Kellen Stepler stories, Page 58
Officer Brian Shaw concert series to rock Lower Burrell for 5th year
Nine live bands and more than 130 auction items are in store when the Officer Brian Shaw Foundation Concert Series returns to Lower Burrell on Saturday. The event runs from 2 p.m until midnight at Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower Burrell. Admission is $10. “The community just really likes to...
East Deer looks to revise billboard regulations; request on 4 signs still pending
East Deer officials saw the sign. When the township commissioners met Thursday, they voted to advertise an ordinance that would revise the township’s zoning code to update its billboard regulations. The move follows a zoning hearing board meeting in June where Butler-based America First Enterprises, which does business as Oliver...
‘Will lighten the community up’: Tarentum billboard raised Friday morning
The sky in Tarentum is going to get a little brighter. On Friday morning, an electronic billboard was raised on Fourth Avenue in Tarentum, next to the Tarentum Bridge. The two-sided billboard is about 90 feet tall, with its face about 14 feet high and 48 feet wide. The billboard,...
Eagle Scout project beautifies veterans area at Lower Burrell City Hall
When Camden Seidel was younger, he would go to his mother’s office in Lower Burrell City Hall, play outside with friends and notice the nearby veterans memorial. “We would see this memorial, and it was just a monument on top of a white pile of rocks,” said Seidel, 18, of...
New Kensington Bridge underpass in East Deer to close Monday
The underpass under the New Kensington Bridge in East Deer will close Monday, according to PennDOT. Northbound Freeport Road under the New Kensington Bridge will close at 7 a.m. and remain closed through late September. Travelers headed north on Freeport Road, toward Tarentum, will use the ramp up to the...
Penn Hills construction worker’s death in fall through Pine-Richland High School roof ruled accidental
A construction worker from Penn Hills died after falling through the roof at Pine-Richland High School, the school district confirmed Thursday. Joseph Gazzo, 44, died at a hospital Thursday morning after falling, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The medical examiner’s office announced late Friday that death was...
Trib Total Media named best newspaper in Pa. by Society of Professional Journalists
Trib Total Media was named the best overall newspaper in Pennsylvania by the Keystone Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. It is the fourth time in the last five years that the Trib has been honored with the prestigious award. “We are thrilled to be recognized with this award,”...
Route 910 bridge replacement in Indiana Township, near Rawlins Run, begins Monday
Route 910 in Indiana Township, near Rawlins Run, will be closed beginning Monday as crews work to replace a bridge. Beginning at 7 a.m., bridge replacement work will start on Route 910 between Indianola Road and Bayer Drive. Route 910 will close at the bridge through Tuesday, Aug. 8, according...
Verona man arrested after being on the run nearly a year
Police arrested a Verona man Wednesday after he had been on the run for nearly a year. Jaheed Aziz, 32, had been a fugitive since August 2022 when he didn’t appear for status hearings on four different cases, according to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office. Judge Beth A. Lazzara issued...
Vehicle and bus with 5 students collide in Springdale; no injuries reported
No injuries were reported Wednesday afternoon when a small school bus carrying five students and a vehicle collided in Springdale. Springdale police Chief Derek Dayoub said officers were dispatched at 12:04 p.m. to the intersection of Pittsburgh and Butler streets to respond to the crash. It’s unclear what led to...
New amphitheater will bring entertainment to West Deer in summer 2024
By this time next year, entrepreneur Charlie Vrabel says, there will be a new entertainment outlet in West Deer. The township supervisors approved plans last month to build an amphitheater at his business, No Offseason Sports, at 940 and 982 Little Deer Creek Valley Road in the township’s Russellton neighborhood....
Fawn woman strikes it big with $1 million lottery winning ticket
As is routine, Kimberley Adamik stops in Willy’s Beer & Beverage in Harmar every Thursday as she works her garbage truck route. She plays some scratch-off games and goes on her way. But the “$1 Million? Seriously” game she played June 22 stopped her in her tracks. “I went over...
Lower Burrell appoints Greg Primm as manager; Ron Welker picked for council vacancy
It takes Greg Primm 21 minutes to drive from his Kiski Township home to Lower Burrell City Hall. He’ll be getting used to that commute come September. Lower Burrell Council on Monday unanimously voted to hire Primm, currently Allegheny Township’s manager, as the city’s manager. “I’m looking so forward to...
Faces of the Valley: Harrison woman marks 50 years working for ‘the Hut’
When Peggy Morrow began working for Pizza Hut, a small pepperoni pizza at the restaurant cost $1.25. And the minimum wage wasn’t much more than that, said Morrow, who has been working for the company for 50 years. Morrow, 69, of the Natrona Heights section of Harrison, is the general...
Olympus Energy drops appeal for denied well pad in West Deer; residents to fight one recently approved
A Washington County oil and gas company wants to drop its court appeal for a well pad project West Deer supervisors rejected in 2021. Olympus Energy LLC filed the application for discontinuance in Commonwealth Court on Wednesday. The company had appealed West Deer’s decision to reject the proposed Dionysus well...
Human remains found in Sharpsburg confirmed to be indigenous peoples burial site
Human remains found in Sharpsburg about two weeks ago were located on a burial site for indigenous people, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office announced Friday. The human remains were found June 21 on private property along Short Canal Street, where Peoples Natural Gas Co. crews were digging for a...
Lower Burrell eyes Ron Welker to fill council vacancy
Ron Welker might be starting his tenure on Lower Burrell Council a bit earlier than anticipated. Council will consider appointing Welker at its meeting Monday, to fill a vacant council seat left by Rosina Albanese, who resigned in June. Albanese was sworn onto council in 2020. She cited work commitments...
Lower Burrell Council excited for future with new manager
Lower Burrell officials say they’re all-in on their soon-to-be next city manager, Greg Primm. Council discussed interim Manager Jason Dailey’s recommendation to hire Primm, Allegheny Township’s manager, at its meeting Monday. Council will vote on Primm’s hiring Monday. Should the vote pass, Primm would begin work Sept. 1 in Lower...
Organizers plan for ‘busy and fun’ Springdale Community Day
Springdale Community Day plans to be just that when the event hits Lincoln Avenue near Veterans Memorial Field on Saturday. Deb Sigmund of the Springdale Team of Active Residents said the event is a group effort between STAR, the Springdale Volunteer Fire Department and borough council. It aims to provide...
Harmar beer distributor sells $1 million scratch-off ticket
It’s not unusual for owner Linda Wilson to sell scratch-off lottery tickets to customers at Willy’s Beer and Beverage in Harmar. What is unusual? Having a million-dollar winner. That’s exactly what happened June 22, when one of Wilson’s regulars scratched off a “$1 Million? Seriously” ticket at the store. “I...
Springdale Township man faces drug charges after traffic stop
A Springdale Township man faces charges after more than 4 ounces of marijuana was found in his car during a traffic stop in Westmoreland County, police say. Demitri Lee Fritch, 20, of Springdale Township was charged with intent to distribute drugs, two counts of intentional possession of a controlled substance...
Plum woman accused of texting and driving before hit-and-run with house
Police said a Plum woman was texting while driving, causing her to lose control of her car and crash into a home. Natalie Mains, 24, was charged with misdemeanor accident involving damage to property and four other traffic charges, including reckless driving, stemming from an incident June 17. A preliminary...
Oakmont man accused of biting, choking, trying to drown woman
Police accused an Oakmont man of biting, choking and trying to drown a woman in a kitchen sink. Oakmont police charged Dylan Dempsey, 24, of the 700 block of Allegheny Avenue with felony strangulation, terroristic threats, two misdemeanor counts of simple assault and two misdemeanor counts of possessing marijuana in...
2 face drug charges after Allegheny Township traffic stop
A New Kensington man and a Harrison woman are facing drug charges after a traffic stop. According to court records, Allegheny Township police charged Michael Luffey, 38, of the 1500 block of Leishman Avenue, with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, misbranding a controlled substance, possessing drugs and...
Police charge man in connection with work not completed at Lower Burrell gas station
Lower Burrell police charged a Findlay Township man with theft of services because the owner of a city gas station said contracted work was not completed. Gregory Alan Scott, 33, of the Clinton section of Findlay Township was charged with two felony counts of deceptive business practices and theft by...

