Chartiers Valley area real estate transactions, week of Jan. 26, 2025
Bridgeville Lori Snatchko sold property at 726 Locust St. to Mova Invests LLC for $85,000. Kathleen Vrable sold property at 947 Ella St. to Nathan Dragisich and Kaitlyn Uram for $240,000. Blake Deblasio sold property at 217 Eisner Ave. to Jordan Rush for $246,500. Estate of Charles Dunbar sold property...
Springdale Township mulls offer from Harmar Water Authority to buy Springdale’s system
The Harmar Water Authority is offering to buy the Springdale Township water system. Springdale Township officials said this week the Harmar offer was unsolicited and came in a letter dated Jan. 2, that was dropped off at the township office. The letter, signed by Harmar Water Authority Chairman Jason Domaratz,...
Students, faculty nervous for future of Penn State branch campuses
Gabrielle Green is in it for the long haul at Penn State New Kensington. The 18-year-old from Altavista, Va., is a second-semester freshman at the Upper Burrell campus. She is studying biobehavioral health and plans to obtain a four-year bachelor’s degree at the school. So conversations among university leadership this...
The Stroller, Jan. 26, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Food drive planned Saturday...
Arnold Palmer Regional Airport bleeds cash as leaders pin hopes for brighter future on terminal project
Westmoreland County directs $2.6 million annually to support Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe, but a drop in commercial flights over the past five years has left the facility “bleeding” money. Today, the once-thriving airport loses money every month it operates. As the new year gets underway, the county airport...
2050 look-ahead: Developments in Pittsburgh driven by tech hubs, housing demands
Editor’s note: One-fourth of the way through this century, TribLive is looking ahead to the next 25 years, using the events of the past 25 as a roadmap of what possibly is to come. This installment of the occasional series looks at Pittsburgh. Where mills once sat along the Monongahela...
Norwin Lions seek bakers for ‘Cubcake Wars’ fundraiser
The Norwin Lions Club is looking for a few good bakers for its 10th cupcake fundraiser, which raises money to provide food to students from food insecure families in three Norwin elementary schools and the intermediate school. “We’ve raised between $90,000 and $100,000” from 10 years of what the group...
Subito Quintet feature in second Academy Concert Series show in Greensburg
The Westmoreland Symphony will present the Subito Quintet at 2 p.m. Feb. 2 at Zion’s Lutheran Church in Greensburg. It is the second in the Academy Concert Series presented this season. The quintet includes musicians Warren Davidson and Andrew Bronkaj, violin; David Sinclair, viola; Cecelia Caughman, cello and Gino Faraci,...
‘Something for everybody’ at Hempfield antique show
John Mickinak began attending antique auctions with his mother when he was 12. As a 70-year-old, the Greensburg man is a full-time antiques dealer and appraiser. While he’s made a career out of his passion, Mickinak said he’s watched his line of work lose the interest of younger generations over...
Kids learn communication, problem solving, value of hard work through New Kensington program
Kim Louis told the kids gathered at United Presbyterian Church of New Kensington to pretend they were on a tropical island, somewhere green and warm. Then imagine an impending snowstorm threatened to wreak havoc on that island. Snowplows, Louis told the kids, would be key to clearing the snow. But...
Southern Armstrong police settling into Freeport headquarters
The Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department now has a proper headquarters. After two years of performing key functions in a cramped Gilpin basement, the force moved this week to a roomy station at 235 Fifth St. in Freeport. “Finally, we found somewhere that worked, made sense, was big enough for...
O’Barto announces reelection bid for Westmoreland prothonotary
Republican Gina O’Barto will seek reelection as Westmoreland County prothonotary. O’Barto, 61, of Unity, was first elected in 2021. She replaced longtime prothonotary Christina O’Brien, a Democrat who served 12 years in office but did not seek reelection four years ago. O’Barto defeated O’Brien’s handpicked successor, former Recorder of Deeds...
Murrysville window company earns 5th business ethics award, unveils diabetes fundraiser
The first time the Better Business Bureau called Energy Swing Windows to let them know they’d won its ethics award, co-owner Betty Rennekamp hung up on them. “She’s a real pit bull, and I mean that in the best possible way,” said Energy Swing Vice President Donnie Darragh. Rennekamp thought...
Some districts turning to classic snow days after depleting virtual learning allowance
Old-fashioned snow days are no longer local superintendents’ first thought when the roads get slick, but they’re not quite a thing of the past, either. That’s mostly due to a code amended by the General Assembly in 2019 to allow public schools to develop a program to meet the 180-day...
Plans underway for transformation of 19th Street in Sharpsburg
A thriving community is possible only through engagement, according to Sharpsburg councilman Corey Ochai. He is urging residents to participate in a recently launched survey to help shape portions of the Main Street streetscape and access to the riverfront. “Community engagement is the best solution for us to find a...
The Stroller, Jan. 25, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Bishop Kulick to celebrate...
Johnstown man sentenced to life without parole in 2020 fatal shooting of IUP student
A Johnstown man will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole in the October 2020 shooting death of an Indiana University of Pennsylvania student at an off-campus apartment. Terrion Gates, 22, was convicted in September of second-degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to robbery in the incident at the...
Woman identified who died in Braddock house fire
A woman died at the scene of a house fire in Braddock on Friday afternoon. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office reported that the victim was Natalie Stecki, 77. The fire occurred around 2:30 p.m. along the 400 block of Mills Avenue. State police and a fire marshal are investigating....
‘I’m going to beat her.’ Texts show how sisters tortured Oakmont girl, 3
“I made her nose bleed,” one message read. “Good. I’m going to beat her,” came the response. Those were just two of hundreds of text messages between Alexis Herrera and her sister, Laura Ramriez, in early 2020 in the months leading up to their arrest for criminal homicide. According to...
Guilty plea deal reached for man charged in 2019 Youngwood pharmacy robbery
The attorney for a Southwest Greensburg man told a Westmoreland County judge on Friday that his client was suicidal and in pain when he pointed a gun at staff at Hayden’s Pharmacy and demanded drugs. Gregory J. Cervo, 35, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery, theft and flight from...
Franklin Regional cheers on special-needs athletes in annual Clelian Heights game
Franklin Regional Senior High School Principal Ron Suvak loves to see the joy on the faces of Clelian Heights school basketball players during the annual game the Panthers host for the Catholic educational, vocational and residential facility that serves people with developmental disabilities. But even more than that, he loves...
Steel-processing furnace confirmed as source of Lower Burrell explosion, but details remain scant
Few details have been released about a Lower Burrell steel plant explosion that killed a Tarentum man. Brennan Sites, chief of Lower Burrell No. 3 Fire Company, confirmed a steel-processing furnace was the source of the explosion. Daniel R. Vakulick, 20, died from injuries sustained in the blast just before...
Charges withdrawn against Arnold woman accused of shooting threat
Charges of burglary, terroristic threats and criminal mischief have been withdrawn in the case of an Arnold woman accused of trying to break into a New Kensington home. The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office withdrew the charges Thursday at what was supposed to be a preliminary hearing before District Judge...
Teen charged in connection with shooting into New Kensington home in 2022
Police filed charges Friday against a teenager accused of firing shots into a New Kensington home in November 2022. The teen, now 19, was 16 years old when police responded to a shots-fired incident at 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2022, in the 1200 block of Taylor Avenue. “The investigation...
Shaler chief named president of Western Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association
Shaler police Chief Sean Frank recently was named president of the Western Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. The organization, which spans 21 counties, seeks to “secure personal and professional relationships” between local chiefs and advance law enforcement standards and goals, according to its website. Frank said he has been involved...
