Sharpsburg manager recognized for distinguished service
Sharpsburg officials know they have something special in borough Manager Christine DeRunk. Other entities are starting to take notice. She was given the 2025’s Distinguished Public Service Award from the Keystone State Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration. It was bestowed to the borough’s top administrator by Keystone...
Authorities rule death on Parkway East as suicide
Authorities confirmed Tuesday afternoon that a man killed Monday night on Interstate 376 near the Greenfield Bridge died by suicide. Police partially shut down the westbound lanes of the Parkway East for two hours Monday because of the incident. Neither Pittsburgh police nor Pennsylvania State Police provided details about what...
Duquesne City School student grazed by bullet
A Duquesne City School District student was grazed by a bullet Monday afternoon, according to school officials. Police were called to Duquesne High School during bus dismissal around 2:30 p.m. for a report of gunfire. Authorities responded and shortly thereafter called for a SWAT team, according to TribLive news partner...
Experts slam CDC guidance to slash childhood vaccination schedule
Pennsylvania medical experts fear vaccination rates will wane after federal health officials issued a nonbinding, but possibly influential, recommendation Monday that kids get fewer shots. Jim O’Neill, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, slashed the number of shots all children should receive to 11 from 17....
Burrell School Board seeking new member
Burrell School Board will start the new year with a new board member. Jean Schager submitted her letter of resignation effective Dec. 31, according to Superintendent Shannon Wagner. Schager was elected in 2021 and won reelection last year. Schager said her decision to leave the board came when her employer,...
Westmoreland slashes benefits for retired workers
Westmoreland County’s salary board on Monday rescinded a policy that allowed nonunion employees to receive health benefits after retirement, a move officials said could save taxpayers up to
$3.5 million annually. The three commissioners and Controller Jeffrey Balzer voted unanimously to eliminate the program, which allowed retirees to buy into...
Amy Weise Clements becomes acting Allegheny County controller
Amy Weise Clements on Monday stepped into the role of acting Allegheny County controller, replacing Corey O’Connor, who left the post to become Pittsburgh’s mayor. Weise Clements has served as deputy controller since O’Connor’s predecessor, Chelsa Wagner, appointed her in 2012. Previously, she was Allegheny County’s budget director for eight...
North Huntingdon police cruiser rammed head on during pursuit of stolen vehicle
A North Huntingdon police cruiser was damaged in a pursuit Saturday after authorities said a fleeing suspect rammed it head on, according to court papers. Police attempted to stop a stolen Hyundai Elantra they said was driven by Julian Jamar Johnson, 39, of Pittsburgh, on Route 30 in the township...
Authorities unable to determine cause of fatal Tarentum fire
The cause of a Dec. 13 fatal fire in Tarentum remains unclear, authorities said. Kasey Reigner, spokesperson for the county’s Department of Emergency Services, said the fire was investigated by the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office and the “origin and cause will remain undetermined.” The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office...
Westmoreland developments: Manor restaurant revived, Hempfield welcomes secondhand clothing store
It’s safe to say Julia Gutkowski was born into the restaurant industry. The 19-year-old Irwin resident made her debut in the food business as an eighth grade student in the Penn-Trafford School District while waitressing at Manor Grille — the restaurant her parents, Derek and Megan Gutkowski, operated for more...
10 ‘unsafe’ structures could come down in Tarentum
Tarentum is targeting 10 homes for demolition this year, all of which are deemed unsafe by borough officials. The structures are abandoned and in such disrepair that it would be cost prohibitive to rehab them, according to a memo by Anthony Bruni, code enforcement officer. The list includes: • 913,...
Pittsburgh council welcomes fresh face to its ranks, District 2’s Kim Salinetro
Pittsburgh’s newest City Council member, Democrat Kim Salinetro, who will represent the city’s West End neighborhoods, took the oath of office on Monday. Salinetro was sworn in alongside returning council members Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District, and Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, all of whom won another term....
ATV, UTV permit process streamlined for Gilpin, Bethel, Parks townships
Starting this year, ATV and UTV riders in Gilpin, Bethel and Parks townships will have to do a little less work to prep for riding. According to a Facebook post Saturday from Gilpin Supervisor Charles Stull, an ATV or UTV permit acquired in Parks, Bethel or Gilpin is now valid...
Newly elected Arnold Council members want to make a difference for the city
Two newly elected Arnold Council members hope to help move the city forward after winning an election race that didn’t garner much attention or competition. Frank Radeshak and Terrilyn Cheatham Prescott will be sworn-in Monday. Two four-year council seats were on the November ballot, but Radeshak was the only candidate...
Former convenience store CEO, expansion leader Steve Sheetz dies
Former Sheetz Corp. president and CEO Steve Sheetz, who oversaw the expansion of the Altoona-based convenience store chain, died Sunday, the company said. Sheetz, 77, was head of the family-owned multi-state convenience store chain from 1984 to 1995, succeeding his brother, Bob, who had founded the business in 1952, according...
Allegheny County DA drops charges against Cheswick man previously accused of raping child
Allegheny County prosecutors dropped more than a dozen charges — many of them felony sex crimes — against a Cheswick man previously accused of raping a child. Jeremiah Segan, 42, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault in December as part of a negotiated plea. He was sentenced to 30 months...
Snow out, rain in, as thaw displaces deep freeze in Pittsburgh area
Goodbye, snow. Temperatures in Pittsburgh this week could reach 60 degrees and lead to snowmelt in a winter warm-up set to end a six-day run of frigid weather, according to the National Weather Service in Moon. The mercury started rising Monday morning in Pittsburgh and is expected to plateau in...
Duncan’s Diner: Shaler teen gives back with Make-A-Wish to help other kids fighting cancer
Between the nausea and mucositis from chemotherapy and the repetitive hospital food, keeping himself well-fed was one of the toughest parts of treatment for 16-year-old leukemia survivor and Shaler Area High School student Duncan Simmons. What helped both emotionally and physically, he said, was his parents, Chris and Neelie Simmons,...
The Stroller, Jan. 5, 2026: 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. Harrison holiday concert rescheduled...
Derry plans to spotlight Bigfoot at proposed new borough park
Derry is planning to make a new home for its resident Bigfoot before the tall creature gets too attached to its setting at the town’s Mossback Park. The carved-wood rendering celebrates the legendary hairy biped said to frequent nearby Chestnut Ridge. It made its debut in September 2024 as a...
Latrobe nonprofit makes bid for former movie house as theater company undergoes bankruptcy
The fate of Latrobe’s former Manos Theatre building has been in limbo for years. It could enter a new chapter as a result of an ongoing bankruptcy proceeding and a purchase offer from the nonprofit Latrobe Community Revitalization Program. The one-time movie house at 227 Main St. most recently was...
Burrell physical education teacher channels creative side with wooden ornaments
Rich Thome is an elementary physical education teacher by day and a talented wood carver by night. So talented, in fact, 18 of his wood-crafted Christmas ornaments raised about $760 for the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh through a silent auction among Bon Air Elementary faculty this winter. “I get...
Corey O’Connor sworn in as Pittsburgh’s 62nd mayorVideo
Corey O’Connor, the Squirrel Hill native, former Pittsburgh councilman and champion of paid sick leave and gun reform, on Monday became the city’s 62nd mayor, following in the footsteps of his father and vowing to foster growth and opportunity for his hometown. District Judge James J. Hanley administered the oath...
Shaler police charge pair of 18-year-old men with stealing items from unlocked vehicles
Two 18-year-old men from Shaler are accused of stealing belongings from unlocked vehicles in the township early Sunday morning. Shaler police charged Samuel Joseph Ruano and Jacob Thomas Klugh. In court filings, Shaler police said they went to the 200 block of Rosebriar Drive shortly before 3 a.m. for a...
Incoming Scottdale mayor embraces chance to ‘help in the best way possible’
Before entering the race for Scottdale mayor, Lindy House said she never saw herself as a leader. But as she prepared to officially assume her role Monday, Jan. 5, the mayor-elect said she has one goal: to build a stronger link between the community and its government. “Our best leaders...
