The Stroller, Sept. 19, 2024: 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. Pink Day festival planned...
Leaders hope local EMS authority could ensure service in Tarentum, neighboring towns
Small-scale donations are rolling in to help sustain operations at Eureka Community Ambulance Service in Tarentum, enough that Chief Brad James is feeling hopeful about the future of EMS. “They’re not going to keep the doors open, but it’s nice to have the support,” James said. His department this year...
Panera eyes larger space with drive-thru outside Pittsburgh Mills mall
A move by Panera Bread will leave yet another vacant storefront in the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer. The quick-serve restaurant, with more than 2,200 locations in 48 states, wants to fill the former Steak ’n Shake restaurant building in the Village at Pittsburgh Mills near Lowe’s. Frazer Supervisor Lori...
Family of innocent man killed during chase sues Monroeville police, chief, officers
Monroeville police Chief Kenneth D. “Doug” Cole was at a high school football game two years ago listening on the radio as his officers chased a man wanted for fleeing and assault. Jack Sherwood had already eluded police a few days earlier. Cole thought about calling off the chase, according...
Gateway superintendent excited to put comprehensive plan into action this year
Gateway School District students are back in the classroom and getting used to new teachers, new subjects and — at least for students at the remodeled and consolidated Gateway Middle School — a lot of new features in the building. At the same time, Superintendent Guy Rossi is settling into...
Gateway Musical Alumni Showcase sets stage for a renewed tradition
When producer Mary Chase took over the Gateway’s musical during the 2022-23 school year, she knew she wanted to start up an old tradition – the high school’s Alumni Showcase. “The last one was held in 2018, and I think they used to have them more frequently in the past,”...
Original opalescent glass remains a gem at Monroeville’s Old Stone Church
Located in the heart of Monroeville, the Old Stone Church was built in 1894, replacing the original Crossroads Presbyterian Church founded in 1834. The new nondenominational church was created in order to adapt to a growing congregation. According to Joe Ventresca, Monroeville Historical Society vice president, stones from Crossroads Church...
State attorney general accuses Pittsburgh toy maker of ‘widespread failure’ to fulfill orders
Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry has filed a lawsuit against a Pittsburgh toy company she said failed to fulfill more than $4 million in orders. Henry announced that her office has filed a lawsuit against Digital Dream Labs and its former CEO, Harold J. Hanchar, regarding the robotics and educational-technology...
Young Pine-Richland survivor joins fight against ovarian cancer
Desolina Postreich, an eighth grader at Pine-Richland Middle School, is a nine-year survivor of ovarian cancer. On Sept. 22, she will travel to Texas to share her story at the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition Together in TEAL (Tell Every Amazing Lady) Run/Walk. Diagnosed with Stage 1a juvenile granulosa cell tumor...
Western Pa. Teamsters endorse Kamala Harris, breaking with national union
The council representing 35,000 Teamsters across Western Pennsylvania endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, breaking with the decision by its parent union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to not endorse a candidate in the race for president. Teamsters Joint Council #40 covers more than a dozen locals across Pittsburgh,...
North Allegheny senior teaches English to students in Ukraine
Ashley Chelyn Jang is nearly 5,000 miles from the students she’s teaching English to, but the language is a way to connect them. Jang was born in Boston and lived in Korea for a time before moving with her family to Marshall when she was in ninth grade. Now a...
East Hills man pleads guilty to killing father of his girlfriend’s child
Linda Rice stood distraught at the front of the courtroom. Her son, Allen Stevens, was shot dead last year in Pittsburgh’s East Hills section while picking up his 6-year-old child during a custody exchange with the boy’s mother. On Wednesday, the shooter, Trevon Taylor, pleaded guilty in Allegheny County Common...
Charlie Kirk appearance at Pitt elicits student political discourse
More than 100 University of Pittsburgh students gathered in the campus quad Wednesday where Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA co-founder and conservative influencer, answered students’ questions as part of his “You’re Being Brainwashed Tour.” Kirk brought Vivek Ramaswamy, a former presidential candidate, to the session hosted by Turning Point USA’s...
Munhall woman who died in Allegheny County Jail was brought there on drug charges
Authorities on Wednesday identified the woman who died last weekend in the Allegheny County Jail as a Munhall resident, but details remain sparse about the circumstances surrounding her death. Tracey Hickey, 53, died in the jail’s intake section in Downtown Pittsburgh at 7:56 a.m. Saturday, according to the Allegheny County...
Pittsburgh Glass Center debuts $15 million expansion
Forget about shattering the glass ceiling — Tuesday was about breaking the glass ribbon. The Pittsburgh Glass Center debuted its new $15 million facility expansion in the only way that would be appropriate — by cutting not just a ribbon, but one made of glass. Artists gathered to pull a...
Clairton man leads state police on 20-mile chase
A Clairton man is in jail after state police say he fled a traffic stop Tuesday in Mt. Pleasant Township. A state trooper was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Hempfield shortly after noon Tuesday when a Jeep Grand Cherokee with nearly opaque tinted windows drove past. The trooper performed a...
Preparations underway for Better Block event in New Kensington
The roads outside the YMCA in New Kensington got a lot more colorful on Wednesday. Sarah Snider, a member of the Valley Points Family YMCA board, and Draven Pointer, a Better Block architectural designer from Dallas, were among volunteers and members of Dallas-based Better Block Foundation who began painting the...
Caliente Pizza & Draft House expanding to Ross
Nick Bogacz wrecked his car on his first shift Pizza Outlet in Hampton. Hence, no pies got delivered that evening. “When I came back that first night, the manager was so busy he couldn’t really even talk to me,” Bogacz said. “I kind of stood there as a meek 17-year-old,...
Surprising $404K bid approved for demolition of Colfax Elementary School in Springdale
Colfax Elementary School in Springdale will be coming down at a cost well below what district officials had anticipated. The Allegheny Valley School Board on Tuesday approved a $404,000 base bid from Pine-based Kane Specialty Group LLC to perform asbestos abatement and demolish the 99-year-old building, which sits off Colfax...
Probation ordered for suspects in Hempfield casino scam
Two out-of-town gamblers charged last month with cheating at Live Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield were sentenced Wednesday to serve two years on probation. Police said Bahri Sahpolat, 47, of California, and Serdar Ozmen, 44, of Maryland, marked playing cards at a Mississippi stud poker table as part of a scheme...
Duquesne mom pleads guilty to killing infant son
A woman who initially blamed her 3-year-old daughter for killing her baby took responsibility Wednesday for the murder. Alisha Parker, 26, of Duquesne, pleaded guilty before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Beth A. Lazzara to third-degree murder, endangering the welfare of children, aggravated assault, simple assault and criminal mischief. She...
North Hills School District receives grant toward West View project
North Hills and Northgate school districts have been awarded state grants to upgrade infrastructure and address hazards. “Eliminating environmental hazards in our schools is vital to the well-being and success of our students,” state Rep. Emily Kinkead, D-Brighton Heights, in announcing the grants. “I’m proud to have helped secure this...
From the Newsroom: Why do police withhold officers’ names in deadly encounters?
In the summer of 2023, Jonathan Faidley, a U.S. Army veteran from Somerset County, found himself in an unimaginable situation. After learning from the news that his father, Robbie Saunders, 59, had been fatally shot by police in Ligonier Valley, Faidley sought answers. Saunders, who was disabled and had a...
‘Big Red’ struts its stuff at 77th annual Alle-Kiski Valley Marching Band Festival
Eleven high school marching bands performed Sept. 17 during the 77th annual Alle-Kiski Valley Marching Band Festival. The band fest — the longest running in Western Pennsylvania — took place at Valley High School in New Kensington. The Penn Hills “Big Red” Marching Band was among the nearly 900 musicians...
‘Motivated young lady’: Engineering project helps Bethel Park resident earn Gold Award
Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania has awarded Bethel Park resident and Lyla Walsh the Gold Award, which is the highest award a Girl Scout can receive. By earning the honor, Walsh positions herself as a community leader by advocating for others and using leadership and citizenship skills that set her apart...
