Valley News Dispatch category

Crews began working to repair a 115-year-old bridge in South Buffalo this week after it abruptly closed to vehicle traffic in July. The bridge, which carries Clinton Road over a set of railroad tracks, has remained blocked off after an inspection called for “critical repairs” to its structure. The structure...

For a second time, the Springdale Planning Commission opted on Wednesday to postpone its recommendation to borough council to approve or deny a massive data center project. The planning commission will reconvene to try again Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. In late September, the three-member commission delayed its decision, opting...

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. Leechburg Fall Festival planned...

Leechburg Area School District residents may be seeing balanced property tax bills as early as next school year. District Business Manager Jake Chapla presented a method to balance property taxes between the district’s Armstrong County and Westmoreland County residents after years of uneven taxation. There are multiple calculation methods provided...

Ed Freeman has been going to the United Physicians clinic in New Kensington “for what seems like forever.” “My father came here, and he lived to be 85,” said Freeman, who lives in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of New Kensington. “And that’s how I ended up going here.” But come...

A divided New Kensington Council appointed a retired Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County employee to the New Kensington Water Authority board. Council voted 3-2 to appoint Tom Ceraso to the water authority board, for a term that expires at the end of 2027. One resident, Melvyn Smith, believed Ceraso’s appointment...

A New Kensington man is accused of causing serious injuries to his 2-month-old infant. New Kensington police filed aggravated assault, child endangerment and obstruction charges against Jacob Alexander Piontek, 25, after his child suffered seizures, a stroke and brain trauma after being in his care, according to a criminal complaint....

Social media safety and trending scams will be the topics of discussion during a free presentation at the Allegheny Kiski Health Foundation in Harrison. Township police will present “Street Smarts and Safety: Exploitation, Awareness and Staying in Control,” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19. The program is for all...

The monthslong lobby improvement project at Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School will be nearly complete by the end of next month, according to district Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Jay Zangrille. Construction of larger restrooms in the lobby, as well as a separate one for use by one person at a time,...

A small stretch of Pillow Avenue in Springdale Township will remain closed through late October for drainage improvements, according to PennDOT. Traffic will be detoured between Hite and Low Grade roads. Motorists will have to divert their routes through Harmar via Route 28. Crews from A. Liberoni, Inc. will conduct...

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. Halloween costumes available at...

The Vietnam-era helicopter outside the VFW Post 92 in Lower Burrell has been restored thanks to the help of students from the Forbes Road Career and Technology Center in Monroeville. Last weekend, students from Forbes’ SkillsUSA chapter partnered with A-K Valley Back the Blue to repaint the helicopter, displayed outside...

New Kensington anticipates generating about $30,000 in additional revenue under a proposal that would increase the license fee for mechanical skill games. Council this week advanced a plan to increase annual license fees for skill games from $300 to $750, which is an increase of about 150%. “It’s my opinion...

A mid-West coffee giant known for brewing 20,000 unique beverages might be settling into Harrison. Founded in Arkansas and famous through social media channels, 7 Brew is seeking preliminary approval for lot consolidation along Freeport Road. The company presented its plan Monday before the township’s planning commission, seeking the green...

The Pittsburgh Mills is reeling from another national retailer vacating the Frazer mall — the third instance of a major retailer leaving the complex in four months. Bath and Body Works opened its store in the Mills for the last time on Saturday. The company did not respond to requests...

After a standing-room-­only meeting late last month, Springdale’s Planning Commission will come together again Wednesday to consider a massive proposed data center in the borough. The commission postponed a vote on whether to recommend borough council approve or deny a developer’s application at the previous meeting, opting to further analyze...

Trick-or-Treat Residents participating in trick-or-treat should turn on their porch lights. To have information included in the Stroller’s big Halloween listings online at TribLive.com and in the Valley News Dispatch, email information to cpinto-smith@triblive.com. Allegheny Township: 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31. Apollo: 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31. Arnold:...

A paid EMS Authority served by the consolidation of Eureka Community Ambulance in Tarentum and Citizens Hose EMS in Harrison remains “a ways off,” according to some local officials. The idea, floated last year as a solution for the nationwide EMS funding crisis, would see member municipalities sharing the costs...

Long before he jumps in his salt truck, Unity Supervisor Mike O’Barto says, the township has to consider winter road maintenance and road salt acquisition. O’Barto is among 21 plowmen, including two other township supervisors, who work to clear the 165 miles of roads in Unity, which is one of...

A Tarentum woman suffered a medical emergency before her car crashed into the Pizza Hut in Harrison on Monday night. Harrison police were dispatched to the crash at around 6:45 p.m. Monday at the Pizza Hut, 3036 Freeport Road, said Chief Brian Turack. Two people were inside the car when...

An Allegheny Township man faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading no contest Monday to fentanyl possession. George Zachary Senko, 40, was charged in May 2023 following a traffic stop on South Leechburg Hill Road after police found four bricks of fentanyl in his vehicle. As jury selection...

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. Halloween cash bash to...

Police in Springdale Township arrested on Friday a Chinese national believed to be connected with a large-scale scam ring that took one local resident for more than $100,000. Zhudi Chen, 40, of New York is charged with felony theft and financial exploitation. Allegheny Valley Regional Police Chief Michael Naviglia said...

Just five months after the Leechburg bike and Tow Path Trail were opened to the public, another half-mile has been added to take people into Hyde Park. The trail was created in two sections, with a milelong section built directly into the borough. This section of the project was headed...

Shayle Prorok wants to remove the negative connotation of the word exercise. “Why can’t it be fun?” said Prorok, owner of the Rhythm Ridez spin studio at 878 Fifth Ave. in New Kensington. “I want to create that atmosphere. “Wherever they are on their health journey, they’re pedaling. I want...