Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 83
Drop box added at Murrysville location ahead of May 18 primary
Westmoreland County officials say more than 15,400 mail-in ballots have been sent out to voters ahead of the May 18 primary. Another batch of more than 800 ballots is ready to go out, Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said. The deadline to apply for mail-in ballots is May 11. They...
Former boyfriend pleads guilty to assault of Derry Township child
A Greene County man who police say beat and gave a date-rape drug to a toddler pleaded guilty Tuesday to assault and child endangerment charges. Cory Andrew Kuntz, 27, of Waynesburg was charged in 2016 after the mother of a Derry Township child reported her 2-year-old son was injured while...
Trial for Youngwood stabbing suspect set for September
After years of delays, the trial of a Youngwood man charged with criminal homicide and robbery of a drug dealer will start in September. Michael Covington Jr., 24, has been in jail without bond since his arrest in 2017 following the stabbing death of 50-year-old Matthew Genard in his Youngwood...
Prosecution can’t say why gun failed to fire in Upper Burrell attempted homicide case
An attempted homicide charge against an Upper Burrell man who police said pulled the trigger of a gun with the intent to kill a woman last year likely will be dismissed because prosecutors cannot explain why the weapon failed to fire. Matthew Best, 32, was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated...
Penn Township man to serve up to 40 years in prison for firing rifle at police
A Westmoreland County judge on Monday said he had no choice but to sentence a Penn Township man to serve up to 40 years in prison for shooting at police during a 2016 standoff. But, even without a state legislative mandatory minimum sentencing requirement in place, Judge Scott Mears said...
Westmoreland Clerk of Courts candidates tout experience ahead of May primary
Westmoreland’s Clerk of Courts office in 2009 became the first domino to fall in the Republican Party takeover of most county row offices after more than a half-century of Democratic dominance. The office’s leadership is again in the spotlight. In the May 18 primary election, Clerk of Courts is the...
Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds office to close Friday for computer upgrades
The Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds office at the courthouse in Greensburg will be closed Friday as technical staff work to complete a $90,000 computer system upgrade officials say will improve public access to property records. The closure means the filing of deeds, mortgages and all other documents will be...
Mail-in ballot drop box locations approved in Westmoreland County
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the hours of operations for the remote drop box locations. Westmoreland County voters will have four, and maybe five, regional ballot drop boxes available for the two weekends prior to the May 18 primary. County commissioners on Tuesday approved drop-box locations at...
Covid vaccine clinic held at Westmoreland courthouseVideo
As many as 600 coronavirus vaccines were administered Tuesday at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg. The clinic, open to county employees, their families and the general public, was held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Hayden’s Pharmacy in Youngwood oversaw the operation. Hayden’s owner Ed Christofano said about 200...
Greensburg office manager sentenced to probation, house arrest for theft
A former office manager for a Greensburg chiropractor was sentenced Monday to house arrest and probation for the theft of more than $60,000 to pay for casino excursions and other expenses. Cynthia Bisignani-Hill, 47, of Greensburg pleaded guilty in October to two felony counts of theft and charges of receiving...
Overdose antidote giveaway planned for released Westmoreland prison inmates
After a two-year decline in fatal drug overdoses, Westmoreland County officials said a slight uptick in deaths in 2020 will require a renewed effort to avoid a repeat of a nearly decade-long era of record-setting deaths attributed to opioid abuse. County prison board members said Monday doses of Narcan, a...
Westmoreland County to pay jail inmates to get covid vaccine
Westmoreland County will provide $25 in commissary credit to prison inmates who receive a covid-19 vaccine. Members of the county prison board approved the plan Monday. “We’re still working out the final details, but this will be for all inmates,” county Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher said. Vaccine doses will be...
Hospitality grants help ease pandemic strain on Westmoreland restaurants, bars and hotels
Heather Papinchak said the $20,000 hospitality grant she recently received from Westmoreland County will certainly help her business in the months ahead, but the financial hardship caused by coronavirus pandemic over the past year will linger for some time. “It’s been an unbelievable challenge to operate, being in the hospitality...
Westmoreland courthouse to host vaccine clinic on Tuesday
The Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg will host a covid-19 vaccine clinic on Tuesday. County officials announced that county employees, their families and the general public are eligible to participate in the clinic, which will be conducted in the commissioners’ public meeting room off the main lobby of the courthouse....
Lawsuit filed in death of Penn-Trafford baseball star
The parents of a Penn Township teen who died after a crash last year on Route 130 near Jeannette filed a wrongful death lawsuit against four energy companies and PennDOT, claiming installation of a natural gas pipeline created dangerous road conditions that caused the fatal collision. The estate of Maclean...
Westmoreland municipal authority opens new garage, office building in New StantonVideo
Just months before it is required to vacate office space in Hempfield, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County moved into a nearly $10 million building on its New Stanton campus that will be home to its water distribution system. The new 41,000 square-foot building, officially opened Wednesday, will replace the...
Westmoreland County launches e-filing system for civil and family court documents
A long awaited system that allows civil and family court documents to be filed electronically launched Wednesday in Westmoreland County. Prothonotary Christina O’Brien said the system, which took four years to complete, is expected to add about $200,000 in new revenue to the county budget through filing fees assessed to...
Westmoreland drug court gains state accreditation
Westmoreland County’s drug court became the 33rd accredited special court in Pennsylvania, a designation officials said could enable the six-year-old program to secure additional grant funding for future years. William Shifko, the county’s drug court coordinator, said since the program was launched in September 2015, 51 participants have graduated. One...
Primary ballots could hit Westmoreland mailboxes this weekend
Westmoreland County voters will begin receiving mail-in ballots as early as this weekend, possibly early next week. State officials signed off on the May 18 primary ballots and, on Wednesday, it is expected information will be forwarded to the county’s new private mail company to print and send out ballots...
4 referendums to appear on primary ballots in May; all registered voters eligible
All 8.8 million of Pennsylvania’s registered voters will be able to cast ballots on May 18, when four referendums will appear, including three that seek the change the state’s constitution. The deadline to register to vote in the primary is May 3. Voters will have until 5 p.m. May 11...
Westmoreland County and court worker union reaches new labor deal
Westmoreland commissioners approved a new four-year labor agreement with the union that represents about 250 employees in court-related offices at the courthouse. The deal with the Westmoreland County Court-Appointed and Court-Related Employees Association includes average annual wage hikes between 2.25% to 2.5%, according to Alexis Bevan, the county’s human resources...
Jury finds former New Kensington man not guilty in Arnold shooting
Malcolm Dunem left a Westmoreland County courtroom shaking his head after jurors acquitted the man accused of shooting him on an Arnold street in 2018. Nicholas Haynes appeared to sob as he and defense attorney Adam Gorzelsky embraced after the verdict announcement Monday afternoon that ended a five-day trial. The...
Defendant claims another man fired gun in 2018 Arnold shooting
Nicholas Haynes told a jury Friday afternoon he was only in Arnold three years ago to beat up a man and was surprised his companion pulled out a gun and fired three shots, seriously wounding the former friend. “We wasn’t down there to kill Malcolm or shoot him. That wasn’t...
Westmoreland Transit rider numbers inch upward, authority to hire more drivers
Public transportation ridership numbers still are a long way from pre-pandemic levels, but they are showing a slight rebound that has Westmoreland County Transit Authority officials hopeful better times are ahead. “We’ve had a little bit of an increase,” Executive Director Alan Blahovec said at the authority’s monthly business meeting....
Westmoreland County commissioners split over court raises
Raises for secretaries and law clerks working for Westmoreland County’s 11 Common Pleas Court judges were approved Thursday in a split vote of the county’s salary board. By a 3-2 vote, the board, which includes all three county commissioners and Controller Jeff Balzer, narrowly signed off on the plan to...
