Valley News Dispatch category, Page 652
Man, woman face drug charges following Kiski Township arrest
Kiski Township police said a phony car inspection sticker and a confidential informant’s tip helped them stop a suspected methamphetamine deal last Thursday. A criminal complaint filed in the case said a pickup driven by Jacqueline D. Pratt, 50, of Avonmore drew an officer’s attention because it appeared to have...
4 men charged in Arnold shooting near police station
Police say two men involved in a shoot-out just a block from Arnold’s police station in May still are at large. Four New Kensington men face charges in connection with the shooting, in which more than 30 shots were fired. Two of the men are in jail awaiting hearings. Arnold...
New Kensington traffic stop yields drugs, gun
New Kensington police say they found drugs and a gun on a man they pulled over along Seventh Street last week. Matthew Bryant Mojica, 27, of Strabane, Washington County, faces drug, gun and related charges after the incident on Aug. 27. Police say Mojica had bags of powdered fentanyl, heroin...
Hand, fingerprints sought for new sign at Tarentum community garden
The growing season is starting to wind down at Tarentum’s Greg Blythe Friendship Garden, and children and families are being invited to the garden this weekend. In addition to a work day on Saturday, children and families will be able to contribute their finger and handprints for a new, permanent...
Tarentum Recreation Board hosting health fair in park
Helping people live a healthier life is the driving force behind a new health fair in Tarentum. The Tarentum Recreation Board is holding the fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Carl J. Magnetta Jr. Memorial Amphitheater in Riverview Memorial Park. “Health fairs serve a lot of...
For chronic Lyme patients, every day can be a struggleVideo
It was bad enough that Amy Wiester of Bell Township contracted Lyme disease at age 6 after suffering a tick bite at her family’s farm. But Wiester, 36, was bitten twice more by Lyme-carrying ticks, in 2004 and 2018. The disease — and the co-infections that frequently accompany it —...
Upper Burrell pallet supplier thrives making old things new againVideo
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 Czebiniak at mczebiniak@tribweb.com. Joe Delo’s father once questioned his decision to rent...
Alle-Kiski residents lend voices to Vietnam War exhibit at Heinz History Center
Alle-Kiski Valley residents’ experiences and artifacts punctuate the Heinz History Center’s “The Vietnam War: 1945-1975.” And if you want to see them, you only have until Sept. 22. The Vietnam War exhibit has been one of the Center’s most popular exhibits attendance-wise, especially the guided tours on weekends, according to...
Fire at Heights Plaza in Harrison believed to be suspicious
A fire at the rear loading dock of the former Save-A-Lot in Heights Plaza in Harrison appears to have been deliberately set, officials said Monday. The blaze was contained to the rear of the building and did not extend to nearby businesses, said Citizens Hose Fire Chief Sean Jones. “It’s...
Home-style is always on the menu at Creekside DinerVideo
William Buchholz, 93, of Kiski Township likes to keep his kitchen clean. By dining out. The on-the-go senior visits Creekside Diner along Route 66 in Washington Township daily for his lunch and dinner. “I like to order whatever’s on the menu,” Buchholz says. “I like all of the food here,...
Tarentum woman keeps history alive
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things that they do. Cindy Homburg’s Tarentum home is like a museum dedicated to the borough. There are medicine and pop bottles made from long-closed glass factories, numerous framed photos and paintings, wooden...
Family event continues Labor Day at Northmoreland Park in Allegheny TownshipVideo
A celebration of the working family continues on Labor Day at Northmoreland Park in Allegheny Township. Live animals, musicians, games, a rock climbing wall, carnival rides, a circus and food and informational booths blanket the landscape for the 48th annual Labor United Celebration. Organizers projected about 35,000 people would participate...
Tarentum book publisher plans new chapter after bankruptcyVideo
A Tarentum book and magazine publisher plans to remain in business as it reorganizes under bankruptcy protection. Costello Industries, which does business as Costello Printing and Design and Word Association Publishers, filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of...
Leechburg Public Library reopening on Tuesday
Leechburg Public Library is scheduled to reopen Tuesday inside Leechburg Junior/Senior High School, just in time to celebrate the library’s 93rd birthday, the new library board said. The library abruptly closed May 30. Since then, the new board of directors was formed and numerous volunteers stepped up to keep the...
Black Hawk helicopter to be part of American Heroes Day in Kiski Township
After a three-year hiatus, the Apollo Salute to the Armed Forces Committee will bring back American Heroes Day this month. Highlighting the celebrations at Kiski Township Community Field will be the landing of a military Black Hawk helicopter as the event gets under way at 11 a.m. Emergency vehicles from...
West Leechburg boy uses lemonade stand to raise $1,300 for Alzheimer’s researchVideo
Brody Toy of West Leechburg is honoring his late great-grandfather one glass at a time. Brody, 7, sells lemonade from Brody’s Lemonade Stand annually, donating 100% of the money raised to Alzheimer’s disease research and in remembrance of his great-granddad, Joseph Kish. Kish of Gilpin suffered from Alzheimer’s and died...
Tarentum man accused of fatally stabbing Ninth Avenue woman in jealous rage
Friends and neighbors of Tarentum homicide victim Susan E. Jeffries on Saturday afternoon recalled her as kind and helpful, and they were stunned to learn she was stabbed to death in her East Ninth Avenue apartment. “She was a nice person,” longtime friend John Phillips said. “I would’ve never thought...
Book tells about Tarentum native’s Vietnam War rescue mission
Allen Ellis Weseleskey says he would do it all over again. In the same way. Facing the same imminent danger. Weseleskey, who was born in Tarentum, lived in Springdale and currently resides in Virginia Beach, Va., is a retired Navy captain. On March 9, 1968, in Vietnam, he rescued a...
Springdale Cub Scouts pack hurricane cleanup kits as Dorian hurls toward Florida
Nine-year-old Gabriel Wallace plopped a hard plastic scrub brush into a household bucket in the basement of Springdale United Presbyterian Church, then paused to adjust his black-rimmed glasses and pull out a pen and checklist. One bottle of laundry detergent, check. Five sponges, check. Thirty-six to 50 clothespins, check. Wallace...
Pennsylvania law doesn’t prohibit children on ATVs
It’s not against the law for children to ride on or drive all-terrain vehicles in Pennsylvania, but there are certain rules they must follow depending on their age and where they’re riding them, according to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “There are guidelines for operating ATVs with...
Company battling for Tarentum billboard pursuing signs in Harrison, too
A company fighting in court to put billboards in Tarentum now wants to place two in Harrison. Oliver Development wants to put two signs atop a pole on property along Alter Road, next to Route 28, according to documents the company has filed with the township. The vacant land is...
Emergency repair to restrict East 10th Avenue traffic in Tarentum
Traffic is expected to be restricted on East 10th Avenue in Tarentum for an emergency repair on Tuesday, according to the borough. Traffic is scheduled to be reduced to one lane between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on East 10th near Ormond Street, borough Manager Michael Nestico said. The borough’s...
Vandergrift children’s garden grows on without stolen pumpkins
Vandergrift has its own Great Pumpkin Caper. About two weeks ago, pumpkins planted by children in the borough’s Franklin Park started to vanish. At least 10 have gone missing since, likely taken in broad daylight because the park is locked at night. “They weren’t even orange,” said Chloe Kruse, a...
5 things to do in Westmoreland this weekend: Aug. 30-Sept. 2Video
TGIF! It’s the kickoff to Labor Day weekend, the last official hurrah of summer. Though it’s usually a time to pack in a picnic, backyard barbecue, road trip or other outdoor fun, that’s not all there is to do around these parts. SHEL game Indie-folk band SHEL will wrap up...
Big Kmart in Allegheny Township will close before Christmas
The only remaining Kmart in the Alle-Kiski Valley is closing. The Big Kmart located in Hyde Park Shopping Center in Allegheny Township will close before Christmas, according to a statement provided by Larry Costello, public relations director for Chicago- based Transformco, which is representing Kmart. “After careful review, we have...
