Valley News Dispatch category, Page 653
Avonmore family charged with hiding fugitive from police
Two men and their mother are facing charges of trying to hide a fugitive. Jessica Sue Thorpe, 39, Luke Robert Thorpe, 18, and Leroy William Thorpe, 22, all of Maple Terrace Lane, Avonmore, are accused of hindering the apprehension of Donald Thomas Phillips, 40, of Avonmore. A police affidavit states...
Report: 21% of Pennsylvania’s boating fatalities linked to alcohol or drugs
A new Coast Guard report shows that drugs or alcohol played a role in more than 100 of the 633 boating fatalities across the country last year. The statistics were similar in Pennsylvania, with three of the 14 boating-related fatalities in 2018 attributed to alcohol or drug impairment. The Pennsylvania...
2 accused of selling drugs near children in Vandergrift house
An early morning raid in Vandergrift resulted in the arrest of two men on drug and child endangerment charges. Lonnell Alexander Moore, 29, and Carlos Cordoba, 22, both of Sherman Avenue, were arrested Wednesday. Police said they found four grams of cocaine and about a half-pound of marijuana inside the...
Alle-Kiski Valley host families sought for 8 exchange students
Host families are needed for foreign exchange students for this school year. According to Kathy Harenski, the AFS liaison coordinator for Western Pennsylvania, the eight students needing families to stay with come from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Japan and China. They are between 15 and 17 years old. They can...
O’Hara man dies after bike struck by vans on Freeport Road in Harmar
An O’Hara man died Thursday morning after he was struck by two vans while riding his bike along Freeport Road in Harmar, officials said. Thomas Haykin, 57, was pronounced dead at 6:23 a.m. shortly after the incident, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said. Haykin was riding his bike in...
Philip Pelusi latest business to exit from Frazer’s Pittsburgh Mills mall
Another business is leaving the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer. Philip Pelusi, an upscale Pittsburgh-based hair salon with 11 locations throughout the region, opened at the Mills location in 2005, coinciding with the mall’s grand opening. “We have a great team of designers that work at our Mills location,” Philip...
Girl dies after ATV crash while riding with dad, sister in Fox Chapel yard
A 5-year-old Fox Chapel girl died Thursday evening when the all-terrain vehicle on which she was riding with her father and sister crashed, according to police. The crash occurred near Guyasuta and Longfellow roads shortly before 7:30 p.m. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the girl as Annabel Whittingham....
Allegheny County Police warn of phone scams
Allegheny County Police want to warn people about a phone scam soliciting money with threats of arrest. County Inspector Andrew Schurman said multiple residents have reported receiving such calls the past few days. “In one reported instance the caller requested money from the recipient for prepaid calling cards,” Schurman said....
Animal Protectors’ new facility in New Kensington nears completion
The cement already is poured for the “catio” and framing installed for the addition of dog kennels at a former school in New Kensington’s Parnassus neighborhood that will soon be an animal shelter. Officials from Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley say the finish line is in sight for the New...
Skip Beal, retired VND and Trib newsman and voice of ‘The Stroller,’ dies at 81
Skip Beal was a passionate newsman who knew the Alle-Kiski Valley inside and out and wasn’t afraid to spark a little outrage when he wrote The Stroller column in the Valley News Dispatch. “He loved his job, there’s no doubt about it,” said his oldest son, Benjamin Beal III of...
Leechburg man accused of inappropriately touching girl
A 31-year-old Leechburg man is charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. Mark Faiola was being held in the Armstrong County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 4. According to a criminal complaint, Faiola is accused of touching the girl inappropriately on June...
Harrison’s Kaley Bastine spreading police fundraising efforts to New Kensington
A Harrison girl is branching out in her efforts to support police — even crossing a river. Kaley Bastine, 7, will be selling cupcakes from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 28 at Bird Dog’s Sports Bar & Grill in Harrison to raise money for New Kensington police Officer...
Cheswick church rallies behind pastor who needs heart transplantVideo
Clinton Blazevich was told he could live with his heart condition for maybe three to five years before needing a heart transplant. That was nearly 20 years ago. Blazevich, 42, suffers from myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, and cardiomyopathy, a condition that makes it harder for the heart to...
Westmoreland 9/11 monument subject of Tarentum museum program
A group working to dedicate a monument to honor veterans of the war on terrorism 20 years after the 9/11 attacks will be holding an informational program in Tarentum. The Westmoreland County Veterans of the War on Terror will hold the free event at the Alle-Kiski Valley Heritage Museum at...
Harrison awarded 50 more trees for planting campaign
Harrison’s tree-planting campaign is growing, with plans for another 50 to be planted in the township this year. Those trees will bring the number planted in the township since 2016 to 140, according to Harrison Commissioner Chuck Dizard. The latest crop is expected to be planted in early November. The...
Farmer x Baker in Aspinwall gives different meaning to ‘food from a box’
A unique waterside dining option is open inside Aspinwall Riverfront Park. Farmer x Baker, a repurposed shipping container-turned-cafe nestled along the Allegheny River in the scenic 10-acre park, is the first of its kind in Pittsburgh. All 160 square feet of it. The eco-friendly creation of owner Jennifer Urich, Farmer...
Mercurio’s offers a little taste of Italy by the slice or in a coneVideo
Authentic Neapolitan pizza and award-winning gelato has landed in O’Hara. Mercurio’s, a family owned and operated Italian eatery in Shadyside since 2012, opened a second location in June at 1335 Freeport Road. Three sibling co-owners, Anna Crucitt and Michael and Joe Mercurio, were raised around the original family gelato business...
Harrison approves spending for war memorial restoration
Harrison commissioners approved spending a little more than $20,000 on a project to repair the township’s World War II Honor Roll memorial. A volunteer committee developed a plan to save the memorial at Freeport and Springhill roads that includes repairing its crumbling structure and replacing its panels of painted-on names...
Furniture, crafts, gifts come full circle at Vandergrift store
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. At Full Circle Furniture & Gifts in Vandergrift, wood...
Search for body of missing Plum man continues in Lake Erie
Authorities on Monday started to examine the boat that capsized and caused the disappearance of a Plum man in Lake Erie. Raymond Burns, 58, went missing nine days earlier, on Aug. 17. The 21-foot recreational fishing boat was hit by a squall and swamped by massive waves just before 10...
New Ken-Arnold extends contracts for superintendent, athletic director, business manager
New Kensington-Arnold School District extended its contracts with Superintendent John Pallone and two other administrators. The extensions for Pallone and athletic Director William Colosimo come two years ahead of the end of their current contracts. The extension for Jeff McVey, director of administrative services, is one year early. The three-year...
New Kensington man takes guilty plea to lesser charges in fatal drug overdose case
A New Kensington man originally charged as the person who supplied drugs in two fatal overdoses two years ago on Monday pleaded guilty to lesser charges. Theodore Brown, 25, was facing two counts of drug delivery resulting in death in connection with the Nov. 5, 2017 overdoses of Malachai E....
Mosquito tests positive for West Nile Virus in New Kensington
A mosquito sample from New Kensington tested positive for West Nile virus, the state West Nile Control Program announced Monday. It came from a trap set by the Westmoreland County Conservation District, according to state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Lauren Fraley. “Additional trapping will be conducted to gather more...
West Deer OKs hanging banners honoring military veterans on utility poles
West Deer officials have approved a program to honor veterans with banners hung from utility poles. The military banners program was approved in a 5-1 vote, with Supervisor Gerry Vaerewyck opposing it. Under the program, residents can honor a family member who served in the Armed Forces by buying a...
Charges withdrawn against New Kensington man accused of rape
Criminal charges have been withdrawn against a New Kensington man who police accused of raping a woman earlier this year. The Allegheny County District Attorney’s office withdrew seven charges, including rape, that were filed against James Michael Tessauro, 38, in connection with an incident in January. The charges were withdrawn...
