Western PA Local News category, Page 804
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...
Innamorato, Lee, Benham stump for abortion rights on Roe v. Wade anniversaryVideo
Eight years ago, Kelsey Leigh of Mt. Lebanon was 20 weeks pregnant when she learned that the son she was carrying would not be able to swallow or breathe. His limbs and neck were deformed. His bones would have broken during delivery, she said, no matter the method. “It was...
Unity man sentenced to state prison for drug, gun possession
A Unity man was sentenced Thursday to five to 10 years in a state prison for having drugs and a gun at the Hostetter Hotel. Jerome W. Thorton II, 33, pleaded guilty to prohibited possession of a firearm and possession with intent to deliver. He was ordered to pay $3,000...
Firefighters injured in Homestead blaze leave hospital
All five firefighters injured Saturday battling a Homestead blaze that heavily damaged three residences are back home and recuperating, Allegheny County officials said Monday. Two received minor to moderate burns and injuries from falling through the first floor to the basement of one of the damaged homes, said Abigail Gardner,...
Innamorato appoints public defender, nominates solicitor
For the first time, two of the top lawyers in Allegheny County government are Black women. On Monday, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato appointed Lena Bryan-Henderson as the county’s chief public defender. She also nominated Rosalyn Guy-McCorkle for county solicitor. Bryan-Henderson, who joined the public defender’s office in 1991, starts...
PWSA to hike residential rates by nearly $14 per month
The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority will soon raise average residential rates by nearly $14 per month. A typical residential bill is expected to jump next month to $100.27 from about $86.43 for 3,000 gallons of water, according to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. That’s a 16% increase. The hike...
Trib Lunch Box: AI in college, stolen artwork, poker jackpot, Steelers’ offseason
Here are some noon headlines from TribLive, Monday, Jan. 22, 2024: • AI changes the game in college culture wars “I do think academia is not blameless here. There is a degree of insularity, tone deafness that makes us soft targets.” • Stolen artwork worth $1 million is...
Participants sought for free Startup Accelerator program at The Corner, Digital Foundry in New Kensington
Selecting the right cocoa beans is important to making good-tasting chocolate. But for home chocolate-maker Wayne Dudding, that’s something he has to do by hand. “Some of the beans I receive aren’t very good for making chocolate. There’s different defects in them,” said Dudding, 62, a Freeport native who lives...
New parking lot, exterior repairs will position Harrison’s Hilltop Hose for the future
Upgrades to Hilltop Hose in Harrison won’t just boost safety, they’ll provide a station ready to house the next generation of firefighters, officials said. Chief Jeff Balog said his department will spend about $157,000 this year to repave the parking lot and replace the siding and windows. “We are located...
