Kellen Stepler stories, Page 32

The carousel of businesses leaving and entering the Village at Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer is gaining another store, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. The store plans to open in September, a company official said. Township Secretary Lori Ziencik verified that the new Ollie’s location will fill the vacant storefront at the former...

Vacant property in Upper Burrell’s Lincoln Beach neighborhood will end up staying with neighbors. The Upper Burrell Supervisors on Wednesday awarded roughly 3 acres of land along Mosaic Boulevard in Lincoln Beach to “members of the Lincoln Beach community.” A $20,000 bid was submitted by the group that, in their...

With police regionalization off the table for now, Upper Burrell is focusing its efforts on bolstering its force. Fifteen months ago, the township supervisors cited staffing issues as it sought interest from Lower Burrell, New Kensington and Allegheny and Washington townships on the possibility of a regionalized police force. Upper...

A motorcyclist and car collided Thursday morning at the intersection of Bull Creek Road and the Route 28 southbound off-ramp in Fawn. The crash occurred about 10:15 a.m. Fawn police were not immediately available for comment. Rich Fry of Shaler said he was driving on Bull Creek Road from Tarentum...

The state of strip malls and shopping centers isn’t all doom and gloom, experts say. “Open-air shopping centers are in a pretty good spot into the future,” said David Caputo, a data scientist with Moody’s Analytics. “There was a lot of concern with the pandemic, but that hasn’t been the...

Residents of Lower Burrell’s Kinloch neighborhood are demanding answers from city officials about what’s being done to address property and public safety issues they say are being neglected. “There’s something wrong,” said Kinloch resident John Walter, referencing what he said are a lack of police patrols and properties in poor...

Craig Taliani gets a bit emotional when thinking about what the Deer Lakes School District has meant to him and his family. He thinks about meeting his now-wife, Lisa, in a high school teachers lounge in 1991 while he was a day-to-day substitute and she was in her first year...

Eight-year-old Hannah Woch has a stack of chapter books she plans to read this summer. It’s important to read over the summer, said Hannah, a student at Bon Air Elementary School in Lower Burrell. “Now that I’m reading, I understand more stuff,” she said. With the school year concluding in...

The Chartiers Valley School District is seeking state funding to replace the roof at its intermediate school. School directors on May 28 applied for the state’s competitive Public School Facility Improvement grant to pay for the project. The district is asking for just under $3.97 million to cover the total...

A Lower Burrell man who, authorities say, was part of a statewide probe of child sexual abuse among the Jehovah’s Witnesses community will face charges in Westmoreland County Court. The state Attorney General’s Office charged Ronald W. Mangone, 69, on April 2 with three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault,...

A BP gas station in Freeport sold a $1 million scratch-off, according to the Pennsylvania Lottery. The million dollar-winning ticket was from the lottery’s “$1,000,000 Game” and was sold at the BP gas station at 222 Buffalo St. Radhe Oil Corp., owner of the gas station, will get a $5,000...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled an information session to update the public on its cleanup efforts at the nuclear waste dump in Parks Township. The meeting is scheduled for June 11 at the Parks Township Fire Department, 1119 Dalmatian Drive. Doors will open for display stations at...

Without a home field this season, Springdale’s high school football team is planning to play two home games at Freeport’s football field and a pair of games at Burrell’s Buccaneer Stadium. During a school board discussion last week, Allegheny Valley School District Superintendent Pat Graczyk said the Dynamos football team...

With progress made at Burrell Plaza, all eyes have turned to Hillcrest Shopping Center in Lower Burrell. The shopping center off Leechburg and Wildlife Lodge roads will be auctioned off online from June 10 to 12, according to a listing. The starting bid is $1.14 million. “From a city standpoint,...

An Ohio man wanted on attempted homicide charges was taken into custody early Monday in Brackenridge. Tarentum police were dispatched shortly before midnight Sunday to the Devil Dog Saloon along Sixth Avenue on a tip that a man wanted as a suspect in a New Kensington shooting was inside the...

Deer Lakes School District and Frazer Township are facing some hefty unforeseen expenses after a recent reassessment of three Pittsburgh Mills commercial properties. The school district will refund a total of more than $700,000 to the owners of Walmart, Sam’s Club and the SpringHill Suites hotel in Frazer. The district...

Entering his senior year at Burrell High School last fall, Cameron Wagner was dead set on pursuing a career in architecture. Thanks to a new senior seminar course at the high school, Wagner, 18, was able to meet the district’s architect to see what the profession is really like. “I...

Lawyers representing the shuttered power plant in Springdale are making their case to a state appellate court, arguing that a county judge erred in siding with 16 borough residents and temporarily pausing a planned implosion of a boiler house at the site. On Wednesday, attorneys representing remediation firm Charah Solutions...

Butterflies are the favorite insect of Carnegie Elementary second grader Sydney Sullivan. So when it came time for a class project to research flowers and insects, Sydney, 7, used pink and purple paper to create her own craft butterfly. Sydney — and the rest of the school’s students — showcased...

Upper Burrell is considering selling 3 acres of vacant land it owns in the township’s Lincoln Beach area after receiving interest from prospective buyers. “We’re anxious to sell it. … It’s not being used for anything,” said Supervisors Chairman Ross G. Walker III, who estimates a handful of people have...

An array of more than 60 vendors will be available Saturday to kick off Lower Burrell’s farmers market. The Joseph “Bud” Myers Lower Burrell Farmers Market will begin its summer season from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Bon Air Elementary School parking lot. “The market is all about...

In an effort to save money, Burrell School District officials have combined two administration jobs, creating a new position to oversee its athletics department and building operations. The school board on Tuesday appointed Brian Ferra as director of athletics and building operations. The district eliminated the facilities director position held...

Springdale police filed charges against a New Kensington man who, they say, broke into a woman’s apartment and assaulted her while he was still on probation for a previous incident against her. Zachery Darnell Hickman, 34, faces a felony burglary charge and misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats, unlawful restraint, simple...

Rhonda Diercks knows firsthand the importance of motorcycle safety. In 2020, another motorcyclist collided with her while she was riding her motorcycle, causing her to lose a leg. Now, she stresses the importance of safe riding to her students and instructors as facilitator of a state-approved motorcycle safety class held...

Property owners in the Allegheny Valley School District could see a 2.65% tax increase next school year. District Finance Director Hamsini Rajgopal is proposing a $25.8 million budget for the 2024-25 school year. A property owner with a median assessed value of $85,900 would pay $1,837 annually in taxes, Rajgopal...