Jack Troy stories, Page 10
Donora boy drowns in Monongahela River
A search and rescue mission in Donora ended in sorrow Saturday with the discovery of a 12-year-old boy’s body on the bed of the Monongahela River. The Washington County Coroner’s Office identified the boy as Rontae Lester of Donora. According to the coroner’s report, Lester was swimming with friends Saturday...
Building the Valley: New venture from Tony’s Pizza Cafe owner brings fast casual Italian fare to Buffalo Township
Andrea “Tony” Coppola sees his newest restaurant in Buffalo Township as a taste of the future. Healthy ingredients and trendy flavors are hallmarks of Toasted Amo, the Italian sandwich shop he opened last month in Buffalo Plaza. It marks a stark departure from the area’s plentiful fast food joints —...
13-year-old boy shot in South Side Slopes
A 13-year-old boy is in critical condition after being shot early Sunday morning in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes. Pittsburgh police say they were dispatched just before 2:45 a.m. for a one-round ShotSpotter alert at the intersection of Magdalene and Oporto streets. The ShotSpotter system uses microphones throughout the city to...
Hobbyists descend on Monroeville to meet sports icons and pad card collections
If a player so much as drops a baseball in the dirt during certain hours, it becomes game-used memorabilia. But the smudged, worn wooden bat in Tim Thoma’s hand really saw some action. From 1965 to 1968, it belonged to Roberto Clemente. The Pirates legend used the bat to help...
PennDOT worker taken to hospital after driver hits litter cleanup truck on interstate
A PennDOT worker cleaning litter from the Parkway North was taken to a hospital Saturday morning after a pickup hit a PennDOT truck, state police said. The collision happened around 7:30 a.m. on the southbound interstate near the Mt. Nebo Road exit. State police said that during the litter cleanup...
As Rite Aid collapses, customers and other pharmacies bear the impact
It takes Kathy Younkins just a few minutes to walk to her neighborhood Rite Aid. The 67-year-old has picked up her prescriptions at the company’s Harrison location since the 2000s. But now the Philadelphia-based pharmacy empire is crumbling. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month, blaming “the...
4 Republicans seeking 3 supervisor seats in Kiski Township
Four Republicans are vying for three seats on the Kiski Township Board of Supervisors. Supervisor James Cibik and Addie Birch Jr. are seeking an open six-year seat. Birch also is seeking a two-year term, as are Supervisor Herman “Bob” Ross III and Thomas Tardivo. There are two two-year seats available....
‘Everything I thought it would be’: East Vandergrift school revived as senior housing
It’s a new dawn for the old East Vandergrift Elementary School following its conversion into Morning Sun Senior Lofts. The $17 million, 42-unit affordable housing complex recently welcomed its first tenants. It came after more than five years of planning, design and construction, transforming the historic building from a crumbling...
Almost $500K in upgrades return Kiskiminetas River Park to point of pride for East Vandergrift
East Vandergrift officials have long seen potential in Kiskiminetas River Park, a small greenspace tucked in the borough’s eastern corner that for years was plagued by vandals. Discussions about a revival kicked off in 2020. Five years later, that work has paid off. Now, instead of a swingless swingset, there’s...
Retail revival: What it takes to bring shopping plazas back to life
Hyde Park Plaza in Allegheny Township was on the ropes a few years ago. A shuttered Kmart was eating up 85,000 square feet of retail space. Only six of 16 storefronts were filled. Label Shopper, a discount clothing retailer in the vein of Marshalls and TJ Maxx, was the closest...
UPS closing North Apollo facility amid network reconfiguration
UPS is shipping out of North Apollo. The borough’s package distribution center is among the three UPS facilities in Pennsylvania and 73 nationwide closing as the company leans into automation and cuts back on Amazon shipments. The facilities are used to receive, store and send packages with delivery drivers. Saturday...
Freeport Area weighs how fast to raise taxes as decision on high school renovation nears
Property owners in the Freeport Area School District may be facing a tax increase for next school year, even though the school board passed a preliminary budget that includes no tax increase. That’s because the preliminary 2025-26 budget shows a $450,000 deficit, and administrators warn more revenue will be needed...
U.S. Steel seeks presidential pass to disregard Biden-era emissions standards
U.S. Steel is among the industrial polluters seeking exemptions to Biden-era requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals. The Pittsburgh-based company, with its Mon Valley Works, is taking up the Trump administration on its offer to request a two-year presidential pass on recently updated provisions of the Clean Air Act....
Prosecutors: Ex-bar association leader stole $315,000 for lavish vacations, plastic surgery
The former head of the Cambria County Bar Association is accused of stealing more than $300,000 from the organization to lavish herself with trips to Mexico, cosmetic procedures and a timeshare property. Robin Hagins, 56, of Upper Yoder was charged Wednesday with theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, criminal use of...
Vandergrift business owner bringing ‘fresh eyes’ to borough carnival
After more than 30 years in charge, Vandergrift No. 1 Volunteer Fire Department is passing the torch on its annual carnival. Local business owner and self-proclaimed carnival lover Sia Fouse is organizing this year’s festivities, which will include rides, concessions, a children’s talent show, live music, craft vendors and a...
Blue backpack flagged by private eye as key to solving Cherrie Mahan’s disappearance
A private investigator claims a blue backpack carried by Cherrie Mahan at the time of her disappearance 40 years ago from a Winfield school bus stop could be key to cracking the case. “I am convinced through some fairly recent testimony and input that Cherrie’s book bag was very likely...
2 Republicans vying for supervisor seat in Parks Township
Parks Township Supervisor Scott Kifer, a first-term Republican, faces a primary challenge from retired general contractor and PennDOT maintenance operator John Kuruc. Barring a Democratic Party write-in campaign, the winner of the May 20 primary will run uncontested in the general election and earn a six-year term on the three-member...
Private investigator to offer $100K reward in Cherrie Mahan case
A private investigator plans to offer a $100,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the discovery of Cherrie Mahan, who vanished 40 years ago from a school bus stop in Winfield. Steve Ridge, an Iowa-based private eye, took on Cherrie’s case pro-bono nearly three months ago. Backed by a...
Class action lawsuit filed against funeral director accused of dumping pet remains
Two of the thousands of pet owners allegedly defrauded by a local funeral director have filed a class action lawsuit in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. They’re seeking financial damages from Patrick Vereb, who ran funeral homes in Pittsburgh and Harrison until being hit with multiple felony charges earlier...
2 running for Kiski Area School Board in Region 3
Two candidates are running to represent Region 3 on the Kiski Area School Board. Incumbent Nicole Kamer is cross-filed and will appear on the Democratic and Republican primary ballots May 20. Newcomer the Rev. Trista Lucas of Vandergrift is running only as a Republican. If Lucas were to win the...
Long-awaited Route 356 widening project has some property owners in limbo
On warm afternoons, James Buchanan likes to turn on the radio, crack a beer and watch the cars go by from his garage where Route 356 and Bear Creek Road meet. The entertainment amps up around rush hour, when shoppers and commuters pour onto the highway cutting through Buffalo Township...
ATI strikes labor deal with nearly 1,000 workers
ATI and its employees have reached a six-year labor agreement. The deal was announced Wednesday, about a week after ATI and the United Steelworkers union reached a tentative agreement on wages, working conditions and benefits for nearly 1,000 employees. Many produce specialty alloys at the company’s Harrison, Vandergrift and Latrobe...
Feds OK settlement between Shapiro, grid manager to control electricity prices
Federal regulators approved a deal between Gov. Josh Shapiro and PJM Interconnection to limit some electricity price hikes. PJM is a regional transmission organization, which works to secure generation capacity for utility companies within its 13-state network. It holds annual auctions in which the lowest bidder earns the right —...
Teen recounts 100-foot fall in Harrison Hills Park that left her with broken ankle, back
Star Henwood admits she likes to take risks. Her thrill-seeking tendencies landed her in trouble — and the hospital — last week when she plunged about 100 feet down a hillside in Harrison Hills Park, leading to a two-hour effort by first responders to hoist her back to safety. She...
Former Vandergrift cop accused of having sex with underage girl waives charges to court
Former Vandergrift police Sgt. Anthony “Tony” Depanicis, who is accused of having sex with a minor about 100 times in the early to mid-1990s, waived his charges to court Monday. A criminal complaint filed by state police alleges he invited a 14-year-old girl to his Oklahoma Borough home for sex...
