Valley News Dispatch category, Page 21
A year after their union vote, Greco Steel workers continue contract struggle
Several dozen workers and supporters were met with locked doors at Greco Steel’s Springdale headquarters on Wednesday as some employees continued their yearlong struggle for a contract with the company. The nine workers won a narrow vote — 9-7 — to join the Iron Workers International Union last October. Still...
Habitat project at Deer Creek cuts sediment, boosts water quality
Thousands of trout stocked each year in Indiana Township’s Deer Creek will soon have a healthier habitat. A recent project to stabilize a portion of the creek’s eroding streambank should cut excess sedimentation by 18.7 tons a year, according to the Western PA Conservancy. The nonprofit partnered with the state...
Tarentum borough manager among only 11 in country chosen for Stanford fellowship
Tarentum Borough Manager Dwight Boddorf wants to marry his military and municipal backgrounds to help veterans gain hands-on experience in local government. Boddorf is among 11 people nationwide chosen as a 2025-26 Veteran Fellow at Stanford University, where he will learn to create pathways for veterans to earn what is...
Burrell School District enrollment continues to shrink
Burrell School District’s enrollment decreased by 50 students this fall, a decline on par with what the district has seen for the past 10 years, according to Superintendent Shannon Wagner. Total district enrollment this fall stands at 1,624, Wagner told the school board this week. Enrollment was 1,674 last year....
The Stroller, Oct. 15, 2025: 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. Sponsors needed for holiday...
Springdale Township’s Hite Road to remain closed all week
Road crews will keep Hite Road in Springdale Township closed until Friday, according to PennDOT. The workers from A. Liberoni, Inc. will conduct drainage improvements throughout the stretch of road between Pillow Avenue and Spring Street. Motorists will be detoured onto Route 28 to avoid the closure. The work coincides...
Community Supermarket in Harrison likely to close Wednesday
Community Supermarket in Harrison will likely close its doors Wednesday, about two weeks ahead of schedule. “I was in there today, and we don’t have much left,” General Manager George Sears said. “We’re not 100% sure it will be Wednesday, but it looks like it.” Shoppers who want to peruse...
Heights Plaza in Harrison on the market for $16M
The Heights Plaza shopping center in Harrison is for sale. The 30-acre property, owned by New York-based Benbrooke Realty Investment Co., is on the market for $16 million, according to a listing on LoopNet.com. Rich Lubkin of Benbrooke did not return TribLive calls or email requests for comment. The sale...
Water service restored after main break affected service in New Kensington, Lower Burrell areas
A water main break along Freeport Road in New Kensington left many in the area with low water pressure for part of Tuesday. The main break occurred directly adjacent to the New Kensington Municipal Authority’s reservoirs. General Manager Ed Saliba said Tuesday afternoon that workers were still investigating the cause...
West Leechburg fire tax will be added to bills next year
West Leechburg residents will be seeing an addition to their tax bills starting next year. Borough council passed a 3-mill fire tax in a 6-0 vote. Council member Colleen Hoover was absent from the meeting. The West Leechburg Fire Department previously released a statement saying the department conducted multiple public...
The Stroller, Oct. 14, 2025: 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. Lower Valley Community Food...
Army Corps to conduct emergency exercise at Shallow Land Disposal Area in Parks Township
An emergency drill is set for Wednesday afternoon at a Parks Township nuclear waste dump. The Army Corps of Engineers said the exercise will include increased security, emergency vehicles and personnel, and likely sirens from 1 to 4 p.m. The drill will assess the ability of corps staff, its cleanup...
Vandergrift’s Sugared Lace bakery ices custom cookies as shop opening nears
Lacey DePanicis started selling cookies almost two years ago and hasn’t stopped since. The Vandergrift resident’s business — Sugared Lacey Bakeshop — along Washington Avenue near the Casino Theatre is set to open later this year. For now, DePanicis, 36, continues to take custom orders and sell holiday cookie batches...
The Stroller, Oct. 13, 2025: 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 program scheduled about...
Faces of the Valley: Buffalo Township teen earns prize in World War II essay contest
Logan Smith, 13, said he didn’t know much about the Battle of Midway in World War II before he began to pen an essay about it earlier this year. But the Buffalo Township teen said he read up on the fight and submitted his text to the American Battle Monuments...
Hope and doubt mingle as Leechburg Area announces taxation solution
Madeline Kilgore has lived in West Leechburg since January 2019. “When we first moved in, our taxes were high,” said Kilgore, 29. “As the years went on, they went up and up and up.” “From the time we moved here to now, we’ve had a $1,000 increase (in property taxes),”...
The Stroller, Oct. 12, 2025: 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. Stuffed pork chop dinner...
Public welcome at meeting on future of Agan Park, Riddle Run area
The Agan Park Joint Recreation Board and Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy want the public’s thoughts on the future of the Riddle Run woodlands. The two groups plan to hold their first meeting Thursday, Oct. 23, to solicit ideas for potential outdoor recreation opportunities and small-scale development. Riddle Run is small...
Potato slingshot adds new fun for kids, adults at Leechburg’s Fall Festival
A homemade slingshot and 200 pounds of potatoes made for a good time for young and old alike at Leechburg’s Fall Festival on Saturday. “Amazing. Loved it,” said Gretchen Bailey, of Parks Township, after she fired some spuds into the Kiski River. “I never launched potatoes into a river.” This...
Hunter dies after fall from tree stand in Washington Township
A hunter died after falling from a tree stand Friday in Washington Township, authorities said. Kent David Horrell, 64, died early Friday afternoon, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said Saturday. Horrell was a resident of Washington Township. He died at AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, according to his obituary...
The Stroller, Oct. 11, 2025: 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. Donations being accepted for...
Burrell holds successful Pink Out game to raise money, awareness to battle breast cancer
The Burrell School District community held a special event Friday that went well beyond playing a football game. The district called for a Pink Out game, in which fans were encouraged to wear pink in support of the Change for Cancer campaign. The campaign raises money for research and awareness...
Community Supermarket begins final sale as closing looms in Harrison
Friday marked the beginning of the end for Harrison’s sole independent grocer. Shoppers meandered their way through a picked over Community Supermarket as its final sale began — 25% off all items — ahead of the store’s closure later this month. Many of the store’s perishable items, such as meat,...
Building the Valley: New Lower Burrell salon has ‘modern, antique vibe’
Hayley Lorent’s goal when she started in cosmetology as a 15-year-old was to own her own business one day. A decade later, at age 25, Lorent has opened Velvet Shears at 2948 Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell. “I like that it’s Leechburg Road-facing,” said Lorent, of West Leechburg. “It was...
3 candidates vie for 2 seats in Highlands School Board’s Region 2 election race
Highlands School Board candidates in Region 2 said they will make school culture a priority if elected. Three candidates — Shane Chesher, Debra Lehew and Jeff Thimons — will compete for two available four-year positions. Region 2 includes Brackenridge and parts of Harrison. Bullying With reports of bullying and conduct...
