Valley News Dispatch category, Page 505
Vandergrift to install cameras at Kennedy Park in attempt to stop vandalism, littering
Vandergrift officials plan to install surveillance cameras in the borough’s Kennedy Park in attempt to stop ongoing vandalism there. Council recently approved installing video cameras in the park. The $1,200 cost will be covered through a donation by Vandergrift resident and longtime parks volunteer Anthony Guerrera. “My goal is to...
Security upgrades planned for Westmoreland County Housing Authority sites
Eight public housing complexes throughout Westmoreland County will see security upgrades later this year. Those upgrades included installation of high-definition security cameras at seven county Housing Authority sites in Irwin, Latrobe, Scottdale, Monessen and Trafford, and modernized door locks at a facility in New Kensington. The project will be paid...
New Kensington man accused of threatening to kill police with ax, knife
Editor`s note: The charges were dismissed in April before District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. New Kensington police say a city man was holding an ax and a knife when he threatened to kill officers serving him with a protection-from-abuse order. A criminal complaint filed against Oleg Vivcharchyn, 32, said...
The Stroller, April 12, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your club meetings, events and fundraisers in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Run on the River to benefit YMCA Valley Points Family YMCA annual Run On The River will be June 12 at K-9 Officer Derek...
Bus company serving Riverview School District among those getting state grants to retire diesel buses
The state Department of Environmental Protection has awarded nine grants, including $174,000 to Allegheny Transportation Services of Etna, to replace old diesel school buses for newer, cleaner diesel buses. DEP’s Driving PA Forward program awarded grants totaling $2.4 million statewide the grants to busing and trash collection companies throughout the...
New Kensington residents gather for community cleanup, mural dedicationVideo
Much like the unfinished mural that was dedicated Sunday, many see New Kensington as a work in progress worth celebrating. “This is the beginning of the new New Kensington,” said Kim Louis, a city resident and director of Sonward Youth Programs. “We want to honor the people who live here...
Upper Burrell wants closer look at PennDOT drainage problems along Route 780 and Lower Drennan Road
Upper Burrell officials want to make sure PennDOT is aware of the extent of drainage issues with its drainage pipe from Route 780 and surrounding properties that discharge to Lower Drennan Road. During their meeting Wednesday, supervisors temporarily shelved development plans for a Dollar General along Route 780 at Dewey...
5 questions with incoming New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent Chris Sefcheck
Not long after New Kensington-Arnold School District students celebrate the end of this school year, Chris Sefcheck will become the district’s superintendent. Sefcheck, 52, of South Park is expected to start as the district’s new leader July 1. The school board approved hiring him to a five-year contract at its...
Covered bridge in the works for Roaring Run trail
The Roaring Run Watershed Association is turning a narrow bridge into an opportunity to enhance the beauty of the 5-mile Roaring Run recreational trail: The association plans to build a covered bridge to augment a former railroad bridge. About 1.5 miles from the trailhead in Kiski Township off Canal Road,...
With their Brackenridge captain, these flag-waving pirates are a PNC Park fixtureVideo
They are usually easy to spot high atop PNC Park — waving large skull-and-crossbones flags and sporting tricorn hats, bandanas and patches over their eyes. Some carry fake swords in waist holsters. Their captain hails from Brackenridge. These pirates aren’t after buried treasure. They’re seeking victories from a struggling baseball...
Volunteers gather to clean up, plant at Tarentum’s community gardenVideo
For the first time since the covid pandemic broke out over a year ago, volunteers gathered to clean up Tarentum’s community garden and begin planting for the season. While individuals came out throughout 2020 to keep the Greg Blythe Friendship Community Garden going last year, group events like Saturday’s spring...
The Stroller, April 11, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your club meetings, events and fundraisers in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Drive-through food distribution set for Tuesday at Pittsburgh Mills Allegheny Valley Association of Churches and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will host a...
Vandergrift considering its options in getting a borough website up and running again
Vandergrift officials are hopeful they will fix ongoing website woes. The borough hasn’t offered a functioning website for the public since February. Visitors to the site encounter an oversized message stating the site is no longer being updated or maintained. “We’re hoping we can move forward on getting this website...
Witnesses say truck driver had little time to react to oncoming train in Springdale
Two men who witnessed a train colliding with a tractor-trailer at a crossing in Springdale on Friday said the truck driver had little time to react to the oncoming train. Chad Cochran of Springdale and Ken Trim of West Deer said they were leaving work at R.I. Lampus shortly after...
Restaurant restrictions loosened, but workers hard to find in Western PennsylvaniaVideo
“Help wanted” signs at restaurants across the region are as noticeable as menus, as businesses scramble to hire enough workers to serve more customers under loosened indoor dining restrictions. Restaurant owners and managers have been challenged to find enough workers to stay open longer and feed customers in a timely...
ATI calls on Steelworkers union to let employees vote on contract offer
As a strike by the United Steelworkers union nears two weeks, Allegheny Technologies Inc. is calling on the union to allow employees to vote on the company’s contract offer. ATI spokeswoman Natalie Gillespie said details of the company’s proposal have not changed since March 29, the day before about 1,300...
The Stroller, April 10, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your club meetings, events and fundraisers in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Household item collection to help local families Women of the Alle-Kiski Engaging, a division of the Alle Kiski Strong Chamber of Commerce, is sponsoring...
Apollo-Ridge shop classes go high-tech with help from foundationsVideo
It’s not your father’s wood shop. A CNC router is programmed to buzz through wood with any design created on a computer for the Industrial Math class at Apollo-Ridge High School. That’s just the beginning. Donations to buy new equipment for high school shop classes totaled about $75,000 in the...
Truck hauling building materials struck by Norfolk Southern train in Springdale, no one hurt
Norfolk Southern officials are investigating a train crash Friday afternoon along the 100 block of Colfax Street in Springdale. Borough Fire Chief Kevin Wilhelm said a tractor-trailer carrying bricks and building materials was struck at the crossing near the PPG Coating & Resins plant around 4 p.m. Friday. No injuries...
Acmetonia 4th-graders raise more than $8K to protect marine lifeVideo
Fourth graders in Elizabeth Newill’s science class at Harmar’s Acmetonia Elementary surprised their teacher — and themselves — by raising more than $8,000 in the Ecostudent Challenge. The children clapped and squealed with delight when they saw a giant check for $8,362.96 unveiled Tuesday afternoon during an assembly in the...
West Virginia weighs income tax cut to stem population loss
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — With West Virginia about to lose another congressional seat because of steady population decline, Republican lawmakers are convinced a massive income tax cut is the key to reversing the trend. But figuring out how to do that without harming the state’s most vulnerable or punching a massive...
Alle-Kiski Valley districts earn national recognition for music education
The Alle-Kiski Valley is alive with the sound of music. Five Valley school districts have been recognized by a national organization for their commitment to music education. Burrell, Kiski Area, Fox Chapel Area, Freeport Area and Plum Borough were among 686 school districts named best communities in the nation for...
Watershed association seeks donations in order to stock the Kiski River with trout
As the covid-19 pandemic walloped many fundraisers, the Kiski Watershed Association is scrambling to raise money to stock trout in the Kiski River. It’s a 15-plus-year tradition that draws residents and visitors alike. Typically, the watershed association would work with local business and others to raise the money to buy...
Lawsuit claims Sheetz assistant manager wrongly fired
A Cheswick woman claimed in a lawsuit filed this week she was wrongfully fired last summer as an assistant manager of a Sheetz store after she refused to follow a company directive that initially ordered her to not attend a criminal court hearing to which she had been called to...
Lower Burrell’s Dutchmans Run landslide and road repair expected to begin in 2 weeks
The famously serpentine and tight Dutchmans Run in Lower Burrell, a main connector to Route 780, Penn State New Kensington and Arconic, will be repaired starting in about two weeks after a landslide winnowed down a section of road. “That road has been in disarray for close to three years;...
