Valley News Dispatch category, Page 323
Hundreds brave cold to be part of Oakmont’s Hometown Christmas Celebration
Hundreds of parade-goers braved freezing temperatures Saturday evening to kick off the holiday season with street fair in Oakmont. Oakmont’s Hometown Christmas Celebration offered an evening chock full of holiday entertainment, including an elf named Zippy. Sven Drop, 14, likes to dress up as holiday favorites like the...
Bonfire Shortcut to close for the day Monday in Allegheny Township
The well-traveled Bonfire Shortcut detour along White Cloud Road in Allegheny Township will close most of the day Monday. The road is scheduled to be closed from 7 a.m. up until 5 p.m. The Bonfire Shortcut, which is township-owned, has become a detour route during major construction of Route 356....
Tarentum-Brackenridge parade kicks off holiday season with festive funVideo
Samantha Thomas of Springdale donned three layers of clothing Saturday in an effort to keep warm during the annual Tarentum-Brackenridge Christmas Parade. Temperatures hovered in the mid-20s under sunny skies as hundreds of parade-goers lined the streets for the 1 p.m. start. The parade was filled with plenty...
Vandergrift man charged with witness intimidation
Allegheny Valley Regional Police charged a man with intimidating a witness after an East Deer woman reported he threatened to beat her and her husband because they alerted police that he tried to steal items from their rental property. Christopher Thomas Beckett, 42, of the 900 block of Hancock Avenue...
Lower Burrell’s new ‘beastly’ 64-gallon recycling bins cause a ruckus
The new 64-gallon recycling bins are beastly, some Lower Burrell residents say, compared to the small plastic crates that were retired for the city’s new recycling contract with Waste Management Inc. City council agreed to the new contract with Waste Management this summer that included 64-gallon recycling bins on wheels....
Trucker faces $12K fine for using residential road in Allegheny Township during Route 356 closure
The reopening of Route 356 in Allegheny Township on Tuesday arrived too late for one trucker. Police Chief Duane Fisher told township supervisors at Monday’s meeting that the trucker tried to take a tractor-trailer rig down White Cloud Road earlier in the day despite posted warning signs. “He is now...
Highlands Area Rotary Choral Festival makes return after 2-year covid hiatus
One of the high notes of the holiday season is back after a two-year covid-related break. The Highlands Area Rotary Club’s choral festival is set to hit the stage Wednesday, Nov. 30, at Highlands High School in Harrison. It features choirs from five districts: Burrell, Freeport Area, Highlands, Kiski Area...
Allegheny Township approves natural gas fracking deal beneath the Tredway Trail
Allegheny Township supervisors are pumping up the township coffers with approval of an oil and gas lease with Olympus Energy. The “nonsurface lease” approved unanimously by the township’s three supervisors is for 27.7 acres of the Tredway Trail. Township Manager Greg Primm said the land involved is from the end...
Equus and PA CareerLink Alle-Kiski in New Kensington surpass 100th GED milestone
Diamond Stockfields was hit with family problems as a teen and decided that graduating from Valley High School wasn’t the path for her. Instead, she earned her GED through Equus and PA CareerLink Alle-Kiski. Now working as an EMT, she hopes to attend college in the spring. “I don’t think...
Alle-Kiski Plus is coming to print on Sundays
Dear readers, Your Sunday Trib is about to get better. Starting this Sunday, we are adding a dose of fresh, local content to your Sunday Tribune-Review. The A-K Valley Plus is a new print section filled with stories and information about our communities. It will include features about your neighbors,...
The Stroller, Nov. 19, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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. Leechburg Rotary to collect pajamas, children’s books The Rotary Club of...
No injuries reported in New Kensington crash that closed Tarentum Bridge Road
A portion of Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington was closed for a short time Friday morning after an SUV flipped between Leechburg Road and Carl Avenue. No injuries were reported, according to New Kensington Fire Department No. 2. Emergency crews responded to the crash just after 7 a.m. near...
Allegheny Township police arrest man on sex charge after investigating ChildLine report
Allegheny Township police charged a man from Lawrence County with having an inappropriate sexual relationship with an underage girl they say gave birth to his child. Elijah James Sowerby, 19, of Riverview Avenue in New Castle faces a felony sex charge along with a count of corruption of a minor....
First-ever meatloaf dinner fundraiser a whopping success for Harrison Cub Scouts
Meatloaf dinners are paving the way for exciting Cub Scout activities in the new year. Pack 186, based out of Guardian Angels Parish in Harrison, hosted a fundraiser dinner Nov. 6 where more than 300 meals left the church kitchen. “It was the first time we attempted this type of...
2nd mill of tax for Washington Township Volunteer Fire Company prompts 1 mill tax hike in 2023
Real estate taxes in Washington Township will rise by 1 mill under the 2023 proposed budget. The proposed $3.5 million spending plan will come up for final passage at the township supervisors’ Dec. 8 meeting. Rich Gardner, supervisors chairman, said the tax increase is specifically to benefit the Washington Township...
New Kensington artist to debut animated short on WQED
Anyone watching WQED while trying to stay warm this weekend might happen to see an animated short about a goofy-looking seagull. Just know that the animation airing at 10 p.m. Saturday on the PBS affiliate’s Filmmakers Corner is actually the debut project of Brooke Doran, a 24-year-old Point Park University...
Faith Lutheran Church in Harrison to celebrate 50th anniversary
A reluctant merger of two local churches in 1972 has led to a thriving congregation at Faith Lutheran Church in Harrison. Parishioners will mark the 50th anniversary Saturday, celebrating a unity that “accomplished many wonderful things,” longtime member Elaine Sakaluk said. “Now we’re like family,” said Marilyn Gilkey of Cabot....
Leechburg native returns home to open bookstore/gift shop
Lindsey Smith has a way with words. The Leechburg native embraced writing and English from a young age, and now she’s using her decades of experience in the publishing industry with her latest venture: a bookstore and gift shop opening soon in downtown Leechburg. One Idea Books & Gifts will...
Building the Valley: Pittsburgh Coffee Co. truck rolls into Lower Burrell with freshly roasted brews
Like many, Morgan Lineman of Lower Burrell likes a good cup of coffee or a mocha, latte or cold brew. When Lineman, 28, lost her job during the pandemic while she was pregnant, the Lower Burrell woman and her husband charted a new course. “We decided to start something on...
New Kensington residents mark 5th anniversary of police officer Brian Shaw’s death in line of duty
It has been five years since New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw was killed in the line of duty. For many, like police Chief Robert Deringer, it feels like yesterday. “They say time heals all wounds,” Deringer said, standing across the police station after a memorial service Thursday night. “It...
Tarentum doubling earned income tax to compensate for budget shortfall; millage to remain the same
An updated tentative 2023 budget for Tarentum calls for an increase in the earned income tax from 0.5% to 1%. Borough Manager Dwight Boddorf blamed the increase on a projected $1.2 million general fund deficit. The overall proposed budget for next year of nearly $17 million assumes the borough will...
Remember When: Veterans Day celebrations in 1945 recognized A-K Valley’s heroes
Veterans Day in the Alle-Kiski Valley was observed recently with reverence and reflection. While all Veterans Days are important, one might consider Nov. 11, 1945, the biggest Veterans Day of all. It was the first Veterans Day following the end of World War II, just 71 days after Japan signed...
The Stroller, Nov. 18, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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. Model train display set at Appleby Manor Presbyterian Church The 31st...
Lower Burrell Council approves 2023 preliminary budget with no tax hike
Lower Burrell’s 2023 budget of $11 million, which is 2.1% higher than this year’s budget, will include no tax increase. City council and the mayor voted unanimously, 5-0, to approve the preliminary budget. The $11 million preliminary budget holds the line on real estate taxes for next year at 24.75...
Faces of the Valley: Longtime volunteer finds purpose at Knead Community Cafe
Colleen Clark-Sulava hasn’t been one to spend retirement in a rocking chair. She has been volunteering at Knead Community Cafe in New Kensington since its opening in 2017. “As much for me as anything, I wanted to feel I was doing something important,” she said. “I want my life in...
