Armstrong
Hearing to center on mercury found in industrial strip in Ford City
By Mitch FryerFORD CITY -- A concrete pad at a vacant industrial lot in the borough was found to have liquid mercury splattered on it. On Feb. 23, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection inspectors found the mercury at the vacant Second Avenue lot where a factory building was demolished that once operated …
Flood wall repairs in Kittanning moving ahead
By Brigid BeattyKITTANNING — Crumbling sections of the flood wall along North Water Street continue to be replaced with new concrete as part of a repair project funded by a grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection. The borough received a $30,000 grant from the DEP in 2011 to make the …
Report shows America's religious tapestry continues to change
By Rick WillsJason Oberdick grew up Baptist and married a Lutheran with whom he attended a Methodist Church. The couple now attend a nondenominational church. "I was …
News to use: Applications available for Camp Cadet
By Leader TimesApplications are being accepted for the 2012 Armstrong County Camp Cadet Program sponsored by the Kittanning Station of the Pennsylvania State Police. Camp Cadet is a week-long summer camp hosted by Lenape Technical School, 2215 Chaplin Ave., Manor Township, for boys and girls ages 12 to 15. Event will be …
Meandering: Slowing down to enjoy memories of summers past
By Michael O'HareThere was a time when summer came and the clock just slowed down. Why doesn't that happen anymore? Because we have become adults and adults are always thinking about what they will be doing tomorrow. This week I made a dentist appointment for August. Wow, I thought, another summer shot to hell. It …
Apollo opens bids for access road at riverfront
By Tim KaranApollo planners are hoping a new access road will finally bring business back to the borough's riverfront area. The Armstrong County Commissioners on Thursday opened bids from three regional construction companies to decide which one will build the road to three parcels of land that were previously contaminated with radiation …
Mega-lawsuit claims nuke contamination in Armstrong
By Mary Ann ThomasThe nearly 100 plaintiffs alleging death, cancer and other illnesses from radioactive emissions from two defunct Armstrong County nuclear fuels plants are awaiting a trial date for what is likely to be a second set of a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit. The defendants, Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group and Atlantic …
Rayburn Township on right track with ATVs
By Mitch FryerRAYBURN — All-terrain vehicles have been hitting the road on Rayburn Township roads -- legally -- for the past year and a township supervisor says officials have been happy to give riders the space to do it. "Everyone is enjoying it and it's working out, " said Rayburn Supervisor Sam …
West leg of Route 268 to close this week
By Leader TimesWEST KITTANNING — PennDOT Engineering District 10 is advising motorists that the west leg of the Route 268 (Butler Road) intersection project will close Friday through Monday. The closure is for work on the intersection realignment project in West Kittanning. Beginning at 8 p.m. Friday, Route 268 will close from …
Ford City trap shoot dedicated to late organizer
By Leader TimesThe Ford City Sportsmen's Association, 189 Gameland Road, North Buffalo, will host its 13th Trap Shoot and open house on Sunday. Sign ups will be held from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. There will be a 50/50 raffle, Chinese Auction, and food to benefit the "Relay for Life" division of …
Treatment plant repairs won't drain Ford City's budget
By Mitch FryerFORD CITY — Borough officials are relieved that plans to repair the town's water treatment plant aren't going to be quite as costly as they thought. After opening proposals from contractors at the April public meeting that ranged from $600,000 to more than $1 million to put a roof over …
Ford City church offers healthy food pantry
By Mitch FryerFORD CITY — A Ford City church has found a new food-pantry provider to pick up where Angel Food Ministries left off after it closed in 2011. New Life Center Church at 412 Ninth St. turned to Gaballi to help bring an affordable, healthy-food, discount food program back to the …
Site for new Armstrong high school approved
By Tim KaranArmstrong School District has officially decided on a home for its new high school. During Monday night's regular voting meeting, the board of directors voted 7-1 to accept the terms of the declaration of a gift of 68 acres off Buffington Drive in Manor from the Sherry Family Trust. Director …
Ford City explores board of health options
By Mitch FryerFORD CITY — State officials declared the borough's board of health members as unqualified for their positions -- nearly two years ago. In a letter sent to borough officials July 7, 2010, but not acted upon, Perry Fox, the state Department of Health's environmental health specialist for the southwest district …
Trib papers notch 13 Golden Quills
By Tribune-ReviewTrib Total Media won 13 Golden Quills for journalistic excellence at The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania's 48th annual Golden Quill Awards banquet on Monday night at the Sheraton Station Square. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review won six Golden Quills; the Sewickley Herald and Valley News Dispatch in Tarentum picked up two …
Armstrong Museum getting back on its history
By Diane Orris AcerniHistory is alive and well at the stately white house at 300 N.McKean Street, Kittanning. It is known to many as the McCain house and if walls could talk, the house itself could teach a lesson or two. Originally a private residence,then used as a multi-purpose building when owned by …
Two pets perish in Blairsville house fire
By Stacey Federoffp>Two pets died in a house fire in Blairsville this afternoon that destroyed one dwelling and damaged historic home nearby. Blairsville fire Chief George Burkley said a fire at 104 E. Campbell St. was reported about 4:30 p.m. When firefighters arrived, it was working its way through the walls of …
Kittanning YMCA closes one door, but opens another
By Brigid BeattyKITTANNING -- The YMCA at 138 N. Water St. has provided countless memories for area families for more than half a century. Today, it will …
Donated land for new Armstrong school makes grade
By Timothy KaranIf you promise to build it, the deed will come. The Sherry Family Trust, owners of the proposed site for Armstrong School District's new high school off Buffington Drive in Manor, told solicitor Lee Price they will donate 68 acres of the 168 acres to the district on the condition …
Rural post offices to remain open, see reduced hours
By Mitch FryerThe U.S. Postal Service delivered news on Wednesday that could affect many of Armstrong County's small-town rural post offices. There are 12 post offices in …
Planners get input on traffic, parking woes
By Brigid BeattyKITTANNING — Borough councilwoman Lisa McCanna placed a red circular sticker on a map of Kittanning Borough to signify an area of concern regarding current traffic flow. The red sticker was one of many scattered on several identical maps positioned in the hallway outside the Armstrong County Commissioners Conference Room …
Motherhood remains a mystery
By Michael O'HareMotherhood remains a mystery to me, but a good mystery, a magical thing. Today, as we enter the weekend of Mother's Day, I am musing about mothers who have been in my life and the ones I am thinking about have been very strong women. First, of course, there is …
West Shamokin students keep heads in clouds
By Mitch FryerCOWANSHANNOCK — Students and teachers are not only talking about the weather — they're doing something about it — at West Shamokin Junior Senior High …
Postal Service plans to slash hours
By Paul PeirceThere are 20 post offices across the Alle-Kiski Valley that soon may have drastically reduced hours. They are among at least 800 post offices in the state set to have their hours cut. At the same time, the financially strapped Postal Service decided not to close 126 rural post offices …
Braddock man jailed in underage online sex case
By Tim KaranA 34 year-old Braddock man is accused of posing as a 19 year-old and driving to Boggs to meet two 14-year-old girls he met online for sex. Joshua B. Patterson, 34, went by the name Joshua Phillips when he first made contact with the girls two months ago on the …
East Franklin police nab 2 in pharmacy break-in
By Brigid BeattyWEST KITTANNING — A 24-year-old Cowansville man and a 22-year-old McGrann woman were arrested early Wednesday morning after they allegedly broke into a pharmacy and attempted to steal thousands of dollars worth of prescription drugs. According to the police report, East Franklin-based state troopers responded to an alarm at Hiland …
