Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 90
Tarentum Democrat wins Republican nomination for mayor; 3rd Ward seat also to be contested
Tarentum voters will have a choice for borough mayor in November. Former borough police Officer Robert Lang, who lost the Democratic primary in May to current Councilwoman Carrie Fox, won the Republican nomination as a write-in. Lang, a registered Democrat, said he will accept the Republican nomination but otherwise declined...
Tarentum Bridge closure chokes ambulance traffic
The closure of the Tarentum Bridge has made things difficult for ambulances trying to get patients from the New Kensington side of the bridge to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. Emergency traffic has had to follow detours like all other vehicles, said Addie Birch, emergency medical services director with the...
New Kensington woman charged with leaving 3 children with convicted sex offender
A New Kensington woman faces child endangerment charges after police say she left three children alone with her husband, a convicted sex offender. Police charged Jaymi Lyn Kenney, 41, on Friday. Police say she left three children, ages 5, 7 and 16, in the care of Earl Eugene Kenney, 40,...
New Kensington woman charged with stabbing ex-boyfriend during argument
A man told New Kensington police his ex-girlfriend stabbed him on Sunday. Police charged Ebony Hooper, 33, of New Kensington with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and simple assault. Police said an officer responded to the reported stabbing in the 500 block of Industrial Boulevard about 12:45 a.m. Sunday,...
19-year-old found shot in Swissvale will survive, police say
A 19-year-old man was in fair condition after being shot in the leg in Swissvale early Wednesday morning, according to Allegheny County Police. Swissvale police responded to a call for a man shot inside an apartment building in the 2700 block of Hawthorne Avenue at 12:30 a.m. The victim was...
PennDOT plans long-term closure of ramp from Route 28 North to Highland Park Bridge
The ramp from northbound Route 28 to the Highland Park Bridge in Sharpsburg will be closed for nearly three months beginning Monday, the state Department of Transportation announced. The ramp to the bridge and Aspinwall, Exit 6, is scheduled to close about 3 a.m. Monday, weather permitting. It is expected...
Mercer County man accused of strangling wife to death
State police have charged a Mercer County man with homicide in the death of his wife. According to state police, Eric Raymond George, 44, of Coolspring Township called 911 himself shortly before 11 p.m. Monday to ask for emergency services and said he had just strangled Serena Schoeder, 41, to...
2 shot, 1 fatally in fight outside Sheraden bar
Two men were shot, one fatally, outside a bar in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood early Wednesday morning, according to Pittsburgh police. Police said a fight outside Craig’s Bar at 3122 Chartiers Ave. was reported to 911 before 1:50 a.m. As officers were heading there, they were told that shots had been...
Duquesne Light, West Penn Power work to restore electric service
Crews with Duquesne Light and West Penn Power are continuing to work to restore electric service to customers affected by storms that came through the Pittsburgh area on Sunday and Monday. As of about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, Duquesne Light was reporting about 2,300 customers without power. By 6 a.m., the...
Teen dies after being found shot on Brookline sidewalk
A boy died after being found shot in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood late Monday night, police said. Officers responded to reports of multiple shots fired in the 1100 block of Creedmoor Avenue around 11 p.m. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the victim as Christian Redinger, 15. Police said he was...
Pittsburgh police seek SUV driver that fled after hitting person in Shadyside
A man was critically hurt after being hit by an SUV in Shadyside early Tuesday morning, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers responded to the report at South Aiken Avenue and Walnut Street just before 12:30 a.m. Police said first responders found the man unresponsive and bleeding from the head. He...
Mercer County shooting victim expected to survive
State police charged a Mercer County man with attempted homicide and aggravated assault after a shooting early Sunday morning. The shooting on Chestnut Street in Jamestown happened between 1 a.m. and 1:20 a.m. According to state police, a 31-year-old man from Greenville was shot once in the head and neck...
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...

