Valley News Dispatch category, Page 505
Abby Major wins former boss Jeff Pyle’s seat in State House special election
Abby Major, Jeff Pyle’s former chief of staff, handily won her ex-boss’ seat in a special election Tuesday. The state’s 60th House District covers parts of Armstrong, Butler and Indiana counties. Pyle stepped down in March for health reasons at the start of his ninth, two-year term. Major will finish...
Political newcomer leads longtime incumbent in Allegheny Township supervisors’ race
A political newcomer led a longtime incumbent by 42 votes in the Republican primary race for Allegheny Township Supervisor, according to unofficial tallies. James Morabito collected 52% of the votes counted, or 540 votes, compared to incumbent Supervisor Kathy Starr’s 47.9% (498), unofficial tallies showed with all of the township’s...
Lenny Collini squeaks by Vandergrift Mayor Barbara Turiak in Democratic primary
Incumbent Vandergrift Mayor Barbara Turiak has been defeated by a familiar face, if unofficial results from Tuesday’s Democratic primary hold up. Councilman Lenny Collini had a 12-vote advantage over Turiak in the Democratic primary race for mayor, according to the tally from all five precincts. Collini collected 166 Democratic votes...
2 Republican challengers leading incumbent in GOP primary race for Fawn supervisors
The three Republican candidates for Fawn’s board of supervisors were separated by just 20 votes as of Wednesday, with two GOP nominations up for grabs, according to unofficial primary election results. The unofficial tally shows challenger Daniel Selfridge Jr. as the top vote-getter with 123 votes, or 30.2% of the...
Councilwoman Carrie Fox wins Democratic nomination in Tarentum mayoral race
Tarentum Councilwoman Carrie Fox won the Democratic nomination to run for mayor in November, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary. The winner of the Republican nomination could not immediately be determined because there were so many write-in votes. On the Democratic side, Fox collected 160 of the votes counted...
Mike Hammill appears to secure Republican nomination for O’Hara Ward 3
Political newcomer Mike Hammill appears to have won the Republican nomination for O’Hara council in Ward 3. According to unofficial results from the Allegheny County Office of Elections, Hammill earned 105 votes. His opponent, Greg Caprara, received 39 votes. The pair sought the Republican nomination for the fall ballot; there...
PennDOT prepares for Coxcomb Hill Road closure in Plum
PennDOT officials are preparing for a drainage improvement and shoulder reconstruction project in Plum that will close a 1-mile stretch of Coxcomb Hill Road beginning Monday, May 24. Work between Kerr Road and Logans Ferry Road is anticipated to begin next week, according to PennDOT District 11 spokesman Steve Cowan....
Sparse voter turnout for Pennsylvania primary election; votes start being countedVideo
Voter turnout for Pennsylvania’s primary Tuesday was sparse compared to November’s election, but officials say it was bolstered by mail-in voting and statewide ballot questions drawing out third-party voters. Results are slowing coming in for Allegheny County and Westmoreland County races. In Allegheny County, voters requested 124,813 mail-in ballots —...
The Stroller, May 18, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Information about Memorial Day events should be sent as soon as possible to: Carol Pinto-Smith, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084; e-mail cpinto-smith@triblive.com or fax 724-226-4677. Free fishing derby scheduled for Northmoreland Park A free fishing derby will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at...
No injuries as truck crashes into ditch on Route 366 in Washington Township
No one was injured Monday afternoon when a tractor-trailer cab ran off Route 366 and landed in a ditch in Washington Township. The crash was reported shortly after 2:45 p.m., according to a Westmoreland County 911 supervisor. The truck, which was not hauling a load, broke through a guardrail and...
Freeport man convicted of threatening 2 women with a gun in 2019
A Freeport man was convicted of multiple criminal charges relating to an incident in which he threatened two women with a gun in 2019. Michael Rivera, 30, of Freeport, was convicted last week for carrying a firearm without a license — a third degree felony — and five misdemeanors, including...
Braddock man pleads to 2019 Arnold homicide
A Braddock man will spend at least 18 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to killing another in Arnold nearly two years ago. Allen Duwayne Herring, 34, admitted that he killed Gregory Ray Wynkoop, 35, of East Franklin, on June 28, 2019, in an attempted robbery. Wynkoop, a heavy...
3 vying for GOP nomination in Gilpin supervisors race
Three Republican candidates are vying for one nomination in the GOP primary race for the Gilpin Board of Supervisors. Incumbent Jeremy Smail faces challengers Renee E. Hileman and Justin Rishel in the May 18 primary. Smail, 38, has served on the board since being appointed to fill a vacant seat...
Springdale High School baseball coach enters batterer’s intervention program
Springdale High School baseball coach Brett Burger on Monday agreed in court to enter a batterer’s intervention program in exchange for dismissal of criminal charges connected to an April incident involving a woman. At a preliminary hearing before Harmar District Judge David Sosovicka, Burger’s attorney David Chontos said Burger has...
O’Hara supports coal tar alternatives, stops short of outright ban
O’Hara council last week stopped short of banning coal tar use in the township but approved a resolution to support alternatives to the toxic chemical. Citing risks to health and environment, council joined a growing list of municipalities that are moving away from coal tar, a substance linked to stomach...
Highlands students rally behind English teacher battling brain cancer
Kurt Landsberg holds a long list of titles: husband, father, longtime soccer coach and beloved English teacher at Highlands High School. He recently added another: cancer patient. Landsberg, 47, of Springdale, was diagnosed in late March with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. After Landsberg began experiencing issues with...
The Stroller, May 17, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Information about Memorial Day events should be sent as soon as possible to: Carol Pinto-Smith, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084; e-mail cpinto-smith@triblive.com or fax 724-226-4677. Help needed to place flags on vets’ graves in Freeport Volunteers are needed Wednesday to place flags on veterans’ graves for...
New bishop presides at first maskless Mass at Saint Vincent Basilica
In yet another sign that the world is beginning to reopen from the covid-19 pandemic, Bishop Larry Kulick of the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg celebrated Mass without a mask Sunday for the first time in more than a year. The occasion was a visit to the Saint Vincent Basilica Parish...
Lower Burrell and public works employees reach deal on new contract
Lower Burrell council recently approved a new five-year labor agreement with its 10 public works department employees who are represented by the United Steelworkers. Both sides said they were happy with the contract that provides 1.5% in the first year, then 2.5 %, 2.5% and 3% in successive years and...
Vandergrift Borough’s website is up and running again
Vandergrift has solved its ongoing website issue. The borough had been without a functioning website since February. Visitors to the site encountered an oversized message stating it was no longer updated or maintained. Jim Rice of ASDM Networking was hired by the borough to get the website back up and...
Burrellton Garden Club to dedicate Blue Star plaque May 29 to honor veterans
The Burrellton Garden Club is sponsoring a Blue Star plaque dedication on Memorial Day weekend. The organization earned approval from a national club to bestow a Blue Star marker honoring all military veterans. The marker is a project of the National Garden Clubs. The event will take place Saturday, May...
The Stroller, May 16, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Information about Memorial Day events should be sent as soon as possible to: Carol Pinto-Smith, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084; e-mail cpinto-smith@triblive.com or fax 724-226-4677. Play to highlight history of Vandergrift The Casino Theater in Vandergrift is seeking adults to audition for a two-act plan, “Vandergrift,”...
Trib Total Media names Luis Fabregas as next executive editor
A veteran, award-winning journalist and longtime Trib Total Media editor has been named the company’s next executive editor. Luis Fabregas will assume the role Sept. 16, succeeding Executive Editor Susan McFarland, who announced she will retire in the fall. “I am so pleased that we have someone with Luis’ talent,...
Cheswick hunter nails triple trophy for big game
Nathan Sipes of Cheswick not only bagged three big-game animals during the 2020-21 hunting season, but he also nailed two of them on Sundays. Sipes, 24, has been hunting since he was 11. Like many hunters, he never had such a sensational season. He harvested an eight-point buck in Upper...
Mural project in New Kensington meant to inspire community, invite participation
Organizers of Murals on a Mission were expecting as many as 100 people to turn out Saturday for the first of several events promoting the painting of six murals in New Kensington over the next few months. Held at the Voodoo Brewing Co. on Fifth Avenue, Saturday’s event offered a...
