Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 92
State police charge Beaver County woman in sex assault of teen
A 37-year-old Beaver County woman has been accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy. State police charged Janine A. Young, of Beaver, with numerous counts of statutory sexual assault and indecent assault. State police allege that Young had sex with the victim numerous times. Young was arraigned Tuesday and placed...
No injuries reported at O’Hara house fire
No injuries were reported in a house fire early Thursday morning in O’Hara, according to an Allegheny County emergency dispatcher. The fire on Saxonburg Boulevard was reported shortly before 1 a.m. According to an alert on the fire, it went to two alarms, with heavy fire in the two-story dwelling...
Pittsburgh region gets 1-2 inches snow overnight
Only very light snow is expected Thursday morning on top of what fell Wednesday night, National Weather Service meteorologist Jared Rackley said. Between 1 and 2 inches fell around the Pittsburgh area between 6 p.m. Wednesday and midnight, Rackley said. The weather service measured 1.1 inches at its office in...
Implosion of Dooker’s Hollow Bridge between North Braddock, East Pittsburgh set for Friday
The implosion of the Dooker’s Hollow Bridge between North Braddock and East Pittsburgh has been delayed from Thursday to Friday, according to the Allegheny County Department of Public Works. The 80-year-old bridge carries Bell Avenue in North Braddock and Center Street in East Pittsburgh over O’Connell Boulevard. Crews are removing...
Keystone Oaks students return to classes this week as teachers’ strike ends
Classes in Keystone Oaks School District will resume Wednesday following a teachers’ strike, the district announced. The date when students and teachers must return was revised after the state Department of Education reviewed the district’s calendar. The department determined that the Keystone Oaks Education Association strike can last up to...
Pa. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman makes U.S. Senate run official
Pennsylvania Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman officially launched his campaign for U.S. Senate on Monday. “Now, it’s my turn,” Fetterman said on Twitter early Monday morning. “Let’s get to work.” “This will be the most important Senate race in 2022, so we need to build as much early momentum as...
New Kensington moving on new playgrounds in downtown, Mount Vernon
Plans for a new playground and basketball courts in downtown New Kensington are again moving forward, while residents are being asked for what colors they prefer on new play equipment at another neighborhood park. Council has authorized the city’s engineer to select a contractor from a state cooperative purchasing program...
Rescue dog lifts Harrison cancer survivor’s spirits, saves home from fireVideo
A rescued dog that Harrison’s Michael Groce took in last May wound up becoming his rescuer. After going through three bouts of cancer, through which he lost a kidney and parts of a lung, Groce, 53, found himself permanently disabled and unable to work. His husband of six years, Ron...
Harrison approves demolition contract, awaits officers’ vote on police pact
The Harrison commissioners have approved a contract for building demolitions, as well as a new agreement with the union representing the township’s police officers. A house at 998 Ivanhoe St. heavily damaged by fire in December 2016 is among the three included in the demolition contract. “It will be good...
Visiting therapist coerced woman into sex, New Kensington police allege
A visiting therapist twice took a woman to a New Kensington hotel where he coerced her into having sex, city police allege. William Francis Denney, 62, of North Huntingdon was arraigned Thursday on charges of institutional sexual assault and criminal coercion. He was released on an unsecured $25,000 bond. Denney’s...
Fire damage cleanup keeps some Parnassus Manor residents out of apartments for 2nd night
More than a dozen residents of Parnassus Manor in New Kensington who were put out of their apartments by a fire Wednesday will be able to return Friday afternoon, a representative of the Westmoreland County Housing Authority said Thursday. The 15 affected residents live on the second floor of the...
Arnold police claim city man armed with arsenal threatened to kill officers
Arnold police said they heard the distinct sound of a bullet being loaded into the chamber of an AR-15 rifle when they went into a home near their station after hearing a woman screaming. In a criminal complaint, police said James Earl Huckbaa threatened to kill officers if they didn’t...
New Kensington-Arnold looks to avoid ‘significant’ tax increase in preliminary budget
The New Kensington-Arnold School District is going forward with a preliminary 2021-22 budget carrying a 6.8% property tax increase despite Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget proposal that boost funding for public schools. Wolf released his budget proposal Tuesday. It contains nearly $2 billion extra for schools — a more than 20%...
New Kensington garbage hauler promises to work with city following alleged thefts by employees
Following reports of thefts by its employees, New Kensington says the city’s garbage hauler has promised to improve communication with the city and keep it aware of its trucks’ whereabouts. Representatives of city council met with County Hauling last week to discuss performance issues and resident complaints. “It was a...
Arnold police accuse woman of stabbing man in the back with steak knife
A 36-year-old Arnold woman is accused of stabbing her boyfriend in the back with a steak knife when he tried to leave her apartment last month. Arnold police charged Ch-nelle Elaine Ross with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, child endangerment and drug offenses in connection with the Jan. 19 incident. Ross...
I-79 South reopens after truck crash
Southbound lanes of Interstate 79 reopened Sunday night after a crash closed part of the road in the North Hills for several hours, according to PennDOT. Crews closed the highway around 8:30 p.m. at Mt. Nebo Road, exit 68, because of a truck crash, PennDOT spokeswoman Yasmeen Manyisha said. The...
Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, founder of Gateway Rehab, dies from covid at 90
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, an international authority on addiction who founded Gateway Rehabilitation Center, died from covid-19 Sunday in Israel, according to several reports. Dr. Twerski, 90, had been hospitalized after contracting covid last week, The Yeshiva World reported. Twerski founded Gateway, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Center...
Keystone Oaks cancels classes as teachers give strike notice
Teachers in the Keystone Oaks School District will go on strike starting Monday, prompting the district to cancel classes for all students, the district announced. The district said the school board and the Keystone Oaks Education Association were unable to agree on a new contract in talks over the past...
Officials ID woman killed in double fatal Route 28 wrong-way crash
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner has identified one of two people killed in a wrong-way crash on Route 28 near Pittsburgh’s North Side Saturday morning. Kapinga Madeleine Mulumba, 45, of Pittsburgh was a passenger in one of the two vehicles in the crash that was reported just after 7:15 a.m....
Training series to honor 4 Hilltop Hose firefighters killed in line of duty 30 years agoVideo
Four Harrison volunteer firefighters were properly equipped, trained and working by the book when they responded to a fire at a Brackenridge business 30 years ago this year. Despite all those things and valiant efforts to save them, Hilltop Hose Lt. Rick Frantz, Chaplain Frank Veri Jr. and firefighters David...
Owner of New Kensington auto glass shop has plans for used car lot
The owner of a New Kensington auto glass business has plans to open a small used car lot. But first, Roy Berg will need special permission from the city. “I’ve always messed with cars. I work on them all day long,” said Berg, of Upper Burrell. “I thought, why not...
Don ‘Pappy’ Boulton was a 2nd dad to players he coached, devoted to family and wife
The covid-19 pandemic separated Donald “Pappy” Boulton from his wife for nearly a year, breaking his heart before claiming his life. An Oakmont native, Boulton, 85, will be remembered across the Alle-Kiski Valley primarily as a football coach who led and motivated young men on the gridiron. In college, he...
Man hit, killed by train on Pittsburgh’s South Side
A 19-year-old man was struck and killed by a train on Pittsburgh’s South Side Saturday morning. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the man as Lucas Philip Traverse, of Chalfont. According to city police, the incident on South Fourth Street at Color Park was reported just before 10:45 a.m. Officers...
New Kensington faces deadline on grant funding for demolitions
New Kensington has a May deadline to get half of the 10 houses on its current demolition list torn down, according to city Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti. New Kensington’s redevelopment authority is now seeking bids for the demolition of 10 dilapidated residential properties across the city. The city is using federal...
Highlands closes high school in response to ‘significant’ covid outbreak
Highlands School District said Wednesday it is closing its high school for the rest of the week because of an outbreak of covid-19 cases. The announcement comes about a week after students were brought back to buildings under the district’s hybrid schedule Jan. 19, after moving all students to remote...
