The Stroller, Jan. 11, 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. Entries welcome for annual...
Climate change will continue with warmer, wetter conditions predicted
Jim Bonner used to associate mockingbirds with the southern part of the United States. His backyard is home to one, it’s indicative of how weather changes have impacted the avian species, and likely will continue for other types of birds. “I see more mockingbirds now that I ever did 20...
Crabtree, Hempfield, Unity farmers among medal winners feted at Pa. Farm Show
A Westmoreland County farming collective has the best barley in the state, according to the judges at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. Allegheny Mountain Malt’s barley entry brought home a gold medal this week in the show’s grain competition. “It’s a beauty contest without the fancy question at the end,” said...
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tours Pittsburgh International Airport’s new landside terminal
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Friday toured the new terminal under construction at Pittsburgh International Airport, touting the work President Joe Biden’s administration has done to support such infrastructure improvements nationwide. “It was important for us to have Pittsburgh be one of the last places I travel to in...
Tempers flare during 7-hour Pine-Richland School Board meeting over book policy
The latest episode in Pine-Richland School District’s yearslong discussions about book bans and book review policies took place Thursday during a nearly seven-hour school board meeting. Tempers occasionally flared as audience members shouted and board members sometimes argued among themselves while attempting to revise its “Library Resources” policy. The meeting...
Aliquippa VFW closes, liquor license goes dormant as police seek ‘armed, dangerous’ suspect in attack
A Veterans of Foreign Wars lodge where a man was brutally beaten in what the victim’s family called a hate crime agreed to close permanently, while authorities Friday kept searching for a suspect labeled as “armed, dangerous and mentally unstable” by the Beaver County district attorney. The lodge’s leadership “are...
Relative of New Kensington cop killer’s helper threatens to shoot woman ‘like we shot up Brian Shaw,’ police say
Editor’s note: All charges against Mayona Harrington were withdrawn by the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office on Jan. 23 after, police say, prosecution witnesses fail to appear to testify at a hearing on the charges. A relative of a woman convicted of helping a New Kensington police officer’s killer escape...
Mt. Pleasant woman guilty for drunken crash that injured pedestrians
A Mt. Pleasant woman was convicted Friday for her role in a drunken-driving crash more than four years ago that injured two pedestrians. Elizabeth M. Sirianni could serve at least one year in prison as a result of the verdicts rendered by a Westmoreland County jury following a three-day trial....
‘Culmination of my life’s work’: Pitt names Jerry Dickinson as new law school dean
When Jerry Dickinson’s mother died in the fall of 2023, he was approached at the service by an older man who introduced himself as George Pettrone, Pitt Law, 1976. “Vice Dean Dickinson, it’s a pleasure to meet you again,” the man said. “I haven’t seen you for 33 years.” Dickinson,...
Fusting Centre seeks expansion of Salem campus on Route 22
A proposal to expand the Fusting Centre business campus along Route 22 in Salem has received a preliminary recommendation from township planning commissioners. Developer Bushy Run Investments is asking to consolidate the existing Fusting Centre property — which is the corporate headquarters for medical staffing and home care firm Dedicated...
Mt. Pleasant woman gets up to nearly 2 years in jail for theft of $50K from band boosters
A Mt. Pleasant woman has been sentenced to serve time in the Indiana County Jail for stealing more than $50,000 from a high school band boosters group. Lara Lee Brown, 57, pleaded guilty to the thefts, which state police said occurred from 2019 through 2022 while she was treasurer of...
Hampton police officers award $1,200 check for local scholarship fund
After months of fundraising, the Hampton Township Police Department presented a $1,200 check to the It’s About the Warrior Foundation during a special meeting of Hampton Council on Jan. 8. The money, according to IATW founder and executive director Steve Monteleone, will go toward the foundation’s Rob Kirsopp Memorial Scholarship....
Shaler to celebrate 125th anniversary with events in 2025
Shaler Township plans to celebrate its 125th anniversary as a first-class township with a series of promotions and events throughout 2025. Though Shaler was settled and established by the mid-19th century, the township only earned the Pennsylvania legal designation of a “first-class township” in 1900. This means that a town...
6 Highlands students charged in connection with hazing allegations
Six student-athletes from Highlands School District have been charged in connection with an alleged hazing incident. Harrison police Chief Brian Turack said the students, all members of the boys basketball team, were charged with harassment, disorderly conduct and hazing stemming from an incident Nov. 26 on a bus carrying the...
Former Leechburg police chief faces new charge of failing to report internet use
Former Leechburg police chief Michael Diebold is facing a new felony charge after state police say he didn’t report all of the internet sites and apps he’d been using. Diebold, 47, is a convicted sex offender and was ordered to be listed on the state’s Megan’s Law site for 25...
About $500K of work to fill Unity sinkhole nearly complete
Crews have pumped more than 3,300 cubic yards of grout into an abandoned mine void to stabilize a section of a Unity property where a local woman fell into a sinkhole and died. With recent snow blanketing the ground at Monday’s Union restaurant, work to restore a cordoned-off area behind...
Program to send text message alerts to residents starting in Jeannette
Municipal information will soon be texted to interested Jeannette residents. Council unanimously approved a one-year contract with Simple Texting for about $590. “This is going to be used anytime there’s a change in garbage (collection) or important information,” said city manager Ethan Keedy. “Residents can sign up to receive text...
Greensburg Salem eyes proposal for school upgrades
Nearly five months after hiring an energy savings company to help the district tackle an overhaul of its facilities, the Greensburg Salem School Board will vote next week on the first phase of renovations. Though the district has made minor improvements at its schools in recent years, its last major...
Greensburg Salem art students display work at Seton Hill gallery, gain ‘authentic’ experience
After four months of brainstorming, sketching and developing a portfolio of artwork, nine Greensburg Salem High School students’ art is on display at the Seton Hill Art Center. The art show, displayed in Seton Hill’s Jodee Harris Gallery, is considered the final exam for Greensburg Salem’s AP Art and Portfolio...
Vintage Harley-Davidson motorcycle restored for Greensburg police
A 1959 Harley-Davidson Servi-Car that has been stowed away by Greensburg police for decades is close to hitting the road again. The relic, once covered by a blue tarp in a storage garage, has been painstakingly restored over several months and is awaiting decal lettering as a final touch to...
Morning Roundup: Man shot in Pitcairn; fire breaks out at Beaver County restaurant
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Jan. 10: Man shot in Pitcairn A man was shot in Pitcairn early Friday morning, according to Allegheny County Police. Officers responded at 3:44 a.m. to the 300 block of Kenney Avenue for a report of a shooting....
Frigid temperatures continue, snow forecast for evening
Western Pennsylvanians woke to frigid temperatures Friday morning, and could see some snow showers this evening. In a month that has not risen above freezing since New Year’s Day, the Pittsburgh region saw a new monthly low temperature — 6 degrees — according to the National Weather Service. Some school...
Springdale resident rallies community to fight Pittsburgh Mills’ potholes
Lisa Alexander refuses to go to the Pittsburgh Mills mall. “I used to walk at the mall or eat at the restaurants or swing by Starbucks a few times a week,” she said. Alexander, of West Deer, vowed to avoid the shopping complex in Frazer after a November trip to...
The Stroller, Jan. 10, 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. Drive-thru dinner to benefit...
Patient shuttle service grows, remains vital link to care from Tarentum to Etna
Brad Scherf doesn’t miss a chance to help a fellow cancer survivor — or anyone else — who needs medical attention. As coordinator of a free shuttle offered by the St. Margaret Foundation and Wesley Family Services in New Kensington, Scherf has found himself up before dawn to drive a...
