Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 55
Faces of the Valley: Plum Community Center’s new activities coordinator well-suited for job
Diana Kelly’s father says she can strike up a conversation and make friends with anyone, anywhere. “My father says I’m a people person because I love to talk with people,” she said. So Kelly’s father, Paul Nye, 82, thought it was great when she took a job as the activities...
2 suffer injuries in Christmas Eve house fire in Freeport
Two people suffered minor injuries in a fire that damaged a Freeport house Saturday morning, Freeport’s fire chief said. A mail carrier reported a porch on fire in the 500 block of Franklin Street around 8:30 a.m., Chief Ryan Sweeny said. When firefighters arrived, Sweeny said the home’s residents and...
PPG to drop naming rights to Pittsburgh aquarium
The Pittsburgh Zoo will start the new year with a new, but not unfamiliar, name. PPG and the PPG Foundation will relinquish their naming rights to the aquarium at the zoo, the Zoological Society of Pittsburgh and PPG announced. Beginning Jan. 1, the name will return to Pittsburgh Zoo &...
South Side church among buildings hit by graffiti vandal
Pittsburgh police said they are working to identify a graffiti tagger whose recent targets include a South Side church. A custodian discovered graffiti on the front and back of Holy Assumption of St. Mary Orthodox Church, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV reported. Pittsburgh police detectives are asking for the public’s help...
Jackpot-winning Match 6 lotto ticket sold in Monroeville
A jackpot-winning Match 6 Lotto ticket worth $770,000 was sold in Monroeville, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced. The ticket was the only one to match all six winning numbers — 3, 18, 20, 26, 39, 48 — in the Wednesday drawing. The ticket was sold at the Giant Eagle store at...
Plum’s annual telethon for Make-A-Wish returning after reaching $1M goal in 2021
After shooting for, reaching and exceeding a $1 million lifetime goal last year, Plum School District’s annual telethon for Make-A-Wish is going into its 22nd year without such a milestone in mind. The telethon, started in 1999, was held annually until missing 2020 because of the pandemic. It returned in...
Memorial planned for Indiana County man killed volunteering in Ukraine
A memorial gathering will be held Friday for an Indiana County man killed in Ukraine. Trent Braxton Davis, 21, of Indiana, Pa. was a U.S. Army veteran who had volunteered to fight in Ukraine. He was shot and killed Nov. 8 while trying to save civilians, according to Tribune-Review news...
Sewickley building condemned after basement explosion
A building in the 500 block of Beaver Street in Sewickley was condemned after an explosion in its basement Thursday. The explosion of the boiler in the building’s basement sent shrapnel everywhere and caused extensive damage, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reported. The cause was not immediately known. No one was...
Caution advised as freezing rain slicks roads north, east of Pittsburgh
Commuters in the Pittsburgh metro area should be seeing mostly wet roads Thursday morning, but icy conditions could be encountered north and east of the city, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. Temperatures in most of the Pittsburgh area were above freezing as of about 5:30 a.m. with just rain...
2 suffer smoke inhalation at West Mifflin house fire
One person was taken to a hospital from a house fire in West Mifflin early Thursday morning, an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said. The two-alarm fire in the 4700 block of Eliza Street was reported shortly before 3:30 a.m., the dispatcher said. Smoke was seen coming from the house and...
Washington Township police investigating crash that killed resident
Washington Township police don’t know what caused a man to lose control of his car, resulting in a crash that claimed his life Sunday. Nolan E. Young, 39, of Washington Township died after a one-vehicle crash on Route 366 at Francis Drive. Police Chief Scott Slagle said the crash happened...
State police investigating officer-involved shooting in North Braddock
State police are investigating after a North Braddock police officer fired his weapon after being shot at by a man fleeing a crash scene late Tuesday. Neither the officer nor the suspect were hurt, state police Trooper Rocco Gagliardi said. According to state police, the crash happened about 11:45 p.m....
Maryland man dies after being thrown from vehicle in Pa. Turnpike crash in Pine
A Maryland man died when he was thrown from his vehicle Monday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Pine, according to state police. State police identified the man as Ashfaq Ahmed, 58, of Suitland. The crash happened around 4:20 p.m. According to state police, Ahmed’s westbound...
Police investigating armed robbery of Brookline gas station
Pittsburgh police are investigating the armed robbery of a Brookline gas station on Tuesday night. Police said officers responded to the reported robbery at a Sunoco gas station in the 1600 block of Saw Mill Run Boulevard around 10:30 p.m. A store clerk told officers that a man with a...
Man accused of threatening to kill Allegheny County DA, encouraging mass killing
A Rosslyn Farms man is accused of making threats online to kill Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. and others and threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction. Scott Township police arrested Joshua J. Thompson, 46, on Monday. He was denied bail at an arraignment early Tuesday...
Winter storm watch issued for ice accumulations in higher terrain outside Pittsburgh
Locations in higher terrain outside of Pittsburgh could see ice accumulating Wednesday night into Thursday morning, a National Weather Service meteorologist said Tuesday. With cold air in place, freezing rain will start developing over the area around 10 p.m. Wednesday, meteorologist David Shallenberger said. In lower elevations, Shallenberger said the...
Beaver County man’s death in fall at Acrisure Stadium ruled an accident
A Beaver County man’s death at Acrisure Stadium was an accident, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled. Dalton Ryan Keane, 27, of Center Township died after falling from an escalator at the stadium following an Oct. 2 Steelers game. The medical examiner said Keane died from multiple blunt...
‘Our hearts are broken’: Children killed in Sewickley house fire identified
Less than two weeks before Christmas, the Quaker Valley School District community is mourning the loss of two Edgeworth Elementary School students who died Tuesday morning in a house fire. “Our hearts are broken by the loss of these children. They were treasured members of the Quaker Valley family and...
Crafton Heights man thought he would be meeting child for sex, police say
A man from Pittsburgh’s Crafton Heights neighborhood was arrested Thursday after police said he made arrangements to meet for sex with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl. The girl was actually an undercover FBI agent. Pittsburgh police charged Ackenio Taylor, 32, with criminal attempt, criminal solicitation, unlawful contact with...
Gas prices falling across nation and state, but Pennsylvania drivers still paying more than others
Average gasoline prices are continuing to fall in Pennsylvania and across the nation, although the average in Pennsylvania is about 50 cents per gallon higher than the national average. According to AAA, the national average Monday is about $3.26 per gallon. That’s about 14 cents less than a week ago,...
Pittsburgh man killed in Braddock Hills apartment building fire
A 60-year-old Pittsburgh man was killed in a fire Monday morning at a senior apartment building in Braddock Hills. Kevin Prince was pronounced dead at 7:13 a.m., according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Ten apartments were damaged in the fire at Brinton Towers, 3000 Locust Street, according to...
1 killed, 3 hurt in fire in Downtown Pittsburgh apartment building
One person died, another was critically injured and two emergency responders suffered injuries late Sunday in a fire at a Downtown Pittsburgh apartment building. Pittsburgh Public Safety said police, firefighters and paramedics responded to a five-alarm fire just after 10:30 p.m. at The Roosevelt Building at Penn Avenue and Sixth...
Nearly 30 graduates nominated for New Kensington-Arnold ‘Distinguished Alumni’ honors
Nearly 30 graduates of Valley High School and its predecessors in New Kensington and Arnold have been nominated to be recognized as distinguished alumni. New Kensington-Arnold Assistant Superintendent Jon Banko and School Director Sarah Yurga announced earlier this year that the district would be bringing back a program to honor...
New Kensington-Arnold approves repairs, improvements at all schools
The New Kensington-Arnold School Board has approved several projects that will see improvements, upgrades and fixes touching on all of the district’s schools. At the high school, the board approved negotiating a contract with Pittsburgh Stage to renovate the auditorium stage’s rigging and tracks, electrical and lighting systems. Business Manager...
Drug forfeitures, seizures fund police equipment purchases in Westmoreland County
The Allegheny Township Police Department is doing away with its “bring your own gun to work” routine with help from the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office. The department used $9,300 it received from District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli to buy 15 department-issued 9 mm handguns and holsters for all of its...
