Norwin awards $6.39M auditorium renovation project
Extensive renovations to Norwin High School’s 60-year-old auditorium will move forward now that school board members have awarded $6.39 million worth of contracts for the project. The school board awarded the $4.48 million general construction contract to R.A. Glancy & Sons Inc. of Richland; the $393,700 heating, ventilating and air...
Harrison juveniles face charges for vape shop burglary
Two Harrison juveniles are facing charges after, police say, they broke into a vape shop along Freeport Road and made off with more than $3,000 in merchandise. Harrison police Chief Brian Turack said the teens face charges of burglary, criminal trespass, theft and flight to avoid apprehension. He credited a...
No injuries reported in pickup fire in Oakmont
No one was hurt when a pickup caught fire in Oakmont Wednesday morning. The fire at Hulton Road and 10th Street was reported just after 11 a.m. The driver was able to get out of the pickup before emergency services arrived, police Chief Michael Ford said. The fire was put...
Year in review reveals McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority answered 9,412 calls in 2024
National accreditation, hundreds of hours in training, and 146,000 miles on the road were some of the highlights of the 2024 year-in-review presentation by the McCandless-Franklin Park Ambulance Authority on Feb. 17. Local council and municipality officials, community members, MFPAA staff and state Rep. Arvind Venkat attended the event held...
Penn Township store sells $500K winning Cash 5 lottery ticket
A Penn Township convenience store customer is a half million dollars richer today after purchasing a winning Cash 5 lottery ticket on Tuesday. Pennsylvania Lottery officials said a Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket purchased at the PT Pit Stop on Route 130 matched all of the five balls drawn...
Bridgeville author’s thriller has an unlikely antagonist: a mutant raccoon
A Bridgeville author’s new book strives to have people step into the world of genetic experimentation, government conspiracies and an unusual antagonist. Mark Berton, 48, released “Aroughcoune” on Feb. 19. The story revolves around a giant, military-bred, genetically modified raccoon that escapes from a secret lab and wanders around Western...
Fox Chapel, Shady Side Academy students part of Junior Achievement’s 18 Under Eighteen
Robotics, medical careers and baking have something in common at Fox Chapel Area High School and Shady Side Academy — students who are using each of these paths to promote change in their community. Shady Side Academy students Kiran Tevar and Özge Ada Uzman, along with Fox Chapel Area’s Laila...
Westmoreland happenings: Soup and sandwich sale, Fat Tuesday pancake breakfast, more
Fundraisers • Little Sunshine’s Closet, 13380 Route 30, Irwin, will collect diapers, formula and female hygiene products for new mothers in need from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 22. There will be a prize drawing, games and raffles. • A Fat Tuesday pancake and sausage dinner will be from...
Pittsburgh’s newest skyscraper opens
FNB Financial Center opened its doors this week in Pittsburgh as the city’s newest mixed-use skyscraper. Construction at the 26-story FNB Financial Center began in September 2021 in the city’s Lower Hill District neighborhood. The $220 million tower, at the corner of Washington Place and Bedford Avenue, will serve as...
Jeannette art gallery hosts works by 35 local women artists
On March 8, You Are Here in Jeannette will host an artists’ reception for its “Women in Art” exhibit, currently on display at the Clay Avenue gallery. For two of the participating artists, it will be a doubly special occasion. Not only will the exhibit feature artwork from sisters Maria...
The Stroller, Feb. 19, 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. Springdale Snow and Property...
Burrell school task forces work out schedule proposals for reconfiguration
Schedules at Burrell’s Bon Air Elementary and Charles A. Huston Middle schools are close to being finalized. This week, the Bon Air and Huston task forces — groups of about 20 parents and staff providing feedback on schedules and plans for reconfigurations at the schools next year — continued to...
Reversing enrollment decline among priorities for incoming Westmoreland Co. Community College president
As Westmoreland County Community College grapples with a decline in enrollment and recent turnover in its top leader, incoming president Kristin Mallory aims to stabilize the institution. The vice president of academic affairs at Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury, Md., Mallory was hired as the college’s president last week after...
Proposed state tax would prop up fire, ambulance and other emergency services
Lower Burrell No. 3 fire Chief Brennan Sites is appreciative of what his city officials do when it comes to supporting his volunteer fire company. But competing with rising costs for equipment and declines in volunteerism, the city is nearly tapped out when it comes to giving its two volunteer...
‘He’s back’: Marc Fogel lands at Pittsburgh airport in quiet homecoming
Marc Fogel is home. Fogel, 63, landed shortly after 5 p.m. Monday at Pittsburgh International Airport. “He’s back,” said Allegheny County police spokesman Jim Madalinsky. “We helped escort him through the airport.” Fogel was released Feb. 11 after three-and-a-half years in captivity. After a visit to the White House last...
New details emerge about arrest of man shot by Munhall police in holding cell
The man Munhall police shot last week in a borough holding cell because, they said, he was strangling an officer, had been taken into custody about an hour earlier for strangling a woman in her home and resisting arrest, according to court papers. Christopher Allie, 38, of Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood,...
Bethel Park man shot brother before trying to kill himself, police say
Allegheny County Police said they have charged a 47-year-old Bethel Park man for shooting his brother before trying to kill himself in January. Despite being shot in the chest and face, Seth Michael Zimmerman’s brother was able to call 911 for help and say who had shot him, police said...
‘They can sense the tension in our society’: Rep. Summer Lee speaks to Gateway 5th graders, tours renovated facility
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee didn’t mince words Tuesday afternoon when a Gateway Middle School student asked the Swissvale Democrat what Congress’ biggest challenge is right now. “Can I be honest?” Lee said. “The president.” Lee, D-Swissvale, spoke with Gateway’s fifth grade class about her career path, achieving goals and the...
Hempfield man seeks to withdraw guilty plea in murder-for hire case
A Hempfield man who is accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill his estranged sister wants to rescind his guilty plea, his attorney said Tuesday. Peter Cute, 64, in October pleaded guilty to one felony count of criminal solicitation to commit homicide. “He said he didn’t understand...
Coghill laments not using more federal funds to upgrade Pittsburgh’s battered snowplows
Pittsburgh Councilman Anthony Coghill desperately wants to upgrade the city’s aging and unreliable vehicle fleet. But he worries the best chance to do so — at no cost to Pittsburgh — has slipped by. After a snowy holiday weekend that saw numerous city plows out of service, Coghill told TribLive...
Co-conspirator in New Kensington gun shop smash-and-grab sentenced to 20 months
The first of two men to be sentenced for their roles in a January 2024 smash-and-grab at a New Kensington gun store was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer handed down the sentence Tuesday, calling on repeat felon Michael Guin, 27, of Lower...
Hunter seeks dismissal of assault charge in Smithton shooting
A South Greensburg man awaiting trial for the alleged aggravated assault of a hunter in a private field last year claims his victim was partially at fault for being shot. Cody Ostrosky, 33, was originally charged last summer with a misdemeanor count of shooting at a human while hunting and...
Still no charges 6 months after 11-year-old killed by vehicle in Natrona
Amber Bonnoni is still unable to think straight six months after her daughter, 11-year-old Roxanne, was hit and killed by a vehicle near their Natrona home. “I am lost in my head,” she said. “The (person) who stole her life away will go on to have another day and is...
Burghers Brewing to open new flagship location in Millvale
After more than a year of work, Burghers Brewing Co. is poised to open next week what co-owner Neil Glausier calls a “stainless steel cathedral” as its flagship location in Millvale. The brewery, located at 400 Grant Ave., will take over as the primary brewing location for the local beer...
Maryland man accused of credit card fraud at Springhill Suites in Unity
The father of a Massachusetts man arrested last month for impersonating a police officer in Hempfield is behind bars after state police said he used a housing authority’s credit card to book hotel rooms in Unity, according to court papers. Patrick Rooney, 47, of Maryland, is accused of using a...
