Alle-Kiski Valley High School Reunion news Aug. 18, 2023
• Freeport High School Class of 1955 will have a get-together at 1 p.m. Sept. 6 at River Forest Country Club, Allegheny Township. Classmates and spouses welcome. • Ken Hi Class of 1958 will have a reunion at noon Sept. 21 at Hill Crest Country Club, Lower Burrell. Classmates who...
Pittsburgh’s 30th Street Bridge reopens after $1.8M refurbishing
Pittsburgh’s 30th Street Bridge reopened Thursday, city officials said, as a preservation project on the span is nearly complete. Traffic patterns during the bridge project restricted access to and from Washington’s Landing to a single, reversible lane and closed access from Route 28, the 31st Bridge and Rialto Street. Now,...
Family of 2018 murder victim calls Beaver County DA’s update on case a ‘political stunt’
The family of a 2018 murder victim said it was nothing more than a “political stunt” when earlier this week Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier announced a prime suspect in the case. Rachael DelTondo was gunned down in the driveway of her mother’s Aliquippa home more than five years...
The Stroller, Aug. 18, 2023: 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. Tickets on sale for wrestling event and craft show Citizens Volunteer...
Employee exodus blamed on hostile work environment in Allegheny Township
A slew of administrative resignations in Allegheny Township apparently has resulted from unrest among its three supervisors. Three township administrative employees — administrative assistant Denise Johnston, Director of Public Safety Lee Schumaker and Township Manager Greg Primm — submitted letters of resignation to supervisors. Johnston intends to resign effective Aug....
Hempfield scholastic community kicks off a new start at Harrold School
Hallways bustled Thursday as Hempfield Area School District’s ninth grade class members took their first steps through the doors of the former Harrold Middle School and into a new paradigm for the district. When they return next Thursday for the first day of class at what’s now being called Harrold...
Plum School District partners with therapists to serve those impacted by explosion tragedy
A few days ago, Erica Kuhn and Melissa Gionta-Oliver were strangers. Now the two therapists from Plum are spearheading efforts to provide an online database of mental health resources for the Plum Borough School District and community after the tragic house explosion Saturday in the borough’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood. The...
Therapy dogs provide comfort in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood
Gloria Frick says everyone knows the power dogs can have on a person’s well-being. On Thursday, Frick and other members of the Alliance of Therapy Dogs brought some four-legged comfort to Ridge Top Park in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood, where six people were killed in a home explosion Saturday. Those...
In brief: News from Saxonburg and McCandless
Saxonburg Octoberfest Sprankle’s Octoberfest is returning to Saxonburg Sept. 8-10 at the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company Carnival Grounds. This year marks the event’s fifth anniversary, and third year at Saxonburg VFC. The weekend kicks off 7 p.m. Sept. 7 with the Octoberfest Parade, hosted by the Saxonburg Area Business Association....
Penn Hills man charged with Scott Township shooting
A Penn Hills man has been charged in connection with a shooting in Scott Township. Juwan Haynes, 26, turned himself in to authorities Thursday night and is being held in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting arraignment, Allegheny County Police said. Police accuse Haynes of shooting a man shortly before 6:45...
Rustic Ridge residents meet with Plum officials as community begins to recover
Plum, Allegheny County and American Red Cross personnel shared resources to help residents in the borough’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood during a meeting Thursday night, in the wake of a house explosion in the neighborhood Saturday that killed six. “We want you to know that there’s a large community here that’s...
Vandergrift man sentenced to federal prison for robbing North Apollo bank in 2021
A Vandergrift man has been sentenced to serve nearly five years in a federal prison after he was convicted of robbing a North Apollo bank. Bradley Mondi, 36, was ordered by U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV to spend 57 months in prison followed by three years of supervised...
Shooting critically wounds man in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood; suspect in custody
A man was critically wounded in a shooting Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood, a city Public Safety spokeswoman said. The man, who is in his early 20s, was found in a grassy area near a sidewalk when city police responded to the shooting reported at about 4 p.m. at...
Murrysville business offers free cleaning services to families affected by Plum explosion
A Murrysville business has stepped forward to help families recovering from Saturday’s deadly explosion and fire in Plum. Murrysville Cleaners is offering free cleaning services to residents of the affected Rustic Ridge neighborhood, including free pickup and delivery of clothing. The offer is good through the end of September. “We...
Latrobe officials to remove error from official zoning map
Latrobe Planning Commission members approved the removal of the R6 zoning category from the city’s official zoning map. City Manager Terry Carcella recently informed the commission about the error, explaining that there is no R6 zoning category on the map itself. The R6 designation does not exist in the city’s...
Pittsburgh journalist sues Allegheny County over jail ‘gag order’ policies
A Pittsburgh journalist sued Allegheny County in federal court Thursday, claiming a county jail “gag order” violates jail staff’s First Amendment free-speech rights, as well as the press-freedom rights of journalists covering jail issues. The “gag order,” which actually is a combination of multiple county Bureau of Corrections policies, dictates...
Westmoreland commissioners settle juvenile detention center discrimination lawsuit
Westmoreland County will pay $90,000 to the deputy director of the county’s shuttered juvenile detention center to end a federal discrimination lawsuit. Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew voted to authorize the settlement with Nicole Kamer, who claimed she was passed over for the top job at the Hempfield facility...
Felony charge dropped against Arnold woman accused of fatally shooting dog in June
A felony charge filed against an Arnold woman accused of shooting her dog to death in June has been dropped. Arnold police charged Susan Mullenax, 49, of Alcoa Drive on June 11 with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals. She was detained for a day in the Westmoreland...
Gathering to celebrate life of Plum blast victim Kevin Sebunia set for Sunday
A gathering to celebrate the life of one of the six people who died in last week’s house explosion in Plum will be held Sunday afternoon. Family and friends of Kevin Sebunia, 55, will gather from 1 to 8 p.m. at Larry Mills Park to share photos, stories and messages...
Peoples mum about possible natural gas odor in Rustic Ridge prior to house explosion
Officials at Peoples Natural Gas Co. on Thursday would not say whether they had received reports of natural gas odors in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood in the days before a fatal house explosion. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to share any information on that front, because this is all...
Shaler police identify man found dead in Allegheny River
Shaler police said the man they found dead Thursday morning in the Allegheny River was a missing township resident suffering from dementia. Mark Massimiani, 60, was found in the river near the 31st Street Bridge by a rowing group, Shaler police Chief J. Sean Frank said. Massimiani, who was last...
Remembering soccer/hockey dad who died in Plum explosion: Paul Oravitz’s heart ‘was always in the right place’
Paul Oravitz insisted his friend should come. He had called Andy Zarroli, a neighbor and friend, the night before a St. Patrick’s Day beer crawl that Oravitz and others in their Rustic Ridge neighborhood were attending. Oravitz asked Zarroli if he was coming. “I said, ‘No, I don’t want to...
Norvelt VFD encourages local community to ‘spend the day’ at 4th annual Parking Lot Bash, Car Cruise
Norvelt Volunteer Fire Department’s Parking Lot Bash and Car Cruise is set to return for its fourth consecutive year — offering a day of food, prizes, music and more. Located in the parking lot of the VFD at 2325 Mt. Pleasant Road in Mt. Pleasant Township, the event will run...
Gov. Shapiro orders DEP probe of Plum house explosion
Stating that he is “extremely concerned” after a house blew up in Plum over the weekend, killing six people and causing catastrophic damage, Gov. Josh Shapiro has broadened the probe into the disaster by ordering the state Department of Environmental Protection to launch an investigation. The governor’s directive was issued...
New restaurant planned for Westmoreland courthouse
The chow line at the Westmoreland County Courthouse is expected to reopen this fall. Commissioners on Thursday approved a contract with the owners of Caffe Barista in Greensburg to operate the cafeteria space on the Upper Park level of the courthouse that since 2016 has been a Subway restaurant. Subway...
