Local category, Page 2614
Carnegie sewage rates affected by ALCOSAN increase
Carnegie residents will see a hike in sewage rates in 2020 due to an increase in Alcosan rates. Borough leaders, however, agreed to a small reduction in the municipality’s charges to help ease the burden on residents. Council members in January approved the change in rates. Alcosan rates went from...
Carnegie Carnegie Corner: The flavor of Mardi Gras in our own backyard
For many, Mardi Gras season is a time to get a little wild, enjoy some of life’s indulgences and revel in the music, parades and excitement of New Orleans. If you haven’t booked your flight yet, don’t worry. The Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall is bringing a bit...
Public hearing in February set to discuss the Saturday open to deer season
Hunters across Southwestern Pennsylvania will have a chance this month to let state officials know how they feel about having rifle deer season open on a Saturday. The House Game and Fisheries Committee announced a public hearing is planned Feb. 20 in Speers, Washington County. The meeting will be from...
Peebles in Allegheny Township to take on sister store name Gordmans
Gordmans, a discount department store, will soon replace its sister brand, Peebles, in Hyde Park Plaza, Allegheny Township. Both stores’ owner, Stage Stores, headquartered in Houston, Texas, announced the grand opening for Gordmans for 9 a.m. Feb. 18 at with gifts and other giveaways. Given the demise of big box...
New automatic CPR machines already saving lives at Vandergrift/Oklahoma EMS
New automatic CPR machines in use for about a month on Vandergrift/Oklahoma EMS ambulances have already helped paramedics and EMTs save lives. Vandergrift/Oklahoma Emergency Medical Services recently used a state grant to buy two CPR machines for their ambulances. The device, called LUCAS, is a mechanical chest-compression system. It fits...
She didn’t want to be a nurse. Now she’s director of a Frazer school that teaches nurses
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things they do. Lynne Rugh never thought nursing was for her. But a nudge from a friend’s mother led her to a rewarding career she has been working in for close to five...
Small vape shops scramble for survival as government, Big Tobacco put up ‘one hurdle after another’
Chris McGrath doesn’t plan to give up his dream of helping people quit cigarettes by vaping. But the Harrison vape shop owner is worried the mounting challenges confronting his industry, particularly its smallest players, could push his and hundreds of other small shops and manufacturers out of business. “Small businesses...
Chocolate-covered dreams at Speckled HenVideo
Chocolate lovers have a sweet destination in rural Clinton Township. Speckled Hen Chocolate Co. opened in 2013, specializing in unique gourmet hand-dipped chocolates, gift baskets, event favors, chocolate-themed classes and homemade fudge. Sarver native and owner Valerie Cannon, 45, often provided homemade chocolate-covered pretzels for her co-workers. She made the...
Franklin Regional fifth-graders explore a variety of career paths
When Olivia Hamilton of Murrysville was younger, she spent a lot of time with her father working on cars. “I knew I didn’t want to be a mechanic, but I remember thinking that welding sounded pretty cool,” she said. She may not have had that career path chosen by fifth...
Natrona fire leaves 6 people homeless
Four adults and two children escaped a fire Sunday night in Harrison’s Natrona section despite a lack of working smoke detectors in the duplex that burned, according to Hilltop Hose Fire Chief Krzeminski. “This could have been a tragedy,” Krzeminski said. “If this had happened in the middle of the...
Déjà vu, again: Bill Murray is back for ‘Groundhog Day’ Jeep commercialVideo
Just like the premise of the movie “Groundhog Day,” its star Bill Murray, and others are back again — but this time riding in the new Jeep Gladiator as the getaway vehicle. The 60-second commercial debuted on television Sunday during Super Bowl LIV. For some, the biggest football game of...
Duquesne Light customers get power back Sunday night
Duquesne Light reported that all of the customers who lost power in several Pittsburgh neighborhoods Sunday evening had it restored by 9:30 p.m. As of 9 p.m. Sunday, Duquesne Light was reporting less than 500 customers were still without power after having more than 2,000 customers across parts of Allegheny...
Route 65 in Avalon reopens after water main break caused 7-hour lane restriction
A water main break shut down a portion of Route 65 in Avalon for about seven hours, Allegheny County officials said. The incident was reported at 2:15 p.m. between South Ohio Street and Fisk Avenue, according to an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher. PennDOT Community Relations Coordinator Joel Morris reported at...
Lower Burrell celebrates wrestling team’s 14th straight WPIAL titleVideo
It’s become an annual mid-winter rite in Lower Burrell. Fire trucks with blaring sirens escort the Burrell wrestling team on Leechburg Road to the high school, marking the latest Bucs WPIAL team wrestling title. That was the scene late Saturday afternoon at the corner of Wildlife Lodge and Leechburg roads....
Route 711 in Ligonier reopens after crash Sunday morning
Part of Route 711 in Ligonier Township was closed due to a multi-vehicle crash, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. There were four or five vehicles involved in the crash. No injuries were reported. Route 711 was closed in both directions between Two-Mile Run and Slater Road....
Police investigating after 4-month-old boy shot in Indiana County
State police are investigating after a 4-month-old boy was shot at an Indiana County apartment. According to police, officers responded to College Lodge Road in White Township for reports of a shooting shortly before 6:20 p.m. Saturday. When they arrived on scene, they found the child had suffered a gunshot...
Punxsutawney Phil predicts early spring for 2nd consecutive yearVideo
Pennsylvania’s beloved and world-famous Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring Sunday morning after he did not see his shadow. Phil has only made such a prediction 20 times in the 134-year history of Groundhog Day, according to state officials. This year marks the first time he has envisioned an early...
Police arrest man accused of robbing Hempfield Walmart
State police have arrested a man who they accuse of robbing the Hempfield Walmart last week. Christopher John Hilty, 31, of Greensburg was arrested Saturday and charged with robbery and other offenses. He is being held at the Westmoreland County jail. Police said Hilty entered the Walmart at Greengate Circle...
Lutheran pastor from Stahlstown leans on 37 years in pulpit for new bookVideo
In 1975, Jerry Nuernberger was a 17-year-old high school senior in Illinois who had dreams of becoming a high-powered corporate lawyer and enjoying the fame and wealth he imagined came along with it. He had the grades. He was valedictorian of his senior class. School counselors and community leaders urged...
The Stroller, Feb. 2, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
River City Brass Band to perform in Allegheny Township The River City Brass Band will play a concert, “Sounds of the 60s” to benefit the Kiski Area Education Foundation at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 in the high school auditorium, 240 Hyde Park Road, Allegheny Township. Tickets are $25. For tickets...
Crashes, slick roads reported as region gets inch of snow
Almost an inch of snow fell across the Pittsburgh region overnight into Sunday morning, causing some slick road conditions, according to the National Weather Service. “It was expected,” said NWS meteorologist Myranda Fullerton. “We anticipated snow basically last evening through the overnight hours. We had more snowfall north of Interstate...
After 4 years, Wilkinsburg mass shooting case comes down to 3-week trialVideo
There were 49 shots, then screams, then sirens. The sounds cut through the unseasonably warm night in March 2016, where in a backyard in Wilkinsburg family and friends gathered to take advantage of the weather. Brittany Powell was living in the home at 1304 Franklin Ave., where a modest backyard...
Westmoreland municipalities banding together before census
A little less than a year after the Westmoreland County Complete Count Committee was founded, officials are gearing up efforts to help municipalities prepare for the upcoming census. “It’s federal funding; it’s state funding; it’s representation in Congress. The census number plays into all of that and we want Westmoreland...
Pittsburgh’s Schenley Park Skating Rink reopens after major overhaulVideo
A steady, cold rain Friday night didn’t stop Ben Pinkston from taking the ice at the Schenley Park Skating Rink. He had waited 10 months for it to re-open. The rink, which is celebrating 45 years, had been closed since March for an overhaul. It needed to be repaired because...
State police: Drunken Leechburg woman hit man with car in Vandergrift
State police say an intoxicated Leechburg woman hit a man with her car in Vandergrift last Monday. State police responded to a call at a Leechburg address where it was reported that a man was hit by a car, reportedly driven by a woman who was threatening to “slit her...
