Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 85
As Principal Tom Rocchi retires, Hunt Elementary staff praise his impact and leadership
Even after 60 years in education, Thomas Rocchi sometimes wonders if he made a difference. The answer came in hugs at the door of Roy A. Hunt Elementary School in Arnold on Monday, where Rocchi, the school’s principal, welcomed back members of Valley High School’s graduating Class of 2021. Dressed...
Freeport Area bus driver honored for 50 years behind the wheel
Terry Bergbigler doesn’t like meetings, but the one he was summoned to Tuesday morning will probably go down as one of his favorites. Bergbigler’s colleagues at W.L. Roenigk successfully surprised him with an event to commemorate his 50 years as a school bus driver with the company. With the drivers...
Tarentum Book Club gives archives to Allegheny-Kiski Valley Historical Society’s museum
More than a century’s worth of history has been given to the Allegheny-Kiski Valley Historical Society’s Heritage Museum in Tarentum. The Tarentum Book Club has given four boxes to the museum containing minutes, scrapbooks and programs dating to the club’s founding in 1901. The archives previously had been kept in...
Butler Logan Road in Frazer to close for 2 weeks
A nearly one-mile stretch of Butler Logan Road north of the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer will be closed for two weeks, PennDOT announced Friday. The road is scheduled to close at about noon Monday between Clarks Pike and Log Cabin roads, weather permitting. Through traffic will be prohibited around-the-clock...
ATI, Steelworkers unable to find agreement on health care as strike drags on
Allegheny Technologies Inc. and the United Steelworkers continue to levy accusations at each other as they remain unable to agree on the key issue of health benefits and a strike drags on. Negotiators for ATI and the USW met Wednesday with the help of a federal mediator. No further talks...
Victim of fatal New Kensington apartment building fire identifiedVideo
The cause of a fire that claimed the life of a New Kensington woman Wednesday evening remained undetermined Thursday, a state police fire marshal said. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office on Thursday identified the woman as Deborah Kapalka, 63. “She was a sweet girl. She’s always been a sweet girl,”...
Coxcomb Hill Road reopens in Plum
Drivers in the Alle-Kiski Valley area have one less detour to deal with. Coxcomb Hill Road in Plum reopened Thursday afternoon, PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said. That is a day earlier than had been expected earlier in the week. Coxcomb Hill had been closed to traffic between Logans Ferry and...
Brackenridge man charged with abusing, neglecting dog that died in his care
A Brackenridge man has been charged with abusing and neglecting a dog that died in his care earlier this year. Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh charged Nicholas A. Rose, 19, on Tuesday with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals as well as misdemeanor and summary counts of cruelty...
Harrison man accused of firing shot into the air at Sheldon Park claims self-defense
A Harrison man told police he was defending himself when he fired a shot in the air at the Sheldon Park public housing complex Wednesday, according to a criminal complaint Police from the Allegheny County Housing Authority, Harrison and Brackenridge responded to a report of shots fired on Municipal Drive...
Bones found in Tarentum building’s basement not human, officials say
Bones found Tuesday in the basement of a Tarentum commercial building undergoing renovations are not human, an Allegheny County spokeswoman said Wednesday. The bone fragments found in the basement of the building at 305 E. Fifth Ave. were turned over to borough police and then to the Allegheny County Medical...
Tarentum Bridge closure results in delays, congestion for thousands of motorists
Pam Kristoff is one of many Alle-Kiski Valley residents whose life is on both sides of a river, so closing a bridge throws a wrench into her daily routine. Kristoff lives in Harrison and works across the Allegheny River in Lower Burrell. While others were coping Wednesday with the first...
Suspected human remains found in basement of commercial Tarentum building
Suspected human remains were discovered Tuesday morning in the basement of a Tarentum building undergoing renovations. Bones including what appeared to be part of hip or shoulder bones and a leg bone were found by a contractor who had been digging in the basement of 305 E. Fifth Ave., a...
Coxcomb Hill Road reopening delayed until later this week
The reopening of a section of Coxcomb Hill Road in Plum has been delayed until later this week, a PennDOT spokesman said Monday. The closed section of the road between Kerr and Logans Ferry roads, which has been closed since late May, is expected to reopen Friday afternoon instead of...
Tarentum couple conspired to attack, rob man of $400 in borough alley, police say
A Tarentum couple is accused of attacking a man in a borough alley last week and robbing him of about $400. Tarentum police said Brian Lamont Kellum, 42, assaulted the victim Wednesday in Plum Alley. Kellum’s wife, Dionette Williams, 34, is accused of conspiring with her husband. The incident was...
Plans for new Tarentum craft beer festival moving forward
Plans for a new craft beer festival are moving forward in Tarentum. Five breweries, three food vendors and four bands are confirmed for the inaugural event, scheduled for 3 to 10 p.m. Aug. 28 at Dreshar Stadium, Councilman Brian Snyder said. More bands and food vendors are expected to be...
Marine veteran Dorothy Rogers of Brackenridge is 1st female commander of Harrison VFW postVideo
Once and always a Marine, Dorothy Rogers is one of the few and the proud. As a woman and a Marine, she’s among the fewest of the few. Rogers, 73, of Brackenridge enlisted in the Marine Corps in June 1966 after graduating from Tarentum High School. She served four years...
Completion of UPMC family health center in New Kensington celebratedVideo
The new UPMC St. Margaret Family Health Center in New Kensington does not compare at all with the facility it replaces in city hall, the center’s medical director said. “Everything is brand new. It’s bigger,” said Dr. Winfred Frazier. “It’s a much more welcoming space.” The center has moved from...
State House committee hearing in Brackenridge focuses on blightVideo
Combating and preventing blight were discussed Thursday during a public hearing hosted by state lawmakers in Brackenridge. Members of the House Urban Affairs Committee, including first-term state Rep. Carrie Lewis DelRosso, R-Oakmont, heard testimony from Allegheny and Westmoreland county officials and business owners during the three-hour hearing at the Salvation...
Damaged electrical cord cited as source of Tarentum high-rise fire
A damaged electrical cord attached to a portable heater caused Wednesday afternoon’s fire in an apartment on the top floor of a Tarentum high-rise, according to the Allegheny County Department of Emergency Services. The fire at Rachel Carson Hall, reported shortly before 2:30 p.m., was ruled accidental, emergency services Chief...
Tarentum street-paving list firmed up, late utility fees waived this month due to new billing system
West Tarentum is the focus of Tarentum’s road paving this year. Roads included in the project are the intersections of West Sixth Avenue and Center Street; Center Street at West 12th Avenue; the 200 block of West 12th; Hill Street, from Bakerstown Road to Locust Street; Locust Street, from Hill...
Fire heavily damages 8th-floor apartment at Tarentum high-rise
As she looked on from a nearby parking lot, Maria Gray said the apartment next to hers on the top floor of Rachel Carson Hall in Tarentum looked like “a black void.” A fire Wednesday afternoon caused extensive damage to that apartment, but nobody was hurt, Eureka Deputy Fire Chief...
2nd covid vaccine clinic at Valley High School open to those needing 1st shot
A clinic to administer second covid vaccination shots at Valley High School Wednesday afternoon will also be open to anyone needing a first shot, New Kensington-Arnold acting Superintendent Jon Banko said. About 130 people, including students and staff, got their first doses of the Pfizer vaccine at the initial clinic...
New Kensington-Arnold school board approves 3.7% property tax increase with 2020-21 budget
The New Kensington-Arnold School Board on Tuesday approved a 3.7% increase in the district’s property tax rate along with approving the district’s $40.25 million budget for the 2021-22 school year. It will increase the district’s property tax rate from 88.27 mills to 91.57 mills. It’s less than the 4.4% maximum...
Looming closure of Tarentum Bridge prompts planning by police, drivers
PennDOT hasn’t released the official detour route for when the Tarentum Bridge will be closed this month, but New Kensington police are getting ready for the closure. The New Kensington Bridge, spanning the Allegheny River between the city and East Deer, is likely to be part of the posted detour...
MSA Safety acquires Alle-Kiski Valley-based Bacharach in $337M deal
Global safety equipment maker MSA Safety is expanding its gas detection business with the $337 million acquisition of Alle-Kiski Valley-based Bacharach, the companies announced. MSA, headquartered in Cranberry, plans to complete the acquisition of Bacharach and its affiliated companies from FFL Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, in early...
