Valley News Dispatch category, Page 304

Harrison resident Sean Ware is coming off the Thanksgiving holiday feeling even more motivated to help those in need. An Army veteran, Ware is associate manager of CVS Health’s Workforce Innovation Training Center (WITC) in Pittsburgh, where he works to assist veterans and people transitioning from poverty. “I’m thankful that...

Members of St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold filed into the social hall along Kenneth Avenue on Sunday, filling the two dozen or so folding chairs to celebrate Divine Liturgy. It was a special day for parishioners of Arnold’s only Catholic church. Exactly one year prior, the 74-year-old building...

A Washington Township man was accused of being a cocaine dealer after an undercover investigation by Lower Burrell police. Keith Brian Banichar, 32, of the 600 block of Edgewood Road was charged with four felony counts of possession of drugs with the intent to deliver and two counts of drug...

Tarentum police accused a woman of punching an officer in the back of the head while he was trying to arrest a man who was fighting outside a bar. Brianna Hooper, 24, of the 800 block of Kenneth Avenue in New Kensington was charged with a felony count of aggravated...

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. Tarentum to sponsor holiday light decorating contest Tarentum Recreation Board is...

Lower Burrell is holding its first Christmas parade in recent memory Saturday, the day after a tree-lighting ceremony at Stewart Elementary School. The city has been hosting multiple parades annually with good turnouts, including a St. Patrick’s Day parade initiated by residents during the covid-19 pandemic. “We hope to build...

A New Kensington man was arrested after officers responding to a call for a domestic incident said they found evidence of drug dealing in the home he shares with his mother. Aquay Omar Mitchell, 22, of the 1200 block of Taylor Avenue was charged with a felony count of possession...

Arnold police arrested a man after his parole officer reported she saw evidence of drug dealing when she visited his home, according to his arrest papers. Vernon Allan Daniels Jr., 34, of the 1900 block of Ridge Avenue was charged with three felony counts of possession with the intent to...

Javon Thorpe and Kristen Rue of Tarentum want to provide their clientele with a friendly, personalized fitness training experience that larger gyms may not be able to provide. Thorpe, 28, and Rue, 39, made that their goal when opening Flexwork Fitness at 2418 Freeport Road in Harrison in February. Thorpe’s...

If you had to pick a day to hold the grand opening for a new shop serving up steaming hot cups of fresh-ground coffee, a cold blustery one might just be the ticket. The whipping wind sending light snow dancing through the streets of Vandergrift’s business district on Friday, Nov....

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 toy drive to aide Toys for Alle-Kiski Kids The...

The Vandergrift Back When Holiday Extravaganza kicked off Friday with a bang. Thousands of festival-goers lined Grant Avenue to watch more than 20 floats, costumed characters and the award-winning Kiski Area High School Marching Band. “It was great,” said Steve Broda, a member of the committee who helped organize the...

Bars and casinos don’t typically draw big crowds during breakfast time on the weekends, but the World Cup provided an exception to the rule Saturday morning. Thousands of Western Pennsylvania soccer fans flocked to nearby hangouts to watch the U.S. team ultimately fall to the Netherlands, 3-1. “(Soccer fans) like...

The forecast called for rain but there were snow flurries in New Kensington on Saturday for the annual Christmas parade. The guest of honor, Santa Claus, arrived atop a fire engine under a squall of huge white flakes — made of foam and sprayed from a nearby truck. Crowds lining...

A tree fell on a person Saturday afternoon in Allegheny Township, according to Westmoreland County 911. The incident happened about 1 p.m. in the 100 block of Lynn Lane, according to a county dispatcher. EMS responded, the dispatcher said. An Allegheny Township police officer on duty Saturday said only the...

Members of Highlands High School National Honor Society braved the rain on Saturday to collect presents for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. The group, led by teachers Mindy Eckenrod and Jordan Murdock, were scheduled to be part of the Harrison Recreation Committee Holiday Parade and persevered despite...

Officials in Leechburg and Parks Township are considering creating a combined police department. Officials already have approved plans to commission a study with the state Department of Community and Economic Development to determine whether regionalization could cut costs and ultimately ensure 24/7 police coverage, said D.J. Zelczak, a Leechburg councilman...

New Kensington residents sang together before breaking bread together as the holiday season got underway in the city Friday night. Christie Sabulsky came to the lighting of the city’s Christmas tree for the first time with her children, Brayden, 9, and Brooklyn, 6. “I like when the community gets together,”...

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. Plum students and staff to conduct toy drive Students and staff...

A Westmoreland County judge said he will consider early next year requests to transfer to juvenile court four criminal homicide prosecutions in connection with the July fatal shooting of a man in New Kensington. All seven suspects accused in last summer’s alleged murder of 39-year-old Jason Raiford appeared in court...

The Lower Valley Ambulance Service is pleading with local officials for financial aid so it can stay afloat — as fingers are being pointed about how much help they actually are receiving from an outside entity. With what he said are a lack of payments from patients being serviced and...

Trib Total Media on Thursday marked the 25th anniversary of its acquisition of three newspapers from Gannett Publishing Co., including the Valley News Dispatch. The Trib took over ownership of the publications on Dec. 1, 1997. In addition to the Valley News Dispatch in Tarentum, Tribune-Review Publishing Co. acquired the...

Wanna buy a drugstore? A Walgreens at 324 Hulton Road in Oakmont is on the market for more than $7.2 million. The commercially zoned property, built in 2006, is offered as a triple net lease (NNN) in a commercial listing on Loopnet.com by Deerfield Partners. Janet Czekalski, co-owner and sales...

Carmie Lynch and her dog, Pete, regularly hit the trails in Harrison Hills Park. When they do, they peek longingly at the newly built 1.3-acre off-leash dog space in the upper section of the Allegheny County-owned park off Freeport Road. “We are out at there at least once a week...

Harrison’s gain is Lower Burrell’s loss as Amy Rockwell, Lower Burrell’s city manager, has been hired as the new township manager for Harrison. Rockwell, a Lower Burrell resident, has been Lower Burrell’s city manager and administrator since 2018. She will start her job as Harrison’s manager in early 2023 at...