Valley News Dispatch category, Page 492
1 flown by helicopter following Lower Burrell motorcycle crash
A motorcyclist was airlifted by medical helicopter Thursday night after crashing into a tree along Route 780 in Lower Burrell, according to emergency officials. Emergency crews responded to the 2600 block of Seventh Street Road shortly after 10 p.m.. One patient was flown from the scene, according to a Westmoreland...
Rachel Carson Hall residents can decide if they want to return after fire damage is fixed
While work continues to repair the top two floors of a fire-damaged Tarentum apartment building, whether or not the people who called it home return will be up to them. Residents of the seventh and eighth floors of Rachel Carson Hall have been relocated to other Allegheny County Housing Authority...
Woman accused of crashing on closed Tarentum Bridge charged with drunken driving, causing $200K damage
A Lower Burrell woman who police say drove past blinking signs onto the closed Tarentum Bridge, plowed into construction equipment, limped from the scene to a nearby gas station before police arrived and then fled an emergency room has been charged with driving under the influence. Allison Plusquellic, 39, also...
Armstrong woman to serve jail sentence for 2017 New Kensington crash
An Armstrong County woman police said was drunk when she caused a vehicle crash in New Kensington that seriously injured two women will serve almost two years in jail. Victoria Fink, 60, of Dayton, was sentenced Thursday to serve one year, less a day, to two years less two days...
Section of Route 356 in Allegheny Township to close for 7 weeks
A section of Route 356 in Allegheny Township that is used by about 10,000 motorists daily will be closed for nearly seven weeks as a $15.9 million project continues along the state road. “This will be a pain, but to fix a major highway like this you have to be...
State’s Level Up funding supplement helps 3 of Westmoreland’s least wealthy school districts
Administrators at three Westmoreland County school districts are glad to accept supplemental state funding approved this year for Pennsylvania’s least wealthy districts. But, it may take a little while to decide how best to spend the extra money, which Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday as part of a $300 million...
Mom of liver transplant recipient Lucas Goeller recalls ‘miracle’ donation with mom of Nebraska girl who died
Indiana Township’s Lucas Goeller had days to live. At 2 years old, he was laid up in UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh with a serious liver infection. It was June 2015. At the time, he was diagnosed with a rare liver disease called biliary atresia. His only shot at survival...
Pharmacy plans to tear down long vacant, dilapidated former church in Tarentum
Blackburn’s Physicians Pharmacy has acquired another building in Tarentum it plans to tear down to make room for its growth. Randy Prunty, business development manager for Blackburn’s, said the company bought a former church at the corner of East Fourth Avenue and Lock Street to get rid of the rundown...
Lower Burrell man accused of twice stealing guns from home as well as items from Woodpeckers bar
Police have charged a Lower Burrell man and accused him of breaking into a Lower Burrell home twice to steal guns, blank checks and a credit card. Jordan Bradley Keibler, 27, also is accused of stealing items from cars and the employee lockers at Woodpeckers Pub & Grub in Upper...
Arnold man facing drug charges dies after arrest
An Arnold man died Tuesday after being arrested on drug charges the previous day. Khalies Khorhid Lewis, 39, died Tuesday afternoon at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg, the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office said. Although an autopsy has been completed, no information on the cause or manner of Lewis’ death...
Carjacking, kidnapping outside Westmoreland prison nets Jeannette man up to 30 years
A Jeannette man will serve up to 30 years in prison for carjacking a West Leechburg woman parked in front of the Westmoreland County Prison as her 13-month-old grandson was in the vehicle, which later crashed two miles from the lockup. Thomas Lee Williams, 38, formerly of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty...
Indiana Twp. man charged with defrauding Highmark of over $50K in security clothing
An Indiana Township man was taken into custody Tuesday amid criminal allegations he defrauded Highmark Health of more than $50,000 in connection with the purchase of clothing for security personnel. Derek Robert Dowiak, 37, has been charged with 11 counts of forgery, two counts of theft by deception, one count...
The Stroller, July 1, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your club meetings, community events 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. Annual golf outing planned by Tarentum Lions Club Tarentum Area Lions Club will host their annual golf outing July 10 at...
Youth artwork gala, peace pole dedication postponed in Freeport
An event celebrating youth creativity in Freeport was postponed because of thunderstorms Wednesday. The original plan was to host two Celebrating Creativity Galas — one on Wednesday evening and one on July 24. The event will now be solely on July 24 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., said Jennifer...
Plum School Board passes 2021-22 budget: No tax increase or program cuts
Plum property owners will not have to pay more in real estate taxes, and students will not have to miss out on educational opportunities as a result of next school year’s budget. The Plum School Board voted 8-0 on June 29 to pass the district’s $65.7 million spending plan for...
Dispatch: 4 people flown by medical helicopters after multi-vehicle crash in Washington Township
Four people were flown by medical helicopter to area hospitals following a multi-vehicle crash along Route 66 in Washington Township, according a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. Crews responded to Route 66 at Hancock Avenue shortly before 4:30 p.m. Both lanes of Route 66 were shut down for about two hours. The...
Vandergrift’s historic Casino Theatre to reopen SaturdayVideo
Vandergrift’s historic Casino Theatre soon will welcome theatergoers again. The 121-year-old theater, which describes itself as Southwestern Pennsylvania’s oldest operating theater, was shuttered last year because of the pandemic. The Trib previously reported that the venue lost more than $70,000 in booking and show revenue since the pandemic-related shutdown. “We...
The Stroller, June 30, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your club meetings, community events 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. Christmas In July party planned July 10 in West Leechburg The Small Town, Loud Voice dance party fundraiser to benefit the...
Temporary parking acceptable use of former Apollo nuke site, DEP says
The state Department of Environmental Protection said a company that temporarily stored RVs on a former nuclear fuels plant site in Apollo didn’t violate terms of a covenant for the property. “The temporary use of this site for the parking of vehicles will not present any radiological concerns, though substantial...
Upscale eatery 1844 Restaurant reopening in Gilpin
The upscale 1844 Restaurant in Gilpin is set to reopen after remaining closed for more than a year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The family-owned and operated restaurant is scheduled to welcome diners again on July 9. The pandemic forced owner Bob Gorelli, 78, to close in March 2020. He...
Prison sentence imposed for rape of Vandergrift child
A Greensburg man will serve up to eight years in prison for the rape of a 5-year-old Vandergrift girl. Eric Jermain Emory, 35, pleaded guilty last week to one count of rape of a child for repeated sexual assaults of a girl in 2019 and 2020 and three additional charges...
Lawyer’s alleged disclosure at issue in Arnold homicide case
The lawyer for a Churchill man charged in a fatal shooting in Arnold last summer told a judge that statements made to police by another attorney should not be used as evidence at his upcoming homicide trial. The trial for Devon Askew, 26, is scheduled to begin Nov. 15. Westmoreland...
Alt-rock band Cracker happy to be back on the road, heads to Harmar this week
It’s a long way from performing socially distant, one-man private acoustic shows in driveways to being back on stage with a full six-piece band. But that’s the road David Lowery, front man for the classic alternative rock group Cracker, has traveled in just one month of pandemic time. Cracker, led...
Freeport Area School District seeks applicants for business manager as theirs departs for Plum
Freeport Area School District is looking to replace its departing business manager, who has accepted a position at Plum School District. Ryan Manzer has served as Freeport Area’s business manager for the past eight years. Before that, he served as assistant director of finance for Pine-Richland School District for three...
The Stroller, June 29, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your club meetings, community events 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. Murphy’s Music Center Band to present free concert in Tarentum Tarentum Summer Concert Series will feature the Murphy’s Music Center Band...
