Jack Troy stories, Page 21

Several key hires are in place for the Kiski Area School District administrative reorganization set to take effect July 1. Four administrators were appointed to new or modified roles by the school board on Wednesday: • Chad Roland to assistant to the superintendent for K-12 education and safety at $158,190...

Diana Danko always thought her neighborhood along Second Street in Verona was safe. That was before two violent crimes happened within hours of each other on April 14 — a Sunday when no borough police officers were on duty. “It’s very concerning,” said Danko, 55, who lives just blocks from...

Freeport has another overdue audit and, right now, no one willing to complete it. Council this week accepted the resignations of the borough’s three auditors, who bristled at a push to give the books greater scrutiny. Audits were due to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development on April...

Dr. Charles Ashe is a familiar name for many Alle-Kiski Valley natives — he may even have been one of the first people they ever met. For about 40 years, Ashe worked as a private practice doctor and, later, as an Allegheny Valley Hospital pediatrician. He was willing to drop...

A 70-year-old Verona woman was killed Tuesday morning when her vehicle veered into opposing traffic on Allegheny River Boulevard, according to Allegheny County Police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Dorothy (Jill) Demko of Verona. Police said Demko’s Ford EcoSport crossed the center line and struck...

Rick Duncan wants to restore Allegheny River Boulevard to its former glory. As chair of the Allegheny River Boulevard Preservation Association, he has pushed for people to recognize the route as more than just a connector between Pittsburgh and the region’s eastern suburbs. “It was designed and built as a...

When they were growing up, sisters Karen Johnston and Paula Cunningham would bake cookies in their Easy Bake Oven. In November, after getting family members hooked on their cookie trays, they bought a shoebox space in Vandergrift and went after their dream. Simply Sisters Bakery opened on April 3. Each...

Steve Ball’s grave was marked not by a granite headstone or marble mausoleum upon the burial of his cremated remains last year, but a flat rock chipped into the shape of a heart. It came from his backyard in Pleasant Hills, where he kept bees and grew tobacco in the...

Scammers increasingly are impersonating police and federal agents in an attempt to swindle unsuspecting victims by preying on their trust of law enforcement. According to John Breyault, a fraud expert with the National Consumers League, posing as government agents is a classic fraud tactic. “The appeal to fraudsters is that...

Some Kiski Township residents are questioning the potential benefits of the township’s police force becoming part of the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department. At a community meeting this week, Southern Armstrong police Chief Chris Fabec told a crowd of about 50 people that Kiski Township would cut its police costs...

After deliberating for less than two hours, a federal jury on April 18 found a Penn Hills man guilty of three counts of violating federal drug and firearms laws. According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Harry Duncan, 36, was convicted...

New trails in the Alle-Kiski Valley mean new areas for police to patrol. The Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department added two electric bikes to its vehicle fleet in mid-April, weeks after the opening of a 10-mile trail section that runs through Ford City and Gilpin. The department purchased them from...

Shoppers in Allegheny Township soon will have another option for groceries. Aldi has committed to opening a store later this year in Hyde Park Plaza, along with three other locations in Western Pennsylvania. Hyde Park Plaza owner Jeff Paul expects the opening to take place the last three months of...

Kiski Area School District can claim another award- winning principal. Brian Swartzlander, Kiski Area Upper Elementary School principal, was named Pennsylvania’s 2024 National Distinguished Principal by the Pennsylvania Principals Association. Dan Smith, then-assistant principal of the building, won an award through the state association in 2021. Swartzlander called the experience “surreal.”...

Vandergrift officials and business leaders say they’ll use feedback from the spring and summer festival lineup this year to tweak event regulations passed in December. As it stands, an ordinance requires event organizers to submit contact information, an event description, proof of insurance and a $500 refundable cleaning deposit. They...

Joseph Paradise has given military funeral honors to more than 3,000 veterans in Western Pennsylvania and beyond, no matter the weather. At 93, the Penn Hills resident is finally ready to retire, save for his work as a school crossing guard at Long Road and Datura Drive. He’s stepping away...

Penn Hills has a need for seedlings. The Penn Hills Shade Tree Commission, in partnership with Tree Pittsburgh, had no problem finding homes for 200 trees at an April 20 giveaway in Penn Hills Community Park. Kathy Raborn, president of the Shade Tree Commission, hopes to offer free trees on...

The Penn Hills Shade Tree Commission is hosting an Arbor Day celebration from 2 to 4 p.m. May 4 in Universal Park. Mayor Pauline Calabrese will read a Penn Hills Arbor Day proclamation, which will kick off an afternoon of tree plantings around the new pavilions, crafts for children, native...

Kiski Township is the latest municipality to consider folding its police force into the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department. Southern Armstrong police officers and the department’s commissioners will hold an information session with Kiski Township police Chief Lee Bartolicius at 7 p.m. Monday at the Kiski Township Municipal Building. The...

Kiski Township emergency responders are working to recover a vehicle that was set on fire and pushed over a hillside this weekend near Hicks Hill Road. Around midnight Saturday, Kiski Township police and firefighters, as well as multiple other fire departments, responded to a brush fire that took six hours...

Like most municipalities, some of Penn Hills’ biggest decisions are made by volunteers on various boards and commissions. These entities plot the future of the municipality, deciding on development proposals, building permits and more. They also are hampered by vacancies, expired terms and, in the case of the Penn Hills...

For the first time since 1982, the Democrat ballot for Pennsylvania’s 32nd House District won’t feature Tony DeLuca. The late lawmaker of 40 years died in October 2022, one month before the general election and too late to print new ballots. He won nonetheless, triggering a special election. Joe McAndrew...

Freeport Area School District officials agree that the district’s aging high school, at a minimum, needs renovations. The challenge ahead is figuring out how far the district can afford to go. The school board recently released the results of a feasibility study by HHSDR Architects and Engineers offering ways to...

Walking through Verona will become easier in the next few years. The borough will add or rehabilitate several stretches of sidewalk to better connect key destinations. Substantial portions of Center Avenue, Second Street, Wildwood Avenue, James Street, East Railroad Avenue, West Railroad Avenue and Grant Street will see sidewalk improvements...

Emergency responders reported minimal damage from high winds and storms that swept through the region Wednesday night, though some communities fared worse than others. Mary Queen of Apostles School in New Kensington lost a portion of its roof around 8 p.m. That forced the elementary school to switch to a...