Michael DiVittorio stories, Page 85
Lenny Collini to become Vandergrift’s new mayor
Vandergrift will have a new mayor to start the new year. Councilman Lenny Collini, who was listed on both party ballots Tuesday, won 76.5% of the vote against a write-in campaign waged by incumbent Democrat Barbara Turiak, who received 23.5%. With all of Vandergrift’s six precincts reporting, Collini had 485...
Bethel Park police make arrests in recent vehicle break-ins, thefts
Two men have been arrested in connection with recent vehicle break-ins in Bethel Park. Charles Trout, 30, of Pittsburgh and Nicholas Ehrhart, 36, of Butler are charged with receiving stolen property, criminal conspiracy, theft from a motor vehicle, criminal attempt, loitering and prowling at night and defiant trespass. Charges stem...
Oakmont police investigating thefts from unlocked vehicles
Oakmont police are investigating a rash of vehicle break-ins. Chief Michael Ford said a group of young men reportedly entered at least eight unlocked vehicles on multiple blocks between Fifth and Thirteenth streets sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning. Victims reported cash and other items being stolen. No forcible...
Freeport hires new police chief as officer and former chief resign
A retired Plum police sergeant has been named Freeport’s new police chief. Council unanimously voted Monday night to hire Matthew Feldmeier to head the borough force in what elected leaders called a transition within the department. Former Chief Eric Belton resigned to take a job with Plum police, and patrolman...
South Buffalo fire department’s truck pull benefits former township girl, 12
With the roar of thunderous engines, trucks and tractors pulled more than weight for a former South Buffalo girl. Their drivers donated money and time in support of Taylor Roles, 12, who is living with a rare form of epilepsy. A few hundred people participated in the township fire department’s...
Report: Armstrong High students led vulgar chants during hockey game against Mars Area
Armstrong School District students are no longer allowed at hockey games after high school students chanted vulgarly at a female goalie at a recent game against Mars Area. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League is investigating, and its executive committee will discuss the incident during a meeting Wednesday or Thursday night,...
1935 Seagrave fire truck’s a relic worth preserving, Leechburg firefighters sayVideo
Jim Vigna of Leechburg knows companies just do not make fire trucks like they used to anymore. He is reminded of that fact whenever he tends to the borough volunteer fire company’s 1935 Seagrave. The roughly 25-foot-long truck was acquired the year it was made in a Columbus, Ohio, factory,...
Officer Brian Shaw’s Burrell football jersey retired at memorial ceremony
Burrell High School officials have added another layer to the legacy of the late Brian Shaw. Shaw, a New Kensington police officer and a 2010 Burrell graduate, was killed after a traffic stop while on duty in New Kensington in November 2017. He was shot when he pulled over an...
2 candidates seeking supervisor seat in Gilpin
Gilpin residents will have a choice of two political newcomers to help represent them on the board of supervisors for the next four years. Democrat Charles Chaz Minnich and Republican Kevin M. Miller are vying for one four-year seat. Incumbent Republican Jeremy Smail is running unopposed for a six-year seat....
Leetsdale withdraws objection to Quaker Valley School District request for Leet Township zoning exception
Leetsdale officials have withdrawn their objection to a special exception request from the Leet Township Zoning Hearing Board for a new Quaker Valley High School. Meanwhile, several township residents testified Tuesday night that the proposed main entrance of the facility is on a winding, treacherous road with additional traffic likely...
Freeport Halloween parade includes about 200 participants, hundreds more look on
A calm and cool Wednesday night brought out a couple hundred ghouls, ghosts, hippies and high schoolers for the annual Freeport Halloween parade. The event is organized every year by the borough’s volunteer fire department. About 200 people marched in the parade led by Freeport and South Buffalo Township fire...
Police file charges in 2020 Penn Hills killing
Allegheny County police have charged a Pittsburgh teen with homicide and other crimes for the December 2020 killing of a Churchill teen. Jafar Brooks, 16, was pronounced dead Dec. 15 at the scene of the Leechburg Garden Apartments along the 1900 lock of Garden Drive in Penn Hills on Dec....
Faces of the Valley: Nancy Hagins takes on multitude of duties as Freeport librarian
Nancy Hagins does just about everything but write the books at the Freeport Area Library. The head librarian for the past decade prepares financial reports in the mornings, ensures programs are on schedule for the afternoons and evenings, maintains the Dewey Decimal Classification System and prices items in its flea...
Safety, growth on the minds of Leechburg council candidates
Three incumbents and two newcomers are vying for four four-year seats on Leechburg Council. They are: incumbent Democrats Chuck Pascal and Alan Tarr, incumbent Republican Lorrie Bazella, and Republican newcomer candidate John Mrvan. Newcomer Dustin Waldenville made it on both the Democrat and Republican tickets. Improving community and police department...
Ross police seek help identifying man they say robbed a Chick-Fil-A
Ross police are searching for a man who they said robbed a Chick-Fil-A on Thursday afternoon. Police said the crime occurred around 2:30 p.m. at the restaurant along McKnight Road. A black man believed to be in his late teens or early 20s approached the drive-through area and demanded cash...
South Buffalo officials seek IUP building as new municipal center
The Indiana University of Pennsylvania branch campus in the Northpointe Industrial Park might become the next South Buffalo Township Municipal Building. That’s if the university accepts the township’s bid of $400,000. Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s branch campus at Northpointe sits on nearly 5.5 acres of land. Its lone building includes...
Late Freeport youth baseball coach Greg Wells to be celebrated with fall festival Sunday
Friends, family and former players of a late Freeport Area Youth Baseball coach plan to gather for a special event Sunday in Freeport. The inaugural Greg Wells Memorial Fall Festival is set for the baseball fields in Freeport Community Park. Wells, a Harrison native and Buffalo Township resident, was a...
Leechburg officials approve new 2-year deal with Hoffman Kennels for animal control
Leechburg Council approved a new two-year contract with Delmont-based Hoffman Kennels for animal control services. The vote was 4-0-1 Tuesday night, with Councilman Chuck Pascal abstaining. Councilwomen Ruth Bender and Megan Goedicke were absent. Pascal said he was uncomfortable voting for the contract because Hoffman occasionally euthanizes dogs, but he...
New officer added to South Buffalo Township police force, department wages increased
South Buffalo Township officials have added a familiar face to their police department and raised hourly pay for public safety. Christopher Kovacs, 33, of Penn Township was unanimously hired as a full-time patrolman Monday night. He was selected out of a dozen candidates and four finalists. Supervisor Paul Bergad administered...
Leechburg Area students learn the benefits of slow cooking via church outreach program
Some Leechburg Area School District students are learning how good things come to those who wait as part of a slow cooker class at the First United Methodist Church. The slow cooker cooking program at the church, about a block away from the middle/senior high school, is in its second...
Freeport Area students learn how local government works via Buffalo Township supervisors meeting
The future of Allegheny-Kiski Valley politics might be sitting in a Freeport Area High School classroom. Teacher Mark Wyant is hopeful that’s the case as seniors in his honors government class explore how the democratic process works throughout the school year. “Maybe in national politics we’ve hit a political inertia,...
Crash along Route 56 in Lower Burrell injures 3
Three people were hospitalized with minor injuries in a two-car crash in Lower Burrell late Tuesday afternoon. The crash occurred near Hillcrest Volkswagen, by the intersection of Route 56 and Claremont Drive, shortly before 4:30 p.m. Lower Burrell No. 3 Fire Chief Mark Marmo said a Tesla sedan and a...
Jefferson Hills Mayor Cmar challenged by McCaffrey in November election
Jefferson Hills residents will choose between a Democrat incumbent and a Republican challenger as their next mayor in the November election, according to the Allegheny County Office of Elections’ unofficial candidate list. Here are the nominees and their responses to the election questions posed by South Hills Record. Jan Cmar...
Jefferson Hills council race has 8 candidates seeking 4 seats
Jefferson Hills council will have at least one new member on council after the November election as incumbent Francis Sockman declined to seek reelection. There are four candidates for both the Democrat and Republican parties seeking four 4-year seats on the Nov. 2 ballot, according to the Allegheny County Office...
Hacker who sold UPMC employee data on the dark web sentenced to prison
A Michigan man was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison for hacking into UPMC databases and stealing data of more than 65,000 employees and selling it on the dark web in 2014. U.S. District Chief Judge Mark Hornak imposed the maximum sentences against Justin Sean Johnson, 30, for the...
