Valley News Dispatch category, Page 124

After 33 years as a hot ladle craneman at the former Allegheny Ludlum (now ATI), Todd Barbiaux couldn’t enjoy retirement until he salvaged a bit of the company’s history for future generations. The former union president of Local 1196, Barbiaux recovered a 17-foot side silhouette of a stainless-steel 1960 Thunderbird...

Here is a weekly look at recent images captured throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley. From major news events to routine gatherings, TribLive’s “Scenes from the Valley” photo package brings to life activities and moments happening in your backyard. To have a photo considered as a “Scenes from the Valley” candidate, please...

Highlands sports broadcasters Mike Choma and Mike Pavlik still get chills when they enter the Golden Rams basketball court and see the 2020 WPIAL boys basketball championship banner hanging from the ceiling. “That’s one I’ll never forget,” said Pavlik, 60, of Lower Burrell. “When we got back from that game...

Before February of last year, Danny English was the type of man who liked to keep busy. Working as an office manager for State Farm while following his musical passions, teaching piano lessons and directing the music program for Aspinwall Presbyterian Church, English said his life was “busy, but I...

The rat infestation in Arnold is so bad now that it could result in your car getting towed. City officials have been trying get the problem under control by cutting down on garbage that litters properties, streets and alleys. They say that rats are attracted to garbage that’s left out...

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. Food truck festival on tap in West Deer The West Deer...

A remedy to combat speeding on Greensburg Road in Upper Burrell is on the way. PennDOT officials approved reducing the speed limit from 55 to 45 mph in the 2200 block of Greensburg Road, or Route 366. The township requested a traffic study after fielding complaints from neighbors who advocated...

About six months after being named Arnold’s new police chief, Josh Stanga has been placed on administrative leave while he is the subject of an investigation, Mayor Shannon Santucci said Saturday. Santucci said Stanga is the target of an investigation underway by state police and the state Attorney General’s Office...

Fran Aller still vividly remembers his dimples. She was among those who’d see Brian Shaw come into the Sheetz in New Kensington during his brief time as a police officer in the city, before he was shot and killed during a traffic stop in November 2017. “He was always smiling,”...

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. Apollo library to offer oral history workshops The Pennsylvania Rural Arts...

Correction: The original posting of this story did not say that Kiski Township was among those municipalities joining police regionalization talks. This update also clarifies when public input will be sought. Leechburg and Parks Township are including more communities in their discussions about police regionalization. According to D.J. Zelczak, a...

Financial struggles could force the merger of two of the longest-serving EMS companies in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Citizens EMS in Harrison and Eureka Community Ambulance Service in Tarentum are considering joining forces to become one provider — though discussions are in the early phases and details are scant. Harrison’s commissioners...

O’Hara and Blawnox residents likely will be protected by one police department beginning in the new year. Councils from both municipalities have reached a tentative agreement to consolidate departments, saying they are “looking forward to the combination.” An announcement was posted Thursday to the O’Hara website. Township Manager Julie Jakubec...

At least one person was taken by helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital Friday afternoon after a two-vehicle crash in New Kensington. The crash happened around noon. A Westmoreland County 911 supervisor said emergency crews responded to the area of Industrial Boulevard and Eighth Street. A road closure was in effect...

Changes in dress code, grading and class times could be coming to Highlands School District when students head back to class Aug. 27. Building principals have presented proposed 2024-25 handbooks that the school board will vote on during its next meeting at 7 p.m. Monday. The most significant changes include...

Burrell School District officials are eyeing improvements to the district’s internal communication system for emergencies. The school board is considering a service agreement with Emergent 3 for technology software to handle internal communications among district staff during emergencies or drills. The contract would be for a three-year term. The first...

Allegheny County Police say a Plum woman drove drunk, with her 7-month-old in the back seat, when she was involved in a crash in January that killed a 74-year-old man in O’Hara. Alyssa J. Galiano, 29, turned herself in Friday morning after an arrest warrant was issued. She faces felony...

Publicize your nonprofit’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. Casino Theatre plans auditions for holiday show The Casino Theatre in...

Plans for Cranberry-based MPF Management to have a portion of Indiana Township rezoned for potential oil and gas development were put to a halt by township supervisors. The board voted 4-1 Aug. 14 to deny advertising a public hearing on a request to change a 59-acre parcel along Route 910...

Township Manager Daniel Miller is now the arbiter of information in Allegheny Township. Supervisors agreed to put Miller in charge of what goes on the township’s bulletin board, outdoor electronic sign, website and other means of communication as one official, Supervisor Mike Korns, awaits his day in court. Korns is...

As part of a continuing retention and recruitment effort, police officers in Verona soon will be making more money than ever before. Verona Council voted Tuesday, Aug. 13 to raise the pay rate by 15% for all of the department’s current and future police officers. The borough is looking to...

The Plum School District has flexibility as it begins a three-step process to borrow $30 million for a building project. The school board last week authorized district administration to work with financial advisers, bond counsel, an underwriter and the district’s solicitor to prepare for borrowing nearly $10 million for the...

Plum police Chief Lanny Conley has a new five-year contract and two newly promoted officers to go along with it. Council approved the contract and promotions at its meeting on Monday, Aug. 12. Conley’s current salary is $154,628. The contact includes 3.5% annual raises with the first effective in January....

The lower lakes at Deer Lakes Park are “virtually unfishable,” said Tom Fitzgerald, a longtime fisherman and East Deer resident. Fitzgerald walks the park nearly every day and notes three glaring issues with the ponds: overgrowth, algae and lily pads out of control. “There are parts where it looks like...

Vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance used his speech to an invitation-only crowd at Lower Burrell’s VFW post to criticize President Joe Biden’s administration for its withdrawal from Afghanistan. “We lost 13 brave service members we didn’t need to lose,” said Vance, flanked by Republican lawmakers, most of whom also are...