Valley News Dispatch category, Page 245

The fire departments in Kiski and Bell townships are looking forward to PennDOT’s replacement of the historic Salina Bridge. Bell Township Fire Company Chief Steven Master said the inability to use the current bridge adds 10 to 15 minutes to their route into the neighboring town during emergencies. The new...

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a Code Orange Action Day for air quality on Friday in Western Pennsylvania because of smoke from wildfires in Canada. The orange alert indicates unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive groups of people. Young children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems such...

An Arnold police officer has been cleared of all charges related to an allegation that he unlawfully killed an antlered deer. Brackenridge District Judge Carolyn S. Bengel dismissed the third and final charge against Jacob A. Pollick, 30, of Murrysville after a hearing Wednesday, according to court records. The Pennsylvania...

Arnold police accused a man of threatening to cut another man’s head off with hedge clippers before pulling a gun on him and his daughter after they had asked him to stop taking video of them with a cellphone. Vincent G. Mazziotti, 30, of the 1800 block of Freeport Road...

The fallout from the former Cheswick Generating Station’s smokestack implosion last week has caught the attention of at least one state lawmaker. In a statement issued Tuesday, state Rep. Mandy Steele, D-Fox Chapel, acknowledged the two Springdale smokestacks — about 750 and 550 feet tall — fell June 2 where...

This year’s Relay for Life of Riverview in Oakmont ran past its fundraising goal, and donations are still being counted. The annual event to raise awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society took place at Riverside Park May 20. There were at least a dozen teams at the event,...

A whitetail deer, seen for weeks by Fox Chapel area residents sporting a large, white, plastic feeder around its neck, was freed Thursday morning, thanks to the persistent efforts of Pennsylvania Game Commission officials. Commission officials spotted the deer early Thursday in the Orchard Hill/Driftwood area of O’Hara and were...

Property owners in New Kensington and Arnold will see a 1.6% increase in their school district property tax bills. The New Kensington-Arnold School Board approved the district’s $50.42 million budget for the 2023-24 school year Tuesday, along with the tax increase. The property tax rate was increased by 1.5 mills,...

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. Kiski Area Foundation to host golf outing fundraiser The 15th annual...

A New Kensington business owner wants to build housing for college students and others on Fifth Avenue. Jake Lydick, owner of Eye-bot Aerial Solutions and Patriot Technology Holdings, has a plan to build residential units in existing buildings at 713, 715 and 717 Fifth Ave. The addresses are among nine...

Property owners in the Allegheny Valley School District can expect no increase in their property taxes. The district is eyeing a budget of $24.6 million for next school year, which is an increase of 3.5% compared to the school year that just ended. The district’s school board approved the preliminary...

Springdale-area residents impacted by the smokestack implosion last week at the former Cheswick Generating Station have until 5 p.m. Friday to submit claims and concerns to the property owner. Sam Miller of Louisville, Ky.-based Charah Solutions said crews are continuing to address the aftermath of the implosion, where two smokestack...

Chester Elmer Green Jr. of New Kensington is expected to take the stand Thursday in his defense against charges that he sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl almost a decade ago. His accuser, now in her late teens, testified Wednesday in Westmoreland County Court that she wasn’t sure of the date...

A young buck in the Fox Chapel area got itself in a jam a few weeks ago when it somehow got its neck stuck in a plastic animal feeder. It has been spotted by area residents with the container still around its neck. O’Hara resident Melissa Marlo said she has...

Poolgoers hoping to cool off at a popular summer swimming destination in Allegheny Township will have to be patient. The Vandergrift Pool, officially named the Joseph A. Petrarca Memorial Pool, remains empty and closed. The pool at 1639 La Belle Vue Road has not opened for the season because of...

Visitors to First United Presbyterian Church in Tarentum will get a fresh welcome next week. Crews are pouring new concrete steps and a railing after the entrance was damaged in a vehicle crash last fall. “It’s finally the point where the weather is nice enough to get the concrete and...

Parishioners and some staff members from Guardian Angels Parish gathered at the Our Lady of Victory Campus in the Harwick section of Springdale Township on Monday, June 5 to prepare sawdust for making carpets to celebrate the upcoming feast of Corpus Christi on Sunday. Some were veterans of making the...

New female leadership appears to be on the horizon in Leechburg. Councilwoman Doreen Smeal, 69, scored a victory on the Democratic and Republican primary elections in the race for mayor, all but securing a victory in November. The only thing that could stop her from winning is somebody mounting a...

Penn State New Kensington is hosting a party Friday to support the institution’s cultural art initiatives, scholarships and programs. The annual Off the Wall pARTy started in 2017 but was on hiatus during the covid-19 pandemic. It returns from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. in the main lobby of the campus...

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. Car and bike cruise to benefit Vandergrift museum A car and...

Thomas Baczynski was trying to protect his friend when he was fatally stabbed Sunday in Tarentum, according to his sister. Baczynski, 26, died about 6:30 p.m. at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison after an altercation involving three men in the rear of Davidson Street along Companion Way in the West...

Plum’s Monday Market kicked off its season at Plum Creek Park with a plethora of vendors and a variety of offerings. Opening day for the market, near the ball fields along New Texas Road, was Monday, June 5. It was sunny shopping for Cheryl Stezoski of Plum, who picked up...

O’Hara residents who want to raise chickens may soon be able to in their own backyards. Township officials plan to vote June 13 on a zoning ordinance amendment that would make “domestic chicken keeping” a permitted accessory use in residential and certain commercial districts. A $50 permit fee also would...

Prosecutors haven’t decided whether to pursue the death penalty against a Harrison nurse charged by state authorities with allegedly killing two patients and injuring a third while she cared for them. Heather Pressdee, 40, wearing an orange jail-issued jumpsuit and shackles in District Judge Lewis Stoughton’s courtroom, remained silent during...

Volunteers at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church have opened the doors to collections, officially kicking off Harvest Fair season. The fair is a two-day event with thousands of items for sale. Preparations began June 2 and will continue through the first week of September, when volunteers work for days to display...