Valley News Dispatch category, Page 45
The Stroller, July 21, 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. Historic farm tour planned...
New Kensington-Arnold rolls out new grading scale for youngest students
Report cards for New Kensington-Arnold kindergarten students will look a bit different this year. Previously, students would get a letter grade for a subject area. Now, the report card will list specific academic skills in each subject and how well the student has mastered each skill. “I want kids to...
Allegheny Valley Association of Churches stages choir performance in Tarentum
Sunny skies, a comforting breeze and a break from the rain graced a performance by the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches Community Choir in Tarentum on Sunday afternoon. Members of the choir gathered at the Carl Magnetta Jr. Amphitheater in Riverview Memorial Park for the first-time, free concert. “We just...
The Stroller, July 20, 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. Opportunities available to help...
School district tax increases beg the question: Is the system broken?
If you’re one of the Western Pennsylvania residents smarting over a looming school tax increase this year, you’re not alone. All but four school districts in Westmoreland County will enact higher taxes this fall, and 6 in 10 districts in Allegheny County will do the same — including all but...
Lower Burrell man accused of having 2.5K child sex abuse files
A Lower Burrell man is accused of possessing more than 2,500 files of child sexual abuse material, according to the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office. State police charged Christian Nat Tominello, 29, on Thursday with 50 counts of disseminating child sexual abuse material, 100 counts of possessing child sexual abuse...
The Stroller, July 19, 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. Golf outing planned by...
An inside look at Plum’s controversial fracking wastewater injection well
The wastewater injection site in Plum run by Penneco Environmental Solutions has been the subject of nearly a decade of legal battles and community backlash as the company has sought to expand its operations along Old Leechburg Road. Since 2017, the borough and Penneco have been at odds, as the...
After tie vote, Fawn Supervisors schedule special meeting to appoint new board member
A new Fawn supervisor is expected to be appointed Tuesday after a vote earlier this month ended in a tie. Three residents — Carrie White, Shannon Rummel and Bryan Ward — applied to fill a vacancy created in June when Phillipi Smozski resigned. A vote on July 8 ended in...
Highlands School District seeking to fill board vacancy in Region 1
Highlands School Board member Justin Kipp is stepping down. Kipp, a representative in Region 1, cited personal reasons for his resignation, which is effective Aug. 1. “It has nothing to do with anything regarding the district,” said Kipp, who was elected in 2023. He has about two years remaining on...
Tarentum takes steps to resolve DEP water plant violations
Tarentum officials are taking steps to remedy water plant woes after being called out by the state Department of Environmental Protection earlier this year. Crews are installing automatic hydrant flushers over the next two weeks to improve water quality, specifically in areas with limited circulation. The water is safe to...
New Kensington felon charged after raid seizes $10K and 27 bricks of heroin, fentanyl
State troopers arrested a New Kensington man after an undercover drug investigation turned up 27 bricks of heroin or fentanyl and more than $10,000 in cash. Raijon Deqae Wilson, 29, is charged with numerous drug-related counts in connection to a search warrant at a residence in the 1200 block of...
AT&T seeks cell pole near Highlands baseball field
Harrison Commissioners will have a public hearing where residents can hear a plan by AT&T for a cell tower near Highlands High School. Representatives from the communications company are scheduled to go before the zoning hearing board on July 23 and then before commissioners on July 28. They are seeking...
A-K Valley High school class reunions, July 18, 2025
Publicize your high school’s class reunion for free for free in The Stroller. Send information as soon as possible 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. • Ken Hi Class of 1958 will...
The Stroller, July 18, 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 choir to present...
Walmart mural in Harrison portrays Burtner House, other township highlights
Artist Jenn Hartzler lives nearly three hours from Harrison but her newest mural, displayed at Walmart in the township’s Natrona Heights section, perfectly captures the best parts of the community. The 18-by-11-foot design depicts the Burtner House, Harrison Hills and people enjoying bike trails and waterfalls. “I searched a lot...
Plum Council denies liquor license at convenience store in split vote
Plum Mayor Harry Schlegel, for the first time, broke a council tie when he voted to deny a liquor license transfer in the borough to the location of Plum Convenience on Saltsburg Road. Members of borough council were split, 3-3, on the resolution that would have permitted the store to...
Urgent care facility on tap in Allegheny Township
Allegheny Township residents soon won’t have to drive far for emergency medical care. Township supervisors Chairman Jamie Morabito said a walk-in, urgent care facility is in the works for 48 Towne Center Drive, near the magistrate’s office. “I’m real excited about it,” said Supervisor Mike Korns. “It’s in a good...
More than 4,000 without power in Leechburg/Kiski/Hyde Park
More than 4,000 homes and businesses are without power in the Leechburg/Hyde Park/Kiski area, according to West Penn Power. The cause is under investigation, according to the utility website. Crews are on the way to assess the area. A person who answered the phone at the Leechburg municipal office said...
Heavy storms cause cleanup of clogged drains, culverts in Fawn
Fawn resident Paul Freshwater spent Thursday morning shoveling 2 inches of water from his garage off Metz Road. It was only the second time in 60 years that Freshwater remembers storm runoff causing an issue at his property. “It came down so fast and so hard that you couldn’t see...
Striking workers from Springdale’s Greco Steel Products push for improved safety, benefits
Worries about safety and his poor life insurance policy pushed Jerry Harris to go on strike from Springdale-based Greco Steel Products. Harris, 35, of Jeannette recalled watching a co-worker fall through a roof and die on the job in June 2023. Several of Harris’ striking colleagues pointed to that moment...
Filming of Apple+ series in South Buffalo to begin next week
Film crews will be in and out of South Buffalo until around Thanksgiving for an AppleTV+ series tentatively titled “Parallax.” The shoots will take place in the township’s Clinton neighborhood. It will total only about six days over the next several months, according to Kannie Yu LaPack, executive vice president...
Allegheny Township to pay workers comp for fire departments from general fund, not use fire tax money
Allegheny Township will continue to use money from its general budget to pay worker’s compensation insurance premiums for the township’s fire departments. The township supervisors this week opted not to use money from the township’s 1.15-mill fire tax to pay the insurance premiums. “This wasn’t actually an item for business,”...
Kinloch streets marked for Lower Burrell summer paving
More than 20 streets in Lower Burrell are on tap to be paved this year. City Council on Monday approved a contract of close to $235,000 with Russell Standard to chip-seal 19 streets — the majority of which are in Kinloch — this summer. The full list of roads, according...
Tarentum dog-mauling victim reels from learning what police say about attack
Tarentum resident Michael Shutack was still reeling from a Halloween dog mauling when he learned Tuesday that the man who police said helped him escape the jaws of two pit bulls is the person who set them loose. “As much as I went through my whole life, including being in...
