Valley News Dispatch category, Page 203

Mary Ringbloom grabbed an ax by its wooden handle Saturday afternoon and lunged toward at a target on the nearby wall. The ax missed the bull’s-eye, ricocheting to the ground. “Try to hold it steady and throw hard,” said her coach — and co-owner of the ax-throwing venue — Brian...

When Mystery Lovers Bookshop opened in 1990 on Oakmont’s brick-lined Allegheny River Boulevard, it didn’t contend with online shopping. There was no Amazon Prime service, no Target app, no click-n-ship from Walmart.com. But co-owner Tara Goldberg-DeLeo said the quaint bookstore, with its checkerboard floors and the smell of fresh paper...

Crawford Run Road in East Deer and its sidewalk near Meadow Avenue have reopened. The closures, which began on Sept. 25 were required for repairs to the Clarks Run bridge No. 1. The work included replacing an outlet wall, pouring new pavement, building concrete curbs, a sidewalk, installing new guide...

New Kensington residents could see their garbage bills jump by more than 70% next year. City Council is set to consider a five-year garbage collection contract and set the annual fee during a special meeting beginning at 4:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall. According to the meeting agenda, council will...

West Deer officials are putting the final touches on a proposed $10.8 million budget for 2024 that will see a tax increase that outweighs an accompanying decrease for most residents. The paradox is due to the establishment of a half-mill fire tax approved by voters Nov. 7 in a referendum....

Allegheny Township • Freeport Theatre Festival will present “The Nativity — A Christmas Delight” at 7 p.m. Dec. 1, 2 and 3 at the theater located at the Steele Family Farm off Route 356 on White Cloud Road. Donations will be accepted. Reservations required. Reservations: 724-295-1934. Apollo • Apollo Area...

What once was an empty building in the Burrell Plaza could now be home to businesses that will reap nearly $35,000 in tax revenue for Lower Burrell. Schaedler Yesco, a Harrisburg-based wholesale electrical distributor, will host its grand opening at the Burrell Plaza in the coming months. The store already...

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. Local students to participate in annual Rotary Choral Festival Highlands Area...

The potential owners of the former Holy Martyrs Church in Tarentum are moving forward with their original plan to open a fitness center inside the shuttered facility and build a practice field alongside it. This comes just one week after Legends of Pittsburgh co-owner Stefan Lundberg was told the floor...

A Pittsburgh man was accused of being a drug dealer after a state trooper pulled him over for driving 100 mph on Route 28 in Harmar and found cocaine and marijuana in the vehicle, according to authorities. Shontal Anthony Austin, 47, of the 6700 block of Apple Street in Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar...

Frazer police officers will see a 3% annual increase in hourly wages for the next three years as part of an agreement between township supervisors and the Frazer Township Police Association. Supervisors earlier this month approved a collective bargaining agreement between the township and the Frazer police association through the...

It appears neither party in the Springdale power plant injunction case is budging from its stance regarding a “forgotten” notebook of pictures from a site visit of the former power plant. Residents seeking the injunction say the notebook of photographs from an on-site inspection are a valid piece of evidence...

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. Santa needs help: You can ‘adopt’ a senior for Christmas Concordia...

Members of the Arnold Volunteer Fire Department have to wait a little longer to see the firefighter tax credit become reality. Council was expected to vote on the credit, which would give the city’s volunteer firefighters a tax break for their service. The tax credit, approved by the state Legislature...

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. Happy Thanksgiving! I was contacted recently by the daughter of our...

A 15-year-old boy will be charged with simple assault after an incident Nov. 10 at Highlands High School. Harrison Police Chief Brian Turack said charges are pending. Officers responded to a call at about 1:15 p.m. and found four boys involved in some type of incident inside the bathroom, Turack...

A New Kensington man who police said led officers on a chase with a child in the car was sentenced Tuesday to more than eight months to 23 months in the Westmoreland County jail. Benjamin Alexander Ploski, 35, pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated assault, fleeing from police, child endangerment and...

The weather forecast called for no precipitation on Nov. 18, and the temperatures would be mild, too. On that front, everything was good news for the organizers of the 60th annual Oakmont Hometown Christmas and Parade, following a decidedly chilly 59th event last fall. This year, the parade took its...

Lucas Goeller is looking for another miracle. At age 2, Lucas received a lifesaving liver transplant on July 1, 2015, at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh from a 3-year-old Nebraska girl, Olivia Swedberg. Olivia died of brain cancer a day earlier. Lucas had waited 18 months for a match. Doctors...

Cheswick taxpayers won’t seen an increase in their property taxes or water rates next year, but they can expect their sewage and garbage collection rates to increase. The borough is eyeing a $2.7 million budget for 2024. About $1.55 million of that is earmarked for the borough’s general fund, about...

A home remodeling contractor from Pitcairn who was charged five times in as many years with taking money for work he didn’t do has been accused of committing the same crime in Allegheny Township. Daniel Ronald Amodeo, 54, of the 600 block of Wall Avenue was charged Jan. 25 with...

West Deer residents opposed to a gas compressor station in the Bairdford section of the township say they’re “exploring options” after supervisors approved the project last week. Supervisors on Nov. 15 approved the compressor station on the Leto well pad property, located off Oak Road. Hyperion Midstream, a subsidiary of...

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. Casino Theatre to offer annual Christmas show The Casino Theatre, Vandergrift,...

One person died in a head-on crash at the intersection of Route 156 and West Lebanon Road in South Bend, according to Armstrong County Coroner Brian Myers. Myers said in an email that the person had not been publicly identified Tuesday night because their family had not been notified. They...