Ember Duke stories
New Lower Burrell food truck to serve up fresh eats, community aid
When Jill Sheerer returned from Alabama to her native Lower Burrell, she brought along a little something to share with the community. Her food truck, Jilly’s Cafe, made the journey north not long after Sheerer had replanted roots in the Alle-Kiski Valley. She’ll be opening the mobile eatery April 19...
Burrell Life Skills Prom hosts students from across the region
The annual Life Skills Prom, drawing students from nine area schools this year, provided a chance for life skills students to engage with peers and exercise practical skills. Hannah Cress, a life skills teacher at Franklin Regional Senior High School, said the event is a cheerful and safe occasion that...
Upper Burrell data center town hall scheduled for May
Upper Burrell Township and developer TECFusions will hold a public town hall May 5 at Penn State New Kensington to discuss an incoming data center and field community concerns. It will be at 6 p.m. in the theater at 3550 Seventh Street Road. At a March township supervisors meeting, residents...
Ridgway man killed in Route 28/66 crash in Armstrong County
A Ridgway man has died after his car struck a tractor-trailer truck late Wednesday afternoon. Nathan Anthony Brown, 33, was killed at the intersection of Hoover Road and Route 28/66 in Boggs Township shortly before 5 p.m., according to Armstrong County Coroner Brian Myers’ report. Brown was traveling northbound on...
ICE has left Pittsburgh International Airport
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are no longer stationed at the Pittsburgh International Airport. Allegheny County Airport Authority spokesman Bob Kerlik said in a statement that airport operations are “unaffected,” but deferred to the Department of Homeland Security for specifics on why ICE was pulled from the airport Tuesday and...
Free smoke alarms available to New Kensington residents
The New Kensington Fire Department once again will collaborate with the American Red Cross to install free smoke alarms in houses across the city this month after success from the same initiative four years ago. In 2022, the department and Red Cross volunteers installed about 400 smoke alarms as part...
Building the Valley: New Kensington’s Catoris Candies celebrates 100 years of treats
In the production room at New Kensington’s Catoris Candies, owner John Gentile flipped through a small, yellowed notepad of candy recipes. Most of the scribbled instructions have been followed since the shop’s opening 100 years ago, he said. Still, Gentile often takes creative liberties in developing new sweets, especially variations...
Construction continues on New Kensington industrial park
The view from the New Kensington Bridge will look a bit different come year’s end. Since the Regional Industrial Development Corp. and the Westmoreland County Industrial Corp. bought the New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park along the Allegheny River, the site, known for its brick buildings with missing windows, has been...
Work to restore historic Massy Harbison cabin in New Kensington to continue despite funding setback
Renovations to the Massy Harbison cabin in New Kensington are moving along, but repairs originally meant to be finished this summer may become a multiyear process. The Massy Harbison-Fort Hand Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, which serves the Alle-Kiski Valley, has been restoring the cabin that found its...
Respect the chair: April Fools’ Day prank targeting parking chairs in New Kensington draws ire, smiles
Don’t worry, New Kensington isn’t declaring war on the Western Pennsylvania “parking chair.” A Facebook post, masquerading as a city announcement and posted on April 1, was exactly what is was meant to be: an April Fools’ Day prank. The post surfaced in a Facebook group simply titled “New Kensington,”...
Officer-involved shooting in Lower Burrell deemed justified
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli deemed the use of force justified in a February officer-involved shooting at a home in Lower Burrell. The gunfire exchange between officers and Jordan Lindner happened on Feb. 14 after, police say, he shot into a home on Rodgers Drive and then at officers...
2 Pagans motorcycle gang members held in jail on bail after preliminary hearing
Two Lower Burrell men who police say are members of the Pagans motorcycle gang are being held in the Westmoreland County jail on $300,000 bond following a January assault at Mogie’s Irish Pub. Robert Browne, 27, and Devin Colucci, 25, face charges of assault, robbery, theft, harassment, disorderly conduct and...
Las Hachas in New Kensington to close, but maybe not for long
New Kensington axe throwing spot Las Hachas will close this weekend, but the venue’s future could still include targets and blades. The storefront owners, Brian Mangone and Brian Heidenreich, along with building owner Olde Towne Overhaul, are looking for a new tenant who wants to keep it an entertainment destination....
Last call for doughnuts as New Kensington franchise closes doors
It was mostly business as usual for New Kensington’s Donut Connection on its last day of service. About noon Tuesday, the drive-thru saw a steady stream of cars and a few mingling eat-in customers. Dozen-sized boxes were filled with frosted and glazed doughnuts. Franchise owner Gayatri Patel said the shop’s...
2 New Kensington families healing and accepting community aid after house fire
A day after a Sunday morning fire tore through half of a duplex in New Kensington, residents are recovering from injuries and accepting community donations. Firefighters were alerted just before 8 a.m. Sunday. When crews arrived, flames, which gutted the McCargo Street side of the house, extended into the attic...
Area students reflect on good citizenship for annual Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest
Elin Bash was among the first cohort of girls to start at The Kiski School in 2024. She remembers how big of a change it was, as she transferred at the start of her junior year. At times, she said, she had to fight for her space in student-run clubs....
Upper Burrell residents notified of surveying for fracking lateral lines
Upper Burrell will soon undergo surveying for lateral fracking lines that could connect to natural gas company EQT’s Hermes well pad in neighboring Murrysville. Township residents received letters this week from Wisconsin consulting firm Verdanterra, which will conduct the surveying. “While surveying for well lateral locations, we may require access...
New Kensington event space, library and police fleet slated for upgrades, paid for with casino tax revenue
Three projects in New Kensington receive a total of $186,000 coming from tax revenue collected from Westmoreland’s casino. The grants were part of a countywide grant package of more than $470,000, paid for with tax revenue from Live! Casino. They include Girl Scout Little House renovations, Peoples Library modernizations and...
Faces of the Valley: New Kensington Arnold School District secures new head of safety
William Leek Jr. has always wanted to help people. He pursued that goal on a professional level through a series of public service and safety roles. That included a stint in the Marine Corps Reserves, as a police officer with the Rehoboth Beach Police Department for two years and later...
Lower Burrell to upgrade stormwater system on Rodgers Drive
Lower Burrell will be upgrading its Rodgers Drive stormwater system to address flooding, improve pedestrian safety and better comply with federal water runoff guidelines. The upgrades will include installing 225 feet of stormwater pipe and two new inlets. It also will include 200 feet of cured-in-place-pipe lining — a form...
Mount St. Peter church air quality tests likely won’t halt Holy Week schedule
Mount St. Peter Catholic Church in New Kensington likely will be open for Friday’s fish fry and Holy Week Masses following air quality testing this week. On Monday morning, the New Kensington Catholic Community, comprising Mount St. Peter, St. Mary Czestochowa and St. Joseph churches, announced via Facebook that a...
March Madness ups threat of problem gambling, especially for younger men
March Madness tipped off this week, a collection of 67 single-elimination basketball games that not only will crown a champion in 2½ weeks but also draw billions of dollars in sports bets. Young men are particularly at risk of developing gambling problems, experts say. According to a 2024 survey conducted...
New Kensington-Arnold students gifted supplies at yearly Adopt-A-School program
Sixth grader Landon Fernandez said he might use new school supplies gifted to him to draw, study and help with his homework. Bags of school supplies, including notebooks, colored pencils, glue and more were given to all 600 students at Roy A. Hunt Elementary School in Arnold on Friday. It...
Arnold police to wear body cameras
Arnold Mayor Shannon Santucci said getting body-worn cameras for police officers was one of her top priorities coming into office. Now that the department has them, she hopes they’ll help to protect those officers and the community. “(It will be beneficial) if there are any questions of legal disputes on...
New business workshop coming to Lower Burrell
For potential entrepreneurs looking to get in on Lower Burrell’s business district, an upcoming informational session may be a great first step, said Councilwoman Carley Logan. On April 16 the Lower Burrell New Business Workshop will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Fisher Hall at Burrell Lake Park. Logan, who...
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