Valley News Dispatch category, Page 298
Upper Burrell floats police merger with neighboring towns
Upper Burrell is looking to consolidate its police department with its neighbors. Township officials are asking Lower Burrell, New Kensington and Allegheny and Washington townships to take a survey gauging the feasibility of forming a regional police force. When Ross Walker, chairman of the Upper Burrell supervisors, was first elected...
Police and psychics step up efforts to find who took Cherrie Mahan 38 years agoVideo
Law enforcement and Butler’s psychic sisters are frustrated by a 38-year search for a suspect in the abduction of Cherrie Mahan from a rural bus stop in Winfield Township. But they are trying harder and upping their efforts to find answers around the anniversary of the 8-year-old’s disappearance Feb. 22,...
The Stroller, Feb. 22, 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. Magic and comedy show planned in Harrison Natrona Heights Veterans of...
Plum house a total loss after suspected electrical fire
No one was hurt in a fire Tuesday that destroyed a house in Plum. The fire at 435 Millers Lane was reported at 4:40 p.m., according to an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher. Tim Townsend and his fiancee, Christine Biros, own the one-story home and live there with his adult son,...
Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher won’t seek reelection
Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher announced Tuesday she will not seek reelection. “After careful consideration, I have decided to not run for a third term as county commissioner,” Thrasher said in a news release issued Tuesday night. “I truly enjoyed my time as county commissioner, it afforded me the...
Rescued from atop New Kensington home, Roofus the cat waits to be claimed
A tabby cat rescued from atop a Fourth Avenue home in New Kensington is garnering some social media attention while fire crews search for its family. Named Roofus by the emergency crew that saved him, the cat was taken to Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley in Parnassus and is waiting...
Mary Queen of Apostles, Kiski Area get shares of $8M state grants for school safety
Kiski Area School District and Mary Queen of Apostles Catholic School are among 166 schools or districts across Pennsylvania getting shares of more than $8 million in state grants to improve school safety. Mary Queen of Apostles received two grants totaling nearly $100,000 for use at its two schools in...
The Stroller, Feb. 21, 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. Children encouraged to enter bookmark design contest Vandergrift Public Library is...
Indiana Township officials give tentative OK to housing development despite residents’ objections
Indiana Township supervisors gave tentative approval Feb. 15 to a proposed housing development despite strong objections from residents. The 3-2 vote in favor of the Indiana Trails planned residential development came with Republicans — Supervisor Paul Jorgensen, Deputy Mayor Albert Kaan and Mayor Darrin Krally — approving it. Democratic Supervisors...
Arnold approves selling Fourth Avenue lots to dumpster rental business
The owner of a dumpster rental company plans to start construction on a new home for his business in Arnold by the fall. Joe Cene, owner of Triple P Disposal, hopes the work along Fourth Avenue can start sooner than that. “I’m going to do all I can to get...
Gilpin officials investigating reports of stolen business yard signs
Gilpin officials are investigating recent reports of sign thefts in the township. Supervisor Charles Stull took to social media Friday to ask for the public’s help regarding multiple reports of what he described as a “strange” crime throughout the township. “Yard signs for various businesses throughout Gilpin Township have gone...
Free bus rides provide New Kensington, Arnold residents grocery shopping opportunity
Growing up in New Kensington in the 1950s and ’60s, Joan Smith said there was a variety of grocery stores, most within walking distance, no matter which section of town you lived in. “There was IGA and Gold Circle, and even at Kmart you could get some stuff,” Smith said....
The Stroller, Feb. 20, 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. Children encouraged to enter bookmark design contest Vandergrift Public Library is...
Plum awards contract for $1M road paving program, mostly for Holiday Park and Logans Ferry Heights
Plum’s Holiday Park and Logans Ferry Heights neighborhoods will be the main beneficiaries of road work in the borough this year. Of nearly a dozen roads that will be resurfaced, seven are in Holiday Park. Eighteen that will be tarred and chipped are all in Logans Ferry Heights. Borough council...
Harrison, Brackenridge police investigating after ‘taggers’ vandalize properties
Graffiti artists have left their unwanted mark on a Brackenridge business and other sites in Harrison. Property owner Cameron Yockey said he discovered Feb. 3 that his building along Brackenridge Avenue had been tagged. Vandals scribbled on the storefront, sidewalk and trash can. “Thankfully, we bought this building to renovate...
Plum Council approves first 35 houses of Patriot Estates plan; a total of 158 in the works
Plum Council has attached a few conditions to its approval of the first phase of a three-phase, 158-home housing development. Council voted 6-0 to give final approval to the 35-house first phase of Patriot Estates, a development that would cover about 140 acres off Davidson Road. Council’s approval followed a...
Faces of the Valley: New Kensington-Arnold’s beloved ‘Ms. Isaac’ brings out the best in students
Fifth grade teacher Samantha Isaac takes advantage of her classroom being at something of a crossroads inside Roy A. Hunt Elementary School in Arnold. Isaac is often outside her door, extending her influence beyond the students in her room. “She’s out in the hallway talking with students, giving them fist...
Truancy can carry legal penalties, affect the ability to get a job
Frank J. Pallone Jr. has had many truancy cases come before him during his 24 years as a district judge in New Kensington. In those hearings, Pallone said he takes the time to learn what is going on in homes that caused a child to miss school and rack up...
Remember When: Bridges changed the way people, merchandise crossed the river in New Kensington
Until the late 1800s, river crossings were accomplished primarily using ferries throughout much of the Alle-Kiski Valley. They were used to transport not only pedestrians but also animals, carriages and wagons filled with goods going to market. As the population increased in communities along the Allegheny River, the ferry system...
Lower Burrell prepares for $9.2 million sewage project
The Lower Burrell Municipal Authority and the city’s leadership are gearing up for a $9.2 million sewage project, likely the most expensive project for the city in the next decade. The municipal authority will replace and upgrade the Big Braeburn pump station at the bottom of Edgecliff Road plus repair...
Armstrong County commissioners explore park transfer offer to Gilpin and Leechburg officials
The Gilpin/Leechburg Park in Gilpin might soon be under new ownership. On Jan. 26, the Armstrong County commissioners sent letters to Gilpin and Leechburg officials to gauge interest on the municipalities taking ownership of the park property. The Gilpin supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday, Feb. 14 to accept the park’s transfer....
Allegheny Township supervisors consider resident’s request for street lights in his neighborhood
The Allegheny Township supervisors will investigate the costs for installing street lights in the Pleasantville neighborhood. That’s in response to an inquiry by Michael Blakeny, a resident of Sunrise Drive. Blakeny said he is concerned about the safety of pedestrians, particularly children, walking the neighborhood after dark. He said it...
Anti-violence and community healing event in New Kensington urges citizens to ‘get on board with love’
Parents, teachers, children, pastors and concerned citizens turned out Saturday afternoon at Valley High School auditorium in New Kensington to consider how the area’s recent spate of violence might be stopped. The event was coordinated by former New Kensington- Arnold School District dean of students Henry “Hank” Commodore, who said he...
The Stroller, Feb. 19, 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. Tickets available for spaghetti dinner in honor of Brackenridge chief Pioneer...
Birds of a feather flock together at Harrison Hills Park for annual Great Backyard Bird Count
Like most birding enthusiasts, Jessica Lakari looks forward to every chance to get out in the woods to glimpse the colorful and often complex behavior of winged creatures. So when birders from around the Alle-Kiski Valley gathered at Harrison Hill Park this weekend for the Great Backyard Bird Count, she...
