Penn-Trafford defensive back Nick Ponko picks Lehigh
Nick Ponko said he wanted to make his college commitment before the start of his senior season, and the two-way football standout lived up to his words. Ponko on Friday announced a verbal commitment to Lehigh of the NCAA Division I FCS Patriot League. The incoming senior at Penn-Trafford chose...
Penn Township commissioners hire new finance director 6 months after firing predecessor
Penn Township commissioners hired a new finance director last week, about six months after firing their previous director. The commissioners hired Tara Shannon to manage the township’s accounts, payroll, audits and financial reporting. Her salary will be $85,000, said township Secretary/Manager Mary Perez. Shannon has a background in accounting but...
Four Maples Place event venue brings new life to former Schramm Farms & Orchards market
Schramm Farms & Orchards in Penn Township once attracted families with its fresh produce and popular fall season pumpkin patch and corn maze. Five years after the business shuttered, a relative of the Schramm family is restoring life to the property as a community events venue. Four Maples Place, near...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of July 19, 2026
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Edgewood Estate of Kevin McQuoid sold property at 229 Dewey St. to Rebecca Davis and Rebecca Roth for $215,000. Getgo Portfolio 2 L.P. sold property at S. Braddock Ave. to Giant Eagle Inc. for $1 (state deed transfer stamps indicate a value of $1,270,615). Elena Facchini sold property...
Latrobe rallies in 7th inning to win District 31 Legion baseball title
Jason Bush wasn’t looking for a picture-perfect championship game. This, however, was borderline ugly. “It was no Picasso by any means,” the Latrobe American Legion baseball coach said Wednesday. But, so what? Joey Razza’s fielder’s choice bouncer to second base allowed Ty Wisniewski to beat the throw home for the...
Penn-Trafford to vie for 3rd straight WCCA 7-on-7 championship
Football teams take different things from the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Larry Sellitto Memorial 7 on 7 Passing Tournament. For some, it’s extra reps. For others, it’s chemistry between quarterbacks and receivers. Penn-Trafford takes home championships. The Warriors have won half of the tournaments since the event began in 2011....
Penn Township woman pleads guilty to animal cruelty charges
A Penn Township woman pleaded guilty Monday to more than a dozen charges stemming from a 2024 raid in which humane officers found more than 70 dead and injured animals in her home. Police said the August 2024 search of the Ashbaugh Road home found deplorable conditions and necessitated the...
Trafford man sentenced to 6-20 years for stabbing, assaulting neighbors
Carol Zeravica said her Trafford neighbor was a “good guy,” so it came as a surprise when he became violent on the front steps of his home more than two years ago, punched her in the chest and stabbed her nephew in the neck. Anthony Michael Salvadore, 50, pleaded guilty...
Westmoreland Land Trust buys 23 acres along Heritage Trail, expands protected habitat
A portion of the Turtle Creek gorge along the Westmoreland Heritage Trail near Trafford will be permanently preserved following the purchase of 23 acres of wooded land. The Westmoreland Land Trust paid $12,000 for the property, which sits along a steep gorge hugging the creek. The tract stretches about 1¼-miles...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of July 12, 2026
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Chalfant Wayne Schwoegl sold property at 146 Highland Ave. to Katherine Erazo for $185,900. Edwin Atwood sold property at 240 Wilkins Ave. to Joseph Brannagan and Ryan Wagner for $155,000. Churchill William Monroe McCall Jr. sold property at 2415 Collins Road to Dimas and Simrin Perez for $310,000....
Jury acquits Penn Borough man of assault, imprisonment charges
A Penn Borough man was acquitted of the most serious charge against him Wednesday in an assault case after jurors deliberated for about 45 minutes, according to court records. Shawn M. Ressler, 24, was on trial this week in connection with accusations that he assaulted a woman over a photograph...
Why a Penn Township industrial park now has a grocery store and lounge
After decades of pivoting to meet changing economic times, the owners of a staffing and screening company are embarking on their most unusual venture yet: an all-in-one grocery store, restaurant and fitness center. During the Great Recession in the late 2000s, Peter and Caroline O’Connor noticed that billable hours at...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of July 5, 2026
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Churchill Mark Campolong sold property at 16 Churchill Road to Mac and Mary Ann Grant for $292,000. Jillian Cardwell sold property at 1533 Williamsburg Pl to Teagan Jolly for $185,000. Forest Hills Ryan Fletcher sold property at 320 Avenue A to Tamia Jackson for $92,500. Rubb Enterprises LLC...
Bushy Run aims to build next generation of historians through annual reenactment
Bushy Run Battlefield reenactment coordinator Rob Malley hopes to build the next generation of history buffs through the annual Penn Township event, slated for Aug. 1 and 2. Bushy Run played host to a 1763 clash between the British and Native Americans during Pontiac’s War. Its two-day reenactment, portraying the...
Penn-Trafford area: July 4 celebration, food truck and music event, car show, painting class, more
Trafford July 4 celebration Trafford will host a July 4 celebration from 5 to 9 p.m. July 3 at B-Y Park, located along 7th Street in the borough. There will be food trucks, live music by Dust Wizards, games and vendors, and the borough’s new logo will be revealed during...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of June 28, 2026
Churchill Wells Fargo Bank NA sold property at 342 Homer Drive to et al for $98,600. Edgewood Darlene Pruszynski sold property at 113 Pennwood Ave. to 113 Pennwood LLC for $199,000. Forest Hills Gregory Smith sold property at 232 Sharon Drive to Glenconon Properties LLC for $146,383. Monroeville Estate of...
Penn-Trafford’s Nick Turowski looking forward to exciting summer on links
It is going to be a busy summer for Nick Turowski. The Harrison City native, 2024 Penn-Trafford graduate and West Virginia University sophomore is headed to events all over the country. He recently won the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Spring Stroke Play title at Hannastown, placed third at the 126th...
Penn Township’s Blackthorne Golf Club reopens after multiyear closure
Blackthorne Golf Club, a golf course embedded in a Penn Township residential development, has reopened to the public following a 31⁄2-year closure amid multiple community and legal disputes. The golf course — located in the Blackthorne Estates housing community off Harrison City-Export Road — is open to the public Wednesday...
Sharks include Penn-Trafford grad Brandon Svoboda in trade of William Eklund to Senators for No. 9 pick
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose Sharks traded Penn-Trafford graduate and Level Green native Brandon Svoboda, forward William Eklund and another prospect to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday for the ninth pick in this weekend’s NHL Draft. Forward Kasper Halttunen also went to the Senators. The Sharks now have...
Penn Township woman pleads guilty, sentenced for assaults on police
A Penn Township woman will serve up to four years in prison for assaulting multiple police officers in two separate cases. Darla Jean Ressler, 43, pleaded guilty in four cases, including allegations of access device fraud and institutional vandalism, as well as two cases in which police said she was...
Cafe Zara Middle Eastern cafe opens in Greensburg
Greensburg resident Zara Wan, owner of a new cafe that opened in May along New Alexandria Road, is determined not to let her chronic health conditions define her. Wan moved to Greensburg two years ago to study at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine — LECOM — on Seton Hill’s...
Penn Township bans use of e-bikes, electric scooters in municipal park
Bikes and scooters in Penn Township Municipal Park will have to be strictly foot-powered from here on out, after township commissioners approved an ordinance prohibiting them from the park. Commissioners voted unanimously at their June 17 meeting to ban the electric-motor-powered vehicles from the park complex, which includes baseball fields,...
Penn Township commissioners say ‘no’ to merging with Penn Borough
Penn Borough will remain on its own for the time being, after commissioners in neighboring Penn Township voted against merging with the small borough on Wednesday night. Township commissioners voted 3-1 against moving ahead with the merger, and also voted to end any ongoing merger discussions. Officials from Penn Borough,...
Penn-Trafford raises property taxes by 3.5 mills
Penn-Trafford will raise property taxes by 3.5 mills in the 2026-27 academic year, following a vote by the school board Monday. The board voted 5-2 on the tax increase and $72 million budget. Board members Toni Ising, Phil Kochasic, Jim Matarazzo, Rich Niemiec and Nick Petrucci supported the spending plan....
Penn Township to decide whether to move forward with proposed Penn Borough merger
Penn Township commissioners will decide whether to take the next step toward a proposed merger with neighboring Penn Borough. The township commissioners are scheduled to vote on the matter at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the municipal building, 2001 Municipal Court in Harrison City. They will decide whether to begin drafting...
