Valley News Dispatch category, Page 518
Greensburg police arrest man for trying to fake drug test
For the second time this week, a Westmoreland County parolee was arrested for trying to fake a court-ordered drug test. Greensburg police charged Robert B. Nix-Williams, 34, of Arnold with a misdemeanor count of furnishing drug-free urine after attempting to falsify a drug test at the state parole office. He...
Leechburg’s former First Commonwealth Bank to become business hub
The ornate building that formerly housed First Commonwealth Bank in Leechburg soon will become a co-working space and business center for area entrepreneurs and individuals who work from home. There are hopes the building, which includes several private offices as well as conference rooms and open tables for collaborative work,...
The Stroller, April 2, 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. Help with rent, utilities available to those in need The Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Office of Community Services, is offering CARES Act...
Fire engulfs 2 vacant houses in Arnold
State police are investigating the cause of a fire Thursday night that destroyed two neighboring vacant houses in Arnold. Assistant Fire Chief Brian Gouza said flames engulfed a two-story house at 1410 Third Ave. and spread to an adjacent, wood-frame house at 1412 Third Ave. The fire broke out shortly...
Arnold police said man exceeded 90 mph with 2 infants, drugs in his car
Arnold police said a city man was seen driving at speeds of more than 90 mph with two children under 10 months old unrestrained in the back of his car, where police said they found marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Police charged Christian Barr Hawkins, 26, with several felony counts of...
Harrison World War II Marine veteran honored on anniversary of Okinawa invasionVideo
Frank M. Bavetz said being left-handed saved his life. “When I was in boot camp, I told them I was a southpaw (left-handed) and they said I had to learn to shoot right-handed,” the Harrison resident said Thursday as he sat in David’s Diner, commonly known as Dave’s, in Springdale...
For Easter, it’s solid bunnies only at Harvest Moon in TarentumVideo
At Harvest Moon Coffee & Chocolates in Tarentum, all the chocolate Easter bunnies are solid. Hollow bunnies are “a waste,” owner Desiree Singleton said. “It’s deceiving. You’re not getting a solid piece of chocolate,” she said. “It was always so sad when you get something you think is whole and...
Arnold’s Smithfield Foods donates 7,000 pounds of sausage to those in need
Families who went to a food distribution Thursday in Harmar were the first to benefit from a donation of more than 7,000 pounds of sausage from Arnold’s Smithfield Foods. Smithfield donated the first 3,200 pounds of breakfast links to the Compassion Network. A truck from 412 Food Rescue took 80...
How much is your town slated to get from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan?
The American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion stimulus package signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, includes funding for counties and local municipalities. The money, which will be sent in two batches, must be spent by the end of 2024 on projects that include reimbursement and expenses...
Neighbor Spotlight: Energetic leader of Second Harvest Community Thrift Store sees opportunity to grow prideVideo
Editor’s note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature that aims to let our readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make them a better place, who have interesting stories to tell or who the community feels deserve “15 minutes of fame.” If you would...
UPMC St. Margaret Harmar Outpatient Center opens covid-19 vaccine clinic, doles out 600 doses a day
Retired nurse Audrey Wagner didn’t pay much attention when her husband dismissed the idea of getting a covid-19 vaccine. “I knew we were getting it, there were no ifs about it,” said Wagner, 77, who spent more than three decades as a cardiac nurse at St. Francis, St. Margaret and...
Signature Dishes: The ‘Yak Mak’ burger at Yak Diner in North ApolloVideo
This is part of an ongoing series highlighting Signature Dishes at locally owned restaurants in the region. See Trib Total Media’s new online directory of restaurants, Dine Local, at dinelocal.triblive.com. An old-school diner in North Apollo serves up its own version of a popular chain burger. Yak Diner sells a...
Money saved on repaving Fifth Avenue to help Arnold pay for fixing Richmond Street
Money left over from resurfacing one road is going to help fix another in Arnold. Arnold spent about $50,000 less than expected when it resurfaced Fifth Avenue from 16th Street to the city line last year, community development Director Rick Rayburg said. That money will be combined with nearly $150,000...
Apollo couple accused of repeatedly abusing child, sometimes with Taser shocks
A couple is accused by Apollo police of abusing a young teen with a Taser. On Monday, Apollo police charged suspects Dawn Marie Callender, 33, of Chicora, and Joshua Michael Hetrick, 41, of Bethel Township, with felony charges including aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child and use of...
The Stroller, April 1, 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. New book group to discuss mental illness and health The Butler County National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will host a new book discussion...
Plum School District summer programs designed to help students’ grades, mental health impacted by pandemic
Plum School District officials understand the covid pandemic has impacted families greatly the past year and plan to offer a summer program to help students’ mental health and grades. “One of the big shifts going into this summer is: We’ve been hearing from our teachers and administrators and families that...
Brackenridge couple without insurance lose home, pets to fire
Regina Strobel stood outside what was left of her Brackenridge home in a misty rain Wednesday, a day after it was destroyed by fire. She had been inside looking for anything she could salvage. She found a few pieces of much-needed clothing and a couple mementos. She wasn’t able to...
Leechburg Area High School students start candle-making business
Leechburg Area School District teachers are still finding new ways to alter their curricula a full year into the covid-19 pandemic, adjusting lessons so students miss out on as little as possible. When Leechburg Area High School art teacher Shayle Prorok wrote a new course curriculum for art marketing, the...
Air Force JROTC program taking off at Kiski Area High SchoolVideo
Kiski Area High School senior Alexei Cramer is a young man on a mission. Cramer of Avonmore began pushing for the district to create a Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, or JROTC, program when he was a freshman. The district formally approved creating an Air Force JROTC program last year,...
Tarentum Bridge, Route 28 projects could cause headaches for motorists
Motorists using the Tarentum Bridge can expect 15-minute rolling closures later this spring and a 16-day closure of the bridge in the summer as part of a $3.2 million project to improve the intersection with Freeport Road, PennDOT officials said Wednesday. PennDOT is working with local officials to ease the...
Hempfield man sentenced in car sales scheme
A Hempfield man will spend a year on house arrest for claiming to be a licensed car dealer when selling vehicles on Facebook and forging a family member’s name on some of the transactions, according to court papers. Christopher Alan Post, 39, previously of Lower Burrell, was sentenced this week...
The Stroller, March 31, 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. Westmoreland Master Gardeners offer free hotline The free advice hotline sponsored by the Westmoreland Penn State Extension Master Gardeners will open Thursday to help...
2 families displaced by Brackenridge fireVideo
Two families were displaced by a Tuesday evening fire that left a Brackenridge residence heavily damaged. Fire crews were called to the intersection of Stieren Avenue and Hathaway Lane around 6 p.m. Pioneer Hose Company Assistant Chief Corey Jones said the rear of the building was already engulfed by the...
Fire damages West Deer funeral home
Authorities are investigating what caused a fire Tuesday afternoon at Siemianowski Funeral Home in West Deer. The fire was reported around 12:50 p.m. Volunteer fire departments including ones from West Deer and Rural Ridge responded. “We’re not sure how it started or where the origin of ignition is,” said West...
Ellwood City man dies in 2-vehicle crash in West Deer
An Ellwood City man died in a two-vehicle crash in West Deer on Monday morning. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man on Tuesday as Mark Tedrow, 35. The crash happened shortly after 10 a.m. in the 300 block of Deer Creek Valley Road. According to West Deer...
