Valley News Dispatch category, Page 549
Republican challenger leads longtime incumbent state Rep. Joe Petrarca
Republican challenger Jason Silvis maintained a 6-point lead over 13-term incumbent state Rep. Joe Petrarca on Thursday morning in Pennsylvania’s 55th state House District, according to unofficial and incomplete returns. Silvis, a film stuntman, has collected 53.1% of the votes counted compared with Petrarca’s 46.9%, a margin of about 1,800...
Fire displaces 5 Harmar residents
The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a blaze that displaced five Harmar residents. Flames erupted in a garage at 241 Sweet Gum Road shorty after 9 p.m. Tuesday. Firefighters from several nearby communities were able to knock it down in about an hour and limit the damage to...
Ziccarelli holds slight lead in attempt to unseat Pa. Sen. Jim Brewster in race for 45th District
Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli maintained a slim lead over incumbent state Sen. Jim Brewster in a race for Pennsylvania’s 45th State Senate District, according to incomplete and unofficial election results. Ziccarelli had received 50.67% of the 124,396 votes counted, leading Brewster by 1,658 votes. Early election returns Tuesday night showed...
Incumbent state Sen. Joe Pittman overwhelms Democratic challenger Tony DeLoreto
State Sen. Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, collected three times as many votes as his Democratic challenger in his bid for reelection, according to unofficial returns Wednesday. To make matters worse for challenger Tony DeLoreto, the Indiana restaurateur was recently diagnosed with covid-19 and could not go to the polls or conduct...
Lower Burrell considering tax hike in early budget talks
After two budget workshops, Lower Burrell officials are looking at a possible real estate tax increase for the coming year. Specifics are not yet available as city council continues to work through city departmental budgets looking for places to cut, said Chris Fabry, the city councilman who head ups the...
Lower Burrell wants to raise property taxes by 8.7%
Lower Burrell Council wants to raise real estate taxes by 8.7% in its 2021 budget. Council will vote on the preliminary budget at its meeting Monday, Nov. 9. The city’s proposed 2-mill real estate tax hike would translate into a nearly $40 annual increase for the average home, which is...
Route 28 shoulder closures in effect through Thursday in O’Hara, Harmar
PennDOT announced Tuesday that drilling operations on Route 28 in O’Hara and Harmar have begun and will continue through Thursday, weather permitting. During the drilling operations, shoulder restrictions will occur in both directions of Route 28. Crews from Armstrong Drilling will conduct the work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m....
The Stroller, Nov. 3, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your church or organization going to host a food drive or free Thanksgiving Dinner? Send information to The Stroller as soon as possible to vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Clothing, household collection to benefit women in need Women of Alle-Kiski Engaging, a division of the Alle Kiski...
Oakmont emergency siren continues to cause problems for some residents
An Oakmont emergency siren continues to cause headaches for residents in the upper part of the borough. Ann Morrison lives along Hulton Road near Tenth Street Elementary, where one of three borough sirens go off for emergency calls. She told council at its Nov. 2 workshop meeting the siren causes...
Cindy’s Soft Serve makes leap to year-round, full restaurant in TarentumVideo
After three years in a small walk-up location on First Avenue, Cindy’s Soft Serve, Custard & More has a new home and a new name in Tarentum. Cindy and Bob Hatajik of Harrison moved the ice cream stand they opened in 2018 — now called Cindy’s Soft Serve & Hometown...
Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy buys East Deer land to enhance trail
The Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy acquired 43 acres of wooded land to make a stretch of the trail that goes through the Alle-Kiski Valley safer and more enjoyable. The conservancy paid $145,000 for the property, located on Murray Hill Road in East Deer. The purchase is part of a yearslong...
Western Pa. anglers aim to make it easier for outdoor enthusiasts to collect trashVideo
Hunter Klobucar and Tyler Waltenbaugh spent the summer of 2018 crossing the deep woods and backwaters of northern Pennsylvania, along the Route 6 corridor, and while their purpose was to study the natural habitat of brook trout, one particularly unnatural feature kept showing up: trash. “We’re in all these remote...
New Kensington-Arnold elementary student tests positive for coronavirus
A Roy A. Hunt Elementary School student is quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus, New Kensington-Arnold School District announced. Students in third through sixth grades attend the elementary school in Arnold. Superintendent Jon Banko would not say in which grade the infected student is enrolled. Banko did say the...
The Stroller, Nov. 2, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your church or organization going to host a food drive or free Thanksgiving Dinner? Send information to The Stroller as soon as possible to vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Free food distribution set Tuesday and Thursday in Tarentum Free food and face masks will be distributed Tuesdays...
Nonprofit offers free fixings for 100 Thanksgiving dinners in Freeport area
The Feed Freeport effort rolled out during the pandemic will serve up fixings for 100 free Thanksgiving dinners to Freeport-area residents. The Dynamic Community Foundation, an offshoot of NextHome Dynamic Realty in Freeport, and a community activist, are rustling up 100 frozen turkeys (14 to 16 pounds), stuffing, mashed potatoes,...
West Deer establishes property tax deferral program for low-income residents, seniors
West Deer property owners who make less than $35,000 a year won’t have to pay for increases in township real estate taxes until they sell or transfer their properties to someone else thanks to a new township program. The real estate tax deferral program would instead add any township real...
Deer Lakes High School graduate hopes to win big in online baking competition
Julia Cresta has what it takes to be “The Greatest Baker of 2020.” She just needs a little help getting there. The 24-year-old Richland resident is a contestant in “The Greatest Baker” online competition, which pits bakers from around the world against one another for a chance to win $10,000...
Deer Lakes High School student tests positive for covid-19
Deer Lakes School District still plans to reinstate full-time in-person learning beginning next week even though another person in the district has tested positive for covid-19. Superintendent Janell Logue-Belden said a student at Deer Lakes High School informed the district they had tested positive for covid-19 on Saturday, Oct. 31....
New Kensington native gives up life in U.S. to help Guatemalan orphansVideo
New Kensington native Stan Nelson was setting up a home in Guatemala to help orphaned young women in the Central American nation when he was told someone with the government wanted to talk with him. They wanted to know what he was doing. It was not a request, and he...
The Stroller, Nov. 1, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your church or organization going to host a food drive or free Thanksgiving Dinner? Send information to The Stroller as soon as possible to vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Food drive to benefit Rosedale Food Pantry Lori Hummel of Howard Hanna Real Estate, Oakmont, will host a...
Freeport Area School District student recognized in national science competition
For one Freeport Area School District student, science fairs are about more than academic competition — they’re also about making an impact. Anne Lindsay, a 14-year-old freshman at Freeport Area High School, was recognized as one of the top 300 Broadcom MASTERS for a science project she completed during her...
The Stroller, Oct. 31, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your church or organization going to host a free Thanksgiving Dinner? Send information to The Stroller as soon as possible to vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Happy Halloween! Children in many of our towns and townships will participate in trick-or-treat events today. Be careful as you drive...
Burrell gets training to better teach autistic students
Burrell School District has qualified for training from a state Department of Education program to bolster the effectiveness of its program for autistic students. Burrell will receive the free training and consulting from the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network’s Autism Initiative, the training arm of the state Department of...
Penn Hills man pleads guilty to selling drugs that killed Lower Burrell man
A Penn Hills man will serve up to nine years in prison for selling fentanyl-laced heroin to a Lower Burrell man who died of an overdose in 2018. Christopher Krishawn Napper, 26, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony count of drug delivery resulting in death and another drug offense in...
Fox Chapel lands $442,000 grant for Hardie Valley Park development
On the heels of the new 17-acre Hardie Valley Park opening in Fox Chapel, officials announced the borough was awarded a nearly $450,000 grant to help with development. Money will help pay a six-year, three-phase improvement plan for the space off Old Mill Road. In all, work is expected to...
