Valley News Dispatch category, Page 305

Youth baseball and softball fields on Highlands School District property are being spruced up with more than a dozen trees this month through a project with the Western PA Conservancy. The planting project in Harrison also includes five trees on Broadview Boulevard and six along Federal Street in the township’s...

Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Masquerade ball planned Oct. 29 in Leechburg Leechburg Area Community Association...

New Kensington police arrested an Arnold woman after, they say, she admitted to dropping an infant on his head. Police charged Kendrianna Floree Neville, 27, with endangering the welfare of children, reckless endangerment, aggravated assault and public drunkenness. According to a police affidavit, officers responded to the area of 11th...

When the village of Hoboken — current-day Blawnox — was first laid out in the late 1860s, it was created to support the contractors, and later the employees, of the now-gone Allegheny County Workhouse in neighboring O’Hara. “When Hoboken was first laid out, it was just another land deal,” historian...

The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint Friday against Braeburn Alloy Steel in Lower Burrell for breaking the National Labor Relations Act by not recognizing the collective bargaining unit represented by the United Steelworkers. The union, which represents about 30 workers, filed unfair labor practice complaints with NLRB in...

A convicted sex offender was in a relationship with a 17-year-old girl, impregnated her and took video of her performing a sex act, according to charges filed by New Kensington police. Police charged Elmo Thomas Hartsfield III, 28, of New Kensington on Thursday with felony counts of filming a child...

Tarentum and Harmar were among 33 Allegheny County communities last week to be awarded a total of $2.1 million in grants to address blight. Money was made available through the Act 152 Demolition Fund, now in its second year. Tarentum will receive $35,000 to raze three structures; Harmar will get...

Bailey Linza likened high school musical theater to finding the golden ticket. She and two classmates at St. Joseph High School in Harrison reaped such joy from their production experiences that they have offered to head up a fall show for students at Mary Queen of Apostles School in New...

New Kensington residents will see a 1.7% increase in their sewage bills next year. That’s less than the 2.7% increase the Municipal Sanitary Authority of the City of New Kensington imposed for this year. Beginning Jan. 1, the authority will increase its rate for 100 cubic feet from $9.84 to...

Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Tickets on sale for benefit spaghetti dinner A spaghetti dinner to...

The third annual Freeport Halloween Festival will feature fire breathers, live entertainment, amusement rides, food, crafts and more Friday through Sunday. Admission is free for the festival, which will be held in the heart of Freeport at James E. Swartz Sr. Memorial Field. The town’s two previous three-day Halloween festivals...

The popular playground at Brackenridge Memorial Park will get a surface makeover to boost safety and cut maintenance costs. In a recent round of state funding, the borough received word that it will get about $95,400 from the Greenway, Trails and Recreation Program. “It will be used for safety improvements,”...

Some Harmar residents will have a new polling site beginning in November. Residents of District 3, who previously voted at the old public works garage along Russellton Road, will now cast their ballots at Pittsburgh’s Syria Shriners center. “In August, the township finalized the sale of 841 Russellton Road,” Manager...

A Pittsburgh man faces drug and gun charges after Allegheny Township police said they found marijuana, cocaine and a loaded pistol when he was detained at a sobriety checkpoint for an expired registration. Larinzo Lamar Johnson, 21, of the 1300 block of Diana Street, North Side was charged with felony...

The Allegheny Valley School District’s long association with Springdale’s Veterans Memorial Field could be in jeopardy. School directors Tuesday night decided to put the issue of terminating the lease with Springdale on the agenda for the Oct. 18 board meeting. The field, built in 1938 as part of the Works...

Vandergrift’s youngest residents can get their hands on a free pumpkin during the fourth annual Vandergrift Great Pumpkin Patch. The free community event, sponsored by the Vandergrift Parent Project, is scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 29 at Franklin Park in Vandergrift. “Our goal since starting the VPP is...

Two brothers from Tarentum have been charged with attempted homicide, as they are accused of shooting at people in a Sheldon Park apartment early Thursday in Harrison. Troy Vickers, 30, and Brian Vickers, 19, are each also charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, conspiracy and firearms violations in what Allegheny...

Arnold Council dealt a significant setback to a convenience store owner’s plans to sell beer and wine at a new store on Freeport Road. After a public hearing Tuesday, council voted unanimously against Yashvi Oil owner Mike Thakkar’s request for a conditional use for his planned gas station and convenience...

Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Halloween event to benefit Animal Protectors Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley...

Residents of Gilpin and Freeport officially have a new regional police department. The Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department held a pinning and inaugural first shift ceremony Wednesday morning at the Gilpin Municipal Building. The new police force combines the Freeport and Gilpin police departments, providing 24-hour police coverage for both...

Aspinwall Council adopted an ordinance on Oct. 12 that prohibits all outdoor business, commercial and trading activities in the borough from 10:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and midnight to 7 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The vote was 5-2 with council President Tim McLaughlin and Councilwoman Mary Hancock...

Just before Jamar Freshley was escorted out of a Westmoreland County courtroom he turned to tell his girlfriend, “I love you.” Freshley, 33, of New Kensington, pleaded guilty Wednesday to aggravated assault and other offenses. Police said he slammed his car into the vehicle driven by his girlfriend last Oct....

Single-lane restrictions along Route 28 in both directions near the structure over Crawford Run Road in East Deer have been in place since mid-September as crews from Swank Construction Co. perform roadway reconstruction and bridge deck rehabilitation. Restrictions were recently extended until Friday, Oct. 14. The work is part of...

The latest round of church closings within the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh includes the iconic St. Ladislaus Church in the Natrona neighborhood of Harrison. The final Mass was celebrated Thursday, Sept. 29. But a group has emerged wanting the diocese to keep the building and have it declared a holy...

The Burrell School District will offer inclusive, co-ed bocce for students with and without cognitive disabilities thanks to Special Olympics Pennsylvania. The school board recently approved the program with Special Olympics, which will pay for the team’s expenses for the first two years, including uniforms, and provide expertise to a...