Trib Lunch Box: PETA vs. Punxsutawney Phil, Pittsburgh singer, Roberto Clemente coin
Here are some noon headlines from TribLive, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024: We’ve made it even easier to get news from TribLive delivered right to your inbox. Choose from daily news and sports newsletters to stay informed of the news that matters most to you. Sign up here: • PETA...
Growing West Deer fire department eyes enclosed garage, live-in bunks
When West Deer Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 moved to its new station last year, members knew it would take time for the department to fit the station to their needs. “Making the transition to a new building was needed,” Chief Josh Wiegand said. “We just didn’t have the money...
Arts programming slated for Westmoreland
Arts grant applications open Applications are open for the Westmoreland County Bureau of Parks and Recreation’s grant program, supporting arts-related projects and activities in the county. Local nonprofit arts organizations and government entities involved in the production or display of arts activities are eligible, if their projects take place from...
Indiana County man sentenced to jail for trying to meet for sex with teen girl in Arnold
An Indiana County man was sentenced to two to four years in a state prison Monday for attempting to meet for sex in Arnold with someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl. James Carter Sears, 47, of White Township was ordered to register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law....
Truck smashes into New Kensington gun shop; 2 dozen firearms stolen
Federal authorities are offering a reward for information about the theft of about 25 firearms from a New Kensington gun store early Monday. A truck was used to smash through the door at RC Firearms on Freeport Street. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the National...
Congress considers commemorative coin honoring Roberto Clemente
Pittsburgh Pirates great Roberto Clemente may be honored on a commemorative coin if a measure currently before Congress is approved. U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-New York, joined local Reps. Chris Deluzio and Guy Reschenthaler in introducing legislation that would require the secretary of the treasury to mint commemorative coins honoring...
PETA wants to replace Punxsutawney Phil with coin toss
The animal rights group PETA wants to replace Punxsutawney Phil, the iconic Groundhog Day weather forecaster, with a gold coin. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s president Tom Dunkel urging him to swap out Pennsylvania’s most famous groundhog for a gold...
Western Pa. sets record for organ, tissue, cornea donations for 5th straight year
The Center for Organ Recovery & Education on Monday announced that the Western Pennsylvania area broke its record for the number of lives saved and healed through organ, tissue and cornea donations for a fifth consecutive year. There were 404 organ donors in 2023 in an area including Western Pennsylvania,...
Morning Roundup: Suspect arrested in connection with Homestead shooting
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Jan. 23: Suspect arrested in connection with Homestead shooting Allegheny County Police on Monday arrested Evan Hughes, 60, of Wilkinsburg in connection with a shooting in Homestead. On Jan. 17, police responded to a 911 report of a...
Annual Sprankle’s Octoberfest festival moving to permanent, rural location
A German-themed festival is moving to new permanent digs in southeastern Butler County. The annual Sprankle’s Octoberfest, in its sixth year, has grown from a fledgling festival to a full-scale three-day event filled with beer, fellowship, food, music, family fun and entertainment. “We’ve been looking for land, and the Sprankle...
Pitt-Greensburg site of upcoming blood drive
The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and Vitalant are partnering to host a blood drive on Jan. 31 at the Hempfield campus. It is open to the public. The drive will be held 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. at Smith Hall Lounge, 150 Finoli Drive. Vitalant is offering donors a chance to...
The Stroller, Jan. 23, 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. Opportunities available to help senior citizens Open Your Heart to a...
Program at Harrison library promotes growing vegetables, herbs and flowers at home
A program at the Community Library of Allegheny Valley is growing in more ways than one. The library along Harrison’s Broadview Boulevard plans to expand its Seed to Salad program so people can take packets of vegetable, herb and flower seeds and plant them at their homes. Julia Strzesieski, the...
Jeannette’s Clay Avenue ripe for redevelopment as city ups code enforcement
The contrasts are stark on Clay Avenue in Jeannette. Thriving businesses and eateries between the 200 and 600 blocks of the town’s business district are interspersed among abandoned or vacant buildings, many of which are ripe for redevelopment. “Those places have been there through the good and the bad …...
New Fox Chapel Area club ‘bakes’ a difference for those in need
A classic round green cake, decorated with a simple phrase, “Congratulations,” delivered a big message of support to a cancer patient who completed chemotherapy. The cake, a gift delivered to a person who recently completed chemotherapy, is one of numerous desserts donated by a group of student bakers from Fox...
Hempfield superintendent Wolicki resigns after extended leave of absence
Hempfield Area Superintendent Tammy Wolicki is officially retiring instead of returning to her job after an extended leave of absence. Wolicki was appointed as Hempfield’s superintendent in 2017. Her contract was renewed in 2021 and was set to run through June 2027. According to board solicitor Krisha DiMascio, Wolicki’s contract...
Norwin superintendent to leave district, catching school board off guard
Norwin Superintendent Jeff Taylor is leaving the district when his contract expires at the end of the school year, he said Monday. Taylor notified district faculty and staff in an email sent at 4:30 a.m. and at Monday night’s board meeting. He wouldn’t detail plans after his contract expires June...
Hempfield’s High Park firefighters have to decide from 3 options, chief says
After responding to one of 53 emergency calls in the last quarter of 2023, members of the High Park Volunteer Fire Department in Hempfield have a month to decide their fate. The fire department can go under township management, merge with a neighboring station or dissolve, fire Chief Anthony Kovacic...
Man who fled Jeannette traffic stop arraigned on multiple charges
A man who successfully eluded police and search dogs after escaping from an October traffic stop in Jeannette was arraigned Monday. Lance W. Frederick, 32, of Chester, just outside Philadelphia, was denied bail on charges of fleeing from police, unlawful possession of a firearm, drug possession and related offenses. It...
DEP OKs air quality plan for Rostraver landfill leachate system
The state has approved a Rostraver landfill owner’s plan to treat and evaporate the runoff flowing from the garbage dump, three months after fining the operator for how it was handling the leachate. The state Department of Environmental Protection in Pittsburgh said it recently approved the air quality plan submitted...
Suspect in shooting near Arnold Palmer airport in Unity ordered to stand trial
A Lancaster man was ordered Monday to stand trial on charges that he shot at a box truck driver last month in Unity. Tyler J. Mieczkowski, 22, faces charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, fleeing from police and reckless endangerment, court records show. Police said Mieczkowski fired several shots into...
‘You are the family historian’: Hampton library hosts monthly scrapbooking program
If you have a smartphone, you’re a photographer. “More pictures are being taken now, millions and millions of pictures,” Marie Golio acknowledged. “But we don’t do anything with them, so they’re being lost.” Sure, many of the images turn up on social media or online sharing platforms. But even more...
Yough students sweep Paint the Plow contest
Students at Yough High School swept PennDOT’s District 12 Paint the Plow contest, winning Fan Favorite and Judges’ Pick. This year’s theme was “seat belts are always in season” and students painted on a plow blade a cougar, the school’s mascot, buckling a seat belt amid changing weather. Students participated...
West Deer to promote part-timers to replace retiring longtime police officers
Two officers with a combined 60 years of experience are retiring from the West Deer Police Department. To ease the loss, the township elevated two part-time officers to full-time status and also hired two new part-timers. The township supervisors accepted the notice of the resignations of Sgt. Darren Mikus and...
Greensburg man sentenced for inappropriate contact with girl
A Greensburg man was sentenced Thursday to seven years on probation in connection with inappropriate contact with a girl. Tracy Higdon, 50, pleaded no contest child endangerment. Other charges, including aggravated indecent assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, were dismissed. Higdon was arrested in March 2021 after...
