Western PA Local News category, Page 1702
The Stroller, Jan. 4, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Start the new year off right! Publicize your events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Community blood drive planned in Gilpin A Red Cross community blood drive will be from noon...
Holy Family continues Christmas meal tradition
Holy Family Catholic Parish, located in Oakmont, Plum, and Verona, has a tradition of sharing a meal on Christmas morning with those who may be alone during the holiday. The parish was still able to share the gifts of the season with 233 people, even though covid caused a change...
District Association’s Follies raises money for projects from Harmar to Aspinwall and beyond
Fresh off the success of the Follies fundraiser, filled with jokes and jabs, the District Association of the Fox Chapel Area is eyeing ways it can use proceeds from the event to enhance life across the Lower Valley. The Follies, a light-hearted, self-deprecating musical, raised more than $85,000. “For a...
Staffing shortages prompt Pittsburgh Public Schools to move to remote instruction
Pittsburgh Public Schools will be moving to remote instruction at 17 of its schools because of covid-related staffing shortages, the district announced Monday. Eight school buildings will be closed Tuesday. They include: • Carrick High School • Greenfield PreK-8 • Liberty PreK-5 • South Hills 6-8 • Whittier PreK-5 •...
Johnstown shooting death of teen ruled a homicide
EBENSBURG — The death of a woman whose body was found New Year’s Day in a car in the Hornerstown section of Johnstown has been ruled a homicide. Jaydin Sanderson, 19, of the Ferndale area, died of a gunshot wound to the head, Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees said Monday...
State police: New Year holiday crashes up, citations down from 2019-2020
Crashes and related injuries and deaths in Pennsylvania were up this New Year’s holiday weekend compared with the same three-day period in 2019-20, before the pandemic had an impact on travel, according to state police. The number of arrests across the state for driving under the influence stayed nearly the...
New Kensington man to serve 5-10 year prison term for meth lab in parents’ basement
A New Kensington man will serve up to 10 years in prison in connection with a methamphetamine laboratory found in his parents’ basement. Sean Christopher Smith, 36, was convicted in October by a Westmoreland County jury of multiple charges of possession of drugs used to make methamphetamines and two additional...
Allegheny County Medical Examiner rules Jim Rogers’ death was accidental
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Monday that a homeless man who died a day after being tased repeatedly by Pittsburgh police died as a result of a lack of oxygen to his brain. Medical Examiner Karl Williams’ office said the manner of death is accidental. Jim Rogers was...
Leechburg schools placed on lockdown after threat made on social media
All Leechburg Area School District buildings were placed on lockdown for a portion of the day Monday after school officials learned about a threat that was made on social media, according to the superintendent. Superintendent Tiffany Nix notified parents about the lockdown in a voicemail. “We are in a lockdown...
Increased salaries set for new Westmoreland DA office heads
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli won her first case Monday. Ziccarelli’s victory came not in the courtroom but in the boardroom as the county’s salary board unanimously backed her plan to increase the pay for a newly appointed first assistant and chief detective. The annual salary for First Assistant...
Connellsville man sentenced to 40 years in prison for rape of child
A Connellsville man was ordered Monday to serve up to 40 years in prison for the rape of a child that a Westmoreland County judge described as “one of the worst cases of a sexual nature that I’ve seen.” Shawn Tracy Melville, 44, pleaded guilty in October to eight offenses...
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey promises to unite city in inaugural addressVideo
Pittsburgh’s new mayor, Ed Gainey, reiterated his campaign promise of making Pittsburgh a city for all during his inauguration Monday. Formerly a state representative, Gainey — who campaigned on promises to reimagine the police, create more affordable housing and unite a divided city — was sworn in as Pittsburgh’s 61st...
Fox Chapel Area schools break fundraising record for charity
The Fox Chapel Area School District has set an all-time annual fundraising record for a local charity. Students helped raise more than $107,000 during a monthlong districtwide campaign that culminated in a livestreamed telethon Dec. 23. Over the past 32 years, the district has raised more than $1 million for...
Hempfield home destroyed in blaze; 2 firefighters hurt
A Hempfield home was destroyed in a fire Sunday night and two firefighters were hurt, according to Township Fire Chief Anthony Kovacic. The blaze was reported on Farmington Place just before 8 p.m. When firefighters got there, flames were shooting through the roof and attempts to get inside with a...
Police: Allegheny Township woman charged with felony for breaking into home after being evicted
A woman from Allegheny Township and her accomplice are charged with breaking into a house after she was evicted from the residence, police said. Vandergrift police charged Lauren Renee Decapite, 35, of Rebecca Avenue with one felony count of criminal trespass in connection with the Dec. 30 incident. She is...
Gateway school board appoints former member to fill vacancy
Scott Williams was appointed to a vacant seat on the Gateway School Board of Directors during a special meeting Dec. 22. The seat was left open after James Lomeo decided against joining after being elected Nov. 2. In a Nov. 29 letter, Lomeo informed the board he was recovering from...
Vandergrift woman accused of stabbing man with kitchen knives during argument
Kiski Township police charged a Vandergrift woman with felony aggravated assault because a man told them she stabbed him multiple times with kitchen knives during an argument last month, authorities say. Amy Lee Hepler, 38, of Longfellow Street also was charged with two misdemeanor counts of simple assault, as well...
Gas prices stabilize on rising oil prices, easing omicron fears
After a run of declines, gasoline prices are largely unchanged in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation, according to price tracking service GasBuddy. In Pittsburgh, prices are down less than 1 cent per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.51 on Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations....
Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show founder John DeSantis dies at age 69
John DeSantis gave the best advice. “Growing up, my friends would always ask my dad for advice and my sons always asked him for advice. They felt comfortable around him – and he gave great advice. They would talk to him in confidence and know he wouldn’t tell anyone what...
Pittsburgh council members sworn in, promise collaboration with new mayor
Pittsburgh City Council members Theresa Kail-Smith, R. Daniel Lavelle, Erika Strassburger and Anthony Coghill were sworn in Monday after winning reelection in November. Coghill handily defeated Green Party challenger Connor Mulvaney to earn his second term. Kail-Smith, Lavelle and Strassburger ran unopposed. Council members unanimously voted to elect Kail-Smith to...
NASA: Exploding meteor had same energy as 30 tons of TNT
NASA is weighing in on the New Year’s Day boom heard across the Pittsburgh region. Researchers confirmed an exploding meteor was the “likely culprit” and estimated the size of the object at about one-yard wide, with energy the equivalent of 30 tons of TNT, according to the NASA Meteor Watch...
Hampton Community Library sets January schedule
There’s a full slate of programing for January at the Hampton Community Library. Children’s programming mask policy: Tuesdays masks are required; Thursdays masks are optional. It’s a Wonderful World Drop-in Storytime. Tuesdays and Thursdays starting Jan. 11. 10 a.m. “Stories & Songs”; 10:15 a.m. “Investigate and Create”; 10:45 a.m. “Stories...
Community cooperation helps police identify suspect in Rostraver fatal New Year’s shooting
Holly B. Vadella of Rostraver spent New Year’s Eve at her mother’s house watching television before insisting not long after midnight that she needed to head home and take care of her cat, said township police Chief John Christner. “Her mom did try to convince her to stay,” Christner said....
Pittsburgh police seek man in connection with Downtown shooting
Pittsburgh police said they are seeking a man in connection with a Dec. 9 shooting in Downtown that left another man in critical condition, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Andre Douglas Davis, 34, of Pittsburgh, was charged Sunday with aggravated assault and gun charges in connection with the shooting...
Eastern area real estate transactions for the weeks of Dec. 19, Dec. 26, 2021
Week of Dec. 19 Chalfant Us Bank Na Trust sold property at 312 Elizabeth Ave. to VB One LLC for $108,500. Churchill George Franklin Jackson Jr. sold property at 14 Holland Road to Abdesalam Soudi and Anna Binney McCague for $550,000. Edgewood Cynthia Roemele sold property at 202 Lincoln Ave....
