Kellen Stepler stories, Page 32

Allegheny County officials on Monday confirmed that remains found July 21 inside a submerged vehicle in the Allegheny River in Oakmont are those of Janet Walsh, a Shaler woman who had been missing since 2020. Walsh’s vehicle was pulled out of the river near California Street. The county Medical Examiner’s...

West Deer residents will get to weigh in on a proposed well pad project in the Gibsonia section of the township. Supervisors set a 6 p.m. Tuesday hearing date to take comments on the proposed Caro Brandon deep well project. The deep well would be located at 6075 Rittman Road,...

State funding will assist Scott officials in upgrading traffic signal equipment at a few intersections in the township. PennDOT officials announced the township will receive just under $650,000 for traffic signal improvements to Bower Hill and Painters Run roads, and Bower Hill and Rockhill roads. The money comes from PennDOT’s...

Chartiers Valley is planning to keep things chill this school year. The district approved a contract with Allegheny Health Network for the Chill Project, which teaches school-age children emotional and coping techniques. The total cost of the program is $300,000, or $75,000 allocated to each of the district’s schools. Funding...

Positive feedback from a temporary boat dock at the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. facility in East Deer has brewery officials eyeing a more permanent landing, but this time, with approval from state authorities. Brewery officials are applying for a permanent boat dock permit through the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. “The...

At last year’s Alle-Kiski Inclusion Games in Lower Burrell, event organizer Courtney Kobelenske lined up volunteers to create a “football tunnel” for the athletes, children with special needs, to walk through. While the volunteers lined the field and cheered as the participants marched through, a poignant moment between a child...

Guardian Elder Care, the parent company of skilled nursing facilities including Belair in Lower Burrell and Oak Hill in Greensburg, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Johnstown-based health care company filed the petition for relief this week. Nineteen facilities — including locations in Lower Burrell, Greensburg, Bethel Park and...

Lower Burrell officials have outlined a plan to make Leechburg Road safer for students, pedestrians, bicyclists and people with disabilities. The city soon will start projects geared toward pedestrian safety and Americans with Disabilities Act compliance along the city’s main business artery, Mayor Chris Fabry said. Projects include flashing beacons...

Deeming it unusable and incomplete, Chartiers Valley school directors declared an emergency over the condition of the district’s stadium project and hired new firms to complete the remaining work. An emergency resolution, approved at a meeting Monday and read by Board President Darren Mariano, said the stadium construction project is...

The success of a “Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports” model at Crafton Elementary School has Carlynton officials implementing a similar system at the junior high level. The district received a $3,750 grant from the Highmark Foundation to establish the model for seventh and eighth grade students. “The Foundation supports the...

PennDOT officials announced Tuesday they will begin a traffic study on a stretch of Greensburg Road in Upper Burrell that has drawn ire from community members. Agency spokeswoman Laina Aquiline said PennDOT is reviewing Upper Burrell’s request for a traffic study in the 2200 block of Greensburg Road and anticipates...

A new face will be leading Chartiers Valley High School in the coming years, as Michael Sable was hired as the school’s principal at a salary of $130,000. “I’m extremely honored to be high school principal,” Sable said. “I’m excited to meet everyone, and I’m ready to lead students to...

Many of Tim Rote’s neighbors along the 2200 block of Greensburg Road in Upper Burrell have a “horror story” about what they say is a lack of safety on the road. Bill Smith recalls getting rear-ended while pulling into his driveway about 15 years ago with his son in the...

With numerous capital projects in the works, Allegheny Valley School District has retained its director of finance and business operations. Board members Wednesday approved a new contract for Hamsini Rajgopal. The contract becomes effective July 1, 2025, and expires June 30, 2030, but board President Nino Pollino said there was...

An argument at a Frazer auto salvage yard led to a shot fired and a West Deer man arrested, according to Allegheny County Police. Jonathan Nealer, 40, is charged with felony aggravated assault in connection with the shooting of a man in his leg last week at Hloznik Auto Salvage...

Is there a reason why the Allegheny Valley School District isn’t restricting students’ access to their cellphones during instructional time in the classroom? That’s the question school board directors asked administrators Wednesday to look into. Board member Larry Pollick suggested the district implement a policy restricting cellphone use in the...

Plans continue for the eventual demolition of Colfax Elementary School in Springdale. The Allegheny Valley School Board on Wednesday authorized district administrators to seek contract bids for the demolition of the Colfax building, which sits along Colfax Street. The building is 99 years old. It closed in 2018 and has...

An updated intersection at Prestley Road and Charlet and Perret streets in Bridgeville is aimed at improving drivers’ visibility and calming traffic, borough officials say. Bridgeville Manager Joe Kauer said the borough has been working with PennDOT traffic engineers since late last year for a plan to fix the intersection....

The gears for a Tractor Supply store in Lower Burrell are in motion. Annalee Rivers, a spokeswoman for Tractor Supply, said the company plans to open a store there in November 2025. City Manager Greg Primm identified the location as 108 Greensburg Road. It is a vacant, wooded lot next...

Nearly half of the people serving on Cheswick Council have less than six months of experience, but that doesn’t concern President Brad Yaksich. The borough council has filled three vacancies this year, appointing Adis Halimic and Frank Stanish in March and Nick Pollino last week. “I’m very confident in Frank,...

A recent door hanger and postcard to Cheswick residents for water meter replacements isn’t a scam. It’s a preview of a two-year project for more than 900 new water meters in the borough. Cheswick contracted with Newman Plumbing of Cranberry to replace every water meter in the borough, said council...

Burrell School District Superintendent Shannon Wagner used questions submitted by the public to clear the air as questions swirl around a potential closure of Stewart Elementary School. District administration recommends closing Stewart in the 2025-26 school year due to a decline in enrollment, student needs and the condition and age...

Upper Burrell supervisors will consider an apparently controversial industrial rezoning request at the former Oak Lake Golf Course this week. Gary Schoepke is requesting the township rezone about 20 acres at the old golf course, 1151 Oak Lake Road, from residential-agricultural to industrial, and the proposal has drawn ire from...

Rennerdale Volunteer Fire Department is trying to restore its old duck pond. The fire department in Collier is trying to raise at least $40,000 to rehabilitate the pond, which hasn’t been updated since the late 1990s or early 2000s, said department president Tom Kovach. The pond’s stagnant water is causing...

Chief Brennan Sites of Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 had been eyeing a new fire engine for the past year-and-a-half, but a Father’s Day fire last year on Jefferson Drive had him rethinking what he really needed. While no one was hurt in the fire, Sites knew that...