Local category, Page 2956
Cops: Somerset County meth lab discovered after explosion
An explosion which sent a suspected drug manufacturer to the hospital, brought investigators to his meth lab in Somerset County, according to state police. Zachary Maust, 33, of Berlin Township, allegedly was in his father’s garage in Brothersvalley Township on May 18, making meth using the “one-pot method,” which involves...
Man dead, teen injured in Pittsburgh Hill District shooting
One man is dead and a 15-year-old girl is injured after a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, according to the Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety. Police were called to the Bedford Dwellings apartment complex on Chauncey Drive just before 11 p.m. Monday for a report of shots fired. They found...
Highlands student overcomes tragedy to graduate 1 year early
What Kaliah Pratt wanted to do was going to be difficult. Life, or rather, death, made it even harder. Pratt, 16, of Harrison decided she was ready to finish high school, and she embarked on a plan to graduate this year, a year early. “I always had a hard time...
Benefit headliner Sheila E. says Pittsburghers are ‘so cordial’
When drummer Sheila E. was 15 years old, her father’s band needed a percussionist. One of the members was ill and not able to perform at the show in San Francisco, Calif. Sheila E. told her dad she could step in. “He wasn’t for that, but when my mom told...
Artist has left her mark all over Pittsburgh for decades
The Sarris Candies store in Canonsburg is artist Maria DeSimone Prascak’s Sistine Chapel. Over the years, she’s transformed the shop and adjoining ice cream parlor into a colorful candyland using paint, clay, papier-mache and crystal embellishments. Prascak’s brush has touched 450 feet of murals, two columns, three ceiling domes, five...
Tensions escalate in New Ken-Arnold contract negotiations
John Pallone, superintendent of the New Kensington-Arnold School District, is accusing a spokesman for its teachers union of violating an agreement to not discuss contract negotiations until a deal is done. The union spokesman, Phil Cope, has made “several inaccurate statements” to the media about the negotiations, Pallone said in...
Cora Lee Cupcakes welcomes customers with desserts everyone can enjoyVideo
Editor’s note: Building the Valley tells stories of businesses big and small and the employees who make them special. If you know of any standout employees, bosses or companies with a great story to tell, contact reporter Madasyn Czebiniak at mczebiniak@tribweb.com Not all sweets are, well, sweet. Some can be...
Frazer police: 1,029 THC cartridges worth nearly $61K in West Deer man’s car
A West Deer man faces drug charges after Frazer police said they found more than 1,000 highly potent THC cartridges with an estimated street value of nearly $62,000 in the back seat of his car during a traffic stop Monday afternoon. Police stopped a car driven by Adam Stephen Viale,...
WW II veteran, 101, throws Memorial Day party in Lower Burrell
Bill Tingle’s ears perked as his daughter called out, “Dad, look, there’s a kid waving to you.” “Thanks for your service!” shouted a young boy with a toothy grin from the backseat of a car driving by along Leechburg Road, minutes after the city’s annual Memorial Day parade came to...
Unity Army veteran: Talking helps war trauma survivorsVideo
Thomas Abraham knows intimately about the psychological costs of war. As a young man, the Unity veteran led even younger men, many still in their teens, while serving as a captain in the Army’s 173rd Airborne Battalion in Vietnam. After the West Point graduate was transferred within the battalion, “most...
Sewickley celebrates Memorial Day through annual parade, programs
The Sewickley area once again honored those who died serving the country through several Memorial Day events over the weekend. A memorial service was held Saturday at the United States Coast Guard station in Glen Osborne and a veterans memorial service took place at Sewickley United Methodist Church on Sunday....
Officials: 2 tornadoes hit Saturday in Indiana County
Two tornadoes touched down in Indiana County over the weekend, damaging a home and uprooting trees, the National Weather Service confirmed Monday. Meteorologists said a tornado with a wind speed of up to 90 mph touched down just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday along High Rise Drive in Burrell Township. It...
South Hills Memorial Day parade features firefighters, marching bands and veteransVideo
The South Hills Memorial Day parade featured two fire departments, local police, high school bands and veterans. The parade began on Brookline Boulevard Monday morning at 10 a.m. and wove through Brookline, Dormont and Mt. Lebanon. It ended at the Mt. Lebanon Cemetery. The Mt. Lebanon police guard led the...
Man escapes Tarentum house fire from 2nd-floor window; 2 pet cats dieVideo
A Tarentum man who escaped flames ripping through his two-story home early Monday with help from police and a neighbor’s ladder was treated for smoke inhalation, officials said. At least two pet cats died in the fire at the duplex on Conroy Way, officials and neighbors said. The sound of...
WDVE revives the Memorial Day 500 music countdown
Are you counting down the tunes with WDVE this holiday weekend? The radio station resurrected the beloved Memorial Day 500, a countdown of the top 500 rock tunes of all time. It’s been more than two decades since WDVE-FM 102.5 hosted the music bonanza. Middle age yinzers no doubt remember...
Blessed Trinity Academy students shine in VFW essay contest
Blessed Trinity Academy (BTA) seventh- and eighth-graders joined more than 120,000 students nationwide in the Veterans of Foreign Wars-sponsored Patriot’s Pen essay competition. The contest consisted of multiple judging levels. BTA eighth-grader Samantha Bainbridge, 14, won first place at the West View VFW Post 2754 level and advanced to and...
Excela, Saint Vincent, Seton Hill team up to provide grief counseling for children
Childhood and death shouldn’t go together, but they often do. That stark reality is prompting a movement within Westmoreland County to increase services for children grieving the death of a loved one — whether from suicide, an opioid overdose or natural causes. “Our community was in great need,” said Maureen...
Kiski Area students documenting the lives of local veteransVideo
Merle Sober climbed Mt. Fuji while waiting for battle during the Korean War, and James Thomas Simko helped liberate a Nazi concentration camp during World War II when SS soldiers began shooting and burning its prisoners just before the arrival of Simko’s “Fighting 69th” infantry. The stories of Sober of...
Protecting your skin from the sun as easy as ABC
As summer approaches, many people will begin to hit the pools, lakes and trails. But with the outdoor fun comes an increased risk for skin cancer if you don’t properly protect yourself from the sun’s damaging rays. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, more people are diagnosed with skin cancer...
Aspinwall eatery gets a corner on the comfort food marketVideo
An Aspinwall eatery has cornered the market on the neighborhood restaurant concept. Cornerstone opened in 2009 — commanding the corner of Freeport Road and Eastern Avenue — and celebrated its 10th anniversary in February. According to 2017 figures from the National Restaurant Association, the average life span of a U.S....
Sewickley-area real estate transactions for the week of May 27, 2019
Aleppo William Hinzman sold property at 811 Redgate Road to Masonic Villages Grand Lodge PA for $575,000. Glenfield Cyril Yaras Jr. sold property at 106 Phillips Lane to Adam and Megan Melamed for $3,200. Leet Carrie Ann Zaccaria sold property at 180 Oak St. to Tiffany and Sarah Phillips for...
Gable, Glancy wedding held at Faith Lakeside Church
Kristal Glancy and Brad Gable were married May 18, 2019. The ceremony was held at Faith Lakeside Community Church and a reception followed at the Chartiers Room at Bridgeville Fire Department. Kristal is the daughter of Coral and Steve Glancy of Carnegie. Paternal grandparents are Barbara and Earl Roithner of...
Schiller’s Pharmacy has a new owner, will provide the same neighborhood service
A Shadyside neighborhood pharmacy that’s been around for over 100 years will remain, with a slightly different name and some new products. Schiller’s Pharmacy has become Schiller’s Apothecary. The business on the corner of South Aiken Avenue and Walnut Street was purchased in April by New Jersey-based Apotheco Pharmacy. Over...
Derry man remembered for love of family, time in service
On the night James Hook and his soon-to-be wife, Sarah, started dating, they didn’t know it would lead to 80 years of him walking her home. “He asked if he could walk her home, and he asked if he could take her hand, and he’s been walking her home ever...
Pittsburgh Zoo’s baby gorilla, Frankie, turns one year old, celebrates with party
Happy Birthday, Frankie! The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium’s baby gorilla Frankie turned one year old on Sunday and celebrated with presents and treats from the zoo staff. Frankie was born last May to 22-year-old mom Moka while on exhibit. The zoo wanted to give the public the option of...
