Chuck Biedka stories, Page 11
Group moves ahead with effort to reopen Leechburg public library
The Leechburg Community Library, when it was open, was a rare bird. The library, housed inside Leechburg High School for 93 years, was one of only 86 public libraries located inside a school from among the 9,234 public libraries nationwide. And, there are fewer than 500 public libraries in Pennsylvania,...
Lardintown Road bridge work starts Monday in Fawn
Replacement of a bridge in Fawn will begin Monday, weather permitting, according to PennDOT. The bridge on Lardintown Road is over Bull Creek. The almost $1.4 million project will be done between Bulls Creek and Millerstown roads. The bridge will be closed through late November. Traffic will be detoured by...
Fire claims garage, truck, camper in Kiski TownshipVideo
A fire in Kiski Township destroyed a garage, a classic pickup truck and a camper Wednesday afternoon, but no injuries were reported. “It was minutes from the house catching fire,” Kiski Township fire Chief Rich Frain said. Firefighters were able to save two nearby homes, although both had the vinyl...
U.S. Attorney: Butler woman tried to embarrass people with medical records
A 62-year-old woman working with private medical records shared that information in order to embarrass and distress the people, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Pittsburgh. Linda Sue Kalina, of Butler, was sentenced to a year in federal prison followed by three years of supervision for violating health privacy...
Weather smiles on Springdale’s Fireman’s Jubilee after soggy opening
Inclement weather chased people away from the opening night of the annual Fireman’s Jubilee in Springdale, but organizers got a better forecast and extended the family food special to bring people back in droves Tuesday. The 90-year-old Fireman’s Jubilee is the major fundraiser for the Springdale Volunteer Fire Department. The...
Leechburg man accused of shooting woman in face to be released from jail while awaiting trial
A Leechburg man accused of shooting a woman in the face before shooting himself will be released from jail while he awaits trial. Roy Edward Berry Jr., 49, was granted a $10,000 non-monetary bond Tuesday after he waived his preliminary hearing. Berry had been in the Westmoreland County Prison since...
Gilpin schedules ATV ordinance for vote
Gilpin Supervisors are advertising a proposed ordinance that would make it legal to drive all-terrain vehicles on township-maintained roads, but not on state roads such as Route 66. If the legislation passes, the township roads would be designated multi-use roads. ATV operators would be required to obtain a permit from...
Demolition work underway on bridge over Route 28
Bridge demolition work is underway on Hite Road over Route 28 in Springdale and Harmar townships. Crews from Swank Construction are working around-the-clock through Friday night, PennDOT said. Lane restrictions will be in effect on Route 28 with some exceptions. There will be no restrictions in the highway’s northbound lanes...
Trial begins for man accused of killing 2 in Plum DUI crash
A Saltsburg man accused of killing a Tarentum junior firefighter and his girlfriend’s 43-year-old mother in a drunken-driving crash finally began his trial Monday morning in Allegheny County. The trial for Edward Leonard Cass III, 27, trial had been rescheduled eight times before Monday. Allegheny County Judge David R. Cashman...
Leechburg man dedicated to spreading his mother’s ‘timeless idea’
Loving kindness is an old — but still good — idea, Hank Commodore and like-minded people believe. So good, in fact, that in 2018 the Leechburg Area School District wove it into the fabric of the district’s curriculum. They made it a mission for students when dealing with peers and...
Springdale Firemen’s Jubilee kicks off Monday
A fourth generation of Springdale firefighters are among volunteers who will bring to life the nearly 90-year-old Fireman’s Jubilee starting Monday. The fun begins with carnival rides, bingo and a family night emphasis at Veterans’ Field, said Springdale VFD station 273 Secretary Jeannie Harman. It’s the largest annual fundraiser for...
Man wanted on drug charges in Alle-Kiski Valley accused of Arizona murder
A man with Alle-Kiski Valley ties who has drug charges pending against him in Allegheny Township is accused of shooting a man to death in Arizona. The Arizona Daily Star reported that Cam-Ron Broadway, 35, is charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in Tucson in March....
Kittanning Township woman accused of hitting ghost hunter with car
A Kittanning Township woman is accused of striking a pedestrian with a car while the alleged victim was searching for ghosts in April. State police said Moniekia D. Erdley, 34, yelled at the alleged victim and her friends to get off the road around 2:30 a.m. April 28 in the...
ARIN Intermediate Unit 28 reorganizes
Frank C. Prazenica Jr., of the Freeport Area School Board is the new president of the ARIN 28 Intermediate Unit. The new vice president is Charles R. Glasser of the Marion Center Area School Board. The unit’s secretary is Danielle L. Patterson and treasurer is Clifford A. Geary, both of...
Man sentenced to 8.5 years for distributing child porn
A Pittsburgh man was ordered to serve 8 1/2 years in prison for distributing material showing the sexual exploitation of a minor. James Clay Russell, 61, also was ordered to pay $8,600 in restitution to 13 child victims. Court records list payments to the children ranging from $500 to $1,000....
Baldwin woman pleads guilty to using fraud to obtain painkillers
A Baldwin woman pleaded guilty in federal court to obtaining a pain drug through health care fraud. Prosecutors alleged that Heather Summerfield, 39, following back surgery in 2009, began to use Tramadol and became addicted. She fraudulently obtained more than 60,000 Tramadol pills, prosecutors said. Summerfield would allegedly pose as...
Ed Saliba Sr. remembered as icon of New Kensington firefighting
“Chief 56” has acknowledged his last call. An icon of New Kensington firefighting, J. Edward Saliba Sr. died Wednesday afternoon. “He was 89 and a half,” said his son Edward Saliba Jr., who followed his father’s footsteps and now is the city’s fire chief. “It’s a sad day for New...
Marine Corps League holding annual state meeting in Westmoreland CountyVideo
More than 200 members of the Marine Corps League are expected to gather for the group’s 74th annual state convention this week in Westmoreland County. Opening ceremonies will be Friday morning after two days of organizational meetings at Hempfield’s Ramada Hotel & Conference Center by Wyndham, said Fred Neilen, vice...
Bond denied for man accused in Vandergrift shooting
A Leechburg man was arraigned Monday on charges that he shot a woman in the face before shooting himself in the head at a Vandergrift residence in May. Police said Roy Edward Berry Jr., 49, was in a bedroom with a woman on May 5 when he fired a shot...
Authorities ID body found near Fox Chapel Yacht Club as Kenneth Himes
DNA testing helped authorities identify a man whose body was found in the Allegheny River in late March as 70-year-old Kenneth Himes, state police said Tuesday. Himes was reported missing from his brother’s home along Cadogan-Slate Lick Road in South Buffalo at about 2 a.m. Dec. 26. Police said he...
Two accused of taking broken Leechburg parking meter
Two Leechburg residents are charged with taking a borough parking meter because, as one said, it would be “cool to have.” Lynzi Wolfe, 31, and John Edward Johnston Jr., 27, sre accused of taking the meter on May 7. According to court papers, the meter is worth about $140. It’s...
Leechburg residents call meeting to measure support for reopening town’s library
A June 25 public meeting could mark the start of solutions to bring back the Leechburg public library, meeting co-sponsors hope. The volunteer library board announced in late May that the 93-year-old public library was closing May 30. The upcoming meeting is to gauge interest, get ideas and encourage people...
DUI task forces under scrutiny following Supreme Court decision
Local police departments across Pennsylvania are being advised to temporarily stop conducting sobriety checkpoints with officers from other departments in light of a recent state Supreme Court ruling overturning a woman’s drunken-driving conviction in Allegheny County. In the meantime, elected officials in municipalities where police officers are involved in a...
Trial starts in Armstrong County sex assault case
Opening statements were made Tuesday morning in the trial of an Armstrong County man accused of having sex with a teenaged boy. Mark Alan Feeney, 56, a former chief of the East Franklin Volunteer Fire Department, is facing charges of statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with...
Jury selection begins in Armstrong sex abuse case involving former fire chief
Jury selection was scheduled to start Monday in an Armstrong County courtroom for one of the men accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old mentally disabled boy in 2016. Mark Alan Feeney, 56, who was a former chief of the East Franklin Volunteer Fire Department, is accused of statutory sexual assault,...
