Valley News Dispatch category, Page 559
MAWC’s Avonmore plant upgrades are final step to address DEP corrective action plan
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County secured a $1.2 million loan and $1.8 million grant from the federal government that will allow it to upgrade its Avonmore plant at no cost to customers. The $3.1 million project, funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Services, includes the construction...
The Stroller, Nov. 5, 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. Harrison church to offer holiday grief support session Christ Our Hope Anglican Church, Harrison, will offer, “Surviving the...
Plum School District approves new deal with its food services department
Plum School District officials recently inked a new three-year deal with their food service workers. The previous contract expired in June. The new deals runs through this school year and the next two. District Business Manager John Zahorchak said the five cook managers and 25 other food service workers will...
Oakmont’s Carrie DelRosso holds small lead over House Minority Leader Frank Dermody
A first-term Republican councilwoman from Oakmont held a small lead Friday over House Minority Leader Frank Dermody with thousands of votes yet to be counted in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. The state’s unofficial election results on Thursday showed Carrie DelRosso’s early lead tighten to a margin of just 4 percentage...
New Kensington-Arnold students will return to schools next week, superintendent says
New Kensington-Arnold School District will resume in-person instruction for students on Monday, Acting Superintendent Jon Banko said Wednesday. The district moved all students to remote instruction for the week of Nov. 2 on the advice of state officials citing Westmoreland County as having a substantial rate of community coronavirus spread....
New Kensington man reported missing at Slippery Rock University
A New Kensington man has been reported missing in Butler County. Gregory Jones, 21, is a junior computing major at Slippery Rock University, university spokesman Robb King said. Jones was last seen on campus Oct. 25. He was driving a dark purple 2004 Lexus; King did not know the exact...
Aspinwall awarded $537,000 from ALCOSAN for Western Avenue sewer project
The Western Avenue sewer project in Aspinwall will be paid in large part with money from the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN). The borough has been awarded $537,199 through ALCOSAN’s GROW program, marking the third time the authority has prioritized stormwater overflow projects in Aspinwall. Work is expected to start...
Tarentum mom delivers baby — and votes from hospital
Megan Walker gave birth to a son on Monday. On Tuesday, Walker told her medical team at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Oakland that she needed to be released in time to vote. She didn’t have to worry about making it to her polling place in Tarentum. The ballot was delivered...
The Stroller, Nov. 4, 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. Christopher’s Light seeking coat donations Christopher’s Light children’s charity is collecting new and gently-used coats for local children....
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...
