Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 113
Gas prices continue to drop, bucking seasonal norm, analyst says
Gas prices “have no where to go but down and like a rock” at a time of year they’re usually going up, an industry analyst said. “It’s been an unprecedented week, one in which oil majors Russia and Saudi Arabia saw anything but eye-to-eye on lowering oil production, leading crude...
Harvest Moon coffee, chocolate shop rises in TarentumVideo
Editor’s note: Building the Valley tells stories of businesses big and small and the employees who make them special. If you know of any standout employees, bosses or companies with a great story to tell, send a message to vndcity@tribweb.com. There’s a caffeine-fueled buzz in Tarentum, and the origin can...
Highlands School Board president resigning
Misty Chybrzynski confirmed Sunday that she is resigning from the Highlands School Board because she moved within the district. Chybrzynski, the board president, said she moved out of Region 2, which she was elected to represent in 2017, and into Region 3. The nine-member Highlands School Board is elected by...
Giant Eagle offers ‘Scan Pay & Go’ at New Kensington storeVideo
The Giant Eagle in New Kensington is among about 70 of the grocery giant’s 215 stores where customers can skip checkout lines by scanning and bagging their groceries as they shop. Giant Eagle, based in O’Hara, introduced its “Scan Pay & Go” system to the store on Tarentum Bridge Road...
Budget to be focus of New Kensington-Arnold finance committee session
A committee of the New Kensington-Arnold School Board will review the district’s proposed final budget for the 2020-21 school year at a meeting on Monday, according to district business Manager Jeff McVey. In January, the school board approved a preliminary $38.96 million spending plan that would increase the property tax...
Highlands to buy metal detectors, cameras, fencing with state safety grant
Highlands School District will enhance and improve its security and safety measures using a nearly half-million-dollar state grant, a district spokeswoman said. The district received about $484,000 from the School Safety and Security Committee within the state Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Highlands was one of 524 school entities that...
Dedication set for New Kensington playground with memorial to murdered girl
A late April dedication ceremony is planned for New Kensington’s new JFK Park, which will include a memorial to a city girl murdered more than 40 years ago. A bench and plaque in memory of Tiffany Miller will be part of the playground, which is named for President John F....
New Tarentum software will let residents monitor electric, water usage
A new software system will give Tarentum residents a window into their electric and water usage, Borough Manager Michael Nestico said. Borough council approved buying a software package from Tyler Technologies that includes financial record keeping, personnel management, payroll and utility billing and account maintenance. It comes with an increased...
Flu season may be peaking in Pennsylvania, Health Department says
The flu season may have peaked in Pennsylvania, a spokeswoman for the state Health Department said Tuesday. “While cases are increasing, the number of new cases each week is decreasing,” spokeswoman Brittany Lauffer said. The news comes as state health officials are bracing for potential coronavirus cases to surface in...
Coronavirus fears pushing oil, gasoline prices lower
The spread of coronavirus could result in lower prices at the pump, according to an industry analyst. Drops of 25 to 35 cents per gallon are possible over the next few weeks, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Oil prices have been walloped and motorists should avoid...
United Steelworkers agree to continue working under expired ATI contract
Members of the United Steelworkers union will continue working at Allegheny Technology Inc. facilities as talks for a new contract continue, an update from the union states. The last contract, covering about 1,300 workers at nine ATI locations, including the hot rolling and processing facility in Harrison, expired Saturday. About...
Police: 3 men arrested on drug charges after undercover buy, traffic stop in Arnold
An undercover drug buy and a traffic stop Thursday night led to searches of two Arnold homes and the arrest of three men. Arnold police Chief Eric Doutt said officers seized heroin, cocaine, marijuana and other drugs in the arrests, along with guns and cash. Arrested were Glendon Scott Starr,...
80-foot fall, vandalism at Western Pa. parks top week’s headlinesVideo
Two parks in the Western Pennsylvania area made the news this week, both for the wrong reasons, while endings were announced for a private school in the North Hills, double coupons at Giant Eagle and security at Pittsburgh International Airport. Woman falls at McConnells Mill Jocie Van Kirk, a 21-year-old...
Police: App, cameras, social media help nab Hempfield purse thief
Police used a cellphone app, surveillance footage and social media to find and charge an accused purse thief in Westmoreland County. According to state police, a man was captured on surveillance footage taking a purse from an 81-year-old Jeannette woman’s shopping cart while she was preoccupied at a Giant Eagle...
Student killed in WVU apartment complex shooting; 2 charged
A West Virginia University student was killed in a shooting early Friday morning at a university-run apartment complex near the campus, officials said. Eric James Smith, a sophomore from Clementon, N.J., was identified as the victim in the shooting, which happened around 4 a.m. at the College Park Apartments. Officials...
Crash near Freeport Area High School prompts districtwide delay
All schools in the Freeport Area School District operated on a two-hour delay Thursday following a crash that closed part of Route 356 for just more than an hour. A two-vehicle crash happened shortly before 6 a.m. on Route 356 at Cole Road in Buffalo Township, according to a Butler...
Duquesne Light restores power in eastern Pittsburgh neighborhoods
Duquesne Light crews have gotten a handle on power outages that were plaguing customers in three Pittsburgh neighborhoods Thursday morning, according to a company spokeswoman. The outages came at the same time the region saw colder temperatures than recent days, along with swift wind and some snow. Outages were reported...
Pennsylvania reports 1st child flu-related death of season
Pennsylvania health officials have reported the first pediatric flu death in the state this season — one of a dozen new flu deaths in the past week. Deaths were recorded for the week ending Feb. 22 in each of the four age groups reported by the state health department. That...
Lottery ticket worth $1.2 million sold in Beaver County
A Pennsylvania Lottery fast play ticket worth more than $1.2 million was sold in Beaver County, the lottery announced Wednesday. The progressive top-prize winning ticket, worth $1,219,802, for the lottery’s “Extreme Green” game was sold at Darlington Beer Distribution on Old Darlington Road in Darlington on Tuesday. The retailer gets...
Snow returns to parts of Western Pennsylvania on Wednesday night
A stretch of mild weather will come to an end Wednesday night and snow will return, according to the National Weather Service. Rain is expected to become widespread this afternoon and change over to snow after 8 p.m. as it gets colder, meteorologist Myranda Fullerton said. Through early Thursday morning,...
East Deer couple, children escape house fire unhurtVideo
A couple and their children escaped unhurt from a fire at their East Deer home early Wednesday. The fire at 510 West Ninth Ave.was reported shortly before 3:30 a.m. Crews cleared the scene about two hours later. East Deer fire Chief Jack Bailie Jr. said the husband and wife were...
East Hills shooting leaves man in critical condition
A man was in critical condition after being shot in Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood late Wednesday night, according to city police. Officers responded to an alert of shots fired in the 8400 block of Frankstown Road just before midnight. The ShotSpotter system detected more than 30 shots being fired, police...
Harrison looks to replace trees at World War II memorial, plant others elsewhere
Harrison officials want to plant more than three dozen trees in the township, including a spruce that would serve as the community’s Christmas tree. Commissioners are applying for another round of trees through the TreeVitalize program, which has helped the township plant about 150 trees in recent years, according to...
Injury reported in Allegheny Township crash
At least one person was hurt in a single-vehicle crash in Allegheny Township early Tuesday, according to township police and Westmoreland County 911. The crash happened shortly before 2 a.m. in the 4000 block of Garvers Ferry Road, authorities said. At least one person was taken to a hospital by...
South Park police issue warning about postal money order scam
While most scams operate online these days, police in South Park Township are warning residents about a scam that’s going around the old-fashioned way — through the mail. Some residents have reported getting a postal money order scam, the police department said in a post Tuesday morning on its Facebook...
