Western PA Local News category, Page 1295
Pittsburgh Police searching for teen missing from North Side
Pittsburgh Police seek the public’s help locating a missing teen. Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews said Antonio Toliver, 13, was last seen Monday in the city’s central North Side neighborhood wearing a khaki pants, navy shirt, black hoodie and white shoes. He was described as 5 feet 3 inches tall,...
State police say Indiana County man was kidnapped, killed
State police are investigating after they say a 19-year-old man was kidnapped and killed in Indiana County. Hayden Robert Garreffa was first reported missing from his East Wheatfield Township home on Thursday. Police found Garreffa’s body early Saturday morning in a remote, wooded area of Brush Valley Township. Indiana County...
Lazarus Tomb founder Rosetta Lecocq hurt in crash heading home from reunion gathering
A founder of a Christian coffeehouse in Arnold was hurt in a crash on her way home from a gathering for its 50th anniversary Friday. Rosetta Lecocq, 85, remained at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh on Monday, where she was taken by ambulance after being in a one-vehicle crash on...
Two men on trial in federal court for poisoning dozens of birds
When state Game Commission Officer Byron Gibbs found 25 dead birds near wetlands on a Lawrence County farm in the summer of 2020, he immediately suspected they had been poisoned. Along a trail of yellow corn about 100 yards long, there were 17 Canadian geese — including at least two...
Mon Valley air quality prompts another pollution warning
Unfavorable weather conditions led the Allegheny County Health Department to extend a weekend warning about Mon Valley air quality through at least Tuesday morning. On Monday morning, the Mon Valley “experienced one of the strongest weather inversions in some time,” the health department said in a countywide email alert. A...
Longwood residents participate in planning, planting meadow at Plum retirement community
Nearly 30 residents of Longwood at Oakmont participated in creating a meadow on the grounds of the independent living community in Plum on Friday. The residents tilled soil, spread hay and planted wildflower seeds. The 5,000-square-foot meadow will provide wildlife habitat, improve water filtration, increase visual beauty and attract pollinators....
Lower Burrell crossing guard recovering after being struck by car
A crossing guard is recovering after being hit by a car last week in front of Bon Air Elementary School in Lower Burrell. The crossing guard, Bill Thomey, a member of Lower Burrell police’s auxiliary service, was directing traffic shortly after 8 a.m. Oct. 20 in a painted crosswalk in...
Police: Turtle Creek motorist shoots another motorist
A Turtle Creek man was arrested after shooting a fellow motorist in the shoulder while driving, Allegheny County Police said Monday. Matthew Alfaro, 23, was charged with aggravated assault, carrying a firearm without a license, and recklessly endangering another person. He was taken to Allegheny County Jail for arraignment. Around...
North Park Lake in McCandless to be lowered for inspection of dam, wetland barriers
North Park Lake’s water level will be lowered by two feet to allow for an inspection of the dam and wetland barriers located on the upstream end of the lake, the Allegheny County Parks Department has announced. The county will release water from North Park Lake in McCandless using the...
First defendant sentenced for unlawful restraint of North Huntingdon teen
A Greene County man was sentenced to three and a half to seven years in a state prison Monday for his role in the kidnapping of a 17-year-old North Huntingdon resident last year. James K. Maskil, 28, of Graysville, pleaded guilty to unlawful restraint, criminal trespass and a weapons violation....
Arnold Oktoberfest continuing in memory of late fire Chief Keith Dziobak
Keith Dziobak was always interested in craft beer and had started brewing in the basement of his Arnold home. “It was a hobby he got into,” said his daughter, Tara Dziobak. “He liked going to different beer festivals, so he thought, ‘Why not bring the festival to us?’ ” His...
Allegheny Township man gets up to 73 years for multiple rapes
Three women who Eric A. Wright was convicted of sexually assaulting pleaded with Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio on Monday to hand down a harsh sentence, saying they feared he would continue racking up more victims if freed. “The man probably should never see the light of day again,” one said in...
Pa. National Guard soldier from New Castle killed at Fort Indiantown Gap
A service member killed in a Fort Indiantown Gap training accident that injured three others has been publicly identified. Spc. Mackenzie L. Shay, 20 of New Castle, was killed Saturday in an accident that involved multiple service vehicles, according to the Pennsylvania National Guard. The New Castle News reported that...
Gateway School District works to combat bus driver shortage
On Oct. 18, Gateway School Board members addressed the district’s bus driver shortage after a resident asked for an update on the situation. The Moss Side Middle School parent claimed that the bus had been late to pick up her child and caused the student to be late to school....
Pumpkin chunkin,’ spooky screening set for Halloween event at Greensburg Salem High
The Greensburg Salem Mini-THON committee is hoping to scare up funds for the battle against pediatric cancer at a Halloween-themed event Wednesday on the high school grounds at 65 Mennel Drive, Greensburg. Admission is free for activities that begin at 5:30 p.m., but donations will be accepted. One of the...
The Waterworks Walmart set to close in November
The Walmart in The Waterworks shopping center will close its doors in early November, before Black Friday and the official holiday shopping rush, company officials confirmed. Felicia McCranie, Walmart communications director for the North and East United States, cited underperforming sales at the store. It is scheduled to close by...
Penn-Trafford junior wins scholarship for work in combating food insecurity
Ever since she was a young child, Kari Ann Leventopoulos has wanted to help feed the hungry. “She always enjoyed picking out and carrying the food to put in the box at church at St. Regis,” her mother Becky Leventopoulos said. “It was kind of her thing.” The interest grew...
Saint tour expands to 2 days in 2nd year at Hempfield monastery
A Lantern Saint Tour is returning for a second year at St. Emma Monastery in Hempfield, expanding from one to two days, with about a dozen lives of saints to explore. The event, which benefits the Benedictine nuns at the monastery, is set for 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 28...
North Park’s Lake Shore Drive in McCandless to close starting Oct. 31
Lake Shore Drive within North Park in McCandless will be closed to vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic starting at 6 a.m. Monday, Oct. 31 for slope stabilization work, the county Parks Department announced Oct. 24. The closure is expected to end in December. Park visitors will not be able to...
Periodic single-lane closures to start Oct. 31 on River Road in Harrison
The Allegheny County Department of Public Works announced Monday that periodic single-lane closures will begin at 6 a.m. Oct. 31 on River Road in Harrison. The restrictions, which are expected to end in November, will take place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays between Mile Lock Lane and Federal...
Murrysville officials want resident feedback on proceeding with amphitheater project
Murrysville officials will take a second survey of residents as they consider whether to proceed with an amphitheater project at Murrysville Community Park. “We’re at a very different place now than we were during the original survey,” Councilwoman Jamie Lee Korns said at last week’s council meeting. A pre-pandemic plan...
Harrison Commissioners eye reinstating agenda meetings
Harrison commissioners are considering bringing back agenda meetings to have a forum where they can hash out ideas and issues before regular business meetings. Municipalities typically use the sessions to have informal discussions and iron out concerns. In the past, agenda sessions were scheduled the Thursday before the regular Monday...
North Huntingdon to join regional SWAT team
North Huntingdon police officers will join a Westmoreland Special Weapons and Tactics team the police chief said will afford his officers a higher level of training while spreading the cost of operating such a tactical unit, with its ammunition, special equipment and armored vehicles, among eight other municipalities. “It’s an...
AHN Wexford Hospital in Pine adds cardiothoracic surgery program
Allegheny Health Network is expanding the services offered at its Wexford Hospital in Pine with the addition of a thoracic surgery program. The clinical director for the program is cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Hiran C. Fernando, who also serves as a professor of surgery at the Drexel University College of Medicine...
Pittsburgh, national gas prices continue seasonal decline
Average gas prices have come down for a second straight week, and many regions could see declines again this week, as a drop in demand is normally seen in the fall, an industry analyst said Monday. In the Pittsburgh area, average prices fell 3.5 cents per gallon in the past...
