Valley News Dispatch category, Page 636
Freeport sewage project cost swells to nearly $16M
Freeport’s sewage project won’t cost $11.6 million after all. It will be $15.8 million. That’s what Freeport Council found out Monday night from Kevin M. Creagh, the new project engineer from KLH Engineers Inc. That’s an increase of 36%. According to Creagh, the $11.6 million figure was from a construction...
Arnold police serve lunch, build rapport at Hunt Elementary School
Fourth-graders swarmed around police officers at the lunch tables in a loud, pizza-scented cafeteria at Roy A. Hunt Elementary School on Wednesday, pointing to their badges and asking to see their handcuffs. The students have never eaten their vegetables so enthusiastically, said JoAnne Stramaski, a food service worker. Officers from...
Wayne Township woman killed in Armstrong County crash ID’d
A Wayne Township woman killed Wednesday morning in an Armstrong County crash has been identified. Lynn Kennedy, 50, died of blunt force trauma sustained in a crash along Route 1018 in Boggs Township, Armstrong County Coroner Brian Myers reported. The crash occurred shortly before 10 a.m. Wednesday. Officials said she...
Hite Road bridge over Route 28 to close Friday night
The bridge on Hite Road over Route 28 in Springdale Township and Harmar will be closed this weekend, PennDOT announced Wednesday. The bridge is scheduled to be closed to traffic from 8 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday. The bridge is being rehabilitated. Crews this weekend will be removing traffic...
New Kensington-Arnold School Board: Who’s running, what’s at stake
Seven people are running for six open seats on the New Kensington-Arnold School Board. The only contested race is in the district’s Region I, where incumbent Eric Doutt, a Democrat, is facing two challengers, Republican Deborah Schreckengost and Terry Schrock, who is cross-filed on both party ballots. In Region II,...
Judge schedules arguments in Tarentum billboard case
An Allegheny County judge has scheduled oral arguments in the case of a company fighting to put up a billboard in Tarentum. Arguments are scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, in courtroom 7 on the 7th floor of the City-County Building in Downtown Pittsburgh, the order signed by Judge...
Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell reopens after crash
Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell has reopened after a crash that sent one person to the hospital. The road was closed in both directions between MacBeth Drive and Schreiber Street around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to Westmoreland County emergency dispatchers. It was reopened later that afternoon after one person was...
Harrison seeking bids to tear down 2 houses
Harrison is seeking bids to tear down two vacant, dilapidated houses in the township. The houses, both two-stories, are located at 1525 Union Ave. and 2602 Monroe St. The township has previously planned to take down a third house, at 1204 Cambridge St. It was removed from the project after...
Trick-or-treating rescheduled in a handful of A-K Valley communities
Five Alle-Kiski Valley communities have changed trick-or-treat plans this Halloween due to a stormy weather forecast. Lower Burrell, Avonmore, Kiski Township, Saxonburg and North Apollo have all rescheduled trick-or-treating for Saturday, Nov. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. Other Alle-Kiski Valley communities have not rescheduled trick-or-treating yet and many are...
The Stroller, Oct. 30, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Orders being accepted for Highlands AFS citrus fruit sale Orders are being taken for the annual Highlands High School AFS citrus fruit sale. Fruit available includes large and small boxes of California navel oranges and ruby red grapefruit, tangelos, clementines, pears, apples, pineapples and mixed boxes. To order, contact Kathy...
Stormy weather on tap for Halloween trick-or-treating
Few municipalities are altering their community Halloween plans despite a worsening weather forecast for Thursday evening. Several boroughs and townships have trick-or-treating scheduled for Halloween with no adjustments in place for thunder and lightning. “If it rains, it rains,” said Barb Jones, office clerk for Brackenridge. Jones said police and...
Veterans Day events planned in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Veterans Day events are planned throughout the Valley. They include: Apollo Curran-Shaffer Funeral Home will host the 16th annual Apollo Area Veterans program at noon Nov. 11 at the funeral home, 100 Owens View Ave., Apollo. Funeral director Norman E. Connors will celebrate the lives, contributions and impact of each...
New population of hellbenders found in Butler CountyVideo
The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy found a new population of hellbender salamanders in Butler County. Researchers came up empty looking for the salamander, which can grow to more than two feet long, in the Kiski and Youghiogheny rivers and some other locations this summer, according to Eric Chapman, director of aquatic...
Mussel discovered in Kiski River for first time in a century
Researchers went looking for a salamander not seen on the Kiski River for more than a century. Instead, they happened upon another river resident that has been missing from the Kiski equally as long or maybe longer – the pink heelsplitter mussel. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy recently reported its summer...
Trial of Tarentum man charged in near drowning moved to February
A Tarentum man facing felony child endangerment charges won’t be tried until next year. William Richard Nulph, 35, is accused of leaving his toddler outside March 14 while he went into his home to feed his infant. The toddler was found floating in a backyard swimming pool. She required medical...
Jury set for trial of man accused of killing New Kensington Officer Brian ShawVideo
A jury of 12 plus four alternatives is complete for the capital murder trial of accused cop killer Rahmael Holt. Jury selection lasted two days and wrapped up just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Holt, 31, of Harrison is accused of shooting and killing New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw following...
The Stroller, Oct. 29, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Leechburg Library to sponsor Star Baker contest Leechburg Public Library will sponsor a Star Baker Contest Nov. 17 as part of a spaghetti dinner fundraiser at the Marconi Club, 135 River Ave., Leechburg. Any type of baked goods may be entered – pies, cookies, cakes, scones, cupcakes, nut rolls or...
Frazer dance school gives people with disabilities an opportunity to shineVideo
Editor’s note: Building the Valley tells stories of businesses big and small and the employees who make them special. If you know of any standout employees, bosses or companies with a great story to tell, contact reporter Madasyn Lee at mlee@tribweb.com. Joe Brown loves to dance, and he isn’t afraid...
Jail sentence of Lower Burrell judge’s son to be delayed by a month
A Westmoreland County judge on Monday deferred the start of a jail sentence to be served by the son of a local district judge. Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger ruled that Stephen Yakopec III, 29, of Lower Burrell will have an additional month before he is required to report to...
Restrictions lifted on Logans Ferry Road bridge near Plum-Lower Burrell border
Traffic restrictions have been lifted on a bridge that crosses Pucketa Creek at the border of Plum and Lower Burrell. A $1.1 million construction project on the Logans Ferry Road bridge began about five months ago. Work included replacing the span over the creek and improving guardrails, sidewalks, barriers and...
Leechburg’s Veterans Memorial Stadium a step closer to getting artificial turf
Leechburg Area School District has moved a step closer to replacing the grass field at 73-year-old Veterans Memorial Stadium with artificial turf. The district’s school board voted unanimously last week to seek bids Nov. 13 to install the artificial turf and modernize the field’s drainage. Over the summer, the board...
Riverview schools to open Tuesday after threat deemed not credible
Riverview School District planned to resume classes Tuesday after determining a threat that led to a districtwide closure Monday was not credible. Superintendent Margaret DiNinno said in a prepared statement that the threat, received Sunday afternoon, was a “non-direct, weapon-related threat to the high school.” DiNinno had said Sunday night...
First 9 jurors selected for trial of accused cop killer Rahmael Holt
Attorneys selected nine people Monday to be jurors in the capital murder trial of accused cop killer Rahmael Holt. Holt, 31, of Harrison, is accused of fatally shooting New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw following a Nov. 17, 2017, traffic stop. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty...
Missing Vandergrift teen found
A Vandergrift teenager missing since Thursday has been found, according to police. James Edward Nelson, 16, was found early Monday morning. He was last seen around 2 p.m. at his Vandergrift home....
No webcam planned for new Harmar bald eagle nest
The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania announced it will not install a live webcam at the most recent bald eagle nest in Harmar because the aerie cannot be safely accessed. The decision not to install a webcam was a difficult one, Audubon spokeswoman Rachel Handel said in a statement. “The...
