Valley News Dispatch category, Page 620
The Stroller, Dec. 21, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Knead Community Cafe closed for holidays Knead Community Café in New Kensington will be closed Tuesday through Jan. 1 for the holidays. For upcoming events at the café, visit kneadcommunitycafe.org/events/. Calendar Kittanning Monday: A free family support group for anyone struggling with the addiction of a loved one will meet...
More than 10,000 Christmas lights on display at Bob’s Garage in O’HaraVideo
At Bob’s Garage, Christmas decorations stay up until February to accommodate the masses still crowding the small bar renowned for the outrageous number of Christmas lights enveloping the inside and outside. “It’s like walking on the inside of a Christmas tree,” said Bob Paganico, 72, of Penn Hills. Paganico started...
‘Make Yourself at Home Bandit’ suspected of robbing Harmar betting parlor linked to 12 robberies in 7 states
The masked man who forced an employee to empty the safe of a Harmar off-track betting parlor last month may be wanted in connection to at least dozen robberies across seven states, police said Friday. Lloyd Eugene Rhodes, 57, who has warrants out for his arrests from the FBI and...
New Ken-Arnold student left on W.L. Roenigk bus, 2nd pupil in 10 days
A New Kensington-Arnold School District special needs student was left alone on a W.L. Roenigk school bus at the Clairview School in Greensburg on Friday, school and bus company officials said. The driver was immediately fired, a Roenigk official said. It was the second time in 10 days that a...
Woman, children injured in Brackenridge head-on collision, other driver’s condition unknownVideo
A woman and two elementary-age children were taken to a hospital for treatment after a car and a minivan collided head-on Friday in Brackenridge, police said. It’s unclear if the other driver was also taken for treatment of his injuries. The wreck happened about 1 p.m. on Freeport Road near...
At least 1 hurt in 2-car wreck along Freeport Road in New KensingtonVideo
A two-car crash along Freeport Road in New Kensington sent one woman to an area hospital Tuesday. City police said her infant accompanied her in the ambulance. The wreck appears to have happened when a white rental car hit the rear of a black Ford Taurus at about 10:30 a.m.,...
Valley High School volleyball tournament benefits Salvation Army food pantry
Valley High School students served up nearly 3,000 cans of food Friday as part of the school’s seventh annual Christmas Classic Volleyball Tournament. “That’s amazing,” Salvation Army Capt. Phillip Davies said of the students’ efforts. “The need is so great at this time of the year. Our inventory of emergency...
New Kensington-Arnold School Board continues to pave way for hefty property tax hike
New Kensington-Arnold School District will go forward with preparing a preliminary budget for the 2020-21 school year as it readies to ask the state for permission to increase property taxes by more than twice its limit. The school board voted unanimously Thursday night against a measure that would have prevented...
Buffalo Township hires new cop, inks 5-year deal with chief
The police force in Buffalo Township is expanding, and the chief has a new long-term contract. Township supervisors on Wednesday unanimously approved the hiring of a new full-time officer, Jeffrey Swiklinski, who is retiring as Freeport’s police chief, according to Buffalo police Chief Tim Derringer. Swiklinski assumes his new position...
3 cars damaged in crashes on icy stretch of Route 910 in HarmarVideo
Two vehicles were heavily damaged Friday morning in a head-on crash on an icy stretch of Route 910 in Harmar, but the two drivers involved managed to walk away unhurt, Harmar police said. Also damaged in the crash was an unoccupied third vehicle that had been disabled on the side...
West Deer adopts 2020 budget without tax increase
West Deer Supervisors on Wednesday adopted a $6.5 million budget for 2020 that keeps the property tax rate at 2.99 mills. At that rate, the owner of a median-priced home of $115,650 would owe $345.79 in taxes, the same as this year. The biggest line item in the budget calls...
The Stroller, Dec. 20, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Free Christmas dinners planned Free holiday dinners will be served in Lower Burrell, Harrison and Tarentum to the needy or those who might otherwise be eating alone. • Abundant Joy Fellowship, 101 Allegheny St., Tarentum, 1 to 3 p.m. Christmas Day. Reservations are suggested, but not required. Children will receive...
Arnold high-rise residents like police foot patrols through buildingsVideo
The residents of Arnold Towers and the neighboring Arnold Manor don’t have to wait for an emergency to get a visit from police. For about a year, Arnold officers have checked high-rise lobbies, public areas and stairwells of both low-income high-rises along Horne Boulevard. On Thursday, three Arnold officers, including...
No real estate tax increase for 2020 in Cheswick
The property tax rate will remain the same next year for Cheswick property owners. Council passed a 2020 budget of $1.78 million that keeps the borough’s real estate tax rate of 5.85 mills. The total includes 0.25-mill dedicated to the library. A Cheswick homeowner would continue to pay $608 in...
Ex-Applewold councilman sentenced to 4 to 8 years for child sex assault
A former Applewold councilman and East Franklin fire chief convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy two years ago in Kittanning was sentenced Thursday to up to 8 years in prison. Mark Alan Feeney, 56, will serve 4 to 8 years in state prison. Armstrong County Judge James Panchik ordered...
Driver fired after leaving 7-year-old Leechburg student on bus
A W.L. Roenigk driver has been fired for leaving a 7-year-old Leechburg Area student on a minibus, company president Sue Roenigk said Thursday. The boy was mistakenly driven to the bus company’s Allegheny Township garage and office on Greenwood Road, about 5 miles from David Leech Elementary School where the...
Highlands superintendent schedules more ‘Coffee Talks’ with parents
Highlands School District parents will get more opportunities to talk with the district’s superintendent and administrators in January. Superintendent Monique Mawhinney has scheduled a second round of “Coffee Talks” that will be held in the evening. The first series of meetings had been held in the mornings in late September...
Mother, 2 young children rescued from Parks house fire
A mother and her two young children were rescued from their burning home early Thursday morning in Armstrong County. The fire in the 1600 block of Dime Road in Parks was reported shortly before 5:30 a.m. Firefighters from seven departments battled temperatures in the low teens to put out the...
The Stroller, Dec. 19, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Third Time’s A Charm to entertain at Knead Community Cafe Music group Third Time’s A Charm, with Marcie Covey and Paul Leo, will perform Christmas selections from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 to 2 p.m. Saturday at Knead Community Café, 1011 Barnes St., New Kensington. Grab a bite to...
Leechburg Council approves 22% tax hike
Property taxes in Leechburg in the coming year are jumping by 22%. Leechburg Council on Tuesday passed a $1.2 million budget for 2020 that includes a 4-mill real estate tax increase. That means the borough’s tax rate will increase from 18.3124 mills to 22.3214 mills. With the increase, a homeowner...
Deer Lakes High School hosts annual senior luncheonVideo
Senior citizens in the Deer Lakes School District were treated to a holiday luncheon Wednesday sponsored by the high school student council. The annual tradition has been ongoing for more than 25 years, according to school spokesman Jim Cromie. Between 80 and 100 seniors attended. They saw performances by the...
Livestock saved from Buffalo Township mobile home fireVideo
Two pigs, several goats and a few chickens were saved from a fire Wednesday at a mobile home that had been converted into a shelter for livestock on Coal Hollow Road in Buffalo Township. At least 15 chickens were unaccounted for and feared trapped inside the mobile home, firefighters and...
Leechburg students make blankets for guests of a soup kitchen in Pittsburgh’s Hill DistrictVideo
Fifteen students from the Leechburg Area High School life skills class crafted 30 no-sew fleece blankets in class this month for the needy. The project is in its third year. It doesn’t cost the district anything thanks to a $500 donation from Sue Jones. She is a school volunteer, area...
Marigold, the wayward pig found in Indiana Township, remains unclaimed
A pig found wandering in Indiana Township two weeks ago remains unclaimed. The female adult mini-sized pig, named Marigold by its caretakers, is said to be healthy but “grumpy,” according to Blue Martin, co-founder of Pigsburgh Squealers, a nonprofit pig rescue farm in Frazer. “Pigs are incredibly social and sensitive,”...
O’Hara man savors lifetime of Steelers memories as member of chain gang
The Immaculate Reception, he was there. The Steelers 1979 AFC Championship game victory over the Houston Oilers, he was there. The infamous Mud Bowl game in 2007 between the Steelers and the Miami Dolphins, yes, he was there, too. For 50 years, Leo Pilarski, 78, has been prowling the sidelines...
