A second bail reduction in as many days will allow the former South Greensburg fire chief to be released from jail while he awaits trial in two theft cases.

District Judge Rebecca C. Tyburski on Tuesday changed bail for Matthew Thomas White, 49, of Hempfield, to $100,000 unsecured. White waived his right to a preliminary hearing on state police accusations that he stole $290,500 from the St. Clair Cemetery Association in Hempfield, where he served as superintendent.

He is charged with theft, and prosecutors on Tuesday added a count of forgery.

Attorney Brian Aston said it might take a week or so before White is officially released from the Westmoreland County jail. White is ordered to be on home electronic monitoring. Aston said that typically takes some time to arrange.

On Monday, White’s bail in the second theft case, involving state police accusations that he stole $170,000 from the volunteer fire department, was reduced to $5,000 unsecured. He’s ordered to be on house arrest in that case, too.

White told a judge Monday he plans to live with family upon release from jail and address a longstanding gambling addiction.

He was arrested earlier this year in South Carolina and has been held in Westmoreland County jail without bond in the fire department case since his return to Pennsylvania on March 6. He was charged in connection with money missing from the cemetery on April 8.

Power outage at court

Tuesday’s proceeding happened in the dark — staff at the Harrison City district court forged ahead with a slate of preliminary hearings without electricity by using pen and paper until power to the building was restored, Tyburski said.

“We got paperwork, blank forms, from another judge and we’re writing it all by hand,” she said, adding that the information would be updated in the online system later.

That “old school” method, as she described it, allowed the court to avoid rescheduling the eight preliminary hearings on the docket. Plenty of windows in the back office allowed staff to continue working by daylight while the lobby was dimly lit and the courtroom completely dark.

West Penn Power reported two outages in Harrison City on Tuesday morning were affecting about 1,000 customers. At least one required an emergency equipment repair. The outages were resolved by late morning.