Valley News Dispatch category, Page 38
Faces of the Valley: Brackenridge’s Marlene Haggerty, 90, ‘keeps on going’ at work, church, volunteering
Marlene Haggerty doesn’t believe in sitting still. The 90-year-old Brackenridge resident works full time as a medical biller, teaches Sunday school and serves as an Allegheny County judge of elections. “I wish I knew my secret, but the truth is: I’m just active,” Haggerty said. “It keeps you going.” Born...
Tarentum police enjoy Olive Garden lunch served by Highlands Golden Rams
Tarentum police Chief Bill Vakulick said building relationships with the community’s youth is one of his officers’ most important roles. On Thursday, the department connected with members of the Highlands High School football team during a special lunch. The goal was to foster positive connections between students and law enforcement....
Vape sensors to be installed at Valley Jr.-Sr. High School
Vape sensors will be installed in restrooms and common areas at Valley Jr.-Sr. High School in New Kensington. The New Kensington-Arnold school board this week approved buying and installing vape sensors at Valley at a one-time cost of $12,800, said Superintendent Chris Sefcheck. There is an ongoing annual maintenance fee...
Community Supermarket in Harrison sets closing date
Harrison has about two months left with a grocery store in the heart of town. George Sears, general manager of Community Supermarket, said the store will tentatively close Oct. 31. It has operated at Heights Plaza since 2002. “It could be a week earlier, depending on how things go,” he...
Plum hires 2 principals to fill roles at high school, middle school
Plum School Board voted on Tuesday, Aug. 12 to hire two new principals about a week before the first day of school. Colleen Pegher joins the district as assistant principal at Plum High School, and Rachel Lintelman takes over as assistant principal at Plum Middle School. Pegher previously served 11...
Indiana Township appoints new police chief, announces new 4-year police contract
This month marks the end of an era in Indiana Township law enforcement and the start of a new one. Police Chief Steven Colucci is retiring after 29 years in the township force. Supervisors on Aug. 13 unanimously passed a resolution honoring Colucci for his service. Colucci is also expected...
New Kensington man charged after inmate fight at Westmoreland prison
A New Kensington man awaiting trial in a shooting was charged by police Wednesday with beating a man at the Westmoreland County Prison. The injured inmate had to get multiple staples in the back of his head at a hospital, according to court papers. Amarion M. Michaux, 19, is charged...
Tarentum residents can report nonemergency issues online
Tarentum residents have a new way to report nonemergency issues to the borough. Officials are rolling out an online reporting form at tarentumboro.com. People can report things like potholes, broken streetlights, graffiti and downed trees. Property maintenance concerns also can be submitted. The reports will be read directly by borough...
Lower Burrell adds streets to paving plans
Three streets are being added to Lower Burrell’s paving program this year. Council approved the paving of Clarendon Avenue, Tioga Street and Prospect Circle, which were not among the streets council approved in July as part of the paving program. The original streets, located primarily in the city’s Kinloch section,...
Aspinwall’s Big Night Out not a small feat
What appeared to be little light blue clouds covering part of Aspinwall’s recreation site along Field Avenue were just bundles of a sweet treat. Cotton candy was cranked out nonstop for several hours as about 1,000 people took to the ball fields for Aspinwall’s Big Night out celebration on Aug....
The Stroller, Aug. 14, 2025: 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. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Community block party planned...
Police charge East Deer man with sexual assault of a minor
Allegheny County Police have charged an East Deer man with sexually assaulting a minor along a walking trail. Brian Ball, 40, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated indecent assault of a child, sexual abuse of a minor, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old, indecent...
Buffalo Township supervisors OK controversial solar farms despite resident resistance
In the face of fierce community opposition, the Buffalo Township supervisors gave developers the green light Wednesday for two controversial solar farms. After a summerlong discussion and two delayed votes, supervisors opted 4-1 to allow Atlanta-based SolAmerica to install solar arrays on an 81-acre spot off Bear Creek Road and...
Opponents of controversial hiring accuse Leechburg Area School Board of political bias
Leechburg Area School Board members were presented with formal complaints and questions Wednesday night following a controversial hiring decision. Neill Brady, a Leechburg resident and school board candidate, voiced his dismay and requested answers after his son-in-law, Sean Hess, was passed over for a position with the district despite receiving...
Rustic Ridge neighbors file additional lawsuits ahead of house explosion anniversary
Neighbors have filed three new lawsuits against several companies just ahead of the two-year anniversary of a house explosion in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood that killed six and caused damage throughout the housing plan. The suits, filed throughout early August, come after family members of those killed in the blast...
Driver faces DUI, but not homicide charges in Natrona girl’s death; family attorney reacts
Police said a Harrison man drank 12 beers before getting behind the wheel of a Jeep that struck and killed an 11-year-old girl in Natrona last summer. Allegheny County Police on Wednesday charged Jeffrey Glowatski, 65, with three counts of DUI and two counts of careless driving in connection with...
Card skimmer found at New Kensington Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle says some of its customers who swiped a credit card at the New Kensington store in June might have fallen victim to a card skimmer. A legal notice, published by Giant Eagle this week, states a payment card skimmer was installed on a checkout lane’s PIN pad between...
Highlands Elementary students show kindness to HOPE Center in Tarentum
Highlands Elementary School has put kindness into the curriculum. It launched the Be the Kind Kid Club in 2023-24 to promote courtesy, teamwork and friendliness. It has grown 200%, from about 90 students to more than 270 who meet weekly. In an effort to keep the motto front and center,...
Grand opening celebration set for new Allegheny Township Shoe Sensation
A new shoe store in Allegheny Township will have a grand opening celebration next month. Shoe Sensation, located in the Hyde Park Plaza, 451 Hyde Park Road, will hold the celebration Sept. 12 to 14, according to the Indiana-based company. “We’re bringing so much more than just your favorite name...
HVAC project at Burrell High School comes in $1M over budget
Bids for a proposed heating and cooling project at Burrell High School came in about $1 million more than what school district officials were expecting. Superintendent Shannon Wagner told the school board this week that bids for general construction, HVAC and electrical improvements at the high school came in at...
The Stroller, Aug. 13, 2025: 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. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Valley HS to host...
Allegheny Township to pay workers’ compensation for firefighters from fire tax
Allegheny Township will use revenue from the township’s fire tax to pay workers’ compensation insurance premiums for volunteer firefighters. The township supervisors on Monday did not take up a motion by Supervisor Michael Korns that, according to the motion, would “return the fire tax funds removed from the (Allegheny Township...
Man taken to hospital following vehicle, e-bike crash in Arnold
A man was taken to a hospital after he was riding his e-bike and was hit by a Jeep in Arnold on Tuesday night, police said. At around 9 p.m., first responders from Arnold and New Kensington responded to the intersection of Constitution Boulevard and Drey Street in Arnold, near...
Charges pending in Harrison crash that killed 11-year-old girl
Roxanne Bonnoni’s family might finally get closure. Authorities are poised to file charges nearly a year after the 11-year-old was struck and killed near her home in the Natrona section of Harrison. “Before charging decisions were made, it was important that the District Attorney had the opportunity to meet with...
Brackenridge hires Manager Chad Edwards to lead borough
For the first time in recent history, Brackenridge has a borough manager. Council hired West Virginia resident Chad Edwards to lead the borough’s day-to-day business. He most recently served as Village Manager of East Palestine, Ohio, coming on board months after the February 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment. Edwards was...
