Local category, Page 2209
Freeport Area School District announces remote instruction after covid-19 spike
Freeport Area School District has moved middle and high school students to online-only learning this week after a spike in covid-19 cases, both in the district and Armstrong County. Freeport Area said it has 116 students in quarantine, including 103 from the middle school and high school, according to information...
Indiana jail guard, inmate indicted on cell phone smuggling charges
A corrections officer and inmate at the Indiana County Jail have been indicted in connection with what federal prosecutors described as a scheme to smuggle cell phones into the lockup. The indictments against Alex Lewis, 25, formerly of Home, and Rashon Richardson, 30, were unsealed Monday. A grand jury found...
Wreck slowing traffic along westbound Pa. Turnpike near New Stanton
Traffic is snarled along the westbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Donegal and New Stanton because of an crash. According to PennDOT, the the right lane in the westbound direction is closed near mile marker 85 along Interstate 76. The wreck occurred at around 7 a.m. There were no...
Wexford pastor appointed as next bishop of Youngstown
Pope Francis has named the pastor of a church in Wexford as the next bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown. The Rev. David J. Bonnar, 58, who serves as pastor of St. Aidan Parish, will be installed as the sixth bishop of Youngstown during an episcopal ordination Jan. 12...
Police log: Monroeville police charges filed Nov. 1, 3
Monroeville police filed the following charges Nov. 1 and Nov. 3 with District Judge Jeffrey L. Herbst. Charges were filed by Monroeville police: • Monica Jean Simpson-Jeannet, 56, of Beaver Falls with failing to comply with traffic control devices, reckless driving, causing an accident that involved damage to an attended...
Snow showers could make driving dicey north of Pittsburgh
Motorists traveling through the region north of Pittsburgh Tuesday morning are likely to encounter scattered rain and snow showers that could intensify and limit visibility in some areas, according to the National Weather Service. The rain showers are expected to change to snow at around daybreak and continue through much...
The Stroller, Nov. 17, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your church or organization going to host a community holiday event? Send information to The Stroller as soon as possible to vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Christmas shop open at Freeport Area Library Freeport Area Library is hosting a Christmas shop during regular operating hours at the...
Gill Hall VFC’s still undecided in Jefferson Hills
After a marathon Jefferson Hills council meeting Monday night, the issue of Gill Hall Volunteer Fire Co. still isn’t decided. After much debate, questions about who has the authority to reinstate the fire department and the departure of several council members, officials deadlocked 2-2 on whether to fully reinstate the...
Norwin studies changing elementary school attendance areas
Norwin may change the enrollment areas of its four elementary schools to prevent overcrowding, particularly at Hahntown. Superintendent Jeff Taylor told the school board Monday he expects that a redistricting committee of 20 people will make recommendations next month on redrawing the boundaries for the elementary schools. The proposal —...
Sewickley garden club proposes making Wolcott Park smoke-free
A Sewickley garden club that has been active since 1960 is trying to get Wolcott Park to be smoke-free. Linda Pell, chairwoman of Trowell & Error Garden Club, addressed council Nov. 10 with the idea, which involves utilizing the state Department of Health’s Young Lungs at Play program. It’s designed...
Plum students who attended a parent-sponsored homecoming party Saturday should not come to school
Plum School District officials are asking students who participated in a non-district homecoming dance to stay home from school Tuesday after it was learned one of the students at the dance tested positive for coronavirus. A high school student with the virus attended a Class of 2021 Senior Parent Committee’s...
Fox Chapel votes to remove Squaw name from borough streets, trail
Fox Chapel council voted to eliminate the word Squaw from two borough roads and a trail, bringing an end to a divisive months-long debate and following a national trend to remove the slur from place names. Council voted 6-0, with member Jay Troutman abstaining, to change the name of Squaw...
2 Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh schools temporarily closing
Two Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh schools are temporarily closing as coronavirus cases continue to spike across the state. Northside Catholic Assumption Academy, located in Brighton Heights, will close for one day after a person associated with the school tested positive for covid-19, officials said. According to Rosanne Kwiatkowski, Northside Catholic...
Coronavirus numbers tallied for Penn-Trafford area
Recent state data shows there have been 475 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Penn-Trafford area since the start of the international pandemic in March, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The health department on Monday released data on confirmed cases of the virus in the five Penn-Trafford area...
Coronavirus cases jump almost 22% in Norwin area
The number of coronavirus cases in the North Huntingdon, Irwin and North Irwin area rose almost 22% from Nov. 9 to 16, mirroring the rise in Westmoreland County cases that has pushed the county to being categorized as being in a “substantial” level for the spread of the virus, according...
Coronavirus numbers tallied for Murrysville-Export-Delmont area
The most recent state data shows 317 people in the Murrysville area have had confirmed cases of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic in March, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The area registered an additional 50 confirmed cases in the past seven days’ worth of reported test...
Pittsburgh man charged with illegally selling endangered, invasive fish
A Pittsburgh man faces federal criminal charges of selling endangered Asian fish, as well as invasive snakehead fish. Anthony Nguyen, 48, who investigators say also is known as JoJo Nguyen and Jackie Lee, faces charges of interstate trafficking in illegally possessed or transported fish and creating a false record filed...
Penn State students leave campus on Friday; some decline free coronavirus tests
Penn State University will close all of its schools to in-person instruction after Friday, and students at its Upper Burrell campus are rolling with those changes. Penn State has been offering in-person and virtual classes since the beginning of the fall semester. However, the rising number of coronavirus cases caused...
Allegheny County Sheriff postpones firearm-carry license application event, halts walk-in applications
An application event for licenses to carry firearms scheduled for Saturday in Ohio Township has been postponed, and the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office is ceasing walk-in applications as well, officials said Monday. The changes are the result of spiking covid-19 cases in the county, said Chief Deputy Kevin Kraus. The...
Police: Arnold man assaulted unborn child by punching pregnant woman in stomach
An Arnold man is accused of assaulting an unborn child this month. Arnold police said in a criminal complaint that Aaron Michael McFadden, 28, knew a woman was five months’ pregnant with his child when he punched her three times in the stomach Nov. 3. Police said McFadden went to...
Edinboro University president announces departure amid merger study
Just 16 months after assuming office, Guiyou Huang, president of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, announced Monday that he is leaving in January to become president of Western Illinois University. Huang’s departure comes as officials at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education work on the second phase of a study...
Arnold man appeals 20-year prison sentence connected to drug overdose death
An Arnold man claims his 20-year prison sentence for the sale of drugs connected to the 2014 fatal overdose of a Lower Burrell woman is excessive. In an appeal filed Monday, the lawyer for Demetrius Houser claims prosecutors agreed to more disproportionate and lenient sentences against two co-defendants who served...
Pittsburgh Opera holding ‘online Holiday Bazaar’ in lieu of in-person gala
The Pittsburgh Opera was hoping to have one of its festive in-person fundraising galas this fall, but coronavirus made it impossible. However, the Opera still needed to come up with a way to raise money to support its acclaimed Resident Artists program. So, next month, it will hold what it’s...
Highmark CEO pay climbs to $8.15M, triple what he made in 2016
Highmark Health CEO David Holmberg’s total compensation last year was $8.15 million — more than triple what the nonprofit health system executive made four years ago, newly filed Internal Revenue Service records show. Holmberg’s salary and related compensation increased by about $660,000 in 2019, marking an 8.8% pay hike from...
Downtown Pittsburgh tree-lighting goes virtual
A virtual tree-lighting ceremony will take the place of Pittsburgh’s Light Up Night on Friday, as officials hope to bring cheer to holiday season that will look much different than ever before. “Until we can gather again, we’re all adapting to this new medium,” Mayor Bill Peduto said. The city’s...
