Valley News Dispatch category, Page 661
Cheswick to flush fire hydrants this month
Cheswick will be flushing its fire hydrants across the borough the week of Aug. 12-16. During this time, residents may experience discolored water or low water pressure. Officials said hydrant flushing is required by the state Department of Environmental Protection....
Armstrong County man accused of firing up to 11 shots at couple
Bullets “ricocheted and sparked off the pavement” when an Armstrong County man fired up to 11 shots at a couple after he argued with them Wednesday night, but no one was hurt, according to state police. Anthony Kyle Long, 30, of East Franklin, faces nine charges in connection with the...
Armstrong County cat bucks stereotype, spends summers in the poolVideo
The dog days of summer are upon us here in Western Pennsylvania. Just don’t tell that to Tissy, a cat with a penchant for swimming. The fluffy, orange Maine Coon cools off weekly in the Herr family pool in Brady’s Bend , Armstrong County. Tissy even has a tiny custom...
Former New Kensington woman in wheelchair killed by pickup in Armstrong County
A former New Kensington woman in a wheelchair was killed early Thursday when she was struck by a pickup as she crossed Route 28/66 near Kittanning, according to Armstrong County Coroner Brian Myers. Sylvia Jean Denslow, 53, left the Bench Racers convenience store in Rayburn with her boyfriend just before...
Collectors scrambling to get Apollo, Pa., moon landing postmark
Get them before some stamp collector in Missouri does. The hottest commodity out of Apollo is a 50th anniversary moon landing commemorative envelope and postal cancellation. Although the 50th anniversary on July 20 of Neil Armstrong’s historic leap for mankind has passed, the excitement has not, at least in Apollo....
Police: Teen hits Harrison man with baseball bat to protect herself, mother
A teenager and her mother were able to escape from a Harrison man who police said severely injured the woman in a domestic assault early Wednesday. Harrison police said the 16-year-old girl used a baseball bat to defend herself and her mother until they were able to get out of...
Crews scale Harrison water tower for cleaning
Work to clean and paint the outside of a Harrison water tower for the first time since it was put up 16 years ago is underway. Crews with Southern Corrosion, based in North Carolina, on Wednesday were pressure washing the 200,000-gallon, steel pedesphere located along Harrison Avenue and across from...
Zoning change needed for ABC bus garage to service Highlands schools
Highlands School District’s new bus company wants to set up its operations on the site of a slag operation in Harrison. Commissioners have approved having township Solicitor Chuck Means prepare an ordinance that would amend the township’s zoning to allow the property on Spring Hill Road to be used for...
Tarentum suspends employee after alleged assault
Tarentum placed a borough employee on paid leave following an alleged physical altercation, borough Manager Michael Nestico confirmed Wednesday. The incident happened at the borough’s public works garage on July 19, Nestico said. Council met in an executive session closed to the public on July 22 to review details of...
Emergency repair needed for Verona sink hole
Verona officials have to dig deep to make emergency repairs at an intersection. A sink hole 10-feet deep and 20-feet wide opened up at Second Avenue and Church Street. Borough engineer Matthew Pitsch said storms on July 18 caused a manhole to open and stormwater washed away a portion of...
Apollo police chief’s move to Washington Township benefits Kiski Area schools
Apollo’s loss could be the Kiski Area School District’s gain. Apollo police Chief Jarred Kier submitted his resignation this month to take a full-time patrolman’s job in Washington Township. His resignation is effective Aug. 15. Kier will become the ninth full-time officer for Washington Township. He will be paid about...
Harrison takes another step in year-long battle to tear down blighted buildings
Harrison officials took another step in what apparently will be a yearlong process to demolish blighted buildings. The commissioners Monday approved an agreement with the Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority regarding a state grant to finance those demolitions. Under the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program for 2018, Harrison was awarded $500,000...
Police: Arnold man smashed window, shot into girlfriend’s house
An Arnold woman was cut by shattered glass last week after, police say, her boyfriend smashed her front window before firing a shot into her house while her three children were inside. Police charged Andrew Damar Ellis-Barnes Sr., 35, of Arnold with firing a gun into an occupied structure and...
National Night Out event planned in Springdale
Springdale residents will have a chance to get to know their police and emergency responders better during the borough’s first National Night Out event next week.Springdale police Chief George Polnar hopes the local event, held in conjunction with the national campaign, will encourage residents to not be afraid of police...
Hyde Park fire department names honorary chief, dedicates new equipmentVideo
John Zanotti Jr. started volunteering with Hyde Park’s fire department when he was 16 years old and went on to become the department’s treasurer in addition to his duties as a firefighter. Now, Zanotti, 90, can add a new title to his list of roles with the department: honorary chief....
Tarentum police seek help identifying assault suspect
Tarentum police are working to identify a man wanted in connection with an assault. The assault happened in the 300 block of East 6th Avenue, police Chief William Vakulick said Tuesday. He did not say when the assault happened. The man was seen driving a black Chevrolet Avalanche. Borough police...
Route 908 Extension work detours traffic in Fawn, Frazer
Route 908 Extension in Fawn and Frazer will be closed weekdays through August, PennDOT announced. The road will be closed between Bull Creek and Bakerstown roads from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays through Aug. 30. PennDOT crews are repairing a slide, replacing cross pipe and inlets, improving shoulders and...
Selling cellphones a family business for the SwackhammersVideo
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. Separating work and family matters, knowing how to communicate...
Armstrong County drug case dismissed after judge says speedy trial rule violated
An Armstrong County judge threw out drug charges against a Ford City man, saying prosecutors took too long to bring the case to trial. Matthew Cani, 44, was facing six felony and four misdemeanor drug charges after police said he sold drugs to a confidential informant in May 2018. The...
Allegheny River lock 2 to close to all boat traffic for repairs
After years of chasing money for repairs, the Army Corps of Engineers is ready to start a $6.6 million project to fix the crumbling land wall of Allegheny River lock 2 near Highland Park. Recreational boaters and commercial traffic will be out of luck as the lock chamber will be...
Brian Shaw memorial fundraiser to be bigger than last year, organizers say
After raising more than $7,100 and offering 93 gift baskets of items for the first Officer Brian Shaw Memorial fundraiser last year, the staff at Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower Burrell is setting higher goals this year. Already, more than 100 baskets have been accumulated for the silent auction and...
Fall opening eyed for New Kensington O’Reilly Auto Parts store
The steel frame for a new O’Reilly Auto Parts store is up in New Kensington. Work is continuing on the store along Tarentum Bridge Road at Carl Avenue. The store is scheduled to open this fall, said Nathanael Coram, a project administrator at the company’s headquarters in Springfield, Mo. The...
Christmas already? Harrison residents prepare wreaths for holiday seasonVideo
It’s not quite Christmas in July, but a handful of Harrison residents are already looking ahead to that most wonderful time of the year. On Monday, under hot sun and in muggy air, members of the township’s Recreation Board and others cleaned up Christmas wreaths that will be hung on...
Former Harrison cop ‘Bucky’ Taraszewski just can’t seem to retire
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things that they do. When Floyd “Bucky” Taraszewski retired after nearly 50 years from the Harrison Township Police Department in 2016, his wife jokingly scolded him. “She told me I wasn’t just...
Oversized fun for all ages at Harmar’s Zone 28
Oversized patio games, a fire pit and more than 100 different beers are just some of the options being offered at the new beer park at Zone 28 in Harmar. The beer park is the latest in Zone 28’s entertainment evolution over the past few years. In that time they’ve...
