Kellen Stepler stories, Page 59
Burrell School District raises taxes with approval of $36.1 million budget
Property owners in Burrell School District will see an almost 4% increase in their real estate taxes next year. Next year’s budget totals just under $36.2 million, a 4.1% increase from this past school year, said Jennifer Callahan, the district’s business manager. The budget raises the millage rate from 107...
West Deer approves Leto well pad; neighbors plan to appeal
West Deer supervisors approved conditional use and land development applications for the proposed Leto well pad, and neighbors say they plan to appeal that decision in court. The well pad, located off Oak Road behind a Dollar General store, was proposed by Olympus Energy of Cecil Township. Olympus plans to...
Property owner: Don’t rezone former Springdale power plant from industrial use
The owner of the former Cheswick Generating Station is repeating its stance on the property: Springdale should not rezone it from industrial use. No action was taken at borough council’s meeting this week — the matter wasn’t even on the agenda — but representatives from Cheswick Plant Environmental Redevelopment Group...
Lower Burrell woman charged after traffic stop turns into drug bust at her home
Police have charged a Lower Burrell woman with drug possession following a May 2 traffic stop where, they said, it appeared she was under the influence of crack cocaine. Alicia Ann Bosman, 33, is charged with two counts of intentionally possessing a controlled substance and a count of use or...
‘So satisfying’: Grueling Rachel Carson Trail Challenge entices hikers
There’s nothing about the Rachel Carson Trail Challenge that makes it a walk in the park. But once its hikers complete the hilly, scenic and physically demanding trail, the feeling is one of satisfaction and relief. “I think it’s so satisfying,” said Amy Nelson, a board member of the Rachel...
Back the Blue parade, fundraiser set for Lower Burrell
The fourth annual Alle-Kiski Valley Back the Blue summer event is back and bigger than ever, its organizers say. The fundraiser for local police departments will be held Saturday, June 24, in Lower Burrell and will feature a law enforcement processional and live music and entertainment, said Lisa Ingle of...
Allegheny Valley school directors push for football season at Veterans Memorial Field
The Allegheny Valley School District plans to stay the course and play its football games at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Springdale despite an issue with a leaning wall at the field. At a meeting Tuesday, board members discussed the field, where part of a wall is leaning toward the stadium...
Allegheny Valley School District adopts budget with no tax increase
Property owners in the Allegheny Valley School District will not see an increase in their taxes for the next year. School directors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve its $24.6 million budget, a 3.5% increase from last school year. Officials previously said the budget allots for new English textbooks and professional...
Faces of the Valley: Springdale Township nurse, a native of Egypt, forges his own way
Adel Mansour believes everything worked out the way it was supposed to. Mansour, 50, lives in Springdale Township with his wife, Tracey, and their children, Aleah, Landon and Milana. He is a registered nurse at UPMC St. Margaret in Aspinwall, a job he has had for 17 years. But the...
Allegheny Valley School District officials question if football team can play at Veterans Memorial Field due to wall issue
Allegheny Valley School District officials are throwing a flag on the safety of Veterans Memorial Field’s bleachers, and the outcome will impact the upcoming high school football season. Part of a wall at the field, which was built in 1938, is leaning toward the stadium from the Lincoln Avenue side...
West Deer breaks ground on new municipal building
State Sen. Lindsey Williams recalled that, when she took office four years ago, she toured the municipalities and school districts of the state’s 38th District to get to know them better. When it was time to go meet West Deer officials, she remembered the discussion of a need for a...
Officials identify Springdale girl who died Tuesday
Officials have identified the 5-year-old girl who died unexpectedly in Springdale on Tuesday. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday that Diem McMunn-Gereshenski, of Springdale, was found unresponsive at a Springdale home at about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday. Diem was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Allegheny...
DEP acknowledges flying debris from implosion in Springdale was violation; agency waiting on test results
The flyrock and debris from the Springdale smokestack demolition earlier this month was a violation of state environmental regulations, said a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Protection. The former Cheswick Generating Station smokestacks, which stood about 750 and 550 feet tall, fell in a cleared coal yard north of...
Lower Burrell remembers, honors late councilman, judge, David A. Regoli with bench at city hall
To the Regolis, Lower Burrell and New Kensington are like an extended family. And that community provided a standing-room-only crowd in Lower Burrell Council chambers Monday, as the city unveiled a bench in honor and memory of David Regoli, a late councilman, judge and, to many, a friend. “To be...
Lower Burrell Councilwoman Rosina Albanese resigns, citing work commitments
Lower Burrell Councilwoman Rosina Albanese has resigned. City council announced Albanese’s resignation at its meeting Monday night. Albanese was sworn onto council in 2020. In her resignation letter, she wrote that it was with a heavy heart that she make the decision to resign, “as I have thoroughly enjoyed serving...
Police investigating the death of a 5-year-old girl in Springdale
A 5-year-old girl died Tuesday morning after she was found unresponsive at a home in Springdale, leaving a tight-knit neighborhood in shock. According to Allegheny County Police, the girl was found about 8:45 a.m. at a row house in the 40 block of Duquesne Court. Allegheny County Police detectives are...
Carnegie Mellon grads make waves — via politics and performance — at Tony Awards
Carnegie Mellon University certainly was recognized — in more ways than one — at the 76th Tony Awards on Sunday. CMU grad Denée Benton, a previous Tony nominee, made perhaps the night’s biggest waves by taking aim at Florida governor and 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. During an evening that...
Lower Burrell eyes master plan for parks, meeting scheduled this month
Lower Burrell residents should keep an eye out for park plans and ideas this month. Last Monday, planner Carolyn Yagle of Environmental Planning & Design LLC in Pittsburgh provided an update on Lower Burrell’s parks master plan. The study, which began last year, includes an inventory of the city parks...
Upper Burrell supervisors to fix Lower Drennen Road stormwater runoff issue
The Upper Burrell supervisors continue their work to make improvements on Lower Drennen Road. At its meeting Wednesday, the board authorized its engineer, Michael Moore of Bankson Engineers, to prepare the specifications for the stormwater runoff issue on Lower Drennen, as well as other prep work using the township’s federal...
After yearslong court battle, construction for electronic billboard in Tarentum begins
Construction of an electronic billboard near the Tarentum Bridge has begun, after a yearslong battle in court and before borough officials. America First Enterprises, doing business as Oliver Outdoor, sought to place the electronic billboard at the Tarentum end of the bridge, at 107 E. Fourth Ave. A representative for...
State Rep. Mandy Steele seeks answers to lingering questions from implosion of smokestacks in Springdale
The fallout from the former Cheswick Generating Station’s smokestack implosion last week has caught the attention of at least one state lawmaker. In a statement issued Tuesday, state Rep. Mandy Steele, D-Fox Chapel, acknowledged the two Springdale smokestacks — about 750 and 550 feet tall — fell June 2 where...
Allegheny Valley School District’s proposed budget holds line on taxes
Property owners in the Allegheny Valley School District can expect no increase in their property taxes. The district is eyeing a budget of $24.6 million for next school year, which is an increase of 3.5% compared to the school year that just ended. The district’s school board approved the preliminary...
Claims for properties impacted by Springdale implosion due Friday
Springdale-area residents impacted by the smokestack implosion last week at the former Cheswick Generating Station have until 5 p.m. Friday to submit claims and concerns to the property owner. Sam Miller of Louisville, Ky.-based Charah Solutions said crews are continuing to address the aftermath of the implosion, where two smokestack...
Art Party: Penn State New Kensington to hold art fundraiser Friday
Penn State New Kensington is hosting a party Friday to support the institution’s cultural art initiatives, scholarships and programs. The annual Off the Wall pARTy started in 2017 but was on hiatus during the covid-19 pandemic. It returns from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. in the main lobby of the campus...
Crews continue to address aftermath of smokestacks’ implosion in Springdale
The dust has settled in Springdale, but crews and residents continue to clean and address the aftermath of the implosion of the two smokestacks at the Cheswick Generating Station. The stacks, staples of the Springdale and Cheswick skyline for years, went out with a bang Friday morning through a planned...
