Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 89
Screams alert Harrison fire chief to blaze in his own neighborhood
Hilltop Hose Fire Chief Mike Krzeminski is usually notified of a fire call with a page. On Friday evening, the alert came in the form of a scream. The fire was in Krzeminski’s own Campton neighborhood in Harrison. “I heard the young man who lived there screaming his house was...
Crash closes Route 422 in both directions in East Franklin
A section of Route 422 in Armstrong County is closed in both directions because of a crash, according to state police. The road was closed in the area of Glade Run Road in East Franklin Township around 2 p.m. Saturday. It remained closed as of about 4:30 p.m. No information...
Steelworkers union says it achieved its goals in proposed pact with ATI
The United Steelworkers union is scheduling meetings to explain a tentative, four-year contract agreement with Allegheny Technologies, Inc. to its members and for them to vote on ratifying it. ATI and the union announced Friday that they had reached the tentative agreement. If approved, it would end a strike that...
Rachel Carson Hall residents can decide if they want to return after fire damage is fixed
While work continues to repair the top two floors of a fire-damaged Tarentum apartment building, whether or not the people who called it home return will be up to them. Residents of the seventh and eighth floors of Rachel Carson Hall have been relocated to other Allegheny County Housing Authority...
Pharmacy plans to tear down long vacant, dilapidated former church in Tarentum
Blackburn’s Physicians Pharmacy has acquired another building in Tarentum it plans to tear down to make room for its growth. Randy Prunty, business development manager for Blackburn’s, said the company bought a former church at the corner of East Fourth Avenue and Lock Street to get rid of the rundown...
Arnold man facing drug charges dies after arrest
An Arnold man died Tuesday after being arrested on drug charges the previous day. Khalies Khorhid Lewis, 39, died Tuesday afternoon at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office said. Although an autopsy has been completed, no information on the cause or manner of Lewis’ death...
Teaching a ‘calling’ for honored New Kensington-Arnold kindergarten instructorVideo
A small painting of a tree hangs in Alissa Szewczak’s kindergarten classroom at New Kensington-Arnold’s Martin Elementary School. Its leaves don’t look like leaves, and most aren’t even green. The splotches of color are actually the thumbprints of her past students — one year of first grade, two years of...
Challenged Fawn supervisor accepts defeat as newcomers corner election ballot
A longtime Fawn supervisor says he accepts defeat, while a newcomer says she isn’t taking for granted that she’ll become a supervisor despite her and another newcomer cornering the ballot. Paula Legge and Dan Selfridge Jr. defeated incumbent supervisor David Montanari in the race for two seats in Republican primary....
Tarentum police charge 2 in armed burglary of home
Two brothers are wanted in connection with a home burglary in Tarentum on Monday night, and three unidentified suspects were believed to be involved, Chief William Vakulick said. Police charged Wilnal Anthony Reddix, 21, of Natrona Heights and Manrico Reddix, 15, of Clairton with felony counts of burglary, robbery, conspiracy,...
Crash delays reopening of Tarentum Bridge
The Tarentum Bridge from New Kensington to Tarentum is expected to reopen at 6 a.m. Monday, PennDOT announced Friday. That side of the bridge over the Allegheny River was scheduled to reopen by midnight Sunday. The reopening was delayed after a car crashed in the work zone last Saturday and...
Gas line work to restrict traffic on Burtner Road in Harrison
Traffic will be restricted on part of Burtner Road for a little more than a month beginning Friday, PennDOT announced Thursday. Crews working for Peoples Natural Gas will be replacing a gas line on Burtner Road between Adams Street and Cottage Avenue. That location is in the area of Citizens...
Police charge 2 teens as adults in New Kensington weekend shooting
New Kensington police have charged two 17-year-olds as adults in connection with a weekend shooting. Neither suspect was in custody Wednesday afternoon. The shooting was reported Saturday shortly after 4:30 p.m. in the area of East Ken Manor. Police said officers found the male victim, whose age was not given,...
New Kensington police charge teen with attempted homicide
New Kensington police issued an arrest warrant for a 17-year-old charged with two counts of attempted homicide. Police on Monday charged Isaac Anthony Weihrauch of Springdale, according to court records. Police have not responded to requests for information about the incident in which Weihrauch is charged. The incident occurred Saturday,...
Bell woman charged with setting home on fire, filing insurance claim
A former Bell Township woman is accused of setting her home on fire last year after being unable to sell it and then filing an insurance claim for the loss. State police said Britny Alandria Parks, 28, of Harker Heights, Texas, told two former friends she would be willing to...
Highlands bids farewell to retiring staff, makes new hires
Highlands School District said goodbye to a dozen retirees Monday and welcomed a few to new positions. At the school board’s meeting, Superintendent Monique Mawhinney recognized the employees. They include teachers, paraprofessionals, cafeteria workers and others, some of whom had been with the district since the early 1990s. Mawhinney thanked...
Volunteers needed to prepare Burtner House for 200th anniversary celebration
Some helping hands are needed to get a historic Harrison farmhouse ready for a big event later this year. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the completion of the Burtner House. A celebration is planned for Saturday, Sept. 18. But before then, volunteers are being sought for a cleanup...
Weekend crash could delay reopening of Tarentum Bridge
A weekend crash in the work zone on the Tarentum Bridge could delay the span’s reopening, a PennDOT spokeswoman said Monday. A couple of pieces of equipment were damaged severely when a car drove across the closed lanes from New Kensington toward Tarentum, crashed and caught fire shortly before 10:30...
Police: Walls, floor of New Kensington apartment where woman was stabbed were covered in blood
New Kensington police said officers responding to a reported fight Saturday night at Central Towers found a large amount of blood on the floor and walls of an apartment when they arrived. Police said Cheyenne Nicole Preves-Taranovsky, 21, had cut and stabbed a woman in the altercation. A criminal complaint...
New Kensington police charge man with selling crack cocaine from apartment
New Kensington police said they found crack cocaine in the bottom of a toilet while executing a search warrant with the state Attorney General’s office at an apartment on Linden Avenue Thursday. Officers encountered the target of the investigation, Mark Sibley, 40, leaving the bathroom and he was ordered to...
Indiana County man’s body found in Kiski woods
A report of a suspicious vehicle at a Kiski car wash lead to the discovery of a man’s body Thursday afternoon, according to township police. Police said they got a call shortly after 7:30 a.m. about a vehicle left at the Apollo Car Wash on Route 56 just outside of...
Man found dead after standoff with police in Moon
A 37-year-old Moon Township man was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound following a standoff with police Thursday night, according to township police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the man as John Geisler. Police said the incident began around 6:15 p.m. when a woman reported a domestic...
National Weather Service monitoring chance of severe weather
The National Weather Service is monitoring the chance for severe weather Friday night into Saturday. After a couple cool, dry days, temperatures and humidity levels are expected to begin rising Friday, meteorologist Mike Kennedy said. Showers and storms could be seen Friday afternoon, but the most severe weather will be...
Exact cause of fire at Unity business still under investigation, but ‘not suspicious’, fire chief says
No injuries were reported in a fire at a Unity business early Thursday morning. The fire at Specialty Seal Group at 1001 Lloyd Ave., off of Route 981 and near Saint Vincent College, was reported around 4:40 a.m. and was quickly doused, according to Lloydsville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brian...
Crash closes Brownsville Road, knocks out power in South Park
A crash has closed part of Brownsville Road in South Park Township and knocked out electric service to hundreds early Thursday morning. The single-vehicle crash was reported around 2:45 a.m., an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said. The vehicle hit a utility pole and lines were down. No injuries were reported....
9 vehicles involved in chain reaction crash on Route 28 at 31st Street Bridge
Nine vehicles were involved in a chain reaction crash on Route 28 at the 31st Street Bridge Wednesday, according to Pittsburgh police. Police, firefighters and medics responded to the crash around 5:40 p.m. Police said first responders found that there had been three collisions involving a total of nine vehicles....
