Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 2
Shaler Area retains leadership as 3 new members join school board
Leadership of the Shaler Area School Board is unchanged following the November election, which saw three new members join the board. James Tunstall was reelected president of the board at its Dec. 3 reorganization meeting. Eileen Phillips was reelected vice president. Their seats were not up for election this year,...
Reserve commissioners approve $6M 2026 budget with no property tax increase
Reserve commissioners have approved the township’s $6 million budget for 2026, which carries no property tax increase. The township’s property tax rate will remain at 6.47 mills. For a property at the township’s median value, the annual township property tax bill will stay at about $615. Commissioners approved the budget...
North Hills School Board approves limiting any potential property tax increase to state limit
The North Hills School Board has agreed to limit any potential property tax increase in the district’s 2026-27 budget. At its Dec. 2 meeting, the board approved a resolution stating it would not seek to increase the property tax rate by more than 4.2%, the district’s inflation limit imposed by...
PennDOT announces overnight closures of Route 8 in Etna
Southbound Route 8 in Etna will be closed overnight Tuesday through Friday, Dec. 9-12, PennDOT announced. The closures between Kittanning Street and the Route 28 interchange are scheduled for 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. each night. The ramps from southbound Route 8 to northbound and southbound Route 28 also will...
Man pistol-whipped during armed home invasion in Swissvale
A man was pistol-whipped during a home invasion in Swissvale on Sunday, Allegheny County Police said. The armed home invasion in the 2500 block of Delaware Avenue was reported to 911 shortly before 6 p.m. First responders found a man suffering from head lacerations. He was taken to a hospital...
Hundreds gather in Squirrel Hill to hear account of Israeli held captive by Hamas for 491 days
For Jay Idler, reading the first published account of an Israeli taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, was difficult, but necessary. “A lot of the hostages are appropriately closed in after having such a traumatic experience,” said Idler of Squirrel Hill. “Having someone elaborate after what they went...
Monessen man charged after 24 shots fired during fight outside Springdale restaurant
Springdale police have charged a Monessen man after two dozen shots were fired outside a borough business late Saturday night. Police charged Armando Antonio Diaz, 22, with robbery, theft, aggravated and simple assault, reckless endangerment, and firearms offenses, according to court records. According to a criminal complaint, an officer monitoring...
Highlands community shocked after popular teacher, photographer accused of sexually assaulting 2 boys
Sean Dicer was a familiar face in the Highlands School District community. He’d be seen at various sports events and activities, taking pictures of students. He was a popular teacher. That made the news that broke Friday about Dicer, 53, being accused of sexually assaulting and extorting two boys at...
North Allegheny graduate travels to Hawaii as part of effort to better predict severity, timing of volcanic eruptions
A North Allegheny graduate is participating in an effort at the University of Rhode Island aimed at predicting volcanic eruptions sooner and more accurately. Eleanor Martin, who graduated from North Allegheny in 2021, is working on a doctorate degree in marine geology and geophysics. She joined students researching two active...
Pine-Richland School Board names new leadership following election of 4 new members
The Pine-Richland School Board has new leadership following the election of four new members in November. At the board’s reorganization meeting Wednesday, Dec. 3, Ashley Fortier was elected president, replacing Philip Morrissette, who remains on the board. Newly elected member Melissa Vecchi was elected vice president, replacing Lisa Hillman, who...
North Hills School Board reorganizes following November election
The North Hills School Board welcomed one new and three returning members when it reorganized on Tuesday, Dec. 2. Newcomer Anthony Hall was one of four Democrats elected to the board in November. Returning to the nine-member board are Sandra Kozer, Mike Santucci and Allison Mathis. Elizabeth Nease left the...
Virtual meeting set to review plans for bridge replacement on Anderson Road in Shaler
A virtual meeting is scheduled to discuss an upcoming project to replace a bridge carrying Anderson Road over Wible Run in Shaler. The bridge is located between White Tail Lane and Wible Run Road. An average of about 2,600 vehicles cross it every day, said Brent Wasko, spokesman for the...
Jacks Run Road bridge over I-279 in Ross expected to remain closed until fall 2027
North Hills-area motorists will have to find other ways around a closed bridge over Interstate 279 in Ross for about another two years, according to the Allegheny County Department of Public Works. The department closed Jacks Run Road Bridge No. 3 in July after inspectors found corroded steel in a...
Missouri teen driving stolen pickup arrested after chase with state police in Washington County
A Missouri teen driving a stolen pickup hit a truck and backed into a state police vehicle while trying to flee a traffic stop in Washington County on Tuesday, according to state police. State police said Kemari Kerney Flowers, 19, of Saint Peters, Mo. was arrested and would be charged...
West View mourning death of council vice president
West View Councilwoman M. Kimberly Steele died on Wednesday, Nov. 26, following a 10-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 72. During her tenure on borough council, Steele had been president and was most recently vice president. She also had served on the West View Water Authority’s board of directors....
Washington police arrest 1 of 3 teen suspects in robbery, shooting at convenience store
Police in the city of Washington on Monday charged a 17-year-old as an adult in connection with a Sunday night robbery and shooting at a convenience store. Police allege that Julian Asbury, of Washington, was one of three armed teens who tried to rob the Washington Food Mart in the...
Man fatally shot by police on Parkway North was suspect in shooting of teen in Butler
A man who died after being shot by police on the Parkway North Saturday night was a suspect in a shooting in Butler Friday, according to Butler police Chief Bob O’Neill. In a statement released Monday, O’Neill identified the man as Devin Russell, 20, of Butler. According to O’Neill’s statement,...
Ross budget cuts fail to make dent in projected 8% property tax increase
Ross officials have continued to work on the township’s 2026 budget but have not found enough cuts to make a dent in a proposed 8% property tax increase. At a commissioners meeting Nov. 17, finance director Dan Berty told commissioners that while they found spending that could be cut, they...
West View manager proposes 24% property tax increase with 2026 budget
A nearly 24% property tax increase is included in West View’s proposed budget for 2026. In his budget report, borough Manager Bruce Fromlak says the 1.5 mill increase “is recommended to preserve fiscal stability and provide the resources necessary to maintain operations, meet contractual obligations and invest in future capital...
Etna mourning death of councilman, seeks resident to fill Second Ward seat
Candidates are being sought to replace Etna Councilman Edward V. Burke, 65, who died on Monday, Nov. 10. “We are extremely saddened by this loss, as Ed was kind and a hardworking volunteer on everything Etna, who always had a kind word for everyone,” the borough said Nov. 19. A...
Time capsule from 1990 opened at Highcliff Elementary School in Ross, 10 years after intended date
Students at North Hills’ Highcliff Elementary in Ross stumbled upon a time capsule in their school, a decade after it was planned to be opened. The capsule, created by students and staff in 1990, was found while the stage was being prepared for the Drama Club’s production of “Cinderella …...
No property tax increase planned in Hampton’s $19.75 million proposed budget for 2026
Hampton’s property tax rate would remain unchanged under the township’s proposed 2026 budget. The total tax rate would stay at 2.9241 mills. The owner of a property at Hampton’s median value of $175,000 would continue to pay about $512 annually. The tax rate consists of three parts — 1.979 mills...
2026 Etna budget holds line on property taxes, but garbage cost increasing
No property tax increase is included with Etna’s proposed 2026 budget, but residents will be paying more for garbage collection. The borough’s tax rate would remain at 9.5 mills. The owner of a property at Etna’s median value of $58,450 would continue to pay about $555 per year. “Council worked...
Shaler Area School Board approves plan to move grades, starting process to close elementary school
The Shaler Area School Board voted Wednesday, Nov. 19, to begin a process that will lead to the closing of the district’s elementary school. The board voted 8-0 to submit a reconfiguration plan to the state Department of Education to create four elementary schools to house kindergarten through fifth grade,...
Shaler Hampton EMS gets grant to help replace problematic ambulance
A state grant will help Shaler Hampton EMS replace a problematic ambulance that had broken down six times in less than two weeks, its chief said. The Commonwealth Financing Authority awarded a $213,041 grant to the ambulance authority that serves Shaler, Hampton and Etna. The grant comes from the Gaming...
