Westmoreland County News

Though the Chevrolet Volt has fueled heated debates in the political arena, emergency responders are more concerned about preventing fires when it and other electric cars are involved in crashes.

That's what words looked like to Renee Walmsley. It's why she didn't learn how to read until she was 23 years old, and why she dropped out of school when she was a 16-year-old eighth-grader. "I was very embarrassed.

Commissioners have started advertising to find a replacement for Richard Matason, who retired as director of emergency management last year.

Joe Napsha is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review staff writer and can be reached at 724-836-5252 or via e-mail. A former Nazarene church in Arona was destroyed by fire late Saturday, ruining the plans the owner had for using the wooden building as a garage.

A waterline break at Route 819 and Fayette Street in Greensburg disrupted service early Saturday to 10 homes for more than nine hours, said Chris Kerr, executive director of the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County.

Richard Robbins is a Tribune-Review staff writer and can be reached at 724-836-5660 or via e-mail. Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held, acting under a court order, seized nearly $500 from the cash box of the Westmoreland County Home Show on Saturday.

Several Westmoreland County fire companies were working late into the frigid night Saturday battling a blaze that engulfed an Arona church.

Westmoreland County firefighters, as part of their battle plan, gathered at Hempfield No.

The Westmoreland County sheriff is planning to hold an auction after a civil raid Saturday at a home show in Greensburg.

Two Derry Township men are accused of videotaping a sex act involving a woman who had passed out at their home on Dec.

The National Weather Service has posted a winter weather advisory for counties in southwestern Pennsylvania, including Allegheny, and a winter storm warning for the ridge tops in eastern Westmoreland and Fayette counties.

Eric Heyl is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist and can be reached at 412-320-7857 or via e-mail . The band was the Magpies, a popular Pittsburgh rock 'n' roll outfit for whom he played guitar.

A statewide spotlight will be shining Feb. 27 on the award-winning Student Assistance Program Team of the Hillcrest Intermediate School in the Norwin School District.

On the "Watch List": New Kensington city government. So far, Mayor Tom Guzzo and members of city council are saying the right things regarding the possible sale of the water authority to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County.

Officials in Allegheny and Westmoreland County school districts raised tax rates an average of more than 25 percent during the past 10 years.

The Scottdale Business & Professional Women will meet at 6:30 tonight. If you wish to attend as a guest or for more information, call President Angie Marhefka at 724-887-3530. The Hearts and Hands Quilt Guild will meet at 7 tonight at St.

Paul Peirce is a Tribune-Review staff writer and can be reached at 724-850-2860 or via e-mail. A suspended Braddock police officer awaiting trial in Westmoreland County on charges of burglarizing a Donegal campground and stealing cocaine from the police evidence room is now accused of scamming a deaf man.

William R. Lightcap Jr. knew his way around flea markets and antique shops. He had collected paper items and furniture and even manned a few booths.

Bob Stiles is a Tribune-Review staff writer and can be reached at 724-836-6622 or via e-mail. In a 9-0 vote on Wednesday, school directors approved a pact for the 13 district administrators that calls for a wage freeze in years one and two.

Authorities are trying to find out who stole a pair of pythons from a western Pennsylvania school over the weekend.