Valley News Dispatch category, Page 616

The newly appointed acting principal at Highlands Early Childhood Center is a key figure in two lawsuits against the Highlands School District. District Superintendent Monique Mawhinney appointed Cathy Russo as acting principal in the wake of the resignation of Principal Heather Bigney. In a federal lawsuit filed Monday, the day...

The site of the old Ford City Junior-Senior High School is being redeveloped as the home of a new Butler County Community College campus in a $5 million project. Increasing enrollment at a BC3 site that opened four years ago in nearby Manor Township is the driving force for the...

Fire officials are investigating a fire Thursday at a home in Plum. The fire in the 500 block of Unity Center Road was put out by Plum firefighters. The fire was reported just before 6 a.m., according to an Allegheny County dispatch supervisor. Plum police Lt. Lanny Conley said no...

Fox Chapel Area High School is closed today for a bomb threat, despite a search of the building that turned up clear. School officials late last night were notified on the state-mandated Safe2Say Something tip line about a threat to the high school, Bonnie Berzonski, district coordinator of communications, said....

Tarentum church to celebrate historic landmark designation The building that houses Central Presbyterian Church, Tarentum, has received Historic Landmark status from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. The present building was built in 1913 and the founding congregation dates back to April 1888, when a small wood-frame chapel was constructed...

An Apollo man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Pittsburgh to conspiring to sell more than 50 kilograms of marijuana that he had shipped from Colorado, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Wednesday. Prosecutors said Stephen Michael Lerch, 27, received numerous parcels of marijuana and vaping cartridges containing THC from...

Highlands School District on Wednesday disputed claims made by former Principal Heather Bigney in a federal lawsuit filed against the district this week, alleging officials retaliated against her for taking unpaid leave and dating a former teacher. “The district and its solicitor … have received and reviewed the complaint Dr....

An Armstrong County man arrested Tuesday in Vandergrift is accused of having more than $11,000 of crystal methamphetamine and almost three “bricks” of heroin. Monty Gene Smith II, 35, of West Lebanon Road, South Bend Township, was arrested without incident in a residence along the 300 block of Emerson Street...

Harmar supervisors are pondering how to increase community awareness on the demands of the federal Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Program. Supervisor Harry Lenhart discussed the need for such an effort after attending a Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors conference last week about the program, also known as MS4....

A Westmoreland County judge on Wednesday ruled against a defense request to remove gun charges from the upcoming capital murder trial of the man accused in the slaying of New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw. Judge Rita Hathaway said that doing so would limit the prosecution’s effort to present motive...

Route 66 in Oklahoma Borough will be closed near Orr Avenue between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday so Norfolk Southern crews can do maintenance work on a railroad crossing. About 11,000 motorists travel that section of Route 66 daily, according to PennDOT. Signs will be posted to guide motorists...

Two men are accused of stealing more $1,500 worth of electric toothbrushes and razors, teeth whitening strips and food from Walmart stores in Harrison and Frazer. Frazer police said they received a tip Saturday from police in Harrison that the two men had shoplifted at the Walmart in Harrison and...

Highlands High School is staging its annual “Fall Follies” talent show on Thursday, Oct. 24. The student-led evening features 24 acts from 78 students in the Highlands Honors and Variations Show Choirs and musical stage crew. The event is a fundraiser for Highland’s spring musical. “The monies raised will go...

A project to demolish a structurally deficient bridge in West Deer was completed earlier than expected, officials said. Work at the intersection of Lick and Bairdford roads began Sept. 3 and was expected to continue until November, according to officials with the Allegheny County Department of Public Works. Officials announced...

The four bands from “Age of Aquarius 4” are taking the show on the road. Instead of performing at the Casino Theatre in Vandergrift, The Love Generation, First Light, Heidi & the Hellcats and Sourmash will play for the first time in the ballroom of the Quality Inn in New...

The former principal of Highlands Early Childhood Center sued the Highlands School District, claiming its superintendent retaliated against her for taking unpaid leave and being in a relationship with a former teacher. Heather Bigney quit her job as principal Monday, the same day she filed the federal lawsuit. The lawsuit...

Students at Curtisville Primary Center in West Deer are eager to spread kindness in the community. Members of the school’s Kindness Kids Club last week prepared more than two dozen care packages filled with goodies for first responders in the township. The students, from kindergarten through second grade, made the...

The Ace fix-it Hardware store in Cheswick is closing. The store at 1500 Pittsburgh St. will close Nov. 27, according to owner Chuck Bickel. It will be consolidated into another store Bickel owns on Oakmont’s Allegheny River Boulevard. The Cheswick store has been around for more than a decade. “The...

The mother of a child killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School is returning to Burrell School District in December to talk about her story and a social emotional learning program she started. Scarlett Lewis’ 6-year-old son Jesse was one of 26 people killed at...

Moms4Moms group to host free night out Harvest Community Church will host a free Moms4Moms night out from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the church, 143 Reed Road, East Franklin. There will be a catered dinner and prizes. Amy Conaway will be the guest speaker and free childcare...

The principal of Highlands Early Childhood Center abruptly stepped down Monday afternoon without a clear explanation, district officials said. Highlands School Board accepted the resignation of Heather Bigney during a public voting meeting Monday night, just a few hours after Bigney submitted her resignation around 4 p.m., according to board...

Back in the 1960s, it was enough for Apollo Area Lions Club members to take their own lawnmowers to cut the grass at the old Apollo Cemetery. But not anymore. Old trees have been uprooting some tombstones and threatening to swallow up the ownerless but historic cemetery in Kiski Township....