Western PA Local News category, Page 2697
Natrona man puts his lifelong love of trains, hometown on display
Mike Stawinski was 8 years old when his father, Stanly, brought home a model train he found while working for Harrison in 1965. Stawinski, now 60, took his father’s find and built it into a lifelong hobby. A 6-by-12-foot HO-scale model train layout sits in his Natrona basement. The train...
Monroeville teen charged as an adult in Leslie Road shooting
A 16-year-old who police said shot an 18-year-old in Monroeville on Tuesday night has been charged as an adult. Rayshaun Jackson, 16, allegedly shot an 18-year-old man in the torso twice around 9:30 p.m. in front of a house along the 100 block of Leslie Road and then fled to...
North Huntingdon native Ashley Puckett prepares to release debut country albumVideo
Ashley Puckett of North Huntingdon was having fun taking guitar lessons and enjoying herself while performing at her high school, at the Norwin’s Got Talent show and eventually at local gigs with the band This Cowgirl Met a Punk. Puckett, 28, didn’t realize she was laying the groundwork for her...
Delmont councilman announces bid for 14th Congressional seat
A Delmont councilman announced his bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler in the 14th Congressional District. Bill Marx, 43, a Democrat, announced his decision to run during a Greater Westmoreland County Labor Council meeting this week, according to his Facebook page. He confirmed his intention to run for the...
TJ students learn to solve crimes through DNA testing
It was a case of “Who done it?” inside Nicole Cook’s ninth-grade biology class at Thomas Jefferson High School. A man named Edward had been murdered on his walk home from work on a late October night and it was up to students to find the killer using DNA testing....
Yukon area landfill owner to hold meeting on permit
The company that treats and stores hazardous waste in landfills is expected to update South Huntingdon residents Thursday on its plans to build another impoundment area. MAX Environmental Technologies Inc. of Greentree plans to hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Yukon Fire Hall, 124 Highway St.,...
The Stroller, Jan. 29, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Banners being sold to honor Harrison veterans The Harrison Township Honor Roll Restoration Committee is selling banners to honor township residents who served in the Armed Forces. Proceeds will help raise funds to restore the memorial. The double-sided banners will be printed by Gray Signs and measure 24 x 30-inches....
PennDOT sets open house for Route 981 improvements north of Mt. Pleasant
PennDOT officials hope to begin improving Route 981 north of Mt. Pleasant in spring 2021. A final design for the project’s first, southernmost section will be unveiled from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday during an open house in the Mt. Pleasant Area High School cafeteria, 271 State St. “We’ve pretty...
Unity zoning board grants variances for proposed Dollar General storeVideo
PennTex Ventures received local zoning variances for building a new Dollar General store in Unity, but plans for motorists to access the proposed discount outlet at eastbound Route 30 and Smith’s Hill Road must pass muster with PennDOT. The Unity Township Zoning Hearing Board this week voted 4-1 in favor...
U.S. Steel outlines ‘strategic’ upgrades to Mon Valley plants
Planning has started and permitting is underway for more than $1.2 billion worth of projects planned for U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works facilities in Braddock, Clairton and West Mifflin, Mon Valley Works General Manager Kurt Barshick said Tuesday. Barshick, along with U.S. Steel engineers and project managers, met with community...
Verona fires police officer accused of corruption of a minor
A Verona police officer accused of having child porn and corrupting a teenage boy has been fired. Council unanimously voted to terminate terminated the employment of part-time patrolman Anthony Ogline Tuesday night. He was suspended without pay Jan. 17 after borough officials were informed of an investigation involving Ogline, 34,...
Pittsburgh man accused of illegally selling booze at Homewood ‘speakeasy’
A Pittsburgh man is accused of running a “speakeasy” that sold liquor and beer without a license in the city’s Homewood neighborhood. Sean Reese, 34, is accused of owning and operating an illegal operation called “Club Secrets,” state police said Tuesday in a news release. Investigators filed the charges against...
Rivers Casino pays out in volunteer time to local nonprofit in AllentownVideo
When Kristee Cammack was thinking of a name for her nonprofit, her friend, Kim Young, suggested something that embodied Cammack. “A Giving Heart” was born. A Giving Heart is a nonprofit organization that provides after-school programming and nutritious meals to students in the Allentown section of Pittsburgh and surrounding Hilltop...
Social Security numbers exposed on Allegheny County website
Hundreds of Social Security numbers could be contained in unredacted documents housed on the Allegheny County Civil Courts public website. The Tribune-Review located federal tax lien documents filed each year from 1997 to 2010 that display unredacted tax identification numbers. In many cases, they are an individual’s Social Security number....
2 killed in Fayette County crash
Two people were killed in a head-on collision in Fayette County Tuesday afternoon, according to state police. John Snyder, 68, of Scottdale, and Tiler Guth, 24, of Vanderbilt, were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Officers responded to the incident shortly before 2:45 p.m. Tuesday along Route 201 in...
United Way offers free tax prep program to low-income families
United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania is working with local agencies to provide free, in-person tax preparation for low-to-moderate-income individuals and families in the region. The program ensures that low-income residents can maximize their refund, United Way said in a statement. Hundreds of people have volunteered to help prepare taxes this...
Valmar Gardens tenants worry about their future among fire, legal battle
A Penn Hills man who has lived in the same apartment building for more than a decade worries about its fate after a late-January fire displaced him and his daughter. Andre Mobley, 54, was getting home about 6 p.m. Jan. 27 when he heard a commotion from his neighbors at...
Westmoreland controller calls for bigger county tax increase
Westmoreland County Controller Jeffrey Balzer on Tuesday called on commissioners to approve an additional property tax increase to ensure there is enough money to pay the bills through the end of the year. Balzer made his plea for higher taxes as he and Commissioner Gina Cerilli traded barbs during a...
Rape charges dismissed against former Hempfield man
A former Hempfield man pleaded guilty Tuesday to lesser offenses after prosecutors agreed to dismiss rape charges in connection with an alleged sexual assault in October 2017. Harold M. Franks, 37, now of Washington Township, was charged after a bloodied and bruised woman appeared at a Greensburg police station, partially...
Residents ramp up calls for public transportation in A-K Valley communities
Alle-Kiski Valley communities are lobbying the Allegheny County Port Authority to extend a bus route that would connect residents to local shopping and business hubs. Led by the community group Building Block of Natrona, the petition asks the Port Authority to extend the 1 Freeport Road bus route from the...
Pittsburgh audit turns up problems with fund used to pay for umpires in city parks
Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb has placed a hold on a money going into an account that pays for umpires and other officials and expenses during city sports league games. Lamb said the Parks and Recreation Department in 2019 had an informal agreement with the Pittsburgh Sports Officials, an organization that...
Unity officials clear way for new Westmoreland Cleanways recycling center
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling’s plan to relocate its recycling operations to a property near Pleasant Unity received the go-ahead Tuesday. After tabling the matter earlier in January, Unity Township supervisors approved a final site plan for the new recycling center, with a landscaping modification that includes planting a border of...
Sewickley man selected to WPSBC board of trustees
A Sewickley doctor was recently appointed to the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children’s board of trustees. Dr. Daren Loran Hoover brings nearly 40 years of extensive experience in studying, practicing, treating and teaching ophthalmology to the board. He joins the nine-member panel as they work to advance the mission,...
Pennsylvania reports 9 new flu-related deaths
After a two-week respite, Pennsylvania reported an increase in flu-related deaths in the past week, according to the state Department of Health. As of the week ending Jan. 25, a total of 33 flu-related deaths have been reported this flu season, which started Sept. 29. That’s up by nine from...
Judge could nix key witness testimony in Wilkinsburg mass shooting
The judge presiding over the 2016 Wilkinsburg mass shooting case said Tuesday he’s considering suppressing testimony of a jailhouse witness who, along with offering information in the Wilkinsburg case, offered information in a dozen other crimes. The death-penalty trial for Cheron Shelton and Robert Thomas — both of whom face...
