Valley News Dispatch category, Page 398

Start the new year off right! Publicize your events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Open house planned at the Corner Launchbox The Corner Launchbox in New Kensington will host a...

The Projecting Hope Film Festival, a showcase of faith-focused movies with uplifting themes, will be held at the GQT Pittsburgh Mills Cinema from Jan. 21 to 23. Admission to all seven of the films is free — with free popcorn, too. It will be the 18th Projecting Hope festival, which...

Leasing space in Arnold City Hall to outside parties has emerged as a bit of an issue for two city officials. Mayor Joseph Bia and Councilman George Hawdon are on opposite sides on just how much space the city may need in the building and how much it should lease...

Just six weeks after a massive fire caused more than $4 million in damage to St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church, parishioners gathered for Divine Liturgy in the church social hall and devised a plan to move forward. “You can’t stop this church,” said Susan Podolski, 68, a lifelong member of...

The Kiski Township supervisors and other municipalities received some good news on how funds from the American Rescue Plan Act can be spent. “Spending rules are now greatly expanded,” said township Secretary-Treasurer Patrick Bono, as he held up a 50-page guide provided by the U.S. Treasury Department during a recent...

The Westmoreland District Attorney’s office recently awarded Lower Burrell police $105,000 to go toward equipment for the Westmoreland SWAT team. The money comes from property seized from drug trafficking busts, which is forfeited to the DA’s investigative fund. It is distributed to law enforcement agencies to uphold the Controlled Substance,...

Calling all cat lovers. Two local groups dedicated to helping homeless and feral felines are in need of additional helpers. Cat Crusaders of Leechburg and Homeless Cat Management Team of Tarentum both work to feed, house and tend to cats in need — with a primary focus on providing low-cost,...

The Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute will offer free monthly cancer screening clinics throughout the region starting with Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison on Saturday, Jan. 29. Advance registration is required. AHN offered five screening clinics last year that booked up quickly, said Dr. David Bartlett, chairman of the AHN...

A sophomore from Valley High School in New Kensington is representing Westmoreland County in a statewide audio essay contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. If 15-year-old K’Ahna Witcher is the winner of the state “Voice of Democracy” contest, she’ll go on to the national program and a chance...

Start the new year off right! Publicize your events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Fund established to rebuild St. Vladimir Church St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold plans to...

Several northern Westmoreland County municipalities in the Alle-­Kiski Valley would get a new state senator if a proposed redistricting map is approved. The affected municipalities are the cities of Arnold, Lower Burrell and New Kensington; the boroughs of East Vandergrift, Hyde Park, Vandergrift and West Leechburg; and Allegheny Township. State...

East Deer is getting closer to joining the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department. Township officials discussed the status of the process during their meeting Thursday night. The police board will consider East Deer’s application to join the force at a special meeting on Jan. 25. The move will become official...

The State House of Representatives is expected to move on legislation in the next month to change the name of the South Butler County School District to the Knoch School District. The school board approved the name change about a year ago. “There’s lots of enthusiasm and excitement about it,”...

Start the new year off right! Publicize your events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Substance abuse seminar offered Jan. 22 Addiction Recovery Ministry in Harmar will host a day of...

By this time next month, a former Brackenridge personal care home will be nearly ready to welcome new residents. The owner of the building, Allegheny Valley Association of Churches (AVAC), is performing minor construction to reconfigure the site as a homeless facility. “We are hoping to be ready to house...

A New Kensington man awaiting trial on charges of ramming a car with two young children inside is now accused of making more than 200 calls from the county jail to the woman driving that car, asking her not to testify against him, according to county detectives. Jamar L. Freshley,...

The lawyer for a Greensburg man sentenced this week to serve life in prison for the 2017 murder of a Vandergrift woman claims prosecutors hid evidence of a plea deal offered to a co-defendant and key witness in the case. Defense attorney Tim Andrews contends Westmoreland County prosecutors suppressed evidence...

A former Tarentum man who is on the state Megan’s Law list as a lifetime sex offender was accused by the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office of failing to inform authorities when he moved out of his home last fall. James Edward Sundberg, 66, who lived in the 200 block of...

A second person has been charged with drug and gun-related offenses in connection with a traffic stop by Upper Burrell police in late December. Shane Thomas Buccieri, 23, of Sixth Avenue in Tarentum is charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and a count of illegal possession...

Start the new year off right! Publicize your events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Free tax preparation available at Springdale library Springdale Free Public Library is accepting appointments for AARP’s...

A recently elected Allegheny Township supervisor said complaints he received from residents during his bid for office about damage done to Finnin Park by people using all-terrain vehicles after hours aren’t going unheeded. To begin to address the problem, Supervisor James Morabito donated $2,500 to install a gate at the...

A lawyer from Murrysville is accused by New Kensington police of driving while intoxicated and leading them on a high-speed chase when they tried to pull him over. Robert Dishington Monsour, 69, of Saltsburg Road, waived his right to a preliminary hearing before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. and...

A new car wash in New Kensington is celebrating its opening with free car washes for 10 days and benefits for Knead Community Cafe. Clean Express Auto Wash began operating off Tarentum Bridge Road in front of Busy Beaver in late December, said Beth Martin, a spokeswoman for parent company...

A maximum 5% property tax increase is included in New Kensington-Arnold School District’s $40.9 million proposed preliminary budget for next school year. School board President Tim Beckes hopes that increase can be reduced before a final budget for 2022-23 is passed in June. “We hope to not have to do...