Kellen Stepler stories, Page 46
Carnegie theater company ‘Stage 62’ celebrates its 62nd anniversary
Stephanie Ottey acknowledges that most organizations wouldn’t celebrate their 62nd anniversary. But the newly-named president knows that the 62nd anniversary holds a different meaning for Stage 62, a Carnegie nonprofit theater company. Stage 62 started in Bethel Park in 1962 as an adult education theater project, and has since evolved...
Chartiers Valley dance troupe reaches new heights
The Chartiers Valley High School dance troupe knows how to choreograph the right moves for success, even at the national level. The 11-member dance team at Chartiers Valley High School earned second place with its hip-hop routine at the national competition in Orlando, Fla.. It also advanced straight to the...
Faces of the Valley: Prevention specialist improving school climate at Bon Air
Just a few years after he graduated from the Burrell School District, Jordan Perry already is making a difference in the school system. Perry, 25, of Lower Burrell is in his second year working as a prevention specialist at Bon Air Elementary School. So far, Perry has implemented several programs...
Acmetonia students build sense of belonging, community with new program
Students at Acmetonia Elementary School not only have homework, they also have house work. Under the “House System,” students are assigned to one of five groups, or houses. House meetings are held each month, and students collaborate with their peers to work on various community-building activities, said Rebecca Garbisch, school...
Springdale Township trailer home gutted by fire
Fire gutted a trailer home Thursday morning along Spring Street in Springdale Township. Crews were dispatched to the fire about 11:15 a.m., said Allegheny Valley Assistant Fire Chief Jay Zangrille. It took about 25 minutes for firefighters to knock down the fire. No one was in the trailer at the...
Allegheny Township man dies in crash near Lower Burrell-Allegheny Twp. line
An Allegheny Township man died Wednesday afternoon when the truck he was driving went off Melwood Road near the Lower Burrell-Allegheny Township line. Lower Burrell police officer Aaron Rodgers said Nicholas A. Ganter, 29, was driving alone when his pickup went off the right side of the road. The vehicle...
Southwestern Pennsylvania Municipal Project Hub launches in Brackenridge to help towns access federal funding
Brackenridge Mayor Lindsay Fraser was surprised when her small town was approached to host a news conference to launch the SWPA Municipal Project Hub. But she also found it fitting. “There is a generationally historic amount of federal infrastructure money available to towns just like Brackenridge, to communities in Allegheny...
Possible motive revealed in Mogie’s killingVideo
The man suspected of fatally shooting Lower Burrell restaurant owner David “Mogie” Magill told investigators he pulled the trigger because he thought Magill was a “drug-dealing pedophile,” a witness in the case testified Wednesday. Lower Burrell police Officer Zachary Beam testified in district court that suspect Nathan Salem offered no...
New director Erin Weaver takes the helm at Bridgeville Library
Erin Weaver will be writing the Bridgeville Public Library’s next chapter. Weaver, 38, of South Fayette became the library’s director at the start of the year. “It was a chance to run the library and continue on with the mission and the things we’re doing, and leave a positive impact...
Upper Burrell again floats police regionalization idea
Upper Burrell officials are once again gauging the interest of surrounding municipalities in forming a regional police department. Township supervisors mailed letters to Lower Burrell, New Kensington and Allegheny and Washington townships to gauge their interest in forming a “fact-finding body” to examine the feasibility of a regionalized police force...
PLCB opens lotteries to purchase nearly 1,900 bottles of rare whiskeys
Pennsylvania’s Liquor Control Board, through its limited-release lottery, is awarding those who register the opportunity to buy 1,896 bottles of rare whiskeys. The LCB on Monday announced that state residents and licensees have until 5 p.m. Friday to opt in to the lotteries or drawings for whiskeys from the Pappy...
Construction on Freeport’s new $18.6M sewage treatment facility to start Monday
Freeport taxpayers soon will see progress on a project they’ve helped to pay for over the past year — and into the future. The borough will break ground Monday on its $18.6 million sewage treatment plant. “Freeport Borough is finally upgrading its wastewater treatment plant,” said Zachary Filous, borough manager....
Too warm: Plants, insects, people likely to pay the price for warm winters
The active milkweed bug Chris Kubiak found this week is not a good sign. The harmless-to-humans bug was out and about at Beechwood Farms Nature Preserve in Fox Chapel, where Kubiak is director of education. It, like most other insects native to the region, should be inactive, waiting out winter...
Lower Burrell looks to revamp old tax office into community space
Courtney Kobelenske is excited about the possibilities a new community center in Lower Burrell can provide. “I think it would work well for people that need it. We could use it, other individuals could use it,” said Kobelenske, who organizes the AK Inclusion Games and helps to coordinate work opportunities...
Co-teaching program at Acmetonia boosts learning, test scores
The lesson in Scott Andrews’ fifth grade English Language Arts class Wednesday was about sentence structure. But as students worked through their assignments, it wasn’t just Andrews teaching. Chelsea Brody, a special education teacher, was working in tandem with Andrews and the students as part of a co-teaching program at...
Work underway to plug 2 abandoned gas wells in Scott
Two leaking abandoned gas wells in Scott are being plugged. The state Department of Environmental Protection initiated an emergency project to plug two leaking abandoned natural gas wells along Scrubgrass Road in Scott, the agency announced Monday. The project started Tuesday. Crews will be cutting down trees and potentially flaring...
Cheswick teen’s passion for giving back earns Junior Achievement’s 18 Under Eighteen distinction
Emma Winkler’s goal is to make the world a better place, and she’s starting in her own backyard to make that happen. Winkler, 16, of Cheswick has led a senior prom and winter formal dance at Longwood at Oakmont in Plum, where she also works as a part-time server. She...
Brackenridge man who led high-speed chase into Beaver County was in Ohio to solicit sex from a minor, AG says
A Brackenridge man who led authorities on a high-speed chase from Ohio into Beaver County last week originally crossed state lines to allegedly have sex with a minor, according to authorities. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Tuesday that Adam Hileman, 43, has been charged with compelling prostitution, attempted sexual...
1 taken to hospital in 2-vehicle collision that sent van into building in Harrison
One person was taken to a hospital after their car struck another vehicle at the intersection of Freeport and Burtner roads in Harrison and pushed it into a building. Just before 4 p.m. Monday, an orange car was traveling westbound on Burtner Road when it hit a white cargo van...
Allegheny Valley school officials want to upgrade Springdale High School’s auditorium lobby
Allegheny Valley School District officials want to upgrade the lobby of the high school’s auditorium. Some school directors and administrators held a meeting Thursday with Terry Thompson, vice president of the Foreman Group, over possible updates to the school’s Marshall Auditorium lobby. The next step in the process, Thompson said,...
Harrison man accused of stealing $3,000 worth of items from Lowe’s, man’s truck
Frazer police have filed charges against a Harrison man accused of stealing more than $3,000 worth of items from the Pittsburgh Mills Lowe’s and a man’s truck in the parking lot. Terrance Guy Cichello, 49, is charged with retail theft, receiving stolen property and theft from a motor vehicle —...
Demolition contractors file appeal against Springdale boiler house ruling
Two days after the owner of the former Springdale power plant challenged a court decision halting the implosion of its boiler house, attorneys representing the demolition contractors added their own appeal. The attorneys for Grant Mackay Co. and Controlled Demolition Inc. filed a joint statement, citing what they consider errors...
East Deer resident among 3 named as civil service commissioners for regional police force
East Deer is now represented on the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department’s civil service commission. District Judge Michael Girardi on Wednesday gave the oath of office to Joe Ferrero of Cheswick, Erin Auvil of Springdale Township and John Nwranski of East Deer for terms on the commission. The main responsibility...
Lawsuit over reimbursement fees a factor in independent pharmacy struggles, expert says
In light of two local pharmacies shuttering their doors Wednesday, some are pointing to an ongoing federal lawsuit industry experts say was set into motion by alleged wrongful penalties for prescriptions. The fees are called pharmacy direct and indirect remuneration fees. They’re charged to pharmacies under Medicare Part D regulations...
Werner Avenue in Bridgeville to close until mid-June
Werner Avenue in Bridgeville, between Chartiers and James streets, will be closed to local traffic until mid-June so crews can repair multiple landslides along the side of the road, said Bridgeville Manager Joe Kauer. The stretch of road closed Thursday, Feb. 1. The project includes building a steel beam and...
