Valley News Dispatch category, Page 170
Kiski Area School District hires familiar face as new superintendent
Kiski Area’s school directors didn’t look far to find their choice as the best qualified person to be superintendent. That turned out to be Assistant Superintendent Jason Lohr, whom they unanimously voted to succeed Misty Slavic. Board President Todd Sterlitz said after the news about Slavic’s sudden resignation broke in...
Plum hires Ashley DeVito as middle school assistant principal
The Plum School Board hired a new assistant principal for the district’s middle school. Ashley DeVito is coming to Plum from Propel Braddock Hills High School, where she was an assistant principal. DeVito, 31, of Penn Hills will start at Plum upon release from her position there. Her salary was...
Washington & Jefferson freshman Grace Vensel provides personal hygiene stations at Highlands
Highlands parent Liz Myers was beside herself when she learned that the efforts of an out-of-town teen will help protect the privacy of her teenage daughter at the middle school. Washington & Jefferson freshman Grace Vensel will provide Menstruation Stations at the district’s middle and high schools through her nonprofit...
The Stroller, April 18, 2024: 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. Recycling event to celebrate Earth Day An Earth Day celebration will...
Westmoreland County OKs $244K for demolition projects in Arnold, Jeannette, Derry, Monessen
Westmoreland County is taking bites out of blight in five communities. The county commissioners this month approved spending up to $244,000 from Westmoreland’s Act 152 Demolition Fund to raze rundown buildings on four properties in Arnold, three in Jeannette, two in Derry Township and one each in Derry Borough and...
Plum School Board advances budget, tax hike with board member absent
The Plum School District’s proposed $74.3 million budget for next school year carrying a 6.2% property tax increase is a step closer to approval. The school board voted 8-0 Tuesday to approve the district’s proposed budget for 2024-25. Board member Ronald Sakolsky was present at the start of the meeting,...
Armstrong County group plans lobbying trip to push for Allegheny River lock funding
As the Allegheny River Development Corp. prepares to head to the nation’s capital to lobby lawmakers for money to keep locks open along the river, they’re looking for as much support as they can get. The ARDC, a grassroots organization based in Armstrong County, works with the Army Corps of...
Annual Spin Your Wheels fundraiser moves to new location with same charitable goal
Jennifer Evashavik hopes more people answer the call of the late Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and Queen front man Freddie Mercury: “Get on your bikes and ride.” The ninth annual Spin Your Wheels fundraiser is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27 at the Lauri Ann...
Artists needed for 240-square-foot community mural project in Sharpsburg
Artists are being sought for a major mural project in Sharpsburg. Artspiraton, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Sharpsburg, Etna and Millvale through the arts, has put out a request for qualifications for a 240-square-foot art piece on the side of Conicella Family Dentistry, 701 Main St. The project is through...
Country star Cole Swindell to headline Pittsburgh Brewing Co.’s summer concert series
“You Should Be Here” is what the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. might be saying to country music fans as it announces its third concert for the summer. Country music star Cole Swindell will take the stage Sept. 1 at the brewery’s amphitheater in the Creighton neighborhood of East Deer. Brewery spokeswoman...
Lower Burrell, Pittsburgh men charged in state probe of child sex abuse among Jehovah’s Witnesses
Two Western Pennsylvania men are the latest accused of raping or sexually abusing girls stemming from a statewide grand jury investigation of child sexual abuse in the Jehovah’s Witnesses community. Ronald W. Mangone, 69, of Lower Burrell and Roger E. Zellars, 68, of Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood are separately accused of...
Greensburg man dies in crash with tractor-trailer in Washington Township
A Greensburg man was killed in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday morning along Greensburg Road (Route 366) in Washington Township. Andrew Allen Malarkey, 37, was driving a Kia Forte eastbound when his car crossed the center line and collided with a tractor-trailer rig, according to the Westmorland County Coroner’s Office. He...
New Kensington woman, 95, is oldest descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings
April 13 was the 281st anniversary of the birth of Mary Lee Brady-Atkins’ great-great-great-grandfather. The same could be said for lots of people, but Brady-Atkins’ ancestor was Thomas Jefferson. Yes, that Thomas Jefferson — third president of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence. It’s quite the...
The Stroller, April 17, 2024: 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. Brooms available for spring cleaning Tarentum Area Lions Club has a...
Living, domino donors possibilities for Indiana Township boy in need of 2nd liver transplant
Lucas Goeller is getting another shot. The 11-year-old from Indiana Township needs a new liver because the transplanted liver he received nine years ago is failing. Normally, that could mean a lengthy wait on the donation list before a suitable organ is found. Lucas already is on that list. But...
125th U.S. Open Championship volunteer registration opens online
Volunteer registrations for the 125th U.S. Open Championship are now available online. The United States Golf Association is hosting the tournament June 9-15, 2025, at Oakmont Country Club and has made the official callout for volunteers. Positions currently are available on nine committees, including access control, corporate hospitality, disability services,...
Fashion show to benefit Aspinwall school while boosting local women-owned businesses
Girls just wanna have fun — and shop. That’s the message organizers are spreading about the 2024 Sip & Style Fashion Fundraiser scheduled for May 5 at the Pittsburgh Field Club in Fox Chapel. Co-organizers — and best friends since their children were 3 — Jayna Varley-Ifft of Fox Chapel...
Fox Chapel officials to turn curvy intersection into 3-way stop for safety reasons
Bill Bates has lived near the intersection of Guyasuta Road and Fieldvue Lane in Fox Chapel for about four decades. He has seen his share of near misses from cars attempting to turn onto Guyasuta and motorists going up and down the winding road. “It can be (dangerous) because the...
The Stroller, April 16, 2024: 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. Monthly Breaking Bread dinner planned at Knead Community Cafe Knead Community...
Abandoned dog cared for by West Deer shelter prepares to undergo 2 surgeries
Josie, an older flat-coated retriever mix, is a rainmaker of sorts. The kind that brings in money. Since the West Deer Dog Shelter took in Josie, the story of her plight is bringing in donations to help get the dog the care she needs. So far, the shelter has raised...
Highlands parents urge district to ‘correct discrimination’ as civic groups offer to help district
Parent Pauline McKnight said she had to pull her teenage daughters from in-person classes at Highlands High School to protect them from being bullied and targeted because they are Black. “My daughter was called a monkey and they both have been harassed by a male member of administration,” said McKnight,...
Harrison reports landslide on Oak Manor Drive, adding to road’s woes
Another landslide has taken out parts of Oak Manor Drive in Harrison between Cherrybark Drive and Karns Road. Randy Martinka, superintendent of public works, spotted the subsidence about 2:30 p.m. Monday. He notified PennDOT, which maintains the road. “Half of the downhill lane literally dropped about 12 to 18 inches...
New wrongful death suits filed in case of former nurse Heather Pressdee
Two more wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against Sunnyview Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Butler in connection with the deaths of patients cared for by former nurse Heather Pressdee. The families of patients Irene Simons, 78, and Sandra Lincoln, 82, filed separate lawsuits last week against Sunnyview Operating LLC...
3 face charges after South Buffalo traffic stop turns up drugs, stolen gun
Pennsylvania State Police say they seized a stolen handgun, possible methamphetamine, marijuana and approximately $1,400 cash following a traffic stop in South Buffalo. Adam Krochta, 38, Alexis Ensworth, 24, and Terell Floyd, 41, were pulled over after state police observed a silver Jeep swerving out of its lane on Route...
Run For the Hill of It to benefit Foxwall EMS, Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services
O’Hara resident Adam Janosko feels the burn at the same point every year. An avid runner, Janosko is a repeat participant in the Run For the Hill of It fundraiser in Aspinwall and said it’s just at about Eighth Street when it really sets in. The race, although only 1...
