Valley News Dispatch category, Page 661
Defense for suspect accused of killing Brian Shaw wants background info withheld
A Westmoreland County judge ruled Friday that lawyers for the man facing a potential death penalty in connection with the 2017 fatal shooting of New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw must turn over to prosecutors a report detailing why his life should be spared should he be found guilty. Defense...
J-Barn Country Inn’s owners plan sale of all of the restaurant’s contentsVideo
After closing abruptly, an iconic rural restaurant in Buffalo Township is for sale. The shuttered J-Barn Country Inn, at 495 Monroe Road, was listed by Berkshire Hathaway in late July with an asking price of $450,000. Annual taxes are listed at $8,720. The Trib reported on the sudden closing of...
Army Corps to hold training exercise at Crooked Creek Lake Recreation Area
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Pittsburgh District plans to conduct an exercise dubbed Operation Dark Frost on Saturday at the Crooked Creek Lake Outdoor Discovery Center in Bethel. It will run from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the center on Kerr Road. Agencies participating will include state police,...
Springdale gets $430K state grant for traffic safety projectVideo
Springdale will receive $430,000 in state grant money to replace more traffic signals along Pittsburgh Street, Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday. Springdale’s grant will be the third-largest one doled out through PennDOT’s Green Light-Go program in the round of funding announced Friday. Combined, 24 municipalities will get more than $5...
2 WIC offices to close as program sees increased demands elsewhere
The Allegheny County Health Department this week said increased demands at its other Women, Infants, and Children offices led to the decision to temporarily reallocate staff and close two locations until at least the end of the year. The two WIC offices that closed are the Springdale office at 830...
Harvest Festival coming up at Harrison’s Burtner House
Homemade soups, an Abraham Lincoln impersonator and alpacas are among the features of the annual Harvest Festival coming up at the Burtner House in Harrison. The one-day festival will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 12 at the nearly 200-year-old stone house just off Exit 15 of Route...
$100K upgrade to Avonmore riverfront park includes gazebo, fishing pierVideo
Avonmore is close to completing a $100,000 upgrade at the Pasternak Recreation Area along the Kiski River and Railroad Avenue. A longtime canoe launch in the Kiski River, the Pasternak Recreation Area now has a trail along its pond — a formerly grown-over, somewhat hidden borough reservoir — along with...
Brackenridge native Chris Conroy has part in Fox’s ‘Almost Family’Video
Did you spot a familiar face in last night’s the premiere of “Almost Family” on Fox? That was Brackenridge native Chris Conroy playing the part of Sam. Here is the network’s back story for the show: “Only child Julia Bechley (Brittany Snow, the “Pitch Perfect” franchise, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”) finds her...
15-year-old girl foster girl missing from Lower Burrell found
A teenager who was reported missing from Lower Burrell since Tuesday night has been found, according to police. Joslyn Rankin, 15, was found around 1 p.m. Thursday at a friend’s residence in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, Lower Burrell Detective Brandon Nedley said. Nedley said Rankin’s friend called Allegheny County Children, Youth...
Aspinwall painter revives iconic Mail Pouch tobacco ad on Ford City building
For weeks, artist Alison Zapata hung two stories above a Fourth Avenue building in Ford City, meticulously bringing the borough’s past to life. The Aspinwall painter was commissioned to refurbish a “ghost sign” more than a 100 years old that sprawls 40 feet wide. The iconic Mail Pouch tobacco ad...
Aspinwall painter revives iconic Mail Pouch tobacco ad on Ford City building
For weeks, artist Alison Zapata hung two stories above a Fourth Avenue building in Ford City, meticulously bringing the borough’s past to life. The Aspinwall painter was commissioned to refurbish a “ghost sign” more than 100 years old that sprawls 40 feet wide. The iconic Mail Pouch tobacco ad was...
Allegheny County temporarily closes WIC offices in Springdale, Mt. Oliver
The Allegheny County Health Department has closed two Women, Infants, and Children offices without explanation until at least the end of the year. The Health Department did not provide specifics Wednesday to the Tribune-Review, on its website or in a letter to program participants on why it closed the offices....
South Buffalo family stunned by $30K check from firefighters to help daughter with cancer
After a high-octane day at South Buffalo’s fire hall filled with tractor-pulling, face-painting and cheeseburger-munching, just before Ella Conroy went to bed Saturday night, the 6-year-old girl told her dad that she felt loved. That moment of gratitude from the typically shy girl would have been enough to delight Ella’s...
Route 910 bridge in West Deer reopens ahead of schedule
A Route 910 bridge in West Deer that closed in mid-August has reopened. The old bridge, over a branch of Deer Creek between Oak Road and Frontier Drive, was demolished and replaced. A majority of the work was completed ahead of the original mid-October projection for completion. Officials said minor...
Frazer supervisors considering approval of self-storage business off Butler-Logan Road
A hearing to determine whether a self-storage business can be established in Frazer will be continued in early November. Officials heard testimony Tuesday night on a proposal by Sam and Rachel Sack to construct a four-building, 70-unit facility along Peachtree Lane off Butler-Logan Road. Tentatively to be known as Frazer...
Fundraising for memorial to murdered New Kensington girl completed
The memory of young Tiffany Miller will remain strong. In just a week, enough money was raised to make sure New Kensington’s newest park will have a memorial to Tiffany, who was 5 when she was murdered 40 years ago. “I was surprised it only took a week,” said Aaron...
Coroner: Arnold man died from drug overdose
One of two men found dead in a Fifth Avenue house early last month died from a drug overdose. Michael Joseph Hans, 42, of Arnold, died from acute drug toxicity, according to the Westmoreland County Corner’s Office. His death was ruled accidental. Hans and Paul Anthony Mistrick III, 64, also...
Tarentum to begin seeking bids for building demolitions
Tarentum may hire multiple contractors for the first phase of a building demolition project this year. The borough will begin seeking bids Tuesday for the demolition of up to 26 properties, Borough Manager Michael Nestico said. Bids are due by 2 p.m. Oct. 18, when they’ll be publicly opened. The...
Allegheny County DA doesn’t recommend charges in Harmar double stabbing
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday recommended not filing charges against anyone involved in a fight where two men stabbed each other. The fight at the Valley Motel on Freeport Road in Harmar was reported shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday, according to Allegheny County Police. None of the...
Trials delayed for 2 accused of helping man charged in Brian Shaw’s death
Trials for the father and a cousin of the Harrison man accused in the fatal shooting death two years ago of New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw were postponed until December. Westmoreland County prosecutors said Tuesday a scheduling conflict made it impossible to try the case against Gregory Baucum Jr....
Lower Burrell man ordered to stand trial for fleeing police, reckless endangerment
A 42-year-old Lower Burrell man accused in multiple cases of fleeing police at high speed will stand trial in the latest alleged chase. Chad Ebel of Falcon Park Road is accused of leading police on a short, high-speed chase on June 7 from Shearsburg Road to Route 56, Route 356...
Kiski Area High School marching band wins regional band competition
Members of the Kiski Area High School Marching Band are once again regional champions. For the second consecutive year, the band placed first in the annual Music for All’s Bands of America Central Ohio Regional Championship. This year’s competition took place Saturday at Fortress Obetz in Obetz, Ohio. “To say...
Belvedere ruins begin to disappear in Oklahoma BoroughVideo
If you were hoping for a memento from the former Belvedere Hotel, you’re out of luck. “The borough must have received at least 50 calls from people wanting door knobs, hinges and, of course, the tin ceiling and wall tiles that famously adorned the hotel’s first floor,” said Lee Schumaker,...
Principal: Bomb threat made to Highlands Middle School not credible
A bomb threat made Tuesday morning to Highlands Middle School was not a credible, the school’s principal said in a statement. Middle School Principal Kimberly Price said in a statement that police swept the school after the call was received and found no dangers. “Police escorted students back to the...
State trooper from Harrison wins national award for efforts to reduce DUIVideo
A state trooper from Harrison who made almost 500 evaluations of suspected drunken or drugged drivers won a national award for his work. State police Cpl. Chris Robbins is the first Pennsylvania state trooper to receive the Excellence in Drug Recognition award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police....
