Valley News Dispatch category, Page 262
Peoples restores Rustic Ridge natural gas serviceVideo
Workers from Peoples natural gas purged gas lines Wednesday in the Rustic Ridge neighborhood in preparation for restoring gas service to residents there. According to the borough, the work took place along Rustic Ridge and Brookside drives and Timberwood Court. Peoples spokesman Nick Paradise said purging the lines is part...
Safety tips on natural gas usage and home inspections
Keeping a home fueled by natural gas safe is pretty simple, said Dennis Caveglia, who has operated Valley Plumbing & Heating in his native Leechburg for 40 years. Caveglia, like many working with natural gas, wouldn’t hypothesize about what caused the Plum house explosion Saturday morning that killed six people...
Plum girls organize separate charity events to help victims after house explosion
A pint-sized Plum Area School District student put her grief to good use Saturday with an on-the-spot charity event to raise money for victims of the house explosion in Plum. Emmy Halasowski, 7, was understandably shaken and scared Saturday as events unfolded after the deadly explosion on Rustic Ridge Drive...
The Stroller, Aug. 16, 2023: 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. Annual Riverbration planned in Kittanning The Kittanning Boat Races Riverbration event...
Westmoreland 250: 10 unique things in Lower Burrell, Upper Burrell
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
New bike sharing program coming to Sharpsburg
A new community initiative designed to get people bicycling through Sharpsburg may soon be ready to roll. The Sharpsburg Neighborhood Organization has partnered with Sharpsburg Community Library to create the borough’s first bike sharing program. Details are still being finalized. Here are the rules so far: Riders don’t need to...
Rustic Ridge community gathers in 2 places to honor the lives lost in house explosion
Teresa Champion-Feigel and her husband, Tim, walk on the weekends in the neighborhood of Rustic Ridge in Plum. On Saturday, she said she didn’t feel like walking. Her husband suggested they go to the nearby park — Ridge Top Park. “We were walking, and that’s when we heard the explosion,”...
For one afternoon, Rustic Ridge kids put horrific explosion out of their minds
The corner lot of 154 Rustic Ridge Drive in Plum on Tuesday turned into a therapeutic group session for dozens of kids in the neighborhood — even if they didn’t know it. At least two dozen kids of all ages, from toddler to teen, gathered in the driveway and backyard...
Veto override withdrawn for Allegheny County property assessment bill
After a series of successful efforts overriding Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s veto, another veto override was withdrawn Tuesday. Allegheny County Council passed a bill in July to establish a new chief assessment officer appointed by council that would render calculations each year of the county’s property tax ratios. That...
Remembering devoted mom who died in Plum explosion: Heather Oravitz was ‘a special wife’
Lindsay and Fran Sciullo thought so highly of Heather and Paul Oravitz that they entrusted to the Oravitzes’ daughter what was most precious to them — their two sons. Taylor Oravitz would babysit the Sciullo boys, Maddox and Brady, when Lindsay and her husband, Fran — educators in the Plum...
‘Notorious Pittsburgh’: Book tells tales from city’s seedy underbelly
A man of questionable business practices fishes in his pocket for the key to his Cadillac, which is parked in a dark alley. He probably hears the sound of approaching shoes as he attempts to enter the car. Soon, he is mortally wounded by four gunshots to the chest, shoulder...
Felony charge reduced against teen accused by Tarentum police of having gun; trial ordered
Tarentum police say a 19-year-old passenger in a vehicle pulled over for a traffic violation at the boat launch under the Tarentum Bridge was arrested after a loaded gun was found in his backpack. Frederick Xa Dorsey-Hua, 19, of the 7500 block of Ormond Street in Swissvale was charged with...
Longtime Trib employee Janet Beresik remembered for friendliness, dedication to family
Janet Beresik never went searching for the next career opportunity once she started working in sales and marketing for her hometown newspaper. “My sister had wonderful people skills, so when she started working at the Valley News Dispatch (now the Tribune-Review), it really was the perfect job for her,” said...
Natural gas leaks found in Plum’s Regency Park neighborhood following fatal Rustic Ridge blast
Following a fatal explosion that investigators say may have been fueled by natural gas in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood, two natural gas leaks have been found in another borough neighborhood. Leaks were reported in the area of Crestview and Mower drives, and on Kathy Lynn Drive in Plum’s Regency Park...
Police: Man cornered in yard after fleeing when officer spots gun on Tarentum boat dock
A Tarentum man was charged with carrying a gun without a permit after police accused him of running from a boat launch when an officer spotted the weapon on a dock. Ryan Allen Berry, 21, of the 900 block of East Sixth Avenue faces a felony charge in connection with...
Hot water tank a focus of investigation into Plum house explosion; victims’ remains released to families
The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office confirmed it is investigating the possibility that complications with a hot water tank contributed to a house explosion in Plum over the weekend. That was the first public confirmation from officials about a possible origin of the blast Saturday morning that killed five people,...
Burrell administrators shift for upcoming school year
New initiatives and administrative staffing changes are planned as the Burrell School District prepares for the upcoming school year. Brian Ferra, formerly the principal at Charles Huston Middle School, will be the principal at Stewart Elementary. Travis Welch, Huston’s assistant principal, will be the building’s new principal, and Krista Pisano...
West Deer police accuse Springdale contractor of taking money for work he never did
A Springdale man was accused of contractor fraud after a West Deer homeowner told police that he paid the contractor up front to do some remodeling in a bathroom but that he never showed up to do the work. Police charged Delos J. Hough, 42, of the 700 block of...
The Stroller, Aug. 15, 2023: 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. Mutts, Meows and Margaritas event to benefit HOPE Center The Alle-Kiski...
‘Fishing for Keegan and Casey’ fundraiser to benefit family of Plum explosion victims
A Washington Township couple is hoping to help victims of Saturday’s house explosion in Plum by honoring one family’s love of fishing. Angela and Mike Blasko created a fundraiser in which one winner will land an all-expenses paid, full-day offshore fishing trip on Lake Erie on the Blasko’s charter fishing...
2 Plum officials among house explosion deaths, all 5 now identified
Plum Borough Manager Michael Thomas and Community Development Director Heather Oravitz were among the five people killed in a house explosion Saturday, Mayor Harry Schlegel confirmed Monday. Thomas was 57. Oravitz was 51. The other victims, all identified through their families, were Casey Clontz, 38, and his son, Keegan, 12,...
With his home in ruins, Plum’s high school soccer coach committed to tryouts
Rafal Kolankowski was determined to forge ahead, the chaos engulfing his neighborhood — his life — be damned. Soccer tryouts loomed Monday night, the first of three days of tryouts, and the Plum High School boys coach wasn’t about to let the kids down. “Unfortunately, I have to make cuts,”...
Remembering family man who died in Plum explosion: Kevin Sebunia ‘had a heart of gold’
Above all else, Kevin Sebunia was a dedicated family man — a devoted father and doting husband who willingly gave his time to others. His wife, Kelly, and daughters, Emily and Abigail, were the most important people in Sebunia’s life, longtime friend Joe Pulcini said. “His family came before anything,”...
Community gathers for vigil honoring house explosion victims in Plum
The power of prayer united strangers and friends Monday during a daylong candlelight vigil to honor the victims of the house explosion Saturday in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood. Holy Family Parish’s St. Januarius Church on Renton Road in Plum hosted the vigil from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. “We just...
Plum family recalls neighbor’s cry for help after blast
Beth Napoleon felt the force of the blast that obliterated her neighbor’s home directly across the street from hers in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood on Saturday. Worse, she heard her neighbor’s cry for help. “I was in-between things. I was just relaxing on the couch with one of my dogs...
