Valley News Dispatch category, Page 196
Riverview students to have virtual learning after 2nd reported gas leak this week
An odor of gas, the second in four days, was reported late Thursday morning at Riverview Junior-Senior High School in Oakmont, forcing the evacuation of students and staff. A smell of natural gas was reported about 10:45 a.m. in one of the school’s science rooms. Superintendent Neil English said students...
Burrell security upgrades could cost $1.27 million, but are vital say administrators, police
Burrell School District’s building security systems are so outdated, Superintendent Shannon Wagner is urging the school board to replace them — even if the district has to foot the entire $1.27 million pricetag. “Every (security) system that we have is outdated,” Wagner told school board members this week. She said...
New Oakmont library director brings experience, familiarity with borough to role
Caitlyn Boland credits the Carnegie system of libraries for exposing her to books at a young age. Growing up in Connellsville, Boland said, she was in awe when her mother took her to get her first library card at the Carnegie library in her hometown. “It was a privilege to...
10 miles of new trail from Gilpin brings regional network 1 step closer
The newest 10 miles of the Armstrong Trail aren’t officially open yet, but dozens of people got to walk along the stretch Wednesday and see its local centerpiece: the revamped railroad bridge spanning the Kiski River near Freeport. Armstrong Trails Executive Director Chris Ziegler announced Tuesday the completion of the...
The Stroller, Feb. 22, 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. Animal Protectors seeking donations Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley is accepting...
Springdale, Riverview enter into junior high baseball club co-op
School rivals in the Lower Valley are teaming up in yet another sport. The Allegheny Valley and Riverview school boards approved a cooperative sponsorship agreement that would allow seventh through ninth grade baseball players at Springdale to participate on the Riverview junior high club team. Springdale and Riverview already operate...
Feds say they confiscated 22 pounds of cocaine from a house near New Kensington school; 2 arrested
Federal authorities charged two men with dealing large amounts of cocaine from a house they lived in near Martin Elementary School in New Kensington. Marcos Francisco-Tomas and Andres Flores-Cedeno were arrested Saturday, according to an affidavit that a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent filed in federal court in Pittsburgh....
Lower Kiski medic seriously injured in Pittsburgh ambulance crash
A medic from Lower Kiski Ambulance Service was seriously injured when the ambulance she was in crashed Wednesday near The Waterworks mall in Pittsburgh. According to a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh Public Safety, the crash was reported around 4 a.m. along Freeport Road near the strip mall and Walnut Grill restaurant....
Fellow sportsmen remember late Chief Justin McIntire with donation to help other officers
Fallen Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire loved to spend his downtime hunting and fishing with friends. As a member of the South Buffalo Township Recreation Association, the avid outdoorsman spent many hours at the clubhouse, lakes and rifle range, fishing for trout and trap shooting. His fellow members are memorializing...
Train, truck collide at the same Springdale crossing as 3 previous wrecks
A tractor-trailer and a train collided Wednesday morning near the Colfax Street crossing in Springdale — the third such wreck in less than three years, and fourth since 2018. Springdale police Chief Derek Dayoub said his department was notified of the crash at 9:25 a.m. “The truck’s dolly legs got...
The Stroller, Feb. 21, 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. Lower Burrell Citizen Police Academy accepting applications The Lower Burrell Citizen...
Postal service changes course on mailbox move on Lower Burrell’s Michigan Avenue
The U.S. Postal Service is rescinding a recent notice sent to residents of Lower Burrell’s Michigan Avenue that required them to move their mailboxes to the street by May 15. Michigan Avenue residents received letters earlier this month from the New Kensington Post Office informing them that their mailboxes must...
Defense blames Westmoreland DA for trial delays in death of New Kensington boy
Attorneys for an Allegheny County man facing a potential death penalty for the alleged murder of his 9-year-old son in New Kensington told a Westmoreland County judge that prosecution delays have left them unable to move forward with preparing their defense. The case has languished in the courts for nearly...
Oakmont embroidery business opens 2nd location in Penn Hills
An Oakmont woman looking to find a swift sewing solution 13 years ago is celebrating the opening of her second specialty embroidery-focused store. In an effort to help her husband, then a high school basketball coach, Teresa Stitt found herself learning how to embroider uniforms in the basement of a...
Sewer lining repairs set for Fox Chapel; council researching garbage collectors ahead of next bid
Fox Chapel officials have contracted with a Harmony-based construction company for a sewer lining rehabilitation project. Council awarded the near $312,000 deal to Insight Pipe Contracting. The project involves spreading materials through manholes along Buckingham, Hemlock Hollow and Old Mill roads, as well as along The Oaks, a small street...
Eco-friendly dream home up for $1.25M in Clinton
Pat Hebda is saying goodbye to her beloved eco-friendly home in Clinton Township for the last time. Hebda, 74, is selling her dream home, dubbed “Dream’s End,” a 60-acre estate designed with an emphasis on being environmentally friendly. The asking price is $1.25 million. Hebda’s husband of 40 years, Jim...
The Stroller, Feb. 20, 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. Lobby volunteers needed at Allegheny Valley Hospital Allegheny Valley Hospital, Harrison,...
Accordion players enjoy instrument’s resurgence
The Accordion Club of Natrona Heights might need to change its name. These guys and gals aren’t just sitting around playing old-timey polkas — they can really jam. “We like to get together and kind of show off what we can do,” said club founder Gabe Ziccarelli, 77, whose lightning-fast...
Indiana Township supervisors vote against livestreaming meetings
Indiana Township remains the only community in the Fox Chapel Area School District to not livestream its meetings after an effort to allow virtual attendance was denied via slim margin. Supervisors on Feb. 14 voted 3-2 not to broadcast their sessions. Mayor Albert Kaan (District 2), Deputy Mayor Darrin Krally...
Indiana Township hires new full-time officer
A Springdale High School alum has become the newest Indiana Township police officer. Supervisors unanimously voted Feb. 14 to hire Damian Brand. The 2017 Dynamo grad shook hands with township leaders that evening before taking photos with family members and police Chief Steven Colucci. Brand worked as a West Deer...
Frazer volunteer fire departments get boost for equipment purchase and upkeep
The portable radios inside the vehicles at Frazer Volunteer Fire Department No. 2 are so old, members can’t find parts to repair them when something goes wrong. “They’re one of the first models that Motorola made,” Chief Ryan Sieminski said. “They were in there way before I started, and that...
Natural gas leak forces evacuation of Riverview Jr.-Sr. High School
A natural gas leak was discovered in Riverview Jr.-Sr. High School on Monday, a day during which no students or staff were inside the building. A handful of people who were in the Oakmont school in the morning, including custodians and a group conducting an architectural walkthrough, evacuated shortly before...
The Stroller, Feb. 19, 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. Annual Shamrock Shuffle event planned in West Leechburg The St. Patrick’s...
Gov. Shapiro’s budget calls for deep cuts to cyber charter school funding; public schools in for windfall
A proposal by Gov. Josh Shapiro to slash fees for cyber charter students could save public schools about $262 million a year. The move has public school officials singing Shapiro’s praises but leaves cyber school administrators anxious and frustrated. “This narrative that we are overfunded, we don’t agree with that,”...
Allegheny Township hit with $51,000 IRS penalty, trying to find out why
Editor’s note: This story was corrected on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, to correct the attribution of a quote. Allegheny Township officials, and at least one resident, want to know why the township apparently is being fined $51,000 by the IRS. The fines might be connected to the township not properly...
