Valley News Dispatch category, Page 386
Nearly 120 Kiski Area students spruce up communities on Day of Caring
More than 100 Key Club students from Kiski Area High School fanned out across communities in the district Friday to volunteer on National Youth Day of Caring. Kiski Area Key Club advisers Terra Shreffler and Nicole Wadsworth organized the annual event. This year, about 117 students provided helping hands at...
Burrellton May Mart to offer high-quality flowers to benefit city gardens
You know it’s spring when the Burrellton Garden Club prepares for its annual flower sale to benefit city gardens. A budding tradition for at least five years, the plant sale includes perennials from the private collections of garden club members and locally grown annuals acclimated to the Alle-Kiski Valley’s weather....
Lower Burrell man faces 42 charges after neighbors accuse him of pointing loaded shotgun at group playing yard games
A Lower Burrell man faces 42 charges, including 10 felonies, because a neighbor accused him of pointing a loaded shotgun at 10 people playing games in their backyard. Bryan M. Sarnosky, 48, of the 200 block of Michigan Avenue, was charged with 10 counts of felony aggravated assault, along with...
Lower Burrell’s zoning officer — arbiter of major projects, neighborly disputes — to retire
Lower Burrell’s longtime zoning and ordinance officer, Michael Nedley, has a plaque by his desk that reads “Love Thy Neighbor.” It’s a gift from his secretary, who knows what he’s had to deal with over the years. After more than 32 years of listening to neighbor-on-neighbor complaints about high grass...
Free community garden set to bloom in Aspinwall
A new free community garden is coming to Aspinwall. A vacant lot located at 215 Delafield Road, across from UPMC St. Margaret Hospital, is slated to become the Aspinwall Community Garden. Project organizer and Aspinwall resident Amy Lima said use of the lot has been donated by owner Marshall Barbour,...
The Stroller, April 29, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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. Please include a daytime telephone number. Youngsters invited to attend Camp Cadet Applications are being accepted for the 2022 Armstrong County Camp Cadet Program, July 24 to...
Donations sought for families of East Deer apartment fire
A group is collecting donations to assist at least three tenats left homeless when fire destroyed their apartment building late Thursday. The Western Pennsylvania Search and Rescue Development Center is seeking food, clothes and toiletries, among other items that might help families who lived in the multi-story apartment building along...
East Vandergrift working to revitalize long-neglected Kiskiminetas River Park
East Vandergrift officials are moving forward with plans to revitalize Kiskiminetas River Park. The public park, constructed in 1990, is along the banks of the Kiski River at the end of Elm and Kennedy streets. Several years ago, vandals spray-painted over existing security cameras and painted graffiti on the cement...
Lower Burrell, Burrell School District approve 5-year contract for school resource officer
Lower Burrell and the Burrell School District recently approved a five-year contract for a city police officer to serve as an onsite school resource officer in the district. There are no changes to the overall framework of the new contract compared to the previous three-year contract, said Lower Burrell Councilman...
2 excavators stuck in muck pulled from Cheswick construction siteVideo
It’s not every day you witness an excavator — let alone two — being suspended in the air. The rare sight was why about a dozen Cheswick residents gathered Thursday afternoon to watch the excavators being lifted out of a quagmire at a Cheswick construction site. The recovery of the...
Still a pandemic? Endemic? Becoming like the flu? Whatever the term, covid-19 has become more manageable
Experts in the Pittsburgh region generally agree with Dr. Anthony Fauci’s assessment this week that the United States is “out of the pandemic phase” of covid-19, the virus whose death toll is closing in 1 million in the U.S. alone. “ ‘Over’ is a strong term,” said Dr. Donald Whiting,...
State Supreme Court rejects appeal for man sentenced to die for 2017 fatal shooting of New Kensington cop
The state Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of fatally shooting New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw in 2017. A Westmoreland County jury deliberated for less than 90 minutes on Nov. 12, 2019, to find Rahmael Holt, 33, of Harrison, guilty on all...
Anti-bullying protest at Deer Lakes canceled because of bullying, student organizers say
A scheduled walkout by some Deer Lakes students to protest bullying at the high school has been canceled because of backlash from the community, organizers said. Student Abygail Cacurak said a private meeting with district administration is being planned in lieu of the protest. “After much deliberation and thought, we...
Police: 2 people arrested after Kiski Township officer pulls them over in stolen car
A man and a woman riding with him were arrested after a Kiski Township patrol officer pulled them over in a car that was reported stolen. Investigators said the pair were stopped near the intersection of River Road and 19th Street on April 22 after an officer patrolling in North...
New roof installed at near century-old Harrison church
A Harrison church that climbs four stories and is prominently along Freeport Road received a $44,000 makeover this month in the form of a new roof. “It was needed,” said Walter Rutkowski, trustees chairperson at Grace United Methodist Church. “Someone going through the drive-thru at CVS called the office on...
The Stroller, April 28, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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. Please include a daytime telephone number. St. Joseph HS plans summer camps St. Joseph High School, Harrison, will offer several summer camps for children at the school....
Baby at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh dies while awaiting liver transplant
Eileen Halloran cradled her grandson, Chance, on Friday night. She noticed something different about the baby boy who had lived his entire life in a neonatal intensive care unit, attached to a ventilator. The past year had been filled with operations, medical tests and drama. He was under consideration for...
Springdale power plant documented for history
Allegheny-Kiski Valley Historical Society Board President James Thomas remembers when Springdale was called “The Power City.” The establishment of the Cheswick Generating Station in 1970, producing 565 megawatts of electricity, was part of the borough’s claim to fame. The location’s proximity to coal mines and the river was the perfect...
1 man injured in New Kensington shooting
A man is in stable condition after being shot Tuesday in New Kensington, according to the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office. Police responded at about 7:45 p.m. to the 1300 block of Leishman Avenue for reports of shots fired. The victim, Garrick Marshall, no age available, suffered multiple gunshot wounds....
Aaron Kress was icon of Westmoreland County legal community
When Aaron Kress first met his wife, Dorothy, he told her he was a window washer. “He didn’t want her to get any preconceived notions about him being a lawyer,” said their daughter, Becky Fenoglietto of Penn Hills. “They were married very quickly,” she said. “My dad brought her back...
Scholarship set up to honor Plum motorcyclist who died in crash; family says justice system failed them
The family of a 20-year-old Plum man who died in August when his motorcycle collided with a car that pulled out in front of him has set up a scholarship in his memory at his high school alma mater. The Adam J. Garvin Memorial Scholarship, for seniors at Plum High...
Westmoreland Night of the Stars high school musical showcase returns
In 2019, John Noble said he was stepping away from Westmoreland Night of the Stars, the annual high school musical showcase he founded in 1997. After that year’s production, the Hempfield attorney and performer announced that he was turning over the reins to his daughter, Elly Noble Carr, who also...
The Stroller, April 27, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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. Please include a daytime telephone number. St. Joseph HS students to present, ‘Into The Woods’ The drama department at St. Joseph High School, Harrison, will present its...
Holiday light display expansion and more in the works at Freeport Community Park
As if Freeport Community Park hasn’t sparkled enough lately with renovations, park officials are trying to expand its drive-thru Christmas holiday light display. The 95-acre park was established in 1965 by Freeport Brick Co. owner Francis “Dutch” Laube Jr. but went downhill after he died in 2000, Freeport Mayor James...
St. Joseph students to stage ‘Into the Woods’ at Vandergrift’s Casino Theater
St. Joseph High School students have tapped into the expertise of professional directors for the spring production of “Into the Woods.” The guidance has taken them from “amateur to stars,” some of the theatrical teens said. “We’ve gone to a whole other level,” said senior Hannah Laskowski, 18, of Arnold....
