Valley News Dispatch category, Page 190

A former Cheswick man will serve four years in prison for drug trafficking and firearms violations after he was sentenced this week in federal court. Bill Rana, 43, was a fully patched member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club and sergeant of arms for the Pittsburgh chapter when he was charged...

A person was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital after a collision between a car and an electric bicycle in Vandergrift on Friday afternoon, borough police Officer Joe Gray said. The incident happened shortly before 3:30 p.m. in the area of Sherman Avenue and the Vandergrift Bridge, Gray said. The person...

A meeting among attorneys is in order before the Springdale Planning Commission can make a recommendation on a proposed zoning overlay in the borough. Planners met Wednesday to consider the overlay. The commission, which only serves in an advisory role to borough council, tabled the proposal in September. The idea...

More commercial development is the goal of a rezoning planned for property near New Kensington’s downtown. Council voted Monday to begin a process to rezone an area at Constitution Boulevard and Seventh Street from light industrial to general commercial. Initially, council focused on the parcel at 700 Constitution, across Freeport...

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. Cub Scouts to collect items for homeless veterans Cub Scout Packs...

Late Freeport Navy veteran Bob Johnston described his time in the Vietnam War as a shooting gallery where soldiers lived like pirates. “We took the rockets, the mortar fire and the artillery fire from the enemy at night,” Johnston wrote in his 2017 raw account of battle, “Blood and Brown...

Veterans were the guest of honor Thursday during an appreciation event held at East Union Intermediate Center in West Deer. About 40 veterans mingled with third, fourth and fifth graders during the gathering held in the school gymnasium. Lonnie Long, a Navy veteran from Ford City, helped to pack veteran...

Pittsburgh’s 108th Christmas tree once again will hail from Springdale. While the approximately 40-foot blue spruce won’t be cut down until Saturday, crews from the city’s public works department were at the former St. Alphonsus Church on Thursday to cut down another tree on the property. Officials intend to use...

The WPIAL will have a role in resolving the dispute between Burrell and Mohawk, whose football teams played a game marred by allegations of racial slurs. The WPIAL Equity Council for Diversity, Inclusion & Cultural Competency is reviewing information submitted by the schools and will make a recommendation to the...

Holy Family Knights of Columbus Council 4242 donated 48 new winter coats for elementary students in Plum and Riverview school districts. Coats are being distributed to students through the assistance of the elementary guidance counselors at both school districts. Coats for Kids is one of the many charitable programs that...

David Pankiewicz lives along Second Street in Aspinwall, and lately, he’s seen too many motorists going too fast. “We’ve been a detour zone the past three years,” he said, referring to heavy traffic along Freeport Road brought on by construction of new Highland Park Bridge ramps. “As long as somebody...

A Tarentum coffee shop is all the buzz with news of its expansion to Harrison. Harvest Moon Coffee & Chocolates is set to open a second location in the Heights Plaza, near the post office along Union Avenue. Owner Desiree Singleton expects to be brewing beans at the new site...

More questions than answers remain as authorities continue to search the Allegheny River for a man witnesses say jumped from the Hulton Bridge between Harmar and Oakmont after crashing his car Tuesday evening. The man remains missing and unidentified publicly, Harmar police Chief Jason Domaratz said Thursday while providing an...

Democrats swept the races for Riverview School Board, earning five seats for four-year terms and another for a two-year term in the Nov. 7 election, according to unofficial Allegheny County results. Jennifer K. Chaparro, board president, won reelection with a leading total of 1,875 votes. “I am grateful to the...

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 collection to benefit local families in need Vandergrift Police Department...

Aspinwall property owners should expect to pay about 22% more in real estate taxes next year. Council unanimously voted Nov. 8 to advertise its 2024 preliminary budget, which includes a 1.5-mill tax hike. Next year’s millage rate would go from 6.86 mills to 8.36 mills, should the spending plan be...

The WPIAL is hopeful Mohawk and Burrell can resolve allegations of racial taunts involving their football teams without the league’s intervention. “The schools did their own investigations and are sharing information with each other,” WPIAL administrator Vince Sortino said Wednesday. “The schools are handling the situation.” Sortino said members of...

In a race where only 29 votes separated the four candidates, Erik Brannock and Robert Suchevits were able to claim two Harmar supervisor seats. According to unofficial but complete results from the Allegheny County Elections Division, Brannock, a Democrat, led all vote-getters with 437 votes, or 25.93%. Suchevits, a Republican,...

An incumbent and two newcomers won four-year supervisor seats in West Deer. John Hollibaugh and Jo Resciniti were on the ballot for a seat representing District 3, and Josh Wiegand and David Harrison were on the ballot for a seat representing District 4. According to complete but unofficial results from...

Mike Conley will serve another six years on Upper Burrell’s board of supervisors. Conley, 60, had 438 votes, or 62.48%, compared to 263 votes, or 37.52%, from challenger Cari Armstrong, 40, according to unofficial but complete vote tallies from the Westmoreland County Elections Department. “I certainly appreciated all the support,”...

Two longtime incumbents and a 22-year-old newcomer were victorious Tuesday in the East Deer commissioners election. Anthony Taliani, 75, a 51-year incumbent, was the top vote-getter among the five candidates, notching 202 votes, or 23.68%, according to unofficial results from the Allegheny County Elections Department. Newcomer Jacob Leonard Gigler had...

The outgoing New Kensington-Arnold School Board approved a raise for the district’s superintendent over the objection of one of three new members set to join the board in December. The board voted unanimously in favor of a 3.5% pay increase for Superintendent Chris Sefcheck. It is retroactive to July 1,...

Sonar was used to search the Allegheny River on Wednesday for a man witnesses say jumped off the Hulton Bridge after crashing his car on the bridge Tuesday evening. The man, believed to be 42 years old and from the Verona area, has not been found, Harmar police Chief Jason...

The race for an at-large Tarentum Council seat finished with a razor-thin margin, as Democratic incumbent Scott Dadowski edged Republican newcomer Maggie Smith by eight votes. According to unofficial results from the Allegheny County Elections Division, Dadowski earned 319 votes to Smith’s 311. “I want to thank the residents for...

Deer Lakes School District voters selected three Democrats and two Republicans on Tuesday to fill five open seats on the school board. Incumbent Democrat Cristy McCloskey led the seven-person race with 2,714 votes, or 16.89%, according to unofficial election results from the Allegheny County Elections Department. Others who secured seats...