Kellen Stepler stories, Page 4

Brian Novak says forming meaningful relationships and getting excited about things can be difficult for his 16-year-old daughter, Sydney, who is moderately autistic. But the Alle-Kiski Inclusion Games in Lower Burrell is something Sydney gets excited about days before and after the event. “Those are memories I have I never...

The former president of the Spartaco Sporting Club in New Kensington turned himself in to a New Kensington district court Thursday to face charges of theft and illegally taking ownership of the club. Phil DiLucente, an attorney representing Glenn Hofer, 82 of O’Hara, said Hofer turned himself in at District...

Residents in Lower Burrell’s Braeburn Heights neighborhood will welcome a new playground soon, as new equipment was delivered Wednesday at Braeview Park. “They said, once it was dropped off, it would be two weeks for installation,” said City Manager Greg Primm. “Once the installation is complete, there will be some...

A new meadow is blooming at Bridgeville’s McLaughlin Run Park. The park’s former ballfield area, now working as a flood control project, has recently been renovated into a passive wildflower meadow, according to the borough. The park also includes educational signage about watersheds, riparian buffers, meadows and several new benches....

Carter Wells, a lifeguard at the Scott Township Swimming Pool, was recognized by the township’s board of commissioners for his care assisting a pool patron suffering from a heat-induced illness earlier this summer. Township officials awarded Wells, 16, a proclamation for his efforts during a meeting Aug. 12. Wells said...

The South Fayette Township School District has created its own police department and hired Michael Ziemianski as its first officer. Ziemianski, 41, of Canonsburg, is a major in the Army National Guard and has served for the past year as a resource officer with the Fort Cherry School District. He...

Burrell School Board made a bevy of personnel moves this week as it gears up for the first day of school Sept. 2. Hirings include Vanessa Bauer, a middle school math teacher who will be paid $63,979; and Kayla Farrah, a high school nurse to be paid $48,447. Nicholas Klukaszewski...

Ryan Viola accomplished the rarest feat in golf during Chartiers Valley’s match Aug. 8. The CV sophomore sunk a hole-in-one at Fort Cherry Golf Club’s fourth hole during the team’s match against Shaler Area. Viola used his 9-iron on the 155-yard hole. According to the National Hole-in-One Registry, the odds...

Burrell School District officials are moving forward with a roughly $8 million heating and cooling project for Burrell High School but will go back to the drawing board for a similar project at Bon Air Elementary. The contract for the HVAC improvements at Burrell High School, awarded Tuesday by the...

This school year, Carlynton Jr.-Sr. High School will implement a policy restricting personal cellphone use for students. District officials say the policy follows a yearlong research and community engagement process. They say the policy will foster stronger student focus, mental health and academic engagement. “This initiative reflects our commitment to...

Chartiers Valley School District has implemented new safety and security initiatives across all of its buildings for the new school year. Marc Hubert, the district’s safety and security coordinator, provided an update on the plans during the school board’s Aug. 12 meeting. “Every initiative we proposed was done through a...

Members of the Carlynton School District community kicked off the school year the best way they know how: a celebration. The district’s third-annual back-to-school celebration was held Aug. 15 at Honus Wagner Stadium in Carnegie. “Tonight’s celebration is about more than just the start of a new school year —...

Save the ducks — ditch the bread. That’s the message from Lower Burrell teens Katie Harris and Julia Skowronski, members of Girl Scout Troop 16454, on an awareness campaign to inform people of what’s appropriate, and what’s not, when it comes to feeding ducks at Burrell Lake Park. “We noticed...

Arnold officials will be getting legal advice from a new attorney. Council accepted the resignation of City Solicitor Jaclyn M. Shaw and hired Gavin Robb, an attorney with the law firm of Tucker Arensberg, to fill the position. Both votes were 4-0, with Councilman Adam Zweig absent. Reached by TribLive,...

One of the biggest events in Collier Township returns this September. The family-friendly Collierfest will be held from 3 to 10 p.m. Sept. 20 at Collier Community Park, 5 Lobaugh St. Admission is free. “We have food trucks, vendors, local businesses and sponsors,” said Rob Shazer, Collier’s parks and recreation...

Julia Cassidy says she has always felt confident expressing her conservative political views at the University of Pittsburgh, even though they aren’t shared by most of her peers. Since Donald Trump regained the Oval Office, though, Cassidy, president of Pitt’s College Republicans, says she has noticed more students sharing conservative...

Gary James was officially sworn-in as Bridgeville’s police chief at a recent council meeting. James has worked in the Bridgeville Police Department for more than 35 years, first as a patrolman, then as a sergeant and now as chief. “His dedication, leadership and deep roots in Bridgeville make him the...

Dan Sevic believed something was off after his business, Sevic Landscaping and Supply in Allegheny Township, took an order for concrete block back in March. Little did he know that transaction would be linked to an alleged scheme that police say used stolen credit cards to buy the blocks, sell...

New Kensington-Arnold School District officials hope a $30 per-day pay increase will attract more day-to-day substitute teachers to the district. School directors this week set the substitute teacher rate at $130 per day. Previously, substitute teachers made $100 daily for the first 30 days they worked. That would increase to...

Burrell’s high school and middle school will be adding another layer to their in-school suspension protocols. Burrell High School and Charles A. Huston Middle School will establish an Alternative Learning Center this school year that’s located within the school buildings but away from other classrooms, said Carla Roland, assistant high...

The largest charity motorcycle ride in Western Pennsylvania returns to the Alle-Kiski Valley this weekend. The eighth annual Brian Shaw Ride is set for Saturday. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Pittsburgh Shrine Center, Harmar, and kickstands go up at 10 a.m. The ride is in memory of Officer...

Vape sensors will be installed in restrooms and common areas at Valley Jr.-Sr. High School in New Kensington. The New Kensington-Arnold school board this week approved buying and installing vape sensors at Valley at a one-time cost of $12,800, said Superintendent Chris Sefcheck. There is an ongoing annual maintenance fee...

Giant Eagle says some of its customers who swiped a credit card at the New Kensington store in June might have fallen victim to a card skimmer. A legal notice, published by Giant Eagle this week, states a payment card skimmer was installed on a checkout lane’s PIN pad between...

A new shoe store in Allegheny Township will have a grand opening celebration next month. Shoe Sensation, located in the Hyde Park Plaza, 451 Hyde Park Road, will hold the celebration Sept. 12 to 14, according to the Indiana-based company. “We’re bringing so much more than just your favorite name...

Bids for a proposed heating and cooling project at Burrell High School came in about $1 million more than what school district officials were expecting. Superintendent Shannon Wagner told the school board this week that bids for general construction, HVAC and electrical improvements at the high school came in at...