Valley News Dispatch category, Page 315

Longtime Natrona resident Conrad Zylinski attended the former St. Ladislaus Elementary School in the 1960s and served as an altar boy at the magnificent domed church on Spruce Street. He no longer attends Mass every week but said he sees the significance of the 118-year-old church to the community. Zylinski...

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. Let us know about your Halloween happenings The Valley News Dispatch...

The Kerr Memorial Museum in Oakmont has been transformed into a haunted mansion for a Victorian Era Halloween exhibit. Tours are going on now through Nov. 11 at the historic home at 402 Delaware Ave. About a dozen rooms were redecorated with papier-mache, costumes, photos and other items designed to...

Enter if you dare. Dark and dank, the narrow passages that wind deep underground at Tour-Ed Mine and Museum in Fawn have transformed into a frightening Halloween attraction seeking only the bravest souls to wander through. “We play off your natural phobias here, so we’re talking rats, bats and spiders,”...

Hope was on the lunch menu Wednesday at Valley High School. Students were introduced to their school’s new Hope Squad, part of a national youth suicide prevention program, and asked to write positive and inspirational messages on paper hearts that are being placed on a tree in the library hallway....

Plum resident William Sexton will be happy to see the rundown shell of a house that stands practically in his back yard torn down. Sexton said the house, riddled with broken windows, on Siple Street near the turnpike has been an eyesore for several years. “People go in and out...

With the recent announcement by NASA that the United States will resume missions to the moon, it’s a good time to recall the first moon landing in 1969. Apollo was front and center regarding celebrations surrounding the exciting event. The borough is the only municipality in the country that shares...

Volunteer fire companies and EMS organizations across Southwestern Pennsylvania continue to benefit from federal grants targeted at local emergency responders. Since 2001, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Department of Homeland Security has doled out more than 1,800 Assistance to Firefighters Grants across the country, totaling nearly $323 million. The most...

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. Annual Walk for Hunger event seeks participants The Allegheny Valley Association...

Police say a man admitted to having stamp bags filled with heroin in his hands when he answered a knock at the door from police at the Harmar motel where he was staying. Two people wanted on arrest warrants face multiple felony charges after police got a tip they were...

Dawn Marie Dern has been a star for Plum EMS for many years. With two decades of service to the ambulance company, the full-time emergency medical technician and quality assurance program specialist now has the plaque to prove it. Dern was one of 12 people in the state to receive...

Harrison Manager John Pallone has resigned after six months on the job. Pallone, a former five-term state legislator and superintendent of the New Kensington-Arnold School District, was not immediately available for comment. The township commissioners accepted his resignation during their meeting Monday. At least one commissioner said he believes Pallone...

The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office has released the scene of an explosion that destroyed a Plum family’s home just over five months ago, which will allow it to be cleaned up. Chief Matt Brown, the county’s fire marshal and chief of emergency services, provided a brief update Tuesday on...

The operators of a Vandergrift preschool center are trying to dispel concerns among some parents that the program is being dismantled. In reality, the West Vandergrift Early Learning Center is in the process of obtaining state licensing, which is required, and there is no disruption in service, said Kelli McIntyre,...

Haiti H2O: Hope to Opportunity will have a pumpkin sale from Oct. 6-9 at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church, 384 Fox Chapel Road. Each year, Haiti H2O sells pumpkins to support the communities in Haiti with which it partners. The pumpkin is an important reminder to Haitians of their independence, dating...

A new seasonal monthly event in Vandergrift has proved to be a crowd-pleaser. Gathering on Grant, a community-based food and vendor festival, debuted in May. Lead organizer Eric Mikula said the event has been a great success. “It’s been wonderful. The response from our neighbors has been great. We have...

One of the nation’s largest building suppliers has opened a location in Harmar. ABC Supply Co. opened its doors Aug. 1 at 460 Nixon Road. “We’re a 40,000-plus-square-foot, all-under-roof supplier,” said site manager Mike Mrakovich. “We will be a one-stop shop for the Cheswick community and surrounding areas.” The facility...

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. Local Marines to celebrate at birthday ball Westmoreland County Marines will...

A Florida man who got away after leading police on a chase along Route 28 and trying to run down an officer who attempted to stop him with spike strips has been arrested, according to authorities. Frazer police have charged Derek Lewis Washington, 33, of Lauderdale Lakes with four felony...

A man with a history of felony convictions who is awaiting trial on bribery and other charges has been accused of dealing drugs by Lower Burrell police. Anthony Marsalis Howell, 35, of the 1700 block of Constitution Boulevard in Arnold was charged with two felony counts of possession of drugs...

Westmoreland County election officials Monday began the lengthy week-long process of testing all the voting machines and scanners to ensure they are operating properly before being sealed and transported to voting sites beginning seven days before the Nov. 8 election. The tests to be conducted on all 889 voting machines...

Eric Gartley’s journey into the volunteer fire service started on his back porch in Arnold about 24 years ago. There, with his then-infant son, Gartley watched as volunteer firefighters from Arnold Volunteer Engine Company No. 2 responded to a stove fire at a house off Woodmont Avenue. He decided he...

A mother-daughter duo is combining their creativity to open a costume and mending shop in Vandergrift. Lauren Andrews, 28, grew up in Vandergrift and always had a keen interest in Halloween and dress-up. “I had four Halloween costumes every year. I was always winning the costume contests,” said Andrews, of...

A New Kensington man is being held in the Westmoreland County jail after a fight with another man Saturday. Police charged Shawntre Malik Scott, 24, with a felony count of robbery and misdemeanor counts of simple assault and terroristic threats. Police said they have identified the other man involved in...

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. Free workshop offered for youngsters experiencing grief Good Samaritan Hospice, a...