Valley News Dispatch category, Page 13

Festa Italiana is a long-running tradition for the families that attend and the families that volunteer for the fundraiser at Mount St. Peter Church in New Kensington. But for the Rev. Dan Blout, who took over as pastor of Mount St. Peter four weeks ago, this year’s 44th Festa was...

No one was hurt in a fire that severely damaged a house containing four apartments on New Kensington’s Sixth Avenue early Saturday. The fire appeared to start at the back of the three-story house at 533/535 Sixth Ave. and burned through the roof. A state police fire marshal will investigate...

When popping sounds from her neighbor’s burning home woke Holly Bills up early Saturday morning, her fire safety training kicked in. She knew to get out and away from her home along the Allegheny River in Harmar, but it wasn’t easy. “I had difficulty opening the door because the siding...

Two women in their 60s died after a two-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon on Route 66 in Washington Township. The nearly head-on crash of two SUVs happened about 1 p.m. near Paradise Drive, township Police Sgt. Vincent Surace said. There were witnesses to the crash, he said. According to Surace, Janice...

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. Pet food, supplies needed...

An adult patient was airlifted by medical helicopter to an area trauma center after a crash involving a motorcycle Friday evening in Lower Burrell, according to first responders. The crash occurred on Route 56 in the vicinity of Hill Crest Country Club. Chief Brennan Sites said Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire...

Several homeowners in Plum were shocked Friday to learn they were listed as plaintiffs in two lawsuits filed a day earlier by insurance companies in connection with a fatal 2023 house explosion in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood. The lawsuits, filed in Alle­gheny County Common Pleas Court on behalf of Erie...

U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio is investigating whether the Trump administration axed a regional town hall tour for veterans to obscure the impact of staff cuts on their health care. In a letter sent Thursday to Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, Deluzio demanded answers as to who called off the events...

Valley Jr.-Sr. High School students can hit the snooze button a few more times before heading off to school. The New Kensington-Arnold School District announced a new start time — 30 minutes later — for Valley Jr.-Sr. High School students for the upcoming school year. Buses will begin arriving at...

Harrison residents who live in the 1st Ward can apply to fill a vacancy on the township’s board of commissioners. Longtime board member Chuck Dizard submitted his resignation Monday, leaving an unexpired term of about 2½ years. Anyone interested in the term must submit a letter of interest and an...

Belly dancers and Brazilian drummers will take center stage at the B.I.G. Fair in Brackenridge, which returns this month after a five-year covid-related break. Brackenridge Avenue will close from Morgan Street to Locust Lane while live bands entertain crowds along the quarter-mile stretch. The smell of gyros, hot sausage and...

The history-rich, Western Pennsylvania Fireman’s Convention returns to New Kensington next week. The five-day annual convention, which includes services, a parade and the infamous Battle of the Barrel, starts Thursday evening and runs until Monday, said Ed Saliba Jr., New Kensington fire chief. “It would be nice for the public...

After the Pennsylvania Game Commission added 10 new Sundays to this year’s hunting season on Monday, local sportsmen say they’re gearing up for more time in the woods come September. The commission voted to instruct its executive director to open up 10 Sundays for hunting starting Sept. 14 and ending...

As long as Michael McKechnie is Harrison’s tax collector, Alyce Olszewski will be right by his side. After all, she has worked for the McKechnie family for 72 years. Olszewski started working for McKechnie’s father, John, in 1953. She was fresh out of high school, looking for a company that...

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. Lower Burrell festival to...

Those planning to attend Mount St. Peter Church’s annual Festa Italiana on Friday and Saturday are reminded to catch a shuttle from Valley High School. There is little or no parking near the church. The free shuttles will run from the Valley High School parking lot throughout the festival —...

New Kensington police filed charges against a 30-year-old man accused of inappropriately touching and assaulting a woman and a girl over a two-year period. Joshua Daniel Large, of New Kensington, faces charges of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, criminal attempt at indecent assault, corruption of minors and harassment. On Dec....

John G. Knapp has a long history of serving his country. His next act of service will be as superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery, a final resting place for many of America’s fallen heroes and prominent figures, symbolizing the nation’s history and honoring those who served. “Arlington National Cemetery serves...

Aspinwall officials recently inked a new 10-year deal with Fox Chapel Water Authority to supply water to the borough. Borough Manager Melissa O’Malley said the authority’s prices have increased from $5.86 per 1,000 gallons to $6.36 per 1,000 gallons. That cost is locked in for the length of the contract....

The new owner of Central City Plaza in downtown New Kensington hopes to fill vacant space there by the end of this year and to get a grocery store operational next year. “We’re pretty confident we can better manage the property, and we saw a lot of potential in the...

Emmerling Park in Indiana Township is growing about twice its size after a recent property purchase. Supervisors recently authorized the purchase of nearly 60 acres of undeveloped commercially zoned land to effectively double the parkland off Cove Run Road. The new land encompasses Deer Creek near the pedestrian bridge on...

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. Pancreatic cancer research fund...

Criminal homicide charges filed in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in New Kensington more than two years ago was the first to result from a Westmoreland County investigating grand jury seated early last year, prosecutors said Wednesday. Larry Osborn Nix II, 41, of West Brownsville, Washington County,...