Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 144
Highlands changes location of school closure hearing, school board meeting
The Highlands School District has changed the location for a public hearing and school board meeting on Monday. The hearing and meeting, previously set to be held in the library at Highlands High School in Harrison, will instead be held in the high school auditorium, according to a notice on...
Tarentum urges delinquent taxpayers to avoid having their names published
Tarentum officials are hoping they won’t have to publish the names of property owners delinquent on paying their taxes — but they’re prepared to do it. Council approved a resolution, under which the names of those owing property taxes to the borough will be made publicly available. Property taxes are...
Garbage dumped at empty Natrona homes is ‘a cancer,’ resident saysVideo
Harrison resident Conrad Zylinski is convinced that if garbage was piling up in Natrona Heights, it wouldn’t be tolerated. But it’s happening in the township’s Natrona section, behind abandoned houses near his Spruce Street home. And it seems to him that no one is doing anything about it. “It’s a...
Brian Snyder, Tarentum business owner, chosen to fill council vacancy
Filling an empty seat on Tarentum Council turned out to be more difficult than its remaining members anticipated. It was not for a lack of candidates, but because of the quality of the candidates they had to choose from. It was only after much mulling by Councilman Scott Dadowski, the...
Tarentum Council approves separation agreement with police sergeant
A Tarentum police sergeant will be paid just over $17,000 under a separation agreement and general release that borough council approved Thursday. Sgt. Ryan Hanford’s retirement was effective Thursday. Hanford, 44, has been a police officer for 25 years, including 22 with Tarentum. He had been on administrative leave for...
Deer Lakes students losing spring break days to make up for cold cancellations
Students in the Deer Lakes School District are losing three of their spring break days to make up for days lost to the recent bitterly cold weather. Deer Lakes was among the numerous districts that cancelled classes on Jan. 30, 31 and Feb. 1 because of the cold and icy...
Ohio River flood advisory prompts Mon Wharf parking restrictions
Parking at the Mon Wharf will be restricted Thursday, and the parking area will be closed Friday because of a flood advisory that has been issued for the Ohio River at Pittsburgh. No parking will be allowed along the lower wall of the Mon Wharf on Thursday. All vehicles must...
Tarentum considering public shaming of tax deadbeats
Warning to Tarentum tax deadbeats: your tax debt soon could become public knowledge. Borough council is considering using the threat of public embarrassment to get delinquent property taxpayers to pay up. As tentatively discussed, if those who owe delinquent property taxes don’t pay by April 30, their names would become...
Tarentum considering new rules, fees for handicapped parking spaces
It could soon cost money to get, and to keep, a handicapped parking space in Tarentum. A proposal being considered by borough council would set the initial cost at $75. A permit would be good for two years, and renewing it would cost $50. The initial fee is intended “to...
Tarentum has 5 candidates for empty council seat
The creator of a Tarentum Facebook group, the executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and a program coordinator at Tobacco Free Allegheny are among five applicants to fill an empty seat on Tarentum Council. Letters of interest for the seat vacated by 3rd Ward Councilwoman Rhonda Dzugan...
Brackenridge to hold public meeting on riverfront trail project
Brackenridge has hired a Pittsburgh firm to help design a trail along the Allegheny River that would become part of the larger Three Rivers Heritage Trail. The firm, TranSystems, will have to work around a number of obstacles and challenges such as trees, telephone poles and “pinch points” where maintaining...
Water main break affects 20 in Tarentum
Tarentum crews were responding to a water main break on Park Street Tuesday afternoon. About 20 customers were affected by the break in the 1100 block of Park Street, according to the borough. No roads were closed as of about 3:30 p.m. Brian Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You...
Altoona-based Sheetz marks opening of 100th North Carolina store
Altoona-based Sheetz is celebrating the opening of its 100th store in North Carolina. The store in High Point, N.C. opened on Jan. 31. At a grand opening event, the company gave $2,500 to Special Olympics North Carolina and the same amount to Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Carolina. “Sheetz...
Department of Environmental Protection issues air quality alert for 20 counties
Several counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania are among 20 that have been put under a code orange air quality action day for fine particular matter, the state Department of Environmental Protection announced Monday. Among the affected counties are Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland. A code orange means pollution...
Weak demand, strong supply keeping gas prices in check, analyst says
Weak demand for gasoline and strong supply has keep prices at the pump in check despite oil rising to its highest price in months because of instability in Venezuela, according to the price-checking website GasBuddy.com. “As the record gasoline supply continues to overshadow markets ahead of the road to summer...
Work to fix water line closes Tarentum’s Fourth Avenue
A block of Tarentum’s Fourth Avenue closed Monday morning because of a water line break. A service line to the building housing Wesley Family Services broke on Saturday, said Ted Bajack, the borough’s water distribution coordinator. Crews dug into the road and shut off the water that day. They were...
Review finds Harrison chemical dump at Alsco Park remains contained
At least one Harrison resident would like a place to play pickleball. That was about the extent of the public’s comment when federal environmental authorities conducted their once- every-five years review of the Lindane Dump Superfund Site located off Springhill Road — part of which is home to Alsco Community Park....
State police uncover marijuana growing operation, seize 82 plants in Armstrong Township
State police said they seized 82 marijuana plants and 13 one-gallon bags of marijuana on Thursday when troopers stumbled upon a growing operation in Indiana County. Troopers went to a home on Route 156 in Armstrong Township around 2 p.m. Thursday to arrest Scott Ryan Wilson, 52, on a domestic...
State awards funding for Armstrong transportation projects
Nearly $765,000 in state funding will be coming into Armstrong County for transportation projects, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday. The money from the Multimodal Transportation Fund is included in $44.5 million being used on 50 highway, bridge, transit, aviation, bike and pedestrian projects in 23 counties. PennDOT evaluated applications and...
Lenten fish fry sponsors need permits, health department says
Those sponsoring Lenten fish fries will need health permits to operate, the Allegheny County Health Department said Friday. “Operation of a food facility, whether temporary, seasonal or permanent, requires a valid health permit,” the department said. This year, the Lenten season runs from March 6 to April 20. Sponsors without...
Mister Rogers subject of Tarentum library’s ‘Who Knew?’ program
Mister Rogers will the subject of upcoming “Who Knew?” programs at the Community Library of Allegheny Valley in Tarentum in February. A session on Fred Rogers is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 19 and will be repeated on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Both will start at 6 p.m. at the library at...
Highlands stalls on releasing name of employee placed on unpaid leave
The Highlands School District is not identifying an employee recently placed on unpaid leave. The school board approved that action, and a statement of charges, against the unidentified employee at its Jan. 21 meeting. The employee was referred to only as “employee #7121,” and no information on the charges was...
4 express interest in empty Tarentum Council seat
Four people have expressed interest in claiming a vacant seat on Tarentum Council, Borough Manager Michael Nestico said Thursday. They will be in contention for replacing Rhonda Dzugan, who had represented the borough’s 3rd Ward and resigned from council in January. Letters of interest to be considered for the seat...
Allegheny River steams while nearly frozenVideo
Ice was flowing down the Allegheny River past Tarentum Thursday morning, when the region set a new low temperature record. The temperature bottomed out at 5 below zero, besting the previous record of 3 below for the day that had stood since 1971, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Jason...
Highlands facing $3.7M budget deficit
Highlands School District’s preliminary budget for next school year has a $3.7 million hole in it. That’s the preliminary budget gap between the district’s proposed spending of about $46 million and its estimated revenue of about $42.3 million. The district released its preliminary budget Tuesday. The school board is expected...
