Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 29
Kiski Area school bus, car collide in Washington Township
No children were hurt when a Kiski Area school bus was involved in a crash on Thursday afternoon in Washington Township, Superintendent Jason Lohr said. The collision between the full-size bus and a car at Route 66 and Mamont Drive was reported shortly before 4 p.m. Eight elementary school-age students...
New Kensington-Arnold School Board schedules special meeting for budget vote
A vote this week will reveal if New Kensington-Arnold School District will seek to raise property taxes by more than its state-imposed limit for the 2025-26 school year. The board is scheduled to hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom at Valley High School “for the...
Harbor Freight opens New Kensington store, plans grand opening event
Harbor Freight opened its new tools store in New Kensington this week, marking another step in the redevelopment of Riverview Plaza following the closing and demolition of the Kmart department store. The Tarentum Bridge Road store is the company’s fourth in Westmoreland County and its 67th in Pennsylvania, Harbor Freight...
Home for struggling women to rebuild, improve lives approved in Arnold
Arnold officials have approved a woman’s plan to turn a house in the city into a place where struggling women can be safe while rebuilding their lives. The three-member zoning hearing board attached several conditions to its approval of city resident Amanda Wheeler’s use of the house in the 1700...
Valley High School set to reopen after broken boiler fixed
Students are expected to return to classes at Valley High School on Wednesday after the New Kensington school was closed for the past two days. While the New Kensington-Arnold School District was among many across the Pittsburgh region that closed Monday because of the threat of significant snow, its high...
2 children among 5 hurt in 5-vehicle crash involving Plum school bus
Two children were among five people taken to area hospitals after a five-vehicle crash that included a Plum school bus Tuesday afternoon, according to borough police. The crash, at Golden Mile Highway (Route 286) and South Duane Drive was reported shortly after 3 p.m. The circumstances of the crash were...
Plum community rallies to get bicycle for carless teen so he can make calls as junior firefighter
Kevin Butler has not known 17-year-old Elijah Mendez for long, but the Plum High School senior has made an impression. Butler, a master sergeant with the school’s Air Force Junior ROTC program, met Mendez in August when he became a cadet. “He’s a very kind, thoughtful, on-point young man. He’s...
Longtime Pittsburgh-area architect, artist Syl Damianos gifts last large-scale work to Longwood at Oakmont
A large sculpture adorning the wall of a dining room at Longwood at Oakmont is something of a penance for its creator, Sylvester “Syl” Damianos. Damianos, 91, and his wife of 67 years, Eva Lu, moved from their home of 53 years in Edgewood to a country home at the...
Farmers market to join shuttle service in increasing access to food in New Kensington
A new farmers market could join an existing shuttle service as an additional option to provide access to food for people in New Kensington. The New Ken Downtown Partnership plans for the weekly market to be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays from April 19 to Oct. 25 at...
Building the Valley: From play time to real time, Nicole Vigilante marks 5 years running Trovo in New Kensington
When playing with her younger brother and sister as a child, Nicole Vigilante remembers them all pretending to run a store in their father’s basement workshop. The trio imagined they were working in a hardware store, answering calls and taking orders for nuts, bolts and washers. “I can remember the...
New Kensington’s Fridays on Fifth, Voodoo Brewing gearing up for 5th anniversaries
A pair of fifth anniversaries will be marked on New Kensington’s Fifth Avenue this year. Fridays on Fifth, the monthly food truck event that took many by surprise when it debuted in 2021, is preparing for its fifth season. It will be held on the fourth Friday of each month...
Still no answers: 1 year later, Plum community still awaits a cause for fatal Rustic Ridge house explosion
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Plum community to observe Rustic Ridge anniversary 1 year later with no answers
As a Plum community pauses to remember those who died in a fatal house explosion a year ago, questions about the cause remain unresolved, and a mayor is demanding answers. Six residents of the Rustic Ridge neighborhood died as a result of the massive Aug. 12 explosion, which sent shock...
A call to arms: 9/11 served as a call to military service for many Western Pennsylvania residents
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