Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 71
Trial postponed for New Kensington-Arnold teacher accused of sending sexual texts to students
The trial of a New Kensington-Arnold music teacher accused of sending inappropriate text messages to students has been delayed for two months. Sean Timothy O’Neil, 34, was scheduled for trial in two cases Feb. 10. They have been rescheduled for April 18. On Friday, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli...
New Kensington-Arnold students to take snow-covered sidewalk concerns to cities’ officials
Despite temperatures well above freezing, stretches of sidewalks in New Kensington and Arnold still could be found covered in snow Wednesday as the region braced for the next winter storm expected to bring a mix of snow and ice. The last measurable snow fell Jan. 28, according to the National...
New Kensington-Arnold approves preliminary budget with 5% property tax increase
A 5% property tax increase remains in New Kensington-Arnold School District’s preliminary budget, but it won’t be going any higher. The school board on Tuesday approved the district’s proposed $40.9 million budget for the 2022-23 school year. It was unchanged from when business Manager Jeff McVey discussed it with the...
New Kensington-Arnold teachers to highlight educators’ efforts during covid
The New Kensington-Arnold teachers union plans to give presentations at school board meetings over the next four months to create public awareness of its role in educating students during the covid crisis, a representative of the statewide union said Monday. The New Kensington-Arnold Education Association will highlight the efforts of...
Lawmakers react to Frick Park bridge collapse
One of the Pittsburgh area’s congressmen is pointing to Friday’s bridge collapse as proof of the need for the nation’s latest infrastructure spending plan. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, praised the “brave and rapid response” of first responders and wished those who were injured speedy recoveries. “It was a miracle...
No one hurt in Wilkinsburg apartment building fire
No one was hurt in a fire at a Wilkinsburg apartment building Thursday night, according to Pittsburgh police. Police could not say when the fire was first reported. The second alarm came in just after 10:45 p.m., and the third alarm was right before 11 p.m. Firefighters were at the...
Schools call delays, go remote as snow slickens roads
Schools across the Pittsburgh area were issuing two-hour delays or moving to remote instruction for Friday because of snow that moved in overnight and was slickening roads for the morning commute. A complete list of delays is available from Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. The snow began overnight ahead of a...
Missing Ohio man found safe, police say
A man reported missing and in need of medical attention has been found and is safe, Pittsburgh police said. Philip Gosnell, 50, is from Zanesville, Ohio. He was last seen at 4 p.m. Thursday near UPMC Presbyterian Hospital before being reported missing. Police did not release further information about how...
19-year-old Pittsburgh man charged in deadly Allentown shooting
A 19-year-old man from Pittsburgh’s St. Clair neighborhood has been charged in a fatal shooting in the city’s Allentown section. James Linnert faces a single charge of criminal homicide in connection with the Jan. 20 death of Joshua Hamilton, also 19, who had been shot in the neck and arm...
Frigid weather continuing through weekend before brief warm-up next week
The Pittsburgh region will be warming up a little Thursday after a frigid morning, but will continue its streak of below-freezing weather through the weekend, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. Low temperatures around the area ranged from just slightly above zero in spots, such as 2 degrees at the...
Sheriff’s office says telephone scam nets $18K from Allegheny County woman
A 33-year-old woman from Allegheny County was taken for $18,000 by scammers masquerading as members of the county sheriff’s office and FBI, the sheriff’s office said. The woman lost $8,000 through gift cards and another $10,000 through Apple Pay on Monday, prompting the sheriff to issue a warning Tuesday. The...
Maryland man accused of holding woman in car arrested after chase in Fayette County
A Maryland man accused of holding a woman against her will was arrested after a police chase in Fayette County last week, according to state police. State police said their Uniontown barracks got information on Jan. 20 that Roger Lee Strawser, 55, of Oakland, Md., was holding a woman against...
Greensburg man accused of stealing woman’s car after asking her to pick him up
A Greensburg man is accused of stealing a woman’s car after assaulting her Monday, according to state police. State police charged Terry Lynn Brumley Jr., 32, with robbery of a motor vehicle, theft, simple assault, harassment and driving under the influence. He was arraigned Monday and released on an unsecured...
Southbound Route 28 reopens in Harmar following crash
Southbound Route 28 is open again after being closed for about two hours because of a crash. A multi-vehicle crash was reported around 7:50 a.m., an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said. The number of vehicles involved was not immediately known. The crash location was just after the southbound on-ramp from...
Pittsburgh getting break from snow as bitter cold moves in
The latest snowfall is being capped off by some light freezing drizzle Tuesday morning, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. Between 1 and 3 inches of snow fell across the Pittsburgh area Monday, tapering off last evening, meteorologist Bill Modzelewski said. Some light snow and patchy freezing drizzle Tuesday morning...
Pittsburgh Oliver Citywide Academy to gradually reopen after student’s shooting death
A Pittsburgh school will gradually reopen over the next two weeks following the death of a student shot outside the school last week. Marquis Campbell, 15, died at Allegheny General Hospital after being shot twice on Jan. 19. He had been sitting in a van waiting to go home outside...
Propane heater caused blaze that destroyed Rostraver home/animal shelter, fire marshal rules
A propane heater caused a fire that destroyed a Rostraver home used as an animal shelter, a state police fire marshal determined. About a dozen cats died in the Jan. 14 fire at the Route 51 home of Wendi Kraemer, who operated the nonprofit Angels Journey Home Animal Rescue there....
Valley High alumni volunteers sought to be career coaches to today’s students
Ron Eckman Jr. took off from New Kensington and 25 years later landed in Las Vegas. Eckman, 48, enlisted in the Air Force after graduating from Valley High School in 1991. He was an aircraft electrician, working on fighter jets at bases around the world and even traveled with the...
Valley High senior organizing blood drive as supplies reach historic lows
A Valley High School senior is organizing a blood drive at a time when blood inventories are at historic lows. Brooke Alcorn Ferry, 17, of New Kensington is staging the Feb. 28 blood drive as part of the community service hours she needs to graduate. It will be open to...
Pittsburgh’s Ukrainian community keeps nervous watch as Russia threatens invasion of homeland
The Rev. Timothy Tomson, whose grandparents are from Ukraine, is among those in the Pittsburgh area with Ukrainian roots watching warily as fears of a Russian invasion continue. Tomson is vice president of the Ukrainian Community of Western Pennsylvania, which he helped found in 2009, and pastor of St. Mary...
Short-term solution announced to New Kensington’s downtown ‘food desert’Video
A short-term solution to the food desert in downtown New Kensington is on the way, Mayor Tom Guzzo said. The city is partnering with Oasis Grocery Direct to launch a system in which residents can order groceries online and get them two days later at a pickup point. Volunteers would...
Tragedy impacts, but does not define, New Kensington native Brian Jacob’s life
The first time Brian Jacob tries to answer the question raised by his memoir, “Is Life Fair,” he is remembering an unpleasant experience attending a play with his wife. Brian and Jamie Jacob were at a Pittsburgh Public Theater performance when an employee approached Brian, who is quadriplegic and uses...
Valley High sophomore competing in statewide Veterans of Foreign Wars spoken essay contest
A sophomore from Valley High School in New Kensington is representing Westmoreland County in a statewide audio essay contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. If 15-year-old K’Ahna Witcher is the winner of the state “Voice of Democracy” contest, she’ll go on to the national program and a chance...
Northern Westmoreland communities would get new state senator through redistricting
Several northern Westmoreland County municipalities in the Alle-Kiski Valley would get a new state senator if a proposed redistricting map is approved. The affected municipalities are the cities of Arnold, Lower Burrell and New Kensington; the boroughs of East Vandergrift, Hyde Park, Vandergrift and West Leechburg; and Allegheny Township. State...
How Highmark and other insurers will cover at-home covid tests
Highmark will begin reimbursing its customers for at-home covid-19 tests this weekend and is looking to eliminate the need for customers to pay first, a vice president of the insurance company said Thursday. Under federal rules, Highmark and other private health insurers are required to cover up to eight over-the...
