Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 90
Highlands closes Tarentum elementary school because of covid cases
Highlands School District has closed its elementary school in Tarentum because of covid cases. The district said in a notice on its website that positive cases at Highlands Elementary School “have resulted in a significant number of required quarantines.” District spokeswoman Jennifer Goldberg said there were three positive cases at...
Challenged Fawn supervisor David Norris withdraws from primary
A Fawn supervisor whose candidacy for reelection was challenged on the grounds he does not live in the township has withdrawn from the primary, according to Allegheny County Elections. Township resident Tracy Volk filed an objection to Supervisor David Norris’ candidacy on the basis that Norris, a Democrat, has lived...
Pittsburgh police looking for missing woman with dementia
Pittsburgh police are asking for the public’s help in finding a missing senior citizen. According to police, Maxine Gillis, 79, suffers from dementia. She was dropped off at a family member’s home by taxi around 1 a.m. Friday but did not show up in the 2100 block of Park Hill...
Fawn supervisor not eligible for reelection because he lives in Florida, objection claims
A Fawn supervisor seeking reelection should be removed from the Democratic primary ballot in May because he does not live in the township, an objection to his nominating petition claims. The objection filed by resident Tracy Volk, a registered Democrat, claims Supervisor David A. Norris, 79, has lived in DeLand,...
Community cleanup planned in New Kensington
It’s been nearly a year since a tornado tore through New Kensington, and Kim Louis is still finding bits of roofing insulation stuck in weeds when she goes out for walks. “It’s just gross,” she said. So when Louis, director of Sonward Youth Programs, saw a Girl Scout troop looking...
East Pittsburgh woman said man threatened to shoot her before taking baby that prompted Amber Alert, police say
A 20-year-old man who sparked an Amber Alert for a 1-year-old girl Thursday twice pointed a gun at the girl’s mother and threatened to kill the woman before taking their child, according to state police. The girl, taken from her mother’s East Pittsburgh home, was recovered safely by a SWAT...
PennDOT announces upcoming traffic restrictions on Tarentum Bridge
Traffic will be restricted on the Tarentum Bridge next week, PennDOT announced. The right lane carrying westbound traffic from the bridge to Freeport Road on the northern end of the span over East 4th Avenue in Tarentum will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. One...
Free trees to be offered to Tarentum residents to combat canopy loss
Free trees will be available to Tarentum residents at a distribution in April. Borough residents can begin signing up at 10 a.m. Monday for the trees offered by Tree Pittsburgh and the borough’s recreation board. Advance registration is required. The trees are scheduled to be distributed between 10 a.m. and...
PNC closing 3 more Pittsburgh-area branches
PNC will close three more bank branches in the Pittsburgh area in June. The branches that will close June 11 are in McCandless, Oakdale and Ambridge. Each will be consolidated with another location, bank spokeswoman Marcey Zwiebel said. The closings are driven by changes in the way customers are doing...
TSA finds loaded handgun in woman’s carry-on at Pittsburgh International Airport
Another gun has been caught at the main security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport. According to Allegheny County Police, Transportation Security Administration officers found a loaded .380 caliber handgun in a woman’s carry-on bag around 5:42 a.m. Thursday. The TSA said the woman, a resident of Pittsburgh, had the gun...
Highlands to offer in-person instruction 4 days a week
Highlands School District will begin four day in-person instruction on March 29. The change, approved by the school board this week, was made after a district survey found that 80% of parents and caregivers were in favor of it. The survey did not provide respondents with the option of staying...
Water main break closes part of Mount Oliver road
Part of a road on the border of Pittsburgh’s Mount Oliver and Arlington neighborhoods was closed Tuesday morning because of a water main break. Parkwood Road was closed between Otillia Street and Mountain Avenue, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV reported. Pittsburgh Public Safety described the break as “substantial.” WATER MAIN BREAK...
From masks to social distancing, pandemic habits are here to stay, experts say
Decades ago, not everyone wore a seat belt. Today, it’s become a habit for most people when they get in a vehicle. The same can be said for some of the habits acquired over a year of living under the covid-19 pandemic, said Jessica Everly, a behavior analyst and associate...
Tarentum approves Easter egg hunt; Brackenridge, Harrison plan alternatives
Brackenridge, Harrison and Tarentum each have different plans for Easter this year, after community egg hunts were canceled in 2020 because of the covid pandemic. While Tarentum is returning to a traditional event, Brackenridge and Harrison each are doing something different. Brackenridge Brackenridge will be handing out Easter treat bags...
New Kensington’s Knead Cafe to receive $25K grant from Northwestern Mutual
For the second time in three years, New Kensington’s Knead Community Cafe is receiving a $25,000 grant from Northwestern Mutual for its work in the community. Kevin Bode, who with his wife, Mary, founded Knead four years ago, has been a financial adviser with Northwestern Mutual for 34 years. They...
Tarentum approves buying police SUV, policies on rifles, cameras
Tarentum police soon will be able to use their own rifles on the job under a policy approved this week by borough council. Council also OK’d plans to buy a new hybrid SUV for the department and approved the use of mobile video and audio recorders and body-worn cameras. Borough...
Tarentum awards contract to demolish fire-damaged home on Lock Street
Tarentum Council has awarded a contract to tear down what remains of one of two Lock Street homes destroyed by fire on Feb. 15. Investigators ruled that the accidental fire started after a pot of food had been left on a stove with a burner in the “on” position. The...
New Kensington-Arnold to interview 7 candidates for superintendent
New Kensington-Arnold School Board will soon begin interviewing candidates for district superintendent, including the man who has been serving as the district’s acting chief since last summer. The district in December hired the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to help it find a replacement for former Superintendent John Pallone, who resigned...
Brackenridge steelworkers to vote on ATI strike authorization
The United Steelworkers local representing employees at Allegheny Technologies Inc. facilities in Harrison has scheduled a strike authorization vote. The union’s 10 locals with ATI are scheduling the votes this week after its contract with ATI expired on Sunday without the sides agreeing on a new one. Locals 1196 and...
United Steelworkers to seek strike authorization at ATI
The United Steelworkers union is preparing for a strike authorization at Allegheny Technologies Inc., the union’s international vice president confirmed Monday. Although the contract that expired Sunday was extended and employees were told to continue to report to work, “the locals have returned home with instructions to begin setting up...
Brackenridge woman tells police she feared for her life in assault
Brackenridge police said officers found a woman bleeding from her mouth and nose upon responding to a domestic dispute on Cherry Street Sunday. Police charged Nicholas Cory Skufca, 37, with a felony count of strangulation along with simple assault and harassment. In a criminal complaint against Skufca, police said the...
Harrison neighbors welcome demolition of abandoned houses
Weeds and cats are the main nuisances Alisha Laime says she has to live with because of an abandoned house next to her home in Harrison’s Natrona neighborhood. Hearing that it could be torn down was welcome news. “I absolutely want it down,” she said Friday. “You don’t know what...
New Kensington family plans to build home for contracting business in Arnold
After nearly 40 years in business, a New Kensington family is ready to move its contracting business out of the basement of its founder’s home and into its first offices with a new facility in Arnold. In addition to a headquarters for the business, Shawn Whalen, the second generation owner...
Tarentum man charged with pointing loaded gun at woman during argument
Tarentum police ordered a man and woman out of a house in the 300 block of West Seventh Avenue at gunpoint after responding to a domestic disturbance early Friday morning. Police said they were told shortly before 12:30 a.m. that Walter Clayton Jordan II, 41, had pulled a gun and...
New Kensington-Arnold reports covid cases at 2 elementary schools, closes 1
New Kensington-Arnold School District has announced positive covid-19 cases at two elementary schools, forcing one to close. According to a notice from acting Superintendent Jon Banko, the district was notified of three cases at Roy A. Hunt Elementary and one at H.D. Berkey Elementary. Both schools are in Arnold. Berkey...
