Valley News Dispatch category, Page 503

Two men who met on the dating app Grindr face assault charges after they got into a fistfight and bit each other after hooking up at one of the men’s houses, according to a criminal complaint. New Kensington police charged Ryan Christopher Grabigel, 40, of New Kensington with aggravated assault...

Members of the New Kensington-Arnold School District community are being asked to complete a survey about what traits they want in the district’s new superintendent. A link to the survey is available on the district’s website, nkasd.com. Administrators, community members, parents, staff and students are asked to complete it by...

Quick action by Vandergrift police officers using fire extinguishers Tuesday afternoon likely saved the life of a 12-year-old boy trapped in his upstairs bedroom, a Vandergrift fire chief said. “They gave him a chance to survive. If it were not for the police using the extinguishers … there would have...

Publicize your non-profit’s meetings, fundraisers and community events in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Community Library of Allegheny Valley honored by Pa. Library Association Community Library of Allegheny Valley in Harrison was named a Gold Star Library...

A Harrison man accused of fleeing from a traffic stop Monday night was delivering methamphetamine to someone before he was pulled over, according to state police. Police said a trooper tried to pull over a car driven by Sergio Andreal Davis, 28, because he was speeding and weaving on Route...

Free grab-and-go meals will be available in Blawnox each Tuesday through Feb. 2 for Fox Chapel Area School District families. Sponsored by Backpack for Hunger and Fox Families Care, the meals will be served at the Blawnox firehall, 376 Freeport Road. “This is for anyone,” volunteer Lisa Bowden said. “There...

State Sen. Jim Brewster, who will be sworn in Wednesday to the 45th District seat, said it has been a long two months of legal maneuvering as he defended his seat from court challenges raised by Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli. The incumbent Democrat said Tuesday — hours after a federal...

Programs and projects at the Sharpsburg Community Library funded by the Fox Chapel Area student telethon will continue for years to come, library officials said. The event brought in more than $16,400 for the library at 1212 Main St. “We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from the...

Publicize your non-profit’s fundraiser or community event in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Food drive planned Saturday in Lower Burrell The third annual Fallen Officers Food Drive to benefit local food banks will be from 10 a.m....

Nonprofit coordinators for two fallen police officers in the Alle-Kiski Valley, Derek Kotecki and Brian Shaw, are teaming up to collect food for St. Margaret Mary Food Bank in Lower Burrell this weekend. The third annual Fallen Officers Food Drive is set for Saturday at Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower...

All Highlands School District students will return to a hybrid schedule next week, and administrators are considering bringing elementary students back for in-person instruction for half-days. Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said the district’s covid task force voted Monday to return all students to the hybrid schedule beginning Jan. 19. The district...

The federal judge considering the challenge to Pennsylvania’s 45th District Senate seat said a ruling on the matter will come Tuesday. U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan said over the weekend that his order on the challenge by Nicole Ziccarelli against the state and Allegheny County for counting undated mail-in...

The lawyer for a Hyde Park man accused of the fatal beating of his estranged wife told a Westmoreland County judge on Monday there is insufficient evidence to support murder charges. Jeffrey Fondrk, 58, was charged with criminal homicide days after his wife, Patricia, was beaten to death in July...

With its tree-lined streets and walkable neighborhood, Aspinwall could benefit from a community center that offers game nights, book-borrowing, gardening and a café. That’s according to residents Amy and Christian Lima who are spearheading a nonprofit effort to open the Aspinwall Library — the name of which belies the variety...

Homeowners in Leechburg will pay a slight increase in their property tax this year. Leechburg Council passed a $1.2 million budget for 2021 that includes a property tax hike of less than 1%. The new tax rate is 22.5 mills, which is a slight increase from last year’s rate of...

Publicize your non-profit’s fundraiser or community event in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. HOPE Center seeking gas card donations The Alle-Kiski Area HOPE Center is seeking donations of gift cards in $10 increments from Sheetz or Get...

A Brackenridge man and woman have been charged with felony child endangerment and other offenses after investigators said they violated a no contact order with two children the man is accused of sexually abusing. Court records show John Godfrey and Shannon M. Godfrey, both 42, were released from Allegheny County...

Can we talk? That’s what two friends from Fox Chapel are encouraging with Women Leading Women, a nonprofit co-founded in 2019 by Fox Chapel residents Dana Hanna and Dr. Jenny Yu. Hanna, 46, and Yu, 43, met at a social event, bonded quickly and set their sights on creating a...

Music always came naturally to Jessa Pontier. The 18-year-old Apollo resident said she started singing when she 2 while banging on a toy piano. She could play a real piano by the time she was 6, and taught herself to play guitar around 10 or 11 — never taking any...

A Vandergrift man has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after police say he crashed his car while drunk on Friday in Kiski Township. Police said Ryan Lee Nelson, 20, had a blood alcohol content of 0.147% when police found him walking barefoot along the road in...

Publicize your non-profit’s fundraiser or community event in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Online parenting program offered Wesley Family Services and United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania will sponsor an online parenting program, “The Incredible Years, “from 6...

Tarentum is on the verge of getting the vast majority of the borough’s blighted and abandoned buildings torn down, code enforcement Officer Anthony Bruni said. Bruni said bids for 16 upcoming demolitions came in under budget, which he said could allow council to seek bids on more properties. At its...

Publicize your non-profit’s fundraiser or community event in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Help available from HOPE Center hotline If social distancing has forced you into an unsafe situation, help is available by calling the Alle-Kiski HOPE...