Valley News Dispatch category, Page 607
Harrison girl raises $3,300 for New Kensington police dog
Elementary-schooler Kaley Bastine is celebrating her latest successful event to raise money for police dogs in the Alle-Kiski Valley. On Saturday night, the Harrison girl hosted a candy fundraiser at Bird Dogs Sports Bar & Grill in Harrison and raised more than $3,300, according to her mom, Jamie Bastine. The...
Upper Burrell to repave 3 roads in Lincoln Beach, Whitten Hollow, Turkey Ridge
Upper Burrell officials are paving the way to do three street projects this spring and summer. The township will ask for contract bids for paving Whitten Hollow and Turkey Ridge roads and for some streets in the township’s Lincoln Beach section, primarily Lincoln Beach Boulevard. Township engineer Dave Kerchner of...
East Deer plans to tear down 7 blighted houses this year — most ever undertaken at once
East Deer plans to tear down more blighted buildings this year than it has in any year before. Township officials expect to tear down seven deteriorating properties this spring or summer after getting a financial boost from the state. Commissioners Chairman Tony Taliani announced Thursday that East Deer has received...
Get your Goth on for Valentine’s Day in KittanningVideo
Valentine’s Day is going Gothic with a vampire-themed ball in Kittanning on Feb. 15. Hosted by Radioactive Events Center, the family-friendly, all-ages ball aims to be an alternative to the traditional chocolates/flowers/dinner Valentine’s trappings. Event creator and Radioactive President Mark Gibson, a North Vandergrift native with a musical background, says...
The Stroller, Feb. 10, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Stroller is your go-to place for local 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. Library quilt show to...
Remember When: Feb. 10
100 years ago Free ‘Y’ gas service to be lost Phillips Gas and Oil Co. notified Tarentum council that the local YMCA will lose the privilege of receiving free gas. Phillips had given Tarentum a certain amount of free natural gas in return for courtesies extended when the gas lines...
Vandergrift’s Dave Dawson keeping the ‘last stronghold of American barbershops’Video
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things they do. Dave Dawson knows that the hair-cutting business is not what it once was. The world is more fast-paced — customers like to call ahead, make appointments, get in and out...
Tredway Trail placards to chronicle lives of Native Americans, pioneers such as Massey Harbison
It’s a tough balancing act to celebrate the Alle-Kiski Valley’s rich Native American history while also paying homage to a local pioneer woman who was violently abducted by a group of Delaware and other American Indians. Ren Steele said he feels uniquely qualified to contribute to efforts to do both...
Former Tarentum bar to become banquet hall, event space
John Supik had the name and the building; William Norrick had the vision and the drive. Norrick, 37, of Brackenridge saw banners for The Gathering Place outside the shuttered Ziggy’s Lounge on East Sixth Avenue in Tarentum. Supik, who ran the bar and owns the building, home to the 13-room...
Lower Burrell councilman peeved over door-to-door solicitors on Sundays
Given the increase of food trucks and people soliciting in the city, Lower Burrell council is in the process of updating its solicitation permit ordinance. The permits will be used for food trucks and people soliciting door-to-door. But a sticky question with city council is when door-to-door solicitations are allowed....
The Stroller, Feb. 9, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Stroller is your go-to place for local 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. Lenten fish fries listings...
Pittsburgh-area musicians join forces at Moondog’s to ‘Rock for Brooks’
When your child is sick, your world stops. Ronald Esser knows that. His son James was born at 2 pounds, 10 ounces, spent 77 days in the hospital and underwent five surgeries before he turned 5. So when Esser, owner of Moondog’s in Blawnox for the past 31 years, was...
The Stroller, Feb. 8, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Cat rescue seeking food donations Frankie’s Friends Cat Rescue, New Kensington, is in need of donations of Purina Cat Chow Complete in the blue bag. Items can be dropped off from 9 to 10 a.m. or 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays or shipped to the rescue at 730...
New Kensington police shooting prompts churches to change service locations
Two New Kensington churches are changing the locations of some services in the wake of an incident where city police officers were shot at near one of the churches. The changes affect St. Joseph and St. Mary of Czestochowa. It also affects the Community Clothes Closet run by Mount St....
Organizers of grassroots revitalization effort in Highlands’ towns encouraged by start
Elected officials and others were encouraged by the discussion that took place at a recent grassroots meeting organized online to talk about how to make three Alle-Kiski Valley communities better places to live. The gathering to talk about improving Tarentum, Brackenridge and Harrison was held Saturday at Dry Bones, a...
Alle-Kiski officials question Gov. Wolf’s proposed state police fee
Gov. Tom Wolf wants to charge Pennsylvania communities a fee for state police coverage, regardless of whether the municipality has its own police force, according to his 2020-21 state budget proposal. A number of local police departments in the Alle-Kiski valley rely on state police for coverage of major crimes...
Pittman to use experience in blight as head of Urban Affairs and Housing Committee
The state Senate’s newest head of Urban Affairs and Housing Committee comes from a district that isn’t urban at all. Even state Sen. Joe Pittman, who was named the new chair of the committee last week even though he represents mostly rural parts of Westmoreland, Armstrong and Indiana counties, admitted...
New Kensington man acquitted in child sex assault case
A New Kensington man was acquitted Thursday by a Westmoreland County jury of allegations that he sexually assaulted a girl. Jurors deliberated for an hour before finding Joshua John Holtman, 34, not guilty of aggravated indecent assault and indecent assault at the end of a two-day trial. Holtman had been...
Police say Washington Township man had heroin, cocaine, gun in home with children
A Washington Township man is accused of having more than a brick of heroin, eight grams of cocaine and a handgun in a house where three young children live. Keith B. Banichar, 29, was arraigned Thursday on multiple drug delivery and possession charges and three counts of child endangerment and...
Community Library sets closing date for Tarentum branch
The Tarentum branch of Community Library of Allegheny Valley will be closed by the end of the month. The library, on Lock Street, will close to the public at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, library Director Kathy Firestone said. Books and furnishings will be sold at the library March 19-21....
The Stroller, Feb. 7, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Stroller is your go-to place for local 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. Banners available to honor...
Plum drug dealer sentenced to 10 years in federal prison
A Plum drug dealer, who ran a drug trafficking operation through the Heinz Lofts apartments in Pittsburgh’s North Shore, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Brandon Winters, 43, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver heroin, fentanyl and cocaine in September. Senior U.S. District Judge Nora Barry...
Lower Burrell considers $13k in additional charges for city hall renovation
Lower Burrell Council is considering about $13,600 in additional charges for city hall’s $3.2 million renovation. The renovation project started last May. It includes a new public works building, more space for police and moving the tax office back to city hall. Council will vote on the additional charges at...
Record number of alumni to hit the stage for Highlands musical fundraiser
More than just a few Highlands High School alumni are collaborating for a musical cause. Each year, the Alumni Cabaret concert unites dozens of musical alumni with current Highlands musical students for an evening of entertainment filled with song and dance. This season, 38 alumni are scheduled to perform. “This...
Apollo, Harrison, Freeport, Leechburg enter HGTV contest for hometown makeoverVideo
At least four Alle-Kiski Valley communities are entering an HGTV contest for their shot at a whole-town makeover. Residents in Apollo, Harrison, Freeport and Leechburg have taken photos and produced videos in hopes their towns will be chosen as the subject of “Home Town Takeover,” a six-episode series with Ben...
