Valley News Dispatch category, Page 22
Oakmont making progress in Ann Street recycling program
Oakmont has a lot of trash, and it’s a great problem for Boyd Jones, director of business development and public relations for Michael Brothers Hauling. The borough partnered with the dumpster company about two years ago for a medley of recycling services the company offers. After operating in the Pittsburgh...
The Stroller, Oct. 10, 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. Fundraising gala to benefit...
Redesign in the works for office, retail space along Route 28 in Harrison
A mixed-use development that could bring offices, restaurants and retail along Route 28 in Harrison is back on the drawing board. The project, known as Harrison Point, is moving forward despite sitting dormant for 11 years, according to Richard Gasperini Jr. of Genfor Real Estate. His group is soliciting development...
Greater Latrobe, Burrell high schoolers take science class outdoorsVideo
About 30 junior and senior students from Burrell and Greater Latrobe high schools put their science lessons into action Thursday. As part of Greater Latrobe’s Capstone Environmental Science course, the students inspected bee boxes to assess the health of the queen bee. The bee boxes were built about a year...
Plum to honor 5 new distinguished alumni
Plum will honor some of its best this week as it inducts five new members among its distinguished alumni. The inductees will be honored during a ceremony at the Oakmont Country Club on Oct. 16 before heading to the high school to meet students the next morning. One of the...
Leechburg native to release latest record with jazz ensemble Kinetic
Joe Sheehan has traveled quite a distance — literally — since he first began taking piano lessons while growing up in Leechburg. A lifelong student of music and now a Duquesne University professor and jazz composer, Sheehan, 44, of McCandless, traveled thousands of miles to Africa, more than once, to...
The Stroller, Oct. 9, 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. Leechburg Fall Festival planned...
Repair work begins on South Buffalo bridge after monthslong closure
Crews began working to repair a 115-year-old bridge in South Buffalo this week after it abruptly closed to vehicle traffic in July. The bridge, which carries Clinton Road over a set of railroad tracks, has remained blocked off after an inspection called for “critical repairs” to its structure. The structure...
Springdale Planning Commission delays data center decision again
For a second time, the Springdale Planning Commission opted on Wednesday to postpone its recommendation to borough council to approve or deny a massive data center project. The planning commission will reconvene to try again Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. In late September, the three-member commission delayed its decision, opting...
Leechburg Area pitches fix for taxing inequality
Leechburg Area School District residents may be seeing balanced property tax bills as early as next school year. District Business Manager Jake Chapla presented a method to balance property taxes between the district’s Armstrong County and Westmoreland County residents after years of uneven taxation. There are multiple calculation methods provided...
Rally tries to reverse pending closure of United Physicians office in New Kensington
Ed Freeman has been going to the United Physicians clinic in New Kensington “for what seems like forever.” “My father came here, and he lived to be 85,” said Freeman, who lives in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of New Kensington. “And that’s how I ended up going here.” But come...
Mayor defends New Kensington water authority board appointment
A divided New Kensington Council appointed a retired Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County employee to the New Kensington Water Authority board. Council voted 3-2 to appoint Tom Ceraso to the water authority board, for a term that expires at the end of 2027. One resident, Melvyn Smith, believed Ceraso’s appointment...
Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School’s lobby renovations to wrap by end of November
The monthslong lobby improvement project at Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School will be nearly complete by the end of next month, according to district Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Jay Zangrille. Construction of larger restrooms in the lobby, as well as a separate one for use by one person at a time,...
Section of Pillow Avenue in Springdale Township to remain closed through October
A small stretch of Pillow Avenue in Springdale Township will remain closed through late October for drainage improvements, according to PennDOT. Traffic will be detoured between Hite and Low Grade roads. Motorists will have to divert their routes through Harmar via Route 28. Crews from A. Liberoni, Inc. will conduct...
Street smarts and online safety seminar offered in Harrison
Social media safety and trending scams will be the topics of discussion during a free presentation at the Allegheny Kiski Health Foundation in Harrison. Township police will present “Street Smarts and Safety: Exploitation, Awareness and Staying in Control,” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19. The program is for all...
The Stroller, Oct. 8, 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. Halloween costumes available at...
New Kensington man charged with causing serious injuries to his baby
A New Kensington man is accused of causing serious injuries to his 2-month-old infant. New Kensington police filed aggravated assault, child endangerment and obstruction charges against Jacob Alexander Piontek, 25, after his child suffered seizures, a stroke and brain trauma after being in his care, according to a criminal complaint....
For school districts, federal funding impeded by lack of state budget
The federal government shutdown isn’t what’s preventing New Kensington-Arnold School District from accessing its federal funding this school year. Instead, the $2.79 million is tied up because of the ongoing state budget impasse. “Funding for these (federal) programs are passed through the Pa. Department of Education,” New Ken-Arnold Business Manager...
Where Pittsburgh Mills Mall stands after another storefront departure
The Pittsburgh Mills is reeling from another national retailer vacating the Frazer mall — the third instance of a major retailer leaving the complex in four months. Bath and Body Works opened its store in the Mills for the last time on Saturday. The company did not respond to requests...
Lower Burrell VFW’s Vietnam-era helicopter restored with help from Forbes Road students
The Vietnam-era helicopter outside VFW Post 92 in Lower Burrell has been restored thanks to the help of students from the Forbes Road Career and Technology Center in Monroeville. Last weekend, students from Forbes’ SkillsUSA chapter partnered with A-K Valley Back the Blue to repaint the helicopter, displayed outside the...
New Kensington to increase license fees for skill games
New Kensington anticipates generating about $30,000 in additional revenue under a proposal that would increase the license fee for mechanical skill games. Council this week advanced a plan to increase annual license fees for skill games from $300 to $750, which is an increase of about 150%. “It’s my opinion...
For local governments, winter road maintenance is summertime concern
Long before he jumps in his salt truck, Unity Supervisor Mike O’Barto says, the township has to consider winter road maintenance and road salt acquisition. O’Barto is among 21 plowmen, including two other township supervisors, who work to clear the 165 miles of roads in Unity, which is one of...
The Stroller, Oct. 7, 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. Halloween cash bash to...
Springdale Planning Commission to reconvene to continue data center review
After a standing-room-only meeting late last month, Springdale’s Planning Commission will come together again Wednesday to consider a massive proposed data center in the borough. The commission postponed a vote on whether to recommend borough council approve or deny a developer’s application at the previous meeting, opting to further analyze...
Public input sessions on tap for paid EMS Authority in Harrison, Tarentum, Brackenridge
A paid EMS Authority served by the consolidation of Eureka Community Ambulance in Tarentum and Citizens Hose EMS in Harrison remains “a ways off,” according to some local officials. The idea, floated last year as a solution for the nationwide EMS funding crisis, would see member municipalities sharing the costs...
