Valley News Dispatch category, Page 318

The public can learn about fly fishing, stream bank restoration, macro-environments and more at the Buffalo Creek Watershed Festival on Saturday. The free nature festival will feature loads of information and hands-on demonstrations at the Audubon Society’s Buffalo Creek Nature Park in Buffalo Township. “The reason for the celebration is...

Cleanups in Tarentum and Harrison’s Natrona neighborhood will happen this weekend as part of a larger effort to pluck litter from the Allegheny River. The monthlong series of events hosted by Allegheny CleanWays focuses on removing debris that has piled up along the riverbanks. Volunteers can ride along on the...

A seventh person suspected in the July slaying of a man in New Kensington was arrested Thursday. Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli announced that 16-year-old Da’Montae Brooks was taken into custody at a home in Dunbar, Fayette County, by state police and members of an unspecified fugitive task force....

Thousands of people expected to attend the Summit Hose Fall Festival in Tarentum will have a chance to vote on plans for the borough’s riverfront trail. Friends of the Riverfront will be on hand to solicit input on the proposed path. The festival runs tonight, Sept. 8, through Saturday at...

A New Kensington man and a man acquitted of a shooting in Arnold face charges in what authorities say was a planned jailhouse assault. A former guard at the Westmoreland County Prison was fired and also faces charges in the incident. According to county detectives, the attack occurred last month...

PennDOT projects will close Upper Drennen Road and Schafer Drive in Upper Burrell starting Monday. Both projects cover secondary residential roads, which shouldn’t cause major disruptions, said Supervisors Chairman Ross Walker. The closures are several miles apart. “It’s a temporary inconvenience for a permanent improvement,” Walker said. A section of...

PennDOT District 11 sign inspection work will involve lane closures from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at several locations in the Alle-Kiski Valley:Route 366 at the northbound Route 28 ramp in Tarentum;Route 910 at the southbound Route 28 ramp in Harmar;Route 4009 (Evergreen Road) at the Millvale (Exit 3B)...

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. Buffalo Creek Watershed Festival set Saturday The Buffalo Creek Watershed Festival will...

Morning announcements rule the school at Kiski Area Upper Elementary in Washington Township. Forget the usual, no-frills audio announcements broadcast at most schools. At Kiski Area Upper Elementary (KAUE), a morning video featuring multiple segments, colorful graphics, props and music kicks off each school day with a creative welcome, delivered...

State police have charged a former Freeport councilman and Freeport ambulance service treasurer with the misappropriation of nearly $100,000 over a four-year period. Justin G. DeAngelis, 41, who is listed with a Jeannette address according to court records, was charged Tuesday with theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and...

The kayak launch along the Allegheny River in Harrison’s Natrona section soon could become an enhanced destination for people seeking shorefront recreation. The Harrison commissioners are hoping to move forward on a project to create a nine-space, paved parking lot at the corner of Sycamore Street and River Avenue, new...

Volunteers from ATI will join the Harrison tree committee Tuesday to make over a cluster of 27 trees planted years ago near the Highlands baseball fields. About four dozen people will tend to the bald cypress, birch, elm and pine trees that were paid for through a $250,000 grant from...

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. Arts Festival returns to Saxonburg The annual Saxonburg Festival of the Arts...

Students from the Kiski Area School District and other Alle-Kiski schools, including Burrell, are collecting items to honor local police officers on National Thank a Police Officer Day. The day of giving thanks to officers is a nationwide event and is always held on the third Saturday of September. This...

There was a time when community banks in the Alle-Kiski Valley thrived. For example, there was the Old Freeport Bank and the Avonmore National Bank, both of which served their communities for many years. But, perhaps, the most well-known community bank was Parnassus National Bank. The bank dated to 1872,...

With school beginning for many students across the Alle-Kiski Valley, it’s a good time to look at how the configuration of local school districts today could have been vastly different if initial proposals were followed years ago. For instance, on Dec. 17, 1962, Allegheny County school officials proposed a high...

A 1-year-old boy who fell out of a window Aug. 30 in Plum died four days later, according to a report from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The boy, Henry Witucki, fell from the window around 6:30 p.m. along the 100 block of Winchester Drive. According to the Medical...

Counselors and psychologists were available to Fox Chapel Area students after a district student died Sept. 2 in a fatal shooting in Duquesne. Lajaponis Roberts, 14, had been a passenger in a burgundy-colored Chevy Cruze that was hit by gunfire shortly before 5:15 p.m. in the 700 block of Priscilla...

Looking to clean out your closet and snag a free outfit? Fox Chapel Area High School senior Diya Reddy has organized a public clothing swap scheduled for Sept. 18 in Sharpsburg. Ketchup City Creative owner Nanci Goldberg partnered with Reddy to host the free event scheduled from 6 p.m. to...

Allegheny Township officials have updated the community’s website. The website had not been updated for about a decade, according to township Manager Greg Primm. “It was updated with content, just not as often as it could have been,” Primm said. A new online feature for residents is a link to...

Pastor Fred Neal of Lower Burrell seems to have a penchant for breathing new life into old churches. Early last year, Neal found a home for his fledgling Redemption Church at the former and abandoned Hillcrest Alliance Church in Lower Burrell. Now, he and two other pastors are expanding their...

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. Leechburg Mingle on Market event set Thursday The monthly Mingle on Market...

Shannon Santucci served her hometown of Arnold as a police officer for 11 years and made history as the city’s first female police chief. She resigned from the department as a sergeant in 2018, having been chief from June 2015 to January 2016. “I miss patrolling,” Santucci said. “I miss...

Outdoor enthusiasts are invited to take part in two free hikes this month at Harrison Hills Park. Seeds and Spores is scheduled for Sept. 17. Hit the Trail will happen Sept. 25. Hosted by Allegheny County, the hikes are tailored to all skill levels. Park rangers will lead the first,...