Michael DiVittorio stories, Page 87
Freeport and Verizon officials working to address cellular service issues in borough
Freeport officials are working with Verizon to address possible problems making cellphone calls. Borough fire marshal Michael Greiser said late Tuesday that cell service is “unreliable” in parts of the borough, especially for Verizon Wireless customers or those with a carrier that connects to their towers. Greiser said the company...
Bethel Park School District officials hire new technology director, promote 2 other administrators
Bethel Park School District officials recently hired a new administrator and promoted two others from within the district. Bret Slezak was named the new director of technology. David Muench was named the new director of student support services and district assistant director of special education Sarah Shue was moved up...
Man hospitalized after crashing truck along Route 909 in Plum
A man was hospitalized after being injured in a crash Tuesday afternoon in Plum. Allegheny County dispatchers said the one-vehicle crash occurred along the 300 block of Route 909 around 2:45 p.m. Witnesses said a white truck was traveling toward Somma Pizza Restaurant and Sports Bar when it went off...
Vandergrift officials peck away at residential chicken ordinance
Vandergrift officials want a little more time to address regulations for backyard chickens. Discussions began about three months ago, when a three-person committee was formed in response to residents wanting to raise chickens. A draft ordinance that would establish a permitting process, regulations on coups and possible punishments for violations...
Leechburg area teens learn firefighter basics through new pilot program
George Tuttle wants to save lives and follow in his father’s firefighter footsteps. “Any time I can have a chance to help somebody, I’ll always help them,” he said. “There’s a lot more people that you can help with being a firefighter. It’s not anything to do with crime or...
Vandergrift emergency responders earn state honors for saving boy from house fire
A 12-year-old Vandergrift boy is alive thanks to the quick work of borough first responders. Lifesavers included firefighters Eric Sorrels and John Uskuraitis, police officers Nathan Rigatti, Jerrod Thompson and Sgt. Anthony DePanicis. They all received the Valor Award from the Firemen’s Association of the State of Pennsylvania at Monday...
Street party in New Kensington’s Mount Vernon neighborhood helps neighbors get to know each other
Zach Heidenreich recalled running through neighbors’ yards, knocking and ringing doorbells quickly before taking off down Greenridge Road in New Kensington’s Mount Vernon neighborhood. He and his friends would play football on the street and use telephone poles as end zones. That was in the late 1990s and early 2000s....
Quaker Valley High School to be closed Tuesday after bed bugs discovered
Quaker Valley High School will be closed Tuesday due to bed bugs, school district officials announced Monday night. A staff member discovered the bugs on a student’s clothing, according to a post on the district’s website. “Out of an abundance of caution, an extermination company will treat the high school...
Kody, Steller’s sea eagle that escaped National Aviary, found in Pine
Kody, the Steller’s sea eagle that escaped from an outdoor enclosure last month, has been found. National Aviary spokesperson Molly Toth said the bird was located by a team of animal care experts Sunday afternoon at a home in Pine. Kody, short for Kodiak, got out of his habitat Sept....
Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival brings magic, merriment to South HuntingdonVideo
For about six weeks a year, Leechburg dentist Dr. Annette Merlino puts down her tools and picks up an English accent to peddle wares at the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival. “It’s so much fun,” she said while standing Sunday afternoon near the center of Morelandshire in South Huntingdon. “It’s like a family...
Freeport Area sophomore Anne Lindsay runs story time, other library programs
With about a dozen children and parents gathered round in a semi-circle, Anne Lindsay greets them all with a few strums on her ukulele and a welcoming song. Some sing along, while a few youths decide which is more comfortable, a couch or the floor, and then another tune about...
Crash closed portion of Route 908 in Fawn, knocks down utility pole
A section of Route 908 in Fawn that was blocked off Wednesday night when a car went off the road and sheared off a utility pole has been reopened, according to an Allegheny County 911 supervisor. The crash occurred around 8:10 p.m. along the 400 block of Route 908, according...
Verona’s community garden formed, seeds to be plantedVideo
A community garden project several years in the making has taken root in Verona. More than 50 volunteers spent their afternoons Sept. 25 and 26 building wooden beds, shoveling dirt, moving stones and laying hay on a vacant lot along West Railroad Avenue in the lower section of the borough....
Police: Teen missing from Pittsburgh’s North Side
Pittsburgh police detectives are seeking the public’s help in locating a missing girl. Siobhan Barnett, 17, was last seen on the morning of Friday, Sept. 24. A Public Safety spokesman said the girl is 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs about 140 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes....
Gateway School Board member resigns; separate maskless section created for meeting
Gateway school board member the Rev. Scott Gallagher has resigned from his elected post to spend more time on his congregation. Gallagher, 49, has served as the pastor of Garden City United Methodist Church for more than 20 years. He was in the second year of his first four-year term...
Gateway School Board postpones equity director hiring until after November election
A controversial administrative position at Gateway School District will remain unfilled until at least after the upcoming November election. Board members voted 5-3 at their Sept. 27 meeting to adopt a resolution solidifying the hiring postponement. Those in favor of the delay were president Brian Goppman, John Ritter, Mary Beth...
Freeport’s September by the River festival a welcomed return for residents, visitors
Damani Clemons took the title of a Freeport community celebration to the next level earlier this month as he swam about near the Allegheny River bank. The Vandergrift boy was accompanied by his grandmother, Rosa Clemons, and her 5-year-old Chihuahua, Diva. Clemons recently had moved to Freeport from Tarentum. When...
17-year-old critical after Penn Hills shooting; police release image of suspect
Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a male suspect in the Monday afternoon shooting of a 17-year-old boy in Penn Hills. According to authorities, the boy was shot multiple times near the gas pump of a BP station. Penn Hills Police Chief Howard Burton said the shooting took...
South Buffalo firefighters to host 2nd annual Trunk-or-Treat
South Buffalo firefighters plan to bring back a Halloween event designed to keep children off the streets and still go home with bags full of sweets. The second annual Trunk-or-Treat at 100 Fire Hall Road is schedule for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 30, the same time as the...
Bethel Park brings back Community Day after last year’s pandemic hiatus
Music and merriment will once again fill the Bethel Park High School campus as the borough hosts its annual Community Day following a pandemic hiatus. The event kicks off Saturday at 9 a.m. with a parade starting at the borough building, 5100 W. Library Ave., and heads down to Highland...
Strongman competition in Frazer pits amateur athletes from across the nation against local talentVideo
Some of the nation’s strongest amateur athletes made the trek to a Frazer fitness center this month to compete for honor and glory. Steel City’s Strongest, a United States Strongman sanctioned contest at the Legends of Pittsburgh Fitness and Performance Center in the Pittsburgh Mills mall, featured 65 athletes including...
Quaker Valley School District officials: No critical race theory is taught in QV schools
Critical race theory is not part of the Quaker Valley curriculum and is not being taught in its schools, district officials said on Sept. 21. Assistant Superintendent Andrew Surloff said it’s a college and law school level topic and is not something he has found being taught at the K-12...
Quaker Valley School District officials bring back consultant for more proposed high school work
Quaker Valley School District officials have rehired a consultant to help with more community engagement with the proposed high school project. The board approved a $13,500 agreement with BrainSpaces Inc. on Tuesday night. Consultants will work with architects and the public in brainstorming sessions and related efforts starting immediately to...
Idle Jefferson Hills fire company gets new life through ambulance company partnership
A budding ambulance company established its first official station via a partnership with an idle Jefferson Hills fire company. Pittsburgh Safety Consultants was founded about two years ago in McDonald. It would serve as a medical standby for events such as high school football games, swim meets, big fairs and...
Police: Man charged in Beltzhoover murder arrested
A man wanted in connection with a murder in Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover neighborhood was taken into custody, Public Safety officials announced Monday. Raymontay Green, 20, of Arlington was arrested Saturday, according to court documents. He is charged in the killing of Darren Green, 29, of Sheraden. The victim was shot to...
