Valley News Dispatch category, Page 402

The Luke family of Lower Burrell isn’t your typical sports family. They are archers — with at least one of them aiming for the U.S. Olympic team. Earlier this month, Brayden Luke, 15, took second place and his brother Wyatt Luke, 11, came in ninth in competitions for The Vegas...

The show will go on at Allegheny Valley School District with a new musical director for the upcoming season. The school board unanimously voted to hire Anthony Martello. “He was chosen for his willingness to work for our students, his understanding of theater and the ability to share that knowledge...

Three occupants escaped from an early-morning house fire Monday on Lincoln Street in the North Vandergrift section of Parks. Joel Brown, chief of the Parks Township Volunteer Fire Department, confirmed there were no life-threatening injuries in the blaze that was reported at 7:51 a.m. Brown said one woman was flown...

Tricia Shank credits her experience coordinating the logistics of national sports broadcasts for ESPN and other national media outlets for providing the business acumen necessary for her role as a Burrell School Board member. Shank and former Burrell School Board member Genia Koziarski recently received Pennsylvania School Boards Association Honor...

Aspinwall Meals on Wheels clients received more with their deliveries recently than the typical meatloaf or lunchmeat sandwich. Each of the 48 participants living in the Fox Chapel Area School District was gifted a vintage tea cup with a dainty succulent wedged inside. “They truly appreciate it,” said longtime cook...

A project targeting fluctuating temperature woes inside Leechburg Area Junior- Senior High School will be coming up for board approval Wednesday. The the capital improvement project is estimated to cost nearly $1.8 million. The project includes replacing the junior-senior high school’s boiler, new heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls and replacing...

The Stroller is compiling a list of fish fries taking place Ash Wednesday and/or Fridays during Lent. To your non-profit’s fish fry listed in the paper and online, send complete information in writing to Carol Pinto-Smith, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084 or email cpinto-smith@triblive.com. Goodwill offers...

An award-winning former Kiski Area principal has a new position in the district. Dan Smith has been named director of Technology and Information, responsible for all grade levels on six campuses. Most recently, Smith served as assistant principal at Kiski Area Upper Elementary, where he was named Pennsylvania’s 2021 Outstanding...

The Cat in the Hat is one of the many Dr. Seuss characters set to unleash entertainment in Fox Chapel Area High School’s spring musical production of “Seussical.” A cast of more than 100 students will present “Seussical” March 3-6 in the high school auditorium. The family-friendly, whimsical show is...

Sara Smith Voyten, a lifelong resident of Armstrong County, is about to add another chapter to the story of her life: turning 100. Voyten, an avid reader, spends the majority of her time with her nose in a book in her private room at Pine View Personal Care Facility in...

A former British barrister turned minister in Fox Chapel has turned to technology to boost membership during the pandemic. The Rev. Alex Shuttleworth, 43, a native of Liverpool, has been at Christ Church Fox Chapel since 2014. Since then, membership has grown by 50%, with 44 new members added during...

After taking a year off during the covid pandemic, the Three Rivers Depression Era Glass Society will present its 45th annual glass show on March 5 and 6 at the Quality Inn in New Kensington. About 28 vendors will display and show off dazzling Depression Era glass primarily from the...

Quick action by firefighters early Sunday prevented a blaze from spreading through a New Kensington hotel when a car slammed into the building and sheared off a natural gas supply line that fed the flames, a New Kensington fire official said. “We averted a disaster,” New Kensington fire Chief Ed...

Keen-eyed readers will notice local landmarks and other A-K Valley name-drops in the debut novel by Tamara Girardi, a Lower Burrell resident. “Gridiron Girl” is the first in a six-book set aimed at young adults. It launches March 3, published by Wise Wolf Books. “Locals will see a lot of...

A member of the touring company that will be performing the musical “Hamilton” at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh is scheduled to speak Wednesday to students at Valley High School in New Kensington. Nikisha Williams, a singer and actress, will conduct a class with students in the New Kensington-Arnold school’s...

Lower Burrell Council voted this week to give $77,000 to Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3’s EMS to help it weather increasing labor costs for emergency medical technicians. The fire company approached city council last year asking for help. During the pandemic, emergency calls spiked while medical insurance reimbursements...

The Stroller is compiling a list of fish fries taking place Ash Wednesday and/or Fridays during Lent. To your non-profit’s fish fry listed in the paper and online, send complete information in writing to Carol Pinto-Smith, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084 or email cpinto-smith@triblive.com. Drive-through food...

The Allegheny County Conservation District investigated the Cheswick site Tuesday where two excavators are submerged up to their cabs in mud and water along the Allegheny River. Spokesperson Lauren Fraley said the Department of Environmental Protection found a contractor for the Allegheny Valley Joint Sewage Authority was working at the...

Armstrong County Commissioners delivered $15,000 to the Allegheny River Development Corp. toward costs of keeping locks open on summer weekends for recreational boaters. The ARDC pays the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to open six Allegheny River locks in Armstrong and Allegheny counties on summer weekends and holidays. Because of...

Kerri and Frank Bacco of West View are channeling their grief by honoring their late son with a fund created to assist foster children in Western Pennsylvania. The couple, both 44 and teachers, created The Dalton Bacco “Living the Dream” Fund in June 2017 after the tragic death of their...

Organizers and supporters of the K9 Officer Derek Kotecki Memorial Scholarship Fund will hold the 11th annual golf outing Aug. 20 at Hill Crest Country Club. The tournament is an 18-hole, four-person scramble with 32 foursomes. Organizers initially planned to cap the golf outings at 10 years — the time...

Two short bridges in Fawn are among those to be replaced by Allegheny County for poor conditions revealed in recent inspections. Both are part of Thompson Road and cross Bull Creek. Designated as Bull Creek bridges No. 7 and No. 8, they carry a combined 550 vehicles a day. Neither...

In response to students’ growing needs for emotional support, Kiski Area School District has increased its counseling staff. Behavior specialist Autumn Patterson was hired in December to assist students in grades K-6. She joins fellow specialists T.J. Neal and Chelsey Perriello, both hired in August. In the wake of the...

Hal Shaffer is ready to die. “I’ve had so much pain and suffering in my life, I’m ready to go,” Shaffer, 74, said from the hospital bed in the living room of his Lower Burrell home with his wife, Dee, beside him. A Marine Corps veteran who survived a grenade...