Valley News Dispatch category, Page 691
Man accused of home improvement fraud in Apollo, North Apollo
A 46-year-old contractor is accused of home improvement fraud and theft in North Apollo and Apollo last year. Charles Todd Doland of Woodward Avenue, Apollo, is accused of accepting almost $11,000 in upfront money but not doing the work. He allegedly took a $4,700 down payment to install a metal...
School bus company owner cautions that switching carriers can be tricky
Price shouldn’t be the only consideration in choosing a school bus company, but price was why Mark D. Schmitt didn’t make an offer to the Highlands School District. Schmitt owns Monark Student Transportation in Richland and has been in the business his entire life. He considered submitting a proposal to...
Highlands searching for new assistant superintendent
The Highlands School District is looking for a new assistant superintendent. The position became vacant when the school board named Monique Mawhinney to replace Michael Bjalobok as superintendent beginning April 1. Mawhinney started as the district’s assistant superintendent in April 2018. The district had not had an assistant superintendent since...
Tarentum Police looking for burglary suspects
Tarentum police are looking for two men accused of breaking into and stealing items from a borough home on Tuesday. Police Chief Bill Vakulick said the burglary was reported to police shortly before noon Tuesday. It occurred in the 600 block of Second Avenue. Police believe one of the men...
3 facing meth charges in North Vandergrift section of Parks
State troopers arrested three people Monday in Parks and charged them with possessing or selling methamphetamine. Troopers said Steven Taylor Green, 43, of Erie was at the residence of Liana Nicole Zaffuto, 32, and Jeffrey Shawn Lookhart, 34. The troopers were at a residence in the North Vandergrift section of...
West Penn Power spending $43 million to trim, remove trees along power lines
West Penn Power plans to spend $43 million this year to trim and remove trees that could pose problems for power lines in an effort to minimize outages across its 24-county service area. Six contractors for the Greensburg-based utility company have trimmed more than 600 circuit miles of electric lines...
Bridge replacement to close Harrison road for 3 months
Part of Pleasantville Road in Harrison will be closed for three months while a bridge is being replaced, PennDOT announced Wednesday. The work to replace the bridge over Little Bull Creek between Burtner Road and Keystone Street is scheduled to start at 7 a.m. on Monday. Pleasantville Road will be...
Vote to replace Roenigk bus company at Highlands comes up short
The Highlands School Board came up one vote short Tuesday in a move to replace the district’s longstanding bus company, W.L. Roenigk, with a competitor, ABC Transit. The board held a special meeting at the high school Tuesday after a vote to award the five-year contract to ABC Transit was...
Upper Burrell awaits judge’s OK on redrawn voting districts
Westmoreland County elections officials Tuesday approved a redistricting plan for Upper Burrell that is expected to shorten lines at the polls. The proposal calls for moving the line that separates the town’s two voting precincts several blocks in the Seventh Street and Pleasant Valley Road areas, elections bureau director Beth...
Oakmont apartment struck by lightning, no injuries reported
Dave Kalatschoff was shocked when lightning struck his Oakmont apartment on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. “I saw this big white flash, and it felt like someone shook you really, really hard,” he said standing outside the three-story building near the intersection of Eighth Street and Washington Avenue. “I didn’t get...
PennDOT schedules road maintenance in Westmoreland County
PennDOT officials on Tuesday said numerous maintenance projectshave been scheduled for Westmoreland County this week. Crack or joint sealing will take on Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell, Bushy Run Road in Penn Township and Belle Vernon Monessen Road in Rostraver Township. Shoulder repairs will take place on Baker School Road...
Kiski Area students get real lessons from a real cop
The mood was sober during Allegheny Township police Officer Charity Butz’s presentation Tuesday on the dangers and penalties for driving under the influence for a freshman health class at Kiski Area High School. But the students perked up considerably when they wore goggles that simulate being drunk or under the...
Police say Homestead man shot in Kittanning over drug debt
A 40-year-old Homestead man was shot in the hand in Kittanning on Friday over a drug debt, state police said. Police said the incident happened in an apartment along the 100 block of South Jefferson Street at about 9:45 a.m. Willie Lunsford, 33, of Mount Union; Eric McKenzie, 32, of...
Armstrong County man charged with raping mentally disabled teen
An Armstrong County man already required to register as a sex offender is accused of raping a mentally disabled teenage girl last year, according to state police. Dwayne Edward Hawk, 52, of Manor Township also is charged with statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and three related charges. He was...
Deer Lakes High School hosts prom for senior citizens
If you’re over 55 years old and looking for an excuse to dress up and have some fun then you’re in luck. The Deer Lakes High School National Honor Society is putting on a Senior Citizen Prom Night in May as a way to provide a night of entertainment for...
Harrison commissioners OK removing roads from projects
Harrison may not be able to repair all the roads it planned to this year. The township sought bids to resurface 18 roads and to seal and coat nine alleys and lanes. The two contracts came in at $481,500, nearly $80,000 more than the township budgeted, according to township Engineer...
Highlands school board candidates outline priorities at Harrison forum
More transparency, more fiscal responsibility and a focus on teaching basic life skills to complement a strong curriculum were among the ideas expressed by Highlands School Board candidates at a forum in Harrison. “I’ve gone to many, many meetings and watched the deterioration and frustration of the community,” said Region...
Volunteers sought for Harrison war memorial committee
Anyone interested in helping restore Harrison’s crumbling Honor Roll war memorial is asked to attend an upcoming meeting. A committee is being formed to address the condition of the memorial, prominently located at the intersection of Freeport and Springhill roads. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 2...
Harrison to tend to grass at historic Burtner House
Harrison commissioners agreed to help the volunteers struggling to operate the township’s historic Burtner House. With fewer than 10 active members, the Burtner House Restoration Society said earlier this year it was becoming impossible for it to maintain the home and that the group was in danger of shutting down....
Pittsburgh’s Buddhist community in ’emotional shock’ over Sri Lanka massacre
Bhante Pemaratana had trouble processing the devastating news that came on Easter Sunday. The native of Sri Lanka and abbot at the Pittsburgh Buddhist Center in Harrison was heartbroken about the bombing massacres that killed at least 290 and left hundreds more injured. “I’m a Buddhist monk — but, in...
Bear caught snacking in Kittanning Township backyardVideo
Debbi Reefer of Kittanning Township was busy with the Easter holiday and forgot to bring in her bird suet feeder Sunday night as she usually does. And a bear found it. “It’s another day in the country,” said Reefer, who has had bears on her property before. Reefer jams a...
How many hellbenders live in Western Pa.? Group hopes to learn this summer
The search is on this summer for the Allegheny alligator or the snot otter, better known as the Eastern hellbender, in rivers in Western Pennsylvania. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy plans July surveys in the Kiski, Allegheny and Youghiogheny rivers for the salamander, a reclusive creature that lives under rocks the...
Harmar man arrested, charged with rape, sexual assault
A Harmar man charged with rape in connection with an incident in January has been arrested, Allegheny County authorities say. James Michael Tessauro, 38, was arrested and arraigned Monday evening, according to Mike Manko, Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office spokesman. Manko said he couldn’t say more about the case. Police...
Police: Fire at Sheldon Park in Harrison caused $500K in damageVideo
Kate Keener has lived in public housing in Harrison for about 10 years, but a fast-moving fire Monday morning forced Keener, her daughter and two pets to get out in a hurry. The two were among at least four people who had to evacuate a four-unit building in the Allegheny...
Oakmont pub crawl raises money to fight multiple sclerosisVideo
Cheers, beers and charitable endeavors are on tap in Oakmont. The 20th annual MS Pub Crawl fundraising event is set for Saturday . A pub crawl is when individuals drink in multiple pubs or bars in a single day, or night, or both. All proceeds benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis...
