Valley News Dispatch category, Page 411

A flagpole in Gilpin has a unique holiday addition, compliments of a former Alcoa employee. “It’s Dad’s Alcoa flagpole tree,” joked Joseph Kovalchik of his late father’s handmade aluminum creation. John Kovalchik worked for 34 years as a maintenance electrician at Alcoa’s research lab in New Kensington. He died in...

A car stolen Wednesday night from New Kensington was recovered about five hours later by Pittsburgh police, New Kensington police Chief Bob Deringer said. The car, a 2021 Audi S5 sport sedan, was taken from the parking lot at Sheetz on Freeport Street shortly before 10 p.m., Deringer said. It...

Kiski police have arrested a woman accused of stabbing a man in North Apollo early Thursday morning. Police said the suspect, Amy Hepler, 38, of Vandergrift turned herself in at approximately 9 a.m. Police said officers responded around 2:15 a.m. to a report of a domestic assault at a home...

Pitt wide receiver Tre Tipton suffered a collapsed lung in 2016 and laid in the intensive care unit at a Miami hospital for four days. It was the turning point in his young life, despite years of suffering from depression, experiencing gun violence firsthand and dealing with multiple family hardships,...

Publicize your holiday 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. Classes offered by Concordia Institute for Lifelong Learning Concordia Institute for Lifelong Learning is offering free classes for those of retirement...

Valley High School’s annual food drive came back — and came through — in a big way this year. After not being held last year because of the covid pandemic, the now-districtwide effort shattered goals for food items and cash so much that not one but two New Kensington police...

A federal lawsuit filed by a former Westmoreland County Prison inmate who claimed he was beaten by a guard in 2018 has been settled. The county commissioners this month approved a $27,500 settlement to end the case filed by DaRob Wright of New Kensington. “It was completely unjustified,” attorney John...

Due to a water main break along Bull Creek Road, the Fawn-Frazer Joint Water Authority issued a water conservation order for all of its customers. All unnecessary use of water is prohibited, according to the order. In addition, customers are asked to conserve on the use of water for drinking...

A neighborhood in Washington Township is set to glow with more than 1,000 candles on Christmas Eve. Washington Acres will host a luminary evening beginning at 6 p.m. Friday. Light Up Washington Acres is sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 211, based in Delmont. The event serves as a fundraiser for...

Anne Alter walked back into UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital in Oakland on Friday — but not as a patient this time. She walked in as someone who is living proof that it’s possible to be well and live in recovery. Alter returned to sing a moving Hanukkah song at Holidays...

Publicize your holiday 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. HOPE Center collecting donations for its SAF-T kennel The Alle-Kiski HOPE Center offers a Sheltering Animals and Families Together (SAF-T) Kennel...

Paintings by an Indiana Township neuroscientist-turned-artist are on exhibit at Cooper-Siegel Community Library in Fox Chapel. YeePing Lucia Wong Yip, born in China and raised in Hong Kong, worked as a cancer researcher for nearly four decades before reigniting her childhood passion for art. As an artist, she uses the...

Some parking meters in Vandergrift are set to receive a fancy, metal makeover. The Vandergrift Improvement Project (VIP) is moving forward with plans for the Streetscape project, with 10 custom-made V-shaped metal baskets to be installed over parking meters along Grant and Columbia Avenues in the historic shopping district. “The...

A free drive-thru food distribution for Alle-Kiski Valley families will remain at Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer through March. The giveaway is hosted by Harrison-based Allegheny Valley Association of Churches (AVAC) and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. It’s a shift away from plans to return to the empty Rite Aid...

Tarentum residents will pay the same in taxes next year but costs for water use and garbage collection will increase. Council approved the borough’s $11 million budget with a vote of 5-0. Members Lou Ann Homa and Adam Blythe were absent. The property tax rate will remain at 5.48 mills,...

Vandergrift Council will welcome three new faces when it first meets in 2022 on Jan. 3. Daisha Clayton was appointed Dec. 6 to fill a seat left vacant by the resignation of Karen McClarnon last month. Recently elected to four-year terms on council, Democrat Marilee Kessler and Republican Jody Sarno...

A Freeport councilman who allegedly misappropriated nearly $100,000 in Freeport EMS funds and later paid it back has resigned. Justin DeAngelis stepped down from his elected post. Council accepted his resignation Monday night. He wasn’t at the meeting. In his resignation letter, DeAngelis wrote he plans to move out of...

Publicize your holiday 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. Fox Chapel Area sets telethon Fox Chapel Area School District’s 32nd annual telethon will be 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday...

The West Deer Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 on Dec. 15 not to approve the first of two proposed well pads from Olympus Energy LLC. West Deer Chairman Arlind Karpuzi said the board denied the application because it did not meet the township’s zoning ordinances. West Deer Vice Chairwoman Beverly...

A West Deer mother is determined to fund a Hope Squad for every school district to continue to raise awareness about suicide prevention in honor of her daughter. Molly Rupprecht is humbled to see an idea the Deer Lakes Hockey Club approached her with become an annual event of coming...

When the pandemic halted and disrupted businesses throughout the region, Quality Machined Products of Upper Burrell missed only a few beats. The family-owned tool and die shop manufactures screw machining parts for the defense and transportation industries. They are located in the Westmoreland Business and Research Park. Although not considered...

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim of a fatal shooting in Tarentum last week as Arquwonna Wright, 30, of Tarentum. According to police, Wright was shot late Thursday night along Main Street near the apartment building where she lived with her two children, 4 and 6 months....

A proposal to build a new Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen on Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington will face its final hurdle before city council in early January. The mayor and council are scheduled to hear an appeal to grant a conditional use to the city’s zoning at 7 p.m. Jan....

Publicize your holiday 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 Christmas Eve dinner offered in Lower Burrell Compassion Network will host a free dine-in Christmas Eve dinner at 1 p.m....

The Lower Valley Ambulance Service is working with the Allegheny Valley North Council of Governments (AVNCOG) to improve its financial condition. The ambulance service contacted the AVNCOG in early October to inform them of the service’s financial status. A meeting was held Nov. 11 to discuss what was needed and...