Valley News Dispatch category, Page 613
2 people injured in Lower Burrell crash
One person was flown and another taken by ambulance to local hospitals after being injured in a crash in Lower Burrell. Westmoreland County dispatchers said a car and a motorcycle collided along the 2700 block of Leechburg Road shortly before 5 p.m. Friday. No other injuries were reported, and the...
Trials postponed for teens accused of damaging West Deer parks
Summary trials for three 19-year-olds accused of damaging several West Deer sports fields by doing donuts on them in a pickup in November have been postponed until March. Township police charged Ethan Adamiak, Devin Andrew Colucci and Dalton James Shoop with criminal mischief in December, about a month after the...
Propane tanks explode during fire at Upper Burrell home
A house along Lincoln Boulevard in Upper Burrell was heavily damaged by fire late Friday morning. The fire at 123 Lincoln Blvd., which runs parallel to Route 366, was reported at 11:21 a.m., according to a Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher. Upper Burrell fire Chief Bryan Fitch said flames and smoke...
Fire destroys Cheswick home of couple planning spring weddingVideo
A Cheswick house fire Friday killed a family’s two dogs and destroyed almost everything owned by a couple who are planning to marry this spring. Kayla Fischerkeller and Ryan Brittingham were at work when the fire engulfed their house about 10:20 a.m. Their two children, ages 3 and 5, were...
Awarding of Burrell stadium contracts delayed by a month
Burrell School Board has delayed awarding contracts for the planned renovation of Buccaneer Stadium by a month because additional architectural design work is being done, officials said. The delay won’t put the project behind schedule, according to Burrell Superintendent Shannon Wagner. Work had not been expected to start until March...
The Stroller, Jan. 17, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Library accepting entries to its annual Quilt Show Community Library of Allegheny Valley-Harrison will host its annual Quilt Show Feb. 1 to March 7. Entries will be accepted through Monday through Jan. 31 at the Harrison library, 1522 Broadview Blvd., Natrona Heights. Quits must be handmade, but the person submitting...
Brackenridge man ID’d as victim in fatal Arnold shooting as police hunt for suspect
Police on Friday continued the search for a suspect they say shot and killed a Brackenridge man in an Arnold apartment Thursday afternoon. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s office identified the victim as Michael Coover Jr. of Brackenridge. Officers found him dead inside an apartment at 200 17th St. Coover, 33,...
5th person accuses Allegheny Township man of sex assault
An Allegheny Township man previously accused of sexually assaulting four people now faces rape charges in connection with an alleged 2018 incident. Township police on Thursday charged Eric Alan Wright, 48, with rape, sexual assault, burglary, indecent exposure and two counts of indecent assault. Police Sgt. Dan Uncapher said the...
Arnold girl, 6, aims to sell 4K boxes of Girl Scout CookiesVideo
Stella VanWhy is one determined Daisy. The 6-year-old Arnold girl told her troop co-leader she was going to sell 2,020 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies so she could pay for Girl Scout camp this summer, said Alicia Phillips, Stella’s mom. “That’s what I want to do most, because I love...
Free and low-cost cat spay, neuter clinics scheduled in Tarentum
A dozen free and low-cost spay and neuter clinics will be held for feral and pet cats in Tarentum from now through June. The Homeless Cat Management Team holds the clinics at 207 Allegheny St. Pre-registration is required and walk-ins are not permitted. Free clinics for feral cats only are...
Vandergrift man challenges manslaughter charge related to his weeks-old son’s death
A Vandergrift man awaiting trial on charges that he killed his 5-week-old baby last year claims he broke no laws and that his case should be dismissed. Owen LaBrenn Copney, 27, was charged last March with felony counts of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment in connection with the death of...
St. Andrew’s Church in New Kensington holds final service for its faithfulVideo
St. Andrew’s Church in New Kensington has sat empty for seven years. On Thursday, roughly 30 parishioners filled the pews one last time. Together they prayed, received Communion, and listened as Episcopal Bishop Dorsey W.M. McConnell deconsecrated the 71-year-old building, which is in the process of being sold. “This is...
Man killed in New Kensington shooting attacked in December, police say
The man identified as the victim in Wednesday’s deadly shooting in New Kensington was pistol-whipped in an Arnold home invasion last month, according to police. Anthone Williams, 31, of Arnold’s Kenneth Avenue was shot multiple times as he sat in his vehicle in a closed section of New Kensington’s East...
The Stroller, Jan. 16, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Allegheny Valley Hospital auxiliary sponsors vacation raffle Allegheny Valley Hospital Auxiliary is sponsoring a raffle for a seven night Hilton Head Hideaway vacation. The prize includes seven nights in a condo at Shelter Cove Harbor in Hilton Head, S.C. The winner will choose one of three available weeks to vacation....
Authorities say man shot, killed at East Ken Manor in New Kensington
A man was shot and killed at East Ken Manor in New Kensington on Wednesday, authorities said. The shooting was reported just before 5:30 p.m. on Dent Drive, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. Police Chief Bob Deringer confirmed a man was found inside a car with multiple gunshot...
$125K state grant to help Arnold bring back city administrator post
Arnold is bringing back the position of city administrator two years after it eliminated the post to have a clerk oversee day-to-day operations, and the state will pick up some of the costs for at least three years. “We need to have someone who can be more focused and given...
Fox Chapel’s Hardie property to be discussed at public meeting
Potential concepts for the newly acquired parkland in Fox Chapel will be unveiled during a public meeting today. The Hardie property, a 17-acre parcel off Old Mill Road, was purchased by the borough last summer and officials tout the land as the missing link in the municipality’s 345-acre park system....
Larry Jock, former Valley News Dispatch publisher, dies while hunting at 58
Standing 5 feet 7 inches tall, Larry Jock had such a big personality that he proved he didn’t need to be the tallest one in the room to command its attention, his former colleagues, friends and family recalled. “He was a smaller guy, bulky and short, but he was a...
New charges filed against Allegheny Township man accused of raping girls
A 48-year-old man already accused of raping two Alle-Kiski Valley girls faces new charges after another alleged victim has said she was assaulted as a child and as an adult. Eric A. Wright, who had been living in Allegheny Township, is accused of exposing himself to the third girl, watching...
The Stroller, Jan. 15, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Meetings to discuss bus routes planned Community meetings are scheduled this month to learn more about bringing bus lines to local communities in the Allegheny Valley. Meeting dates and locations include: • 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Central Presbyterian Church, 305 Allegheny St., Tarentum. • 6:30 p.m. Jan. 22, at the...
Lower Burrell planning $170K drainage project on Craigdell Road
Lower Burrell is applying for a state grant to help pay for repairs to drainage pipes along and under Craigdell Road in the Kay Street area. Matt Pitsch of Senate Engineering, the city’s engineer, said the aging pipes need to be repaired before their condition worsens. The city is seeking...
Mother of Sandy Hook victim reschedules presentation at Burrell High School
Scarlett Lewis, whose son Jesse was one of 26 people killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, has rescheduled a free presentation at Burrell High School on her “Choose Love” educational program for April 1. She canceled a presentation scheduled for last month because she was ill....
Arnold fills vacant council seat, opening up seat on redevelopment authority
Filling a vacancy on Arnold Council created another opening in the city. Council chose Adam Zweig to fill an empty council seat created when former Councilman Joseph Bia was elected mayor in November. After being chosen, Zweig resigned as chairman of the city’s Redevelopment Authority. Solicitor David Regoli said Zweig...
3 injured in Route 380 crash in Washington Township; 2 rescued from smashed vehicle
Three people were injured Tuesday night in a two-vehicle crash that uprooted the center guardrail on Route 380 in Washington Township and snarled traffic on a stretch of the highway for more than an hour. None of the injuries appeared life-threatening, but all three victims were flown by medical helicopters...
Brothers help raise $1K for charity by camping out inside Sprankle’s stores
Two brothers helped raise roughly $1,000 for charity by camping out inside their grocery stores in Leechburg and Kittanning last week. Doug and Ryan Sprankle, owners of Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market stores in Leechburg and Kittanning, hosted “Camp Out For Community” events for 24 hours at both locations to raise money...
