Local category, Page 2803
Police: Vandergrift man admits stealing $4K in guns, jewelry, cash from Frazer home
Police say a Vandergrift man told them he broke into a Frazer home on Wednesday and stole $4,000 worth of cash, jewelry and guns to “help a friend get money.” When officers found Kevin Paul Pierce, 29, he was in his truck looking through the jewelry he had taken, Frazer...
Buffalo Township man faces strangulation, assault charges
A Buffalo Township man is accused of hitting, choking and throwing a woman down the steps of his home. Gordon Cooper, 55, of Oak Drive, is accused of holding the woman by her neck to throw her into a wall late Saturday night, according to a police affidavit. In addition...
Veterans honored with meal at Carnegie banquet hallVideo
Homeless and struggling veterans piled their plates with a hot meal from Cefalo’s Banquet and Event Center in Carnegie on Wednesday. Thanks to the Elks Carnegie Lodge No. 831, Allegheny Lodge No. 339 and American Legion Post No. 82, they left with new socks, gloves, hoodies, hats and flannel shirts...
Penn Hills mayor, councilman, formally apologize for background check debacle
Mayor Sara Kuhn and Councilman John Petrucci offered formal apologies to two people they erroneously alleged to have not complied with a municipal policy requiring board and committee members to undergo a criminal background check. Arlene Holtz and Rita Spalding, both former members of the Penn Hills Arts Council, were...
Penn Hills Class of 1969 tours new high schoolVideo
A wide-eyed Lynn Staymates spun around, searching for direction at a hallway intersection inside Penn Hills High School. She asked if the nearest stairwell was where she started the tour about an hour beforehand. The tour guide, a senior student council treasurer, replied, pointing: “No. We started on that side.”...
Blighted properties in Penn Hills slated for demo
Four blighted properties in Penn Hills, including what officials described as a nuisance bar, are slated for demolition using Community Development Block Grant funding. Council awarded Lutterman Excavating its $42,790 bid to tear down the structures. The properties include 49 Verona Road, 4268 Verona Road, 4813 Verona Road and 470...
Federal funding will pave 3 Penn Hills roads
Penn Hills will use $311,000 of federal grant funding to pave three roads and one parking lot as part of the latest round of the Community Development Block Grant program. The roads include Westminster, Eastminster and Thon drives. Each road will be paved in its entirety. The Penn Hills Service...
Street closures, bus detours planned during Pittsburgh’s Great Race
Streets in Pittsburgh’s Downtown, Uptown, Oakland and Squirrel Hill neighborhoods will close Saturday and Sunday and Port Authority of Allegheny County bus routes will be detoured during the 42nd running of the annual Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race, officials said. Street closures on Saturday during the Dollar...
Desserts sold by Allderdice student being tested for pot
An Allderdice High School student is suspected of selling Rice Krispies Treats laced with marijuana, a district spokeswoman confirmed Thursday. Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said two students were involved in the alleged incident, but only one is suspected of selling the potentially tainted treats. The desserts were were...
CROP Walk marks 40 years in Murrysville, helping feed the hungry
Roger Schneider moved to Murrysville in 2000 from Pittsburgh, where he previously helped organize an annual CROP Walk, an acronym for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty. When he arrived, he found a local CROP Walk had been established for more than two decades, dedicated to raising money for the less...
Ramsay Elementary in Mt. Pleasant closed after water main break
A water main break in Mt. Pleasant forced the closure of Ramsay Elementary on Thursday. The leak was repaired at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, but the school was still experiencing issues early Thursday, according to Matt Junker, a spokesman for the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County. Mt. Pleasant Area officials said...
Pittsburgh mother sentenced to 5-10 years in daughter’s OD death
A Pittsburgh woman was sentenced Wednesday to five to 10 years in a state prison for her toddler’s 2018 death from a fentanyl overdose. Jhenea Pratt, 24, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment during a June trial. Pratt has been jailed since her August 2018 arrest. Prosecutors said...
Overturned vehicle on Route 28 snarls morning commute
A vehicle overturned on southbound Route 28 in Tarentum early Thursday, hampering the morning commute. The crash was reported about 5:20 a.m. at the Exit 14 on-ramp from Route 366 to southbound Route 28, PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said. The vehicle ended up on its side. There were no immediate...
Sewickley Township honors first woman supervisor for service, 100th birthdayVideo
Herminie native Mary Zakutney was a groundbreaker in Sewickley Township, where 62 years ago she took a position no woman had held in that rural community. At a time when the township’s top elected officials were expected to fix roads and operate snow plows, Zakutney became the first woman to...
New security protocol at Penn Hills School District prohibits visiting except for school business
People without a purpose – such as picking up or dropping off students, or have a scheduled visit – should stay off of Penn Hills School District property during school hours, according to a recent security change. Superintendent Nancy Hines said similar security measures were implemented at the Bill Fralic...
Allegheny County Board of Elections chooses voting system vendor
The Allegheny County Board of Elections voted Wednesday to move forward with contract negotiations with the vendor Elections Systems & Software (ES&S) to purchase new voting equipment for the county. The system will cost about $10.5 million — the cheapest of the four options offered by ES&S. The county is...
2 Indiana area volunteer firefighters charged in arson at Amish furniture store
Two Indiana County volunteer firefighters have been jailed for allegedly setting fire to an Amish furniture store about 15 miles north of Indiana — one of a string of 11 suspicious fires in that region since August 2018, state police said Wednesday. Nicholas Leone, 22, of Creekside, and Dylan Dalessio,...
Assault, drug cases among recent Monroeville police investigations – Sep. 25, 2019
Monroeville police filed the following charges Sept. 23 in District Judge Jeffrey L. Herbst’s office: • Thomas Moeller, 60, of Pittsburgh with retail theft. Charges were filed Sept. 23 in connection with an incident along the 3600 block of William Penn Highway. • Anthony Gilmore, 20, of Penn Hills with...
Theft, firearms cases recently handled by Judge Herbst in Monroeville
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 • Brandon Murphy, 24, of McKeesport on charges of simple assault, disorderly conduct and...
Ghost Town Trail marks 25th year with bike ride in Cambria County
The Ghost Town Trail, spanning Indiana and Cambria counties, has grown from 12 miles to 46 miles over the past 25 years and annually attracts 80,000 bicyclists and hikers. Organizations that develop, maintain and support the trail will celebrate that quarter-century of growth Friday with a bike ride and program...
Mailman injured when postal truck rolls on its side in Harrison wreckVideo
A mail carrier was inside a Postal Service truck that was shoved onto its side in a crash Wednesday afternoon in Harrison. The mailman, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital for treatment of a head injury. Police said the mailman had just climbed back inside of the...
In first-of-its-kind move, counselors assist patients while Fayette County doctor is arrestedVideo
Alongside local police and federal agents raiding Dr. Emilio Ramon Navarro’s Fayette County office on Monday were drug and alcohol counselors helping patients find alternatives as their doctor was arrested on federal charges. It’s the first time such a rapid-response team has been deployed during the arrest of a medical...
Beto O’Rourke pushes gun control, health care, immigration reform in PittsburghVideo
It’s been more than 20 years since Beto O’Rourke last visited Pittsburgh. But the former Texas congressman seemed right at home Wednesday on the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland as he stopped to snap selfies with students who greeted him by name and to answer their questions about his...
Harrison man out on bond on robbery charge accused of shoplifting, smashing pumpkins
A Harrison man who was free on bond after being accused of committing two Dauphin County robberies is one of two men and two youths charged with shoplifting BB guns and destroying pumpkins in the township early Tuesday. Nathan Strausser, 24, of 10th Avenue and Kyron Branch, 18, of Park...
West Newton woman pleads guilty to arson
A West Newton woman will serve up to two years in prison for setting fire to her boyfriend’s pickup truck. Marian Warman, 19, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of arson, terroristic threats and simple assault in connection with the April 6 incident. Police said Warman and Brian L. Palamara argued...
