Westmoreland happenings: Art exhibits, festivals, car cruise, more
Art • The Greensburg Art Center and the Pittsburgh Print Group will sponsor a joint exhibit about printmaking Sept. 14 through Oct. 19 at the art center, 230 Todd School Road, Hempfield. A free opening reception will be held 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 14. Refreshments will be served. A...
Heroism, unity theme of Lower Burrell 9/11 service
When people gather to remember the lives lost during the terrorist attacks of 9/11, one of the most commonly asked questions is whether others remember where they were when they heard the news. But the more appropriate question, said Lower Burrell No. 3 Fire Chief Brennan Sites, is if people...
Plum municipal authority will color code fire hydrants to delineate flow rates
Firefighters in Plum soon will know how much water a hydrant can provide just by looking at it. At the request of the borough and its volunteer fire departments, the Plum Borough Municipal Authority will color code the roughly 600 fire hydrants in the borough. That work is tentatively expected...
Acmetonia students honor Patriot Day with service
Mila Bock wants her school to have a Patriot Day observance every year from now on. “It’s important to honor people that died during the tragedy,” said the sixth grader at Acmetonia Elementary School in Harmar. The school held its first Patriot Day event Wednesday, the 23th anniversary of 9/11,...
Plum School District gets $1.9M grant, eyes borrowing for work at 2 schools
As grant money comes in to help offset some of the cost, the Plum School Board will vote this month to authorize borrowing nearly $10 million toward an anticipated $30 million building project. If approved by the board at its Sept. 24 meeting, the district’s financial advisors would have the...
Podcast: U.S. Steel navigates political storm
In recent months, Pittsburgh has been the center of a national conversation on an international sale. The proposed purchase of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel in a $14.9 billion deal still faces opposition from politicians on both sides as well as the U.S. Department of Justice. As the 2024 election...
Big Lots enters court-supervised sale process, plans more closures
Big Lots shoppers are hoping their local stores will be spared from closure as the closeout retailer navigates its way through bankruptcy. “I was just looking for a chair,” said Hempfield resident Bev Lauffer while she perused the Big Lots there this week, adding she shops at Big Lots on...
Lower Burrell signs contract to fix ‘greener than grass’ algae problem at lake
Lower Burrell is moving forward to remediate the algae situation in Burrell Lake Park. City Council on Monday approved a contract of nearly $5,900 with Solitude Lake Management for water quality restoration at Burrell Lake this fall. “We had to get started to take care of the lake,” Councilman Mike...
Road work on tap, fire station roofs to be replaced in New Kensington
State and federal grants are paying for more improvements in New Kensington. New Kensington City Council on Monday awarded a contract of just under $96,900 to Derry Construction to resurface Fifth Avenue between Seventh and 11th streets. The company had submitted the lowest of seven bids, city engineer Tony Males...
Threats to local schools jump after Georgia school shooting, attract FBI interest
A recent spate of unfounded threats against schools in the region is becoming typical in the wake of major school shootings such as the one in Georgia last week. Since Friday, there have been at least nine districts affected by threats of violence in Southwestern Pennsylvania. All of the threats...
Ligonier Valley School Board members accused of interfering in special education investigation
Ligonier Valley School Board President Don Gilbert has accused four fellow board members of interfering in a district investigation into a 2023 incident that left a high school teacher with severe injuries. The teacher was injured in an encounter with a special needs student. Authorities did not file charges in...
E-bikes increasingly make rounds in North Park
There is no denying the popularity of e-bikes, and anybody who has ridden one will tell you what an amazing experience it can be. Whether you are tackling the rolling hills of Western Pennsylvania or simply riding the 5-mile loop around the lake at North Park, the electronic assistance turns...
Delmont runs into unexpected costs in sewage consent order
Unanticipated costs are cropping up as Delmont officials take steps to comply with a consent order from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to address sewage overflows. The order addresses overflows that occur during heavy rain, discharging a mix of raw sewage and storm water onto property in neighboring Salem...
Live from Shanksville: Biden, Harris, Trump pay their respectsVideo
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump visited the Flight 93 National Memorial Wednesday as part of the observance of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Trump was the last to arrive at the site in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, that marks where United Airlines Flight...
Garden Club at Mary Queen of Apostles nourishes minds and bodies
Students at Mary Queen of Apostles are rolling up their sleeves to do their part for the environment — and their bellies. Garden Club members are in their second year tending to a monarch butterfly sanctuary near the school’s front entrance on Elmtree Road in New Kensington. Plants such as...
The Stroller, Sept. 11, 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. Concert scheduled Friday in...
For volunteers, Flight 93 Memorial ‘like a phoenix rising’
Retired elementary school teacher Kathy Lioi is among dozens of volunteers who walk the grounds and tell the story of United Airlines Flight 93 and its ending on Sept. 11, 2001. “I want to tell people about its history. It’s hard not to feel a part of this place,” said...
Pittsburghers react to high-profile presidential debate between Harris, Trump
One point stood out to Emily Vaughan after she watched a tense debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump: Harris goaded Trump into rambling, and it worked very well. “Trump fell for every single offensive statement that Harris threw his way, spiraling into yelling about completely...
Brackenridge reviving holiday cheer with new decorations after 3-year hiatus
Christmas decorations once again will brighten Brackenridge Avenue this holiday season. Councilman Dino Lopreiato, chairman of parks and recreation, told Brackenridge Council he has ordered decorations to adorn utility poles along the business district’s main street. “Brackenridge Avenue will light up again like it used to,” Lopreiato said. He said...
Police: 3 taken to hospital after pedestrians struck by vehicle Downtown
Two pedestrians are in stable condition after being struck by a truck Tuesday evening Downtown, and the vehicle’s driver is in critical condition, police said. Pittsburgh Police, along with fire and EMS, were dispatched to Sixth Avenue at Centre Avenue around 7:15 p.m. for a report of two people, an...
News companies walk fine line of trust versus efficiency with AI tools
This story was not written using artificial intelligence, but it could have been. Although the technology might have sped up the writing process, the quality of the information — and the trust the reader has in it — likely would have suffered. Use of AI in the news industry, so...
North Huntingdon man who drove school buses accused of sharing nude pics with teen
A North Huntingdon man who worked as a bus driver and was a police chaplain is accused of exchanging nude photos with a student he drove to school in an effort to groom the 17-year-old Duquesne boy, police said. Michael F. Singer, 57, told police he shared sexually explicit photos...
Wheeling man dies after I-70 crash in Washington County
A Wheeling man died after he was involved in a crash Tuesday morning in Donegal Township, Washington County. Christopher A. Clutter, 35, of Wheeling, died of injuries after his car left Interstate 70 near the 6-mile marker sometime between 4 a.m. and 8:22 a.m., according to Washington County Coroner Timothy...
Former friends testify in Scottdale vehicular assault trial
Nicole Moore and Tiara Stout and their children once vacationed together in Virginia Beach. A year later, Moore was in jail, charged with running down Stout with her car outside a Scottdale apartment building. Both women testified Tuesday during the second day of Moore’s trial in Westmoreland County. Moore is...
Drug case will proceed against Murrysville vape shop owners
Owners of a Murrysville vape shop whom authorities said were selling illegal substances out of the business will have criminal charges proceed in Westmoreland County court, a district judge found Tuesday. Jeffrey R. Higgins, 41, of Murrysville and Eric J. Parco, 46, of Plum — owners of PA Vapor &...
