Local category, Page 2780
SWAT team responds to reported Knoxville armed robbery
A SWAT team surrounded a home in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood for more than an hour Thursday before moving in and finding it empty, according to the city public safety department. Police responded to a call of an armed robbery at the Moore Avenue home. When they arrived around 2 p.m.,...
Derry man charged with beating, strangling child
A Derry man is charged with hitting and strangling a 10-year-old child, according to state police. Administrators at Grandview Elementary School in the Derry Area School District contacted law enforcement Thursday when they noticed the child was “exhibiting indicators of suspected child abuse,” police said. Investigators determined that Christopher Hilty,...
Resisting arrest, defiant trespass among cases before Judge Herbst
Monroeville District Court Judge Jeffrey Herbst handled these cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Charges were filed by Monroeville police unless otherwise noted. Held for court • Crystal A. Knopsnider, 28, of Hutchinson on charges of intent to deliver drug...
Monroeville police file drug, DUI charges
Police filed the following charges Sept. 5 through Sept. 10 in District Judge Jeffrey L. Herbst’s office. All charges were filed by Monroeville police unless otherwise noted: • Bobbie J. Lloyd, 43, of Pitcairn with theft by deception in connection to an incident that happened along the 4500 block on...
Family re-creates 16-year-old photo featuring Valley News Dispatch
Years ago, the Valley News Dispatch would print photos of people holding the newspaper while they were on vacation. It’s still doing that today. At least in one family’s case. Cristine Kostiuk, 60, of Kiski Township said her family thought it would be fun to re-create a photo taken 16...
Fire destroys Freeport home, no injuries reported
A fire ripped through the upper half of a Freeport home shortly before midnight Thursday, drawing dozens of neighbors out of bed and onto their porches and front yards to watch firefighters extinguish the flames. The fire damaged the house beyond repair, said Tom Sweeny Jr., chief 1 of the...
Feds: Beaver County man admits to trying to sell 5,700 fake Viagra, Cialis pills
A Beaver County man admitted to plotting to sell more than 5,700 fake Viagra and Cialis pills in Western Pennsylvania, officials said. Rahnon Carter, 39, pleaded guilty at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh to one count of holding a counterfeit drug for distribution, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said. The...
Baldwin Borough Public Library waiving fees
Everyone has been there: It’s a long day and you’re supposed to do something, but life gets away from you. Maybe you forgot to return that library book and now you’re worried you’ve incurred a fine. At 11 libraries in Allegheny County, including the Baldwin Borough Public Library, you don’t...
‘The Demon of Brownsville Road’ to be turned into a bed and breakfast, movie
The haunting tale of a Brentwood home and a family’s fight to rid it of evil could be headed to the big screen. And soon visitors will have the chance to spend a night inside the home at the center of the popular book, “The Demon of Brownsville Road.” Bob...
Unity couple will discuss their renowned lamb farm in Hanna’s Town program
Lamb raised in Unity Township, on the farm of John and Sukey Jamison, has appeared on the menus of such top chefs as Anne Quatrano of Bacchanalia in Atlanta and the late Jean-Louis Palladin of the Watergate Hotel’s Jean-Louis Restaurant in Washington, D.C. The Jamison Farm owners will discuss their...
Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team helps rescue dogs caught in Hurricane Dorian
The Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue Team this week lent a helping hand to 20 dogs rescued from Hurricane Dorian when it struck the Bahamas. The team flew the pups from Florida to New York. They were among the 97 that Chella Phillips, a Nassau-based animal welfare advocate, saved during the...
Hazmat team, firefighters respond to chlorine leak in Unity
A Unity man who mixed chlorine in his house Thursday night needed the assistance of Westmoreland County’s hazardous materials team and local firefighters because of the fumes in his residence, a county public safety supervisor said. The man who lives along Primrose Lane in the township’s East High Acres neighborhood...
Overholt Rye whiskey, once owned by Mellon family, to be auctioned in Kentucky
Someone next week will have a shot at buying a historic bottle of whiskey distilled in Westmoreland County that typically fetches more than $1,000 a shot, on the rare occasion it can be found. On Thursday, a 1909 bottle of Overholt Rye whiskey — passed down through the Mellon family...
Beaver County man accused of selling heroin-fentanyl mix that led to a death
A Beaver County man is accused of selling a mixture of heroin and fentanyl that resulted in a person dying, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Zachary Martin Cymbalak, 32, who resides in the borough of Freedom, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on two counts of narcotics charges...
Westmoreland commissioners honor Hempfield’s Terry RanieriVideo
Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday issued a proclamation honoring the life of Hempfield’s Terry Ranieri. Ranieri, 64, a 1975 graduate of Hempfield High School, died from cancer on Aug. 22. Commissioners Gina Cerilli, Ted Kopas and Charles Anderson presented the proclamation to Ranieri’s brothers Tony and Eddy and their sister,...
Artwork unveiled to surround Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh
Inspired by the hundreds of pieces of art sent from around the world in the aftermath of the Tree of Life synagogue attack, members of three congregations gathered those images of strength and hope and decided to share them with the community. The Squirrel Hill synagogue has been shrouded in...
Man in critical condition from stabbing after medics find him in Swissvale
A man was in critical condition after medics rushed him to the hospital Thursday afternoon from a Swissvale neighborhood, police said. Officials received a report of a man in need of help near the 7500 block of Ellesmere Street around 12:25 p.m., Allegheny County Police Inspector Andrew Schurman said. Police...
Neighbors in Ross shocked by number of dogs rescued from home
From the day Kate Tierney moved into her home along Ridgeside Road in Ross Township, she suspected there might be a hoarder living in the house across the street. There was junk strewn in the front yard, and at least two dumpsters had been filled and removed from the modestly...
Ex-Westmoreland County employee gets $37,500 workplace settlement
Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday agreed to resolve a complaint by a former human resources employee at the courthouse who claimed a hostile workplace forced her to retire in 2017. Assistant county solicitor David Regoli said a complaint filed by Deborah Liprando with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was...
Westmoreland judge awards Allegheny Township woman $600K in slip-fall case
An Allegheny Township woman has been awarded $600,000 for injuries she suffered two years ago outside of a township mini-mart. Following a two-day trial, a Westmoreland County jury ordered Graft Oil of Oci Inc., the owners of the Honey Bear Mini-Mart on Route 356 in Allegheny Township, to pay for...
‘A Few Good Men’ opens Pittsburgh Public Theater’s 45th season
Pittsburgh Public Theater opens its 45th season with “A Few Good Men.” Written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by PPT artistic director Marya Sea Kaminski, the play opens Thursday and runs through Oct. 13 at the O’Reilly Theater, Downtown Pittsburgh. The cast includes professional actors as well as military veterans....
Scottdale company offers challenge grant for Westmoreland food bankVideo
In 2000, fundraising accounted for 10% of the Westmoreland County Food Bank’s budget. In 2018, that portion had risen to 60%. Food Bank CEO Jennifer Miller cited that number at Thursday’s Annual Partnership Luncheon to highlight the importance of partners — agencies, volunteers and donors. “Our partners are not taken...
2 people in custody, 1 flees police in connection to woman’s body found in McKeesport park
Police took two people into custody Thursday night at a Walmart in Washington County in connection to the death of a woman whose body was found Thursday morning in the woods at a McKeesport park, officials said. Police also are searching for a third person who fled the Walmart parking...
Pittsburgh youth mentoring program opening Downtown to address loitering
A nonprofit North Side youth mentoring program is opening a storefront in Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center with hopes of alleviating problems with kids loitering and fighting Downtown. The Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County on Thursday approved a five-month, rent-free lease with Youth Places for...
Monroeville, 11 other Allegheny County libraries waive late fines
Got late fines from the library? Not anymore — at least for members of the Monroeville Public Library and 11 others in Allegheny County. As of Sept. 1, those past due library fines have been deleted and the libraries will not continue fining patrons for missed due-back dates. The hope...
