Valley News Dispatch category, Page 314

Motorists on Route 28 can expect traffic restrictions at the Cheswick/Springdale (Exit 12) interchange beginning at 6:30 a.m. Friday and lasting all day. Crews from Swank Construction Co. will mill the northbound interchange ramps and then will perform similar work on the southbound ramps. The ramps will remain open, but...

Five people were left homeless Thursday afternoon when fire heavily damaged a duplex on Main Street in Leechburg. Leechburg Fire Chief Tom Foster said the fire was reported around 5:48 p.m. at 135 Main St. Foster said two cats remained unaccounted for. The fire erupted from the second floor of...

New Kensington residents from East Ken Manor and beyond gathered in front of 9-year-old Azuree Charles’ home to remember him Thursday, a day after his parents were charged in connection with his death in May. Some, including children, held signs saying “Justice has been served,” “Fly high,” and “I miss...

Friday has come early for drivers who use Logans Ferry Road in Plum. “Logans Ferry Road has reopened to traffic,” PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said Thursday afternoon. Logans Ferry had been closed between Entrance Drive and Columbia Road, near New Kensington, since Aug. 2 while crews from Plum Contracting worked...

Evidence markers show where nearly a dozen bullets struck the Seventh Street side of The Corner, Penn State’s entrepreneurial center in downtown New Kensington last Friday. Damage included a shattered window, marked by one of the the markers still on the building Thursday. New Kensington police did not respond to...

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner on Tuesday released a cause and manner of death for a woman whose body was found in the Allegheny River in Downtown Pittsburgh in June. Julie Anne Keddie, 38, of Shadyside, died June 15 from an accidental drowning, the medical examiner’s office said. Keddie had...

When it comes to negotiating tough situations, the North Hills Special Response Team can be considered one of the best. It placed first in the Best of the Best negotiating competition hosted by the Pittsburgh FBI in August at The David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Six Pittsburgh-area special response teams...

Volunteers at Fawn Fire Company No. 2 will be better equipped to fight wildfires thanks to new gear and equipment. Phillip Smozski, fire lieutenant, said the department plans to outfit its utility terrain vehicle with $1,600 in firefighting equipment that includes fire rakes and Indian packs, or portable pump tanks....

Patricia J. Rossi — an artist, musician, piano teacher and more — had a philosophy of education. “My belief is that every child should have the opportunity to recognize and develop his interests and native abilities in the best possible environment,” she wrote in 1992. “A well-balanced education includes the...

Publicize your 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. Polkamaniacs set to play concert at Harrison Hills Park The Allegheny County...

Leechburg Area School District is set for huge savings as it nears completion of renovations to ensure greater energy efficiency on campus. The district’s Energy Savings Project, implemented by Harrisburg-based McClure Co., began in June and is expected to wrap up in a few weeks. Eric Petrazio, McClure senior account...

Tarentum resident Dale Davis has earned his title as the pasta king. A longtime chef in restaurants across the Pittsburgh region, Davis made the leap to open the soul food takeout eatery Pasta King at 621 E. First Ave. in Tarentum just more than a year ago. “I started way...

Springdale has a new police chief, and he’s a familiar face to borough residents. Derek Dayoub was elevated from captain to chief this week by a 5-1 council vote with one abstention. Dayoub replaces George Polnar, who retired in June. A law enforcement member for 20 years, Dayoub will receive...

West Deer has a new supervisor. Supervisors chose David Harrison, a 32-year resident of the township who has served on various boards in the past, at a special meeting Thursday evening. He runs a consulting firm for sound and vibration engineering. A vacancy for District 4 supervisor was created when...

Tessa Pagone of Gibsonia was crowned the 2022 National American Miss Pennsylvania Jr. Teen at the state pageant held in Virginia in August. The Deer Lakes High School sophomore has participated in National American Miss pageants for six years and most recently competed in the age 13-15 bracket. She qualified...

Both parents of 9-year-old Azuree Charles were charged Wednesday in connection with the New Kensington boy’s death in May. Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said the boy’s father, Jean Charles, 40, of Brackenridge, is charged with first-degree murder, criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, unlawful restraint of a minor...

One could make an argument that Freeport’s government is suffering from “long covid.” The term refers to having effects from the virus persist long after the infection is cleared. It’s much like Freeport’s situation with a borough building that has been closed to the public for the past two weeks...

Firefighters from two municipalities were able to prevent a blaze from spreading after the awning of a home caught fire in Gilpin on Tuesday evening, according to authorities. Crews from the Gilpin and Leechburg volunteer fire departments were dispatched to a three-story frame home in the 3100 block of River...

An eight-piece band in matching blue plaid suits will perform Saturday in Harrison Hills Park, and the musicians have a message for anyone who might attend: “It ain’t your grandpa’s polka.” “We’re a king-size plaidtastic stage show that no audience can resist,” said Michael Devine, a member of the Polkamaniacs....

The newest addition to greet passengers at the Pittsburgh International Airport is a statue of Nellie Bly — flanked by Steelers great Franco Harris and the “Father of Our Country,” George Washington. Bly was an Alle-Kiski Valley native. Born Elizabeth Cochran on May 5, 1864, in the Cochran Mills neighborhood...

The annual Alle-Kiski Marching Band Festival will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday at Yuhas McGinley Stadium at Penn Hills High School. The day was changed from Wednesday due to expected inclement weather. Schools participating in the non-competitive event include Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport Area, Highlands, Kiski Area, Leechburg Area,...

Publicize your 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. Annual Harvest Jubilee planned in Avonmore The Avonmore Harvest Jubilee will be...

A motorcyclist is in the hospital after an accident on Tuesday evening in New Kensington. The accident occurred at around 9:50 p.m. in the 1100 block of Seventh Street, according to a Westmoreland County dispatcher. EMS transported the motorcycle driver to an area hospital, the dispatcher said. No further information...

The annual Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company carnival opened Tuesday and continues through Saturday night at the fire company grounds, 268 Canal St. Gates open at 6 p.m. nightly and admission is free. There is a cost to ride the rides and play carnival games. There is food, rides, games, and...

A Turtle Creek man pleaded guilty Tuesday to the sex trafficking of a 14-year-old runaway from New Kensington. Davon Allen Fuqua, 36, cut short his trial midway through testimony from his accuser, who told a West­moreland County jury she was transported with a prostitute to have sex with two older...