Valley News Dispatch category, Page 2
Local lawmakers question ICE’s detention of Springdale father
Though local officials have mostly remained silent,the Alle-Kiski Valley’s lawmakers are seeking more details after a traffic stop in Springdale ended with a local father in ICE custody on Tuesday. Randy Cordova-Flores, 36, remains in custody at Northern Regional Correctional Facility and Jail near Moundsville, W.Va., according to ICE records....
PennDOT awaiting warmer weather before lifting lane restrictions near Route 28 rock slide
A southbound lane of Route 28 in Harmar will remain closed until further notice due to the potential for rock slides, according to PennDOT. Debris tumbled from a hillside onto the highway Tuesday evening between the Hulton Bridge in Oakmont and Powers Run Road in O’Hara. No one was hurt...
Bon Air Elementary construction bids still over budget
Project bids for a heating and cooling project and kitchen addition at Burrell’s Bon Air Elementary School are over budget again. Superintendent Shannon Wagner said bids for the Bon Air project are a little more than $10 million, the amount budgeted by the district. “The architect is taking a look...
Deer Lakes Lancer Foundation welcomes 1st board
The Deer Lakes Lancer Foundation is ready to accept donations, and it already has a volunteer. Tuesday evening, nine board members, all district residents, were appointed to oversee the foundation’s projects. The foundation was created to fund educational technology for teachers to use in the classroom; items that the athletics...
‘Game jam’ puts Westmoreland County gifted students’ creativity to the testVideo
Cameron Yourema’s method to create a board game was literally mayhem. “We were trying to follow the mayhem rule as much as we could,” said Yourema, a Valley High School sophomore, of the “Game Jam” board game design competition held Tuesday. “We tried to make a more chaotic game. “What...
The Stroller, Feb. 11, 2026: 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. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Designer purse bash planned...
Building the Valley: STEM Academy planned for New Kensington
A planned after-school STEM academy in New Kensington aims to put the city on the map. The nonprofit, R&D Impact Foundation plans to open the SparX Academy at 1250 Fifth Ave., said Nicole Roberts, the foundation’s director of program management. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. “It’s going...
Sharpsburg continues to rack up funding for multimillion-dollar Allegheny Shores development
Transformation of the Sharpsburg riverfront continues to chug along, with officials shoring up streetscape plans expected to improve safety and access to the site. Councilman Roman Mason believes work near the 19th Street entrance of the proposed Allegheny Shores development will “be amazing.” The project targets 19th to 21st streets...
Lane remains closed on Route 28 in Harmar as engineers study area
A southbound lane of Route 28 remained closed Wednesday night between the Hulton Bridge in Oakmont and Powers Run Road in O’Hara following a rock slide Tuesday evening. The closure went into effect around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. It remained in place Wednesday night, according to the 511PA website. The closure...
Burrell sells Stewart School property for $1 in redevelopment deal
The old Stewart Elementary School property in Lower Burrell will be developed into 46 units of single-family, duplex-style condos. The Burrell School Board on Tuesday approved selling the Stewart Elementary property at 2800 Leechburg Road to developer David Ziccarelli. The property totals about 8.44 acres. “It’s been a great collaboration...
Springdale Police hand over resident to ICE after traffic stop, family saysVideo
Peru native Randy Cordova-Flores was driving near the corner of Lincoln and James streets in Springdale on Tuesday when local police pulled him over, according to his sister, Paulette Cordova. Soon after, he was in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. In what appears to be the first...
Single-lane restrictions coming to Route 28
Single-lane restrictions will be in effect along Route 28 this week. Overhead sign inspections will take place Wednesday and Thursday along northbound and southbound lanes from the Route 8 interchange near Etna to the Fox Chapel Road/Waterworks Drive/Freeport Road exit. Work will happen from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. On...
Harrison eyes 6 roads for summer paving
The Harrison commissioners will tentatively target six roads in their summer paving program. The list includes Broadview Boulevard, between Idaho and California avenues, and between Idaho and Montana; State Street, from Fairmont to Princeton; Neely Street, Summit Drive, Maple Street; and 11th Avenue, from Argonne Drive to California. The township...
Oakmont senior apartment building residents can’t flush or shower until plumbing repairs complete
Mary Lou Ernest of Oakmont left her apartment Tuesday morning so she could use the bathroom down the street at the Riverview Community Action Corp. She said she had to because all of the residents living in Munroe Tower, a 62-and-older affordable housing apartment complex, have been advised to not...
Forbes Road Career & Technology Center to continue remote learning due to water main break
Forbes Road Career & Technology Center will remain closed through Friday because of ongoing service issues and repairs within the building. The school has been operating on a remote learning schedule since Jan. 26. A water main break on the Monroeville campus resulted in the loss of water, power and...
The Stroller, Feb. 10, 2026: 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. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Free seminar to discuss...
Riverview School Board passes student, staff safety policy in wake of ICE arrest
After districtwide outrage following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest in Oakmont late last month, the Riverview School Board approved a student and staff safety policy that streamlines information from various bodies. It outlines the actions to be taken by staff and teachers if any law enforcement agency comes to...
Burst water pipe at Riverview Senior Living in Harrison forces some residents to move
A burst pipe Monday night at Riverview Senior Living in Harrison flooded lower-level units and forced a number of residents to leave. Some residents left to stay with family members and others were moved to higher floors. Township firefighters were dispatched around 7:50 p.m. to the apartments at 1330 11th...
Oakmont man arrested by ICE is home, but being monitored; future unclear
Jose Flores, the Oakmont man arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents late last month, is home with his family again, but not necessarily out of the woods. Flores, 47, originally from Nicaragua, was taken into custody by ICE agents the morning of Jan. 29 in front of his home...
Burrell basketball coach accused of draining $246K from Montgomery County nonprofit
Authorities in Montgomery County have charged Burrell High School’s boys basketball coach with stealing more than $246,000 from a nonprofit group where he formerly served as treasurer. Michael Fantuzzo, 40, faces theft charges from allegations stemming from when he served as volunteer treasurer of the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association, a...
1970s water lines to be replaced on Bull Creek Road in Fawn
A $2.4 million water line project along Bull Creek Road in Fawn is expected to alleviate frequent line breaks that have become an issue for Fawn-Frazer Water Authority. The authority plans renovation and construction this year on an original line that stretches from its connection in Brackenridge and runs for...
Arnold man sentenced to 13 years for heroin, fentanyl trafficking
An Arnold man who led police on a high-speed chase with a child in the car was sentenced to 13 years in prison on a federal fentanyl and heroin trafficking charge. Kevin Watson, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge W. Scott Hardy. His sentence will be followed by five...
Freeport Council appoints former manager to vacant seat
Zachary Filous has returned to the Freeport Borough Building. The small borough’s former manager was appointed to a vacant seat on Freeport Council earlier this month. The vacancy was the result of former Freeport Council President Rick Fennell vacating his seat last month to take up the borough’s tax collector...
Northern Westmoreland students’ SpongeBob pedal car wins big at competitionVideo
A SpongeBob SquarePants-themed pedal car and months of work paid off for Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center students — not only for a recent competition, but also for their future careers. Students in the school’s Auto Body Collision Repair and Refinishing Technology program placed first in the 65th World...
The Stroller, Feb. 9, 2026: 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. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Tickets available for murder-mystery...
