago with his wheelchair-bound mother was paroled from prison Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Matthew Best, 33, had been in jail since his arrest on Oct....
