Valley News Dispatch category

For the third time in the last 18 months, a Westmoreland County jury is hearing evidence against a New Kensington man charged with the fatal shooting of an Arnold drug dealer nearly five years ago. Letresse Tareke Williams, 35, is charged with second-degree murder, robbery and other related offenses in...

Cheswick Council opted not to raise property taxes in its recently passed budget, but some utility prices will increase. Residents will pay a combined $76 more per year with the utility hikes, $56 for fixed water rates and $20 for refuse rates. That’s a 30.4% increase in water rates and...

Allegheny County Police said there might be more victims of sexual assault by a former Highlands School District teacher arrested Thursday. Sean Dicer, 53, was arrested at his Pacific Avenue home in Brackenridge. He was charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, unlawful contact with a minor and...

Riverview students can have a seat at the table. Oakmont and Verona councils have opened applications for student representatives to join the conversation. The programs allow selected Riverview students to attend monthly council voting and workshop meetings, budget sessions and community events. Both boroughs encourage the student representatives to participate...

State police say a man fired several shots from a handgun at another vehicle during a road rage episode in North Buffalo on Friday. Dillon Schaub, 32, of Manor Township, faces dozens of charges in connection to the incident, including felony aggravated assault, terroristic threats and recklessly endangering another person....

Police continue to investigate a homicide that took place early Saturday morning outside the New Kensington Elks Lodge, 932 Third Ave. Jeffrey Ballard, 46, was shot and killed outside the bar at around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, said Melanie Jones, a spokeswoman for the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office. Ballard is...

Brackenridge administrator Denise Tocco submitted her letter of resignation to council last week. Tocco served as office manager, secretary and treasurer for 43 years. She will officially retire Friday. Tocco was not at the meeting, but her letter was read aloud. She thanked council for “the opportunity to be part...

Plum’s annual Make-A-Wish telethon is set to return later this month for its 25th edition. The livestreamed event has raised $1.19 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation since it began in 1999. But organizers are hoping to crack the $1.25 million mark this year, according to Plum High School teacher and...

Springdale police have charged a Monessen man after two dozen shots were fired outside a borough business late Saturday night. Police charged Armando Antonio Diaz, 22, with robbery, theft, aggravated and simple assault, reckless endangerment, and firearms offenses, according to court records. According to a criminal complaint, an officer monitoring...

The former Manos Gallery in Tarentum will continue to be filled with art, albeit a different medium. Artist Chris Provenzo plans to open Golden Rule Tattoo Co. on Jan. 3 in the building along East Fifth Avenue. “Tattoo design is versatile, and I’ve worked very hard to try to create...

Avonmore Light Up Night will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 13 on Fifth Street. Santa will be available at 7 p.m. and there will be vendors, a Santa’s Shop, a basket raffle, crafts and s’mores. Presents will be distributed to children age 1 to 12. Cheswick Christmas in...

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. AK Valley Historical Society...

The decision to approve or reject a developer’s proposal to build a massive data center in Springdale is ultimately up to its borough council. With a decision set to be handed down in just over a week, state and local politicians say they, too, have been keeping an eye on...

New Kensington and Westmoreland County police continue to investigate after a man was shot dead early Saturday morning, a spokeswoman for the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said. County detectives were called to assist New Kensington police outside the Elks Lodge on Third Avenue around 3:30 a.m., said Melanie Jones,...

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. Toy drive to benefit...

Sean Dicer was a familiar face in the Highlands School District community. He’d be seen at various sports events and activities, taking pictures of students. He was a popular teacher. That made the news that broke Friday about Dicer, 53, being accused of sexually assaulting and extorting two boys at...

Armstrong County Senior Centers Apollo Thursday: Christmas party with $5 gift exchange. Covered dish optional. Hours: 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays. Details: Charlotte at 800-368-1066 or Amy at 724-478-1410. The center is at 707A N. Fifth St., Apollo. Freeport Tuesday: money bingo. Friday: Christmas party. The center is at...

Springdale residents and other locals will gather for a second community meeting ahead of borough council’s vote on a massive proposed data center at the site of the former Cheswick Generating Station. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9, at From Italy Pizza in Springdale. Organized by...

During Allegheny Valley School District’s two-month search for a consistent high school biology teacher, Superintendent Patrick Graczyk said other teachers, outside substitutes and even school principals stepped in to keep the science class going. Eventually, the district found a long-term substitute with an emergency biology certification to fill the role...

An Allegheny Township man died Friday morning in a two-vehicle crash in Upper Burrell. Brian Edward McCormick, 60, was driving a Nissan Sedan at 6:56 a.m. Friday near the intersection of Manchester Hill Road and Route 780 when he collided with another vehicle, according to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office....

Former Leechburg police chief Michael Diebold’s most recent felony charge, claiming he had not reported all of the internet sites and apps he had been using, has been dismissed. After pleading guilty in December 2018 to soliciting sex online from a state trooper who was posing as a 14-year-old girl,...

A former Highlands School District teacher is charged with sexually assaulting and extorting two young students at his Brackenridge home. Sean M. Dicer, 53, is accused of assaulting the boys, who are now 16, when they were 11 and 12 years old, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday. One...

Brackenridge residents will pay 21% more in property taxes next year after council approved the borough’s $1.5 million budget Thursday. The plan calls for an increase in the tax rate from 7 to 8.5 mills. The owner of a home assessed at the median value of $50,900 will pay $432, an...

About a year and a half after Corey Comperatore was slain during the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump at a political rally in Butler County, the former firefighter’s family plans to start a foundation in his name. The Corey Comperatore Foundation will be a 501(c)3 nonprofit aimed at financially...

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. Winter market to feature...