Valley News Dispatch category, Page 651
Hyde Park man sentenced to 8-20 years in sex assault of teenage girl
A Hyde Park man was sentenced Friday to 8 to 20 years in state prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. Larry Lee Redmond, 40, must register as a sex offender under Megan’s Law. Redmond was convicted in June of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, aggravated indecent assault,...
5 things to do in Westmoreland this weekend: Sept. 6-8Video
TGIF! You’ve felt it, too. It’s that slight chill in the morning, the rustle of the leaves … fall is in the air. The nights are cooler, but the days still spectacular. Soak it all in and get out and enjoy this weekend. Rockin` in the park Jocelyn and Chris...
Leechburg Area, teachers have tentative contract agreement
Leechburg Area School District and its teachers union have a new, tentative contract. Both the district and the union still have to formally approve the proposed five-year deal for the district’s 63 teachers, but Superintendent Tiffany Nix said negotiators for both sides OK’d it. If approved, the so-called “early bird”...
Question of turf at Allegheny Valley soccer field draws residents’ ire
Some Allegheny Valley School District residents say the district’s soccer field is in bad shape and should be converted to artificial turf. But they don’t want to do it just so a private soccer club can play there. The comments came during a special school board meeting Thursday afternoon, during...
3 men arrested in $20K drug bust in New Kensington
Three men are behind bars on drug charges after police said they found about $20,000 worth of ecstasy, cocaine and methamphetamine hidden inside a home in the Mt. Vernon section of New Kensington. Andre Butler, 34, and Shawn Taylor, 47, both of Pittsburgh, and Dennis Corbett, 33, of New Kensington,...
Police: DNA evidence helped ID man who tunneled into Leechburg bank
DNA evidence helped police identify a man who they said made off with nearly $1,400 last year after tunneling into a Leechburg bank, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday. Carlin Mitchell Quinn, 27, of West Leechburg, is accused of stealing $1,371 from First Commonwealth Bank at 152 Main St....
Police: Allegheny Valley officer makes arrest after landing in swimming pool
An Allegheny Valley Regional Police officer made a splash while chasing a suspected drunken driver last month, falling into a swimming pool before making the arrest, according to court records. Police said they pulled over a car driven by David G. Hoover, 34, of Springdale at Riddle Run and Freeport...
Freeport life-skills students to join cheerleaders for Friday’s football game
Fans at Freeport Area High School’s football game Friday might notice a few extra cheerleaders on the sidelines. Students from the school’s life-skills class have been invited to be cheerleaders for the night. One of the cheer captains, Megan Rossey, 17, wanted to include them in an activity they otherwise...
Harrison to start hydrant flushing Monday
The Harrison Township Water Authority announced that it will start flushing fire hydrants on Monday. The project, which involves flushing 280 hydrants, is expected to take about six weeks to finish, authority general Manager Charles Craig said. Craig said crews will start in the Natrona area and work their way...
Hospice workers grant Harrison man’s wish to visit his wife’s grave
When Carmen Amelio’s wife died in 2001, he wanted to give her the grave site he thought she deserved. So Amelio set out on a labor of love. He invested nearly $30,000 in his wife’s memory. He paid for a mausoleum so he could be buried with her. He installed...
Ten Commandments monument dedicated at new home in New KensingtonVideo
A Ten Commandments monument stood outside New Kensington’s Valley High School when Adele Jablonski was a student there decades ago. On Thursday, Jablonski, 64, joined students from Mary Queen of Apostles School, including her 9-year-old granddaughter, Liliana Hadley, at a ceremony dedicating and blessing the monument in front of its...
Forecast brighter for Touch A Truck II in North Apollo
Last year, rain dampened attendance at the Kiski Township Police Department’s Touch A Truck event. This year, the forecast is for much brighter skies for Touch A Truck II on Saturday. It will again be held at the River Road Auto Sales at 2118 River Ave. in North Apollo. Various...
Familiar faces will staff new First Commonwealth Bank in HarrisonVideo
First Commonwealth Bank will be opening its new office in Harrison on Monday. For customers unsure about the move 2 miles down Freeport Road, a familiar face will be there — Cheryl Rezak. Rezak, 59, has worked at the bank in Heights Plaza shopping center for nearly 40 years. She...
Burrell grads set to ride out Hurricane Dorian in N.C.
Erika Fitch and Patrick Duffey wanted to try something new, so the 2012 graduates of Burrell High School packed up their apartment in Robinson and moved to North Carolina three months ago. Preparing for a hurricane wasn’t the new experience they were looking for, but that’s what they’ve found themselves...
Allegheny Valley school officials to consider youth club’s request to use soccer field
The Allegheny Valley School Board will hold a special meeting Thursday to consider a proposal from Arsenal Football Club of PA to use a district soccer field. The meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. at Acme Elementary School, 300 Pearl Ave. in Cheswick. District spokeswoman Jan Zastawniak said the...
Etna man charged with stealing car, burglarizing chamber of commerce office at Pittsburgh Mills
At Etna man is accused of stealing a car and breaking into the Alle-Kiski Strong Chamber at the Pittsburgh Mills mall. Frazer police charged Richard D. Lenhart, 48, with burglary, trespassing, receiving stolen property, access device fraud, theft, and traffic violations in connection to the Aug. 28 incident. He remained...
Allegheny County receives $3.5M grant to help reduce youth homelessness
A Tarentum-based domestic violence center has a number of programs that could benefit from an Allegheny County grant aimed at reducing youth homelessness. Depending on the grant’s focus, Michelle Gibb, Alle-Kiski HOPE Center executive director, said there are different ways the grant could benefit her organization, which provides numerous homeless...
Tarentum considering installing electric vehicle charging station
An electric vehicle charging station could be coming to Tarentum — and using it might be free. Borough officials are considering installing one or more ChargePoint charging stations in the borough parking lot near J.G.’s Tarentum Station Grille. A state reimbursement program would cover most of the installation cost, borough...
Communities asked to extend sanitary authority for $18M loan
The four communities that founded the Upper Allegheny Joint Sanitary Authority are being asked to extend its life so the authority can borrow $18 million. The money would be spent on equipment and infrastructure such as a bigger pump station and lines and a new retention tank to increase the...
Lower Burrell man accused of almost hitting trooper, fleeing DUI checkpoint
A Lower Burrell man is in the Butler County Jail, accused of nearly running down a state trooper at a DUI checkpoint over the weekend. Terrell Eugene Leonard, 27, of Craigdell Road faces nine charges, including felony aggravated assault on a police officer. Police said the incident began Saturday night...
Demolition work on former Belvedere Hotel to begin next week
Demolition and cleanup of the former Belvedere Hotel in Oklahoma Borough — which was reduced to a pile of asbestos-contaminated rubble in July and is considered a “public health hazard” — will begin on Sept. 11, officials said. The $85,000 project will close a section of Orr Avenue between Hancock...
Vandergrift to add police officers
Two new full-time officers will join the Vandergrift police force. Christian Disciscio and Jerrod Thompson were hired by borough council Tuesday night. Both will make $44,624 to start, or, 70 percent of a full-time salary They replaced Ben Michaels and Jose Pentova, who left to serve elsewhere. The hires are...
Car catches fire near kerosene tank at Sheetz in Plum; no one injured
A car caught fire Tuesday night near a kerosene tank in the parking lot of a Sheetz gas station in Plum, prompting officials to shut down the gas pumps and close the convenience store for several hours. No one was injured in the incident, officials said. Plum police and firefighters...
Traffic restrictions continuing on East 10th in Tarentum
Work that tied up traffic on East 10th Street in Tarentum on Tuesday will continue Wednesday, borough Manager Michael Nestico said. Borough public works crews on Tuesday were helping a private contractor repair a collapsed manhole and pipe on East 10th near Ormond Street. Nestico said he learned late Tuesday...
Refurbished Leechburg Public Library reopensVideo
Leechburg’s public library reopened Tuesday. The early afternoon turn-out was slow, but appreciative. In recent days, the refurbished library got attention from about 10 community volunteers who spruced up the facility, library board President Karen Freilino said. Librarian Lisa Kimbrugh welcomed Brooklyn Redmond, a sixth grader, as the first patron,...
