Valley News Dispatch category, Page 603
The Stroller, Feb. 24, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Stroller is your go-to place for local meeting notices, charitable events and volunteer opportunities. Information for The Stroller may be dropped off or mailed at least a week in advance to: The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084, email vndnews@tribweb.com or fax 724-226-4677. Outdoor Discovery...
Tunnel Hill Farms near Leechburg home to unusual herd of animalsVideo
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things that they do. Few people know about Tunnel Hill Farms, a plot of around 100 acres, tucked away near Leechburg. And probably fewer know it contains a barnyard of unusual farm animals...
Vandergrift dance studio joins aerial yoga trendVideo
Take your workout to new heights with aerial yoga. Sandra Lynn’s School of Dance in Vandergrift recently added two weekly classes of this hybrid way of practicing yoga. Kim Stewart, owner and certified yoga instructor at Sandra Lynn’s, says the new classes are a hit and aerial yoga has a...
Indiana Township police dog Ares preps for retirement
Indiana Township police dog Ares is making the most of his last month on duty. The drug-sniffing dog will be the special guest at a retirement party thrown by Fairview Elementary students in Fox Chapel Area School District. Ares joined the township police department in 2010 and became an instant...
Arnold Girl Scout Stella Van Why inches closer to her 4K cookie box goalVideo
Daisy Scout Stella Van Why has a lofty goal, but she just might see it through. The determined girl told her troop co-leader that she was going to sell 4,040 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. As of Sunday, she had already sold more than 2,900 boxes. And sales aren’t over...
Harmar buys app to allow easy access to sewer, waterline maps
A new software application will provide Harmar residents a more detailed look at their community through a cell phone app. The township supervisors have agreed to buy the ARCGIS Online Development Proposal from Senate Engineering. The cost is just under $7,600. For that money, the township will have the ability...
Cops: Woman caught with stolen purse kicked trooper during arrest
A Vandergrift woman who authorities say kicked a state police trooper as she was being arrested in Oklahoma Borough last week remained in the Westmoreland County Prison on Sunday, according to court records. Court records show Melissa Ann Gourley, 46, failed to post $3,000 bond on charges of aggravated assault,...
Bouquet Pool’s permit renewed, for now, as Springdale officials try to keep it open
Springdale Township has renewed the occupancy permit for Bouquet Park Pool for two weeks as pool officials try to increase memberships by March 1, according to pool board members. While the main task at hand for the Bouquet Park Pool is to shore up memberships to stay afloat this year,...
West Deer residents concerned about proposed McIntyre Heights development
West Deer residents living near the proposed McIntyre Heights development told the township supervisors they still have reservations about the plan. At a public hearing Wednesday, they aired their concerns about the planned residential development despite some downsizing of the plan and assurances from representatives of the developer, Richland Holdings....
Harmar declares war on blight, officials vow to rid town of dilapidated buildings in 3 years
Harmar Township officials have decided it’s time to wage war on blight. Supervisors Chairman Bob Seibert said that the township can, and will, do better when it comes to ridding the township of deteriorating buildings. “The township will be undertaking a systematic program against blight,” Siebert said. “We want to...
Once the cradle of basic industry, the Alle-Kiski Valley diversifies as it looks forward
Kalmar Chevrolet in Gilpin has weathered many changes since Rudy Kalmar, the son of Czechoslovakian immigrants, founded his family’s car dealership selling Hudsons in 1937. It’s been handed down through generations of the family, rolled with changes in the auto industry, and persisted through the changing fates and fortunes of...
Medical technology brings better precision, more treatment to the Alle-Kiski ValleyVideo
A surgeon sits at an arcade game-like console, his mask-covered face buried in the viewfinder as his hands squeeze, twist and turn handles below. Feet away, a four-armed robot equipped with tiny surgical tools pokes and prods a patient laying on the operating table undergoing a hernia surgery, transmitting a...
Alle-Kiski grocers compete with customer service, community relationships, niche products
On a quiet Thursday afternoon, Brandon Rainelli walks the aisles of Naser Foods. A customer approaches him to ask where he can find apples. A vendor meets him to sell homemade candies. Rainelli engages with everybody. He knows most of their names, and they know his. Rainelli has been manager...
M. Maskas & Sons, a 4th-generation business, to celebrate 100 years in TarentumVideo
A Tarentum candy shop turned distributor is celebrating 100 sweet years in the borough. M. Maskas & Sons was founded in 1920 by Matthew Maskas, a Greek immigrant from Chios who came to the United States in search of opportunity. He found one in chocolate. “Our great grandfather made his...
Allegheny Valley Regional Police to get body cameras thanks to state grant
A $75,000 state grant will pay for police equipment, including body cameras, for the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department. The grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development will pay for traffic safety equipment and upgraded patrol car cameras that will synchronize with new body cameras, according to...
The Stroller, Feb. 23, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Stroller is your go-to place for local meeting notices, charitable events and volunteer opportunities. Information for The Stroller may be dropped off or mailed at least a week in advance to: The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084, email vndnews@tribweb.com or fax 724-226-4677. Bouquet Pool...
‘Hot water soup’ didn’t do well, but Sherried Tomato Soup won Brackenridge American Legion fundraiser
Ed Svitek’s hot water soup may not have won first prize at the Brackenridge American Legion’s second annual Soup Cookoff. But it certainly earned the most laughs. The American Legion member said the gag — made complete with a pot filled with steaming water and bouillon cubes — was inspired...
Teens in capsized raft in Northmoreland Park lake saved by firefighter who used a shovel as paddle
John Uskuraitis said he “thought the worst” when he arrived at Northmoreland Park Lake where two teenage boys struggled to get out of the frigid water Saturday afternoon. But as soon as he got closer, he saw them moving. He, along with his counterparts from Markle, Vandergrift and Allegheny Township...
‘Impractical Joker’ Sal Vulcano pumps up packed theaters for movie’s openingVideo
Cinemark movie theaters in Monroeville, Robinson and the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer were packed with patrons hoping to meet an impractical star. Sal Vulcano, one quarter of TruTV’s “Impractical Jokers,” visited the Steel City on Friday to help promote his group’s new film. “Impractical Jokers: The Movie” launched in...
The Stroller, Feb. 22, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Stroller is your go-to place for local meeting notices, charitable events and volunteer opportunities. Information for The Stroller may be dropped off or mailed at least a week in advance to: The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084, email vndnews@tribweb.com or fax 724-226-4677. Scam seminar...
Cherrie Mahan’s mysterious disappearance haunts her mother 35 years laterVideo
Janice McKinney is still looking for answers, 35 years after the disappearance of her daughter, Cherrie Mahan. The 8-year-old third-grader was last seen Feb. 22, 1985, as she got off a school bus about 100 yards from her home in Winfield Township, Butler County. McKinney struggles daily with questions that...
South Fayette, Freeport Area, Taylor Allderdice students recognized for anti-opioid videosVideo
Students from three school districts in the region were recognized by the FBI for developing a strong message about confronting Western Pennsylvania’s opioid epidemic. South Fayette High School students took first place in the Pittsburgh FBI’s “Heroin Outreach Prevention and Education (HOPE)” public service announcement contest, followed by Freeport Area...
House fire leaves Avonmore family of 5 homelessVideo
An Avonmore family of five is homeless after fire swept through their home Friday afternoon. Avonmore Volunteer Fire Company Chief John Shaffer said one of the adults and two kids were home but got out safely. Several firefighters were checked by medics at the scene, but no one was transported....
South Buffalo sign project aims to improve safety, curb appeal
South Buffalo plans to replace all of its street signs and install ones at intersections where no signs are posted in a project aimed at improving safety and curb appeal. “We have been discussing for some time redoing all of our street signs just to bring the township up to...
Soaring costs may spell the end for West Leechburg’s police force
The future of West Leechburg’s police department is in jeopardy because of soaring costs, officials said. Councilman Tim Grantz, chairman of the police committee, said the borough has been exploring alternative options for police coverage for about a year. Right now, the borough is looking into contracting coverage from other...
