Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 112
New Ken-Arnold School District employee’s spouse tests positive for coronavirus, 2nd worker quarantined
The spouse of a New Kensington-Arnold School District employee has tested positive for the coronavirus that causes covid-19, the district announced Friday. “The district responded as quickly as possible in this situation,” Assistant Superintendent Jon Banko said. “Self-quarantine is happening, and we are taking steps to address anyone that came...
Highlands Partnership Network plans 2nd food distribution
Highlands area community groups will hold another one-day food distribution next week to supplement efforts by the Highlands School District to get food to students while schools are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Highlands Partnership Network announced it will distribute packed lunches for the week at five locations...
Tarentum police recover 2 stolen vehicles
Tarentum police said they are looking for men who stole two vehicles and entered many others in the borough overnight, according to police Chief Bill Vakulick. Police said several young men were captured on surveillance footage entering vehicles in the area of East 10th Avenue and Mill and Butler streets....
New Kensington-Arnold adds 4 food-distribution locations
New Kensington-Arnold School District is making changes to where and when it is distributing meals to students and children while the district’s schools are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Superintendent John Pallone on Thursday said four new locations are being added to where lunch and breakfast items can be...
Allegheny Health Network suspends patient visits
Allegheny Health Network is suspending all patient visitation at its hospitals, outpatient clinics and ambulatory surgery centers until further notice, the network announced Thursday. The health system said the policy, which goes into effect at 7 p.m. Thursday, aims to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus that causes covid-19...
Highlands principal gets $135K in settlement, release agreement
A former Highlands School District principal who sued the district in federal court, alleging that administrators retaliated against her for taking unpaid leave, will receive $135,000 as part of a settlement and release agreement. Highlands School Board approved the agreement with Heather Bigney on Monday. The district released the agreement...
Burrell delivers meals to students’ doorsteps during school shutdownVideo
While many school districts are providing food to their students while schools are closed, Burrell School District has gone a step further by delivering food directly to its students’ homes. “We do want everyone to know that we care,” Burrell food service director Andrew Klipple said. “With all there is...
New Kensington, Arnold officers remain on leave following officer-involved shooting
Two New Kensington police officers and one Arnold officer remained on paid administrative leave Thursday, nearly a week after police shot and killed a man they say was brandishing a shotgun. The incident happened around 2:30 p.m. Friday afternoon when police responded to calls about a man with a shotgun...
ATI offering retirement to incentive to cut costs
Allegheny Technologies Inc. will be offering a voluntary early retirement incentive in an effort to cut costs, the company announced. The program will be for eligible salaried, non-union employees, spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said. To be eligible, employees have to meet age and service requirements. The company has not disclosed how...
Highlands community groups offering additional lunch sites for students
Organizations in Highlands School District communities are working together to offer lunches for students in more locations. The school district previously announced it would be providing to-go lunches from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays, beginning Wednesday, at the high school in Harrison, elementary school in Tarentum and in Sheldon...
Influenza deaths increase in history-setting season, state reports
Ten more people died from influenza in Pennsylvania in the last week, increasing the total number of flu deaths this season to 93, the state Department of Health reported Tuesday. As of the week ending March 14, most of the people who died — 64 — were 65 or older....
Highlands accepting emails for vacant school board seat
Highlands School District will now accept applications for a vacant school board seat via email. The district had previously specifically prohibited people from submitting application electronically. The Region 2 seat became vacant when Misty Chybrzynski, former board president, resigned after moving out of the district. Region 2 covers Brackenridge and...
Enclosed portion of Pittsburgh Mills mall closes indefinitely over coronavirus outbreak
The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills will close at 6 p.m. Tuesday and remain closed “until further notice,” the mall announced on its Facebook page. The closure applies to the enclosed mall only. The mall advised shoppers to check with other stores outside the mall about their status. “In response to...
Highlands settles former principal’s federal lawsuit
Highlands School District has settled one of two federal lawsuits accusing the district and its superintendent of violating employees’ leave rights. The school board approved a settlement with Heather Bigney, former principal of Highlands Early Childhood Center, at a meeting Monday. A lawsuit filed by former fourth-grade teacher Jason Smith...
Western Pennsylvania food distributions help keep children fed
Kate Heller was grateful Monday that Riverview School District is continuing to provide both breakfast and lunch to its students while schools are closed statewide due to the coronavirus pandemic. Heller walked to Verner Elementary in Verona to pick up breakfast and lunch for her son, Chris, 8, and daughter,...
Gas drops below $2 per gallon at nearly 40,000 stations across the country
Gasoline prices are continuing to fall in the Pittsburgh area and even more sharply across the nation, an industry analyst says. “The root cause continues to be coronavirus related,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for the price-tracking firm GasBuddy. “Such a large decline at this time of year...
Tedorski out as Arnold city fire chief
Arnold Council has abolished the position of city fire chief. Mayor Joseph Bia said the position was eliminated because the chief, J.C. Tedorski, responded to only four calls last year, none this year and has not been at a city council meeting for more than a year. Bia said having...
ATI pauses contract talks with steelworkers union, cites coronavirus impact
Allegheny Technologies Inc. has paused contract talks with the United Steelworkers union, citing a lack of progress and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a company spokeswoman said Friday. About 1,300 USW members have continued working at nine ATI locations, including the hot rolling mill and processing facility in Harrison,...
Longtime Highlands Solicitor Ira Weiss withdrawing from the school district
Highlands School District is looking for a new law firm after the one that has represented the district for about 15 years decided to withdraw. “The firm made a decision, for a lot of different reasons, it was time to give the district the opportunity to find other counsel,” Ira...
24-year-old man shot at Plum apartment complex
A 24-year-old man was shot Thursday morning at an apartment complex in Plum. Police responded to Plum Park Apartments on Deborah Jane Drive near Universal Road in Plum’s Regency Park neighborhood around 7:30 a.m. The man was shot as he came out of his apartment to get into his car,...
Fired Tarentum laborer pleads guilty to harassment in alleged attack on teen worker
A former Tarentum public works laborer charged with attacking and threatening a teenage summer worker in 2019 has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Borough police charged Tim Dzugan, 56, on July 30 with strangulation, simple assault and harassment in connection with the alleged incident last July. According to court...
Highlands student to stand trial in school bus crowbar attack in Fawn
A Highlands School District student crossed a line between self-defense and attempted homicide when he didn’t stop after disarming a younger aggressor of a crowbar, but instead used it to beat his assailant, a prosecutor argued at the student’s preliminary hearing Wednesday. Assistant District Attorney Hillary Weaver said that’s why...
Pennsylvania reports 9 new flu deaths
The number of flu-related deaths in Pennsylvania this season has reached 83, up by nine in the past week, according to data the state Department of Health released Tuesday. Most of the deaths, 56, were in those age 65 and older. Six of the new deaths were in that age...
New Ken-Arnold looking at borrowing $4M amid $2M deficit
New Kensington-Arnold School Board is talking about fixing roofs, updating computers and replacing textbooks at the same time it is confronting a budget with a nearly $2 million deficit. The board is considering refinancing the district’s existing $4 million debt and borrowing $4 million. With the new money, the district...
Veterans stories to be featured weekly in March at Tarentum museum
The stories of veterans from the Alle-Kiski Valley area can be heard in their own words Thursdays in March at the Allegheny-Kiski Valley Heritage Museum in Tarentum. Each week, segments from Arnold native John Bailey’s documentary, “Duty, Courage, Honor — Southwestern Pennsylvania Goes to War,” will be shown beginning at...
