Valley News Dispatch category, Page 698
Cheswick to vote on police merger with Springdale Township
Cheswick Council is expected to vote Thursday on the creation of a regional police department with Springdale Township. After more than a year of discussion and studying the options, both municipalities in March began advertising an ordinance that would make the consolidation official and rename the departments as the Allegheny...
General to present Distinguished Service Cross to family of fallen Kiski soldier
Two generals and other current and retired soldiers are among the U.S. Army contingent in Pittsburgh today who will honor a Kiski Township man who died saving other soldiers’ lives. The family of Staff Sgt. Stevon Booker, who was killed in Iraq 16 years ago today, is being presented the...
Last chance to ask questions about Cheswick’s proposed police merger
Cheswick officials will hold a final question and answer session Wednesday on the proposed police merger with Springdale Township. The session will be held from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the borough building, 220 South Atlantic Ave. Councilman Michael Girardi said council sent out a five-page letter to all...
Trib appeals Highlands’ refusal to identify high school teacher placed on unpaid leave
Highlands School District is refusing to identify a teacher placed on unpaid leave in February or disclose the charges approved against the employee. The Tribune-Review filed a Right to Know request for the employee’s name, job title or position, length of employment and salary with Lori Byron, the school district’s...
Goat herd recommended at Hartwood Acres to eat invasive plants
An ecological assessment of Hartwood Acres recommends methods to combat invasive plant species in the park — including the use of goats. The Allegheny Parks Foundation released the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s ecological assessment of Hartwood Acres, a county park straddling Indiana and Hampton townships. Seems that pesky Japanese stiltgrass, a...
New Kensington approves liquor license for planned bed and breakfast
The transfer of a liquor license to a planned New Kensington bed and breakfast/events center has been approved by city council. Unanimous approval of the transfer of a liquor license located in Loyalhanna Township and currently owned by Marchitelli Enterprises Inc. to Bloser Mansion LLC, 479 Sixth Ave., came despite...
Apollo man sentenced in Vandergrift burglary
An Apollo man will serve up to four years in prison for burglarizing a Vandergrift home. Matthew Carl Hubert, 23, pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, theft and receiving property in connection with a heist last summer. According to court records, Hubert was detained Aug. 5 by a Vandergrift homeowner...
New Kensington gets 3-year contract with public works, clerical employees
New Kensington officials have approved a three-year contract with the city’s union employees that gives them 2.5 % pay raises in each year of the contract. City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti said it’s the first contract negotiation and agreement that combines both the public works employees and the mostly clerical workers...
Tarentum bar, ‘Barley,’ celebrating 5th anniversary Saturday
Cheryl Stover says her Tarentum bar, Barley, is kind of like the fictional Boston bar in the sitcom “Cheers.” “It’s just great. Everybody is so nice,” she said Wednesday. “I know everybody that walks in there.” Stover is celebrating the fifth anniversary of her bar at 319 E. 6th Ave....
Arnold sets spring cleanup day
Arnold’s spring cleanup day will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 4 next to the police station at 601 Drey St. City residents can bring items they want to dispose of free of charge. No paint, propane, hazardous materials, building materials or shingles, oils, chemicals, batteries or...
Harmar plans free furniture, appliance haul-aways during May
Harmar residents who want to get rid of old furniture or appliances can have them hauled away for free next month during the township’s annual spring trash collection. Morrow Refuse will be traveling to different parts of the township each Friday in May to collect large items. The township will...
West Leechburg’s Semper Gratus raises $30K for Plum girl, Cerebral Palsy research
The tallies are in, and a West Leechburg charity has 30,000 reasons to be always grateful. The Shamrock Shuffle 5K race, 1K fun walk and dance held in West Leechburg last month raised $30,000, with the money going to help a Plum girl living with spastic cerebral palsy and for...
Lower Burrell man accused of naked assault headed to court
A Lower Burrell man accused of robbing a woman last month while on a drug-fueled, naked rampage is headed to Westmoreland County Court. Robert E. Brown, 48, waived his right to a preliminary hearing on numerous charges, including robbery, before District Judge Cheryl J. Peck Yakopec in Allegheny Township on...
Tarentum expected to hire contractor for building demolitions
Tarentum isn’t giving up on the idea of getting into the building demolition business — but it won’t be this year, according to Borough Manager Michael Nestico. Council President Erika Josefoski in March suggested the borough use part of the money budgeted for demolitions this year to buy equipment, such...
Section of O’Hara road reopens after crash, power outages
A truck crashed a into pole Tuesday night in O’Hara Township, knocking out power and closing part of Freeport Road overnight. The crash was reported at 11:45 p.m. at the intersection of Freeport Road at Fairview Avenue, PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said. The crash sheared the pole and took wires...
New record store to open in New Kensington below judge’s office
District Court is in session most weekdays at 1100 Fourth Ave. in New Kensington. It’s the address of District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. And, while those who frequent the chambers may be fighting a rap with the law, the building’s basement will soon be a haven for hardcore music...
Plum School District officials proclaim high school graduation issue resolved
Plum School District officials have resolved a graduation issue that could have prevented many seniors from attending commencement. Graduation is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 6 at the high school, 900 Elicker Road. The ceremony was originally planned that day, but was bumped to June 10 due to cancellations and...
New ‘utility compatible’ trees to be planted along Hulton Road in Oakmont
The Oakmont Shade Tree Commission wants to bring back some green and other colors to Hulton Road. Duquesne Light recently removed 28 trees from the main thoroughfare so crews could replace an aerial cable. The company funded the removal and offered to contribute $150 toward replanting each tree. Borough Manager...
Tarentum considers bids for West 8th Avenue waterline replacement
Tarentum is gearing up for a major waterline project on West Eighth Avenue this year. The borough got six bids to replace the waterline along almost all of the road, borough Manager Michael Nestico said. One block was not included because of cost. Ron Gillette Inc. of Harrison submitted the...
Tarentum considering hiring summer help to resume cutting grass on private lots
Tarentum officials are considering a policy reversal and resuming cutting grass on vacant private properties. Last year, council agreed with its then-new borough manager, Michael Nestico, that the borough should not be cutting grass on vacant properties it doesn’t own. That position was a break with the borough’s long-running practice...
Plum School District, teachers union reach tentative new deal, avoid strike
Plum School District and teachers union officials have reached a tentative agreement on a new six-year contract. Details of the new contract may be released once both parties have formally signed off on it. Plum Borough Education Association members are expected to vote on the agreement Thursday. The school board...
Apollo woman pleads guilty to fraudulently collecting Social Security benefits
An Apollo woman admitted to defrauding the federal government of more than $25,000 in Social Security benefits by lying about her marital status, prosecutors said Tuesday. Tara Jo Frain, 33, pleaded guilty to a theft charge for pocketing Supplemental Security Income benefits that she knew she wasn’t entitled to receive,...
How friends came together to revamp River Forest Country Club
A little more than a year ago, now-retired professional golfer Missie Berteotti knew two of her friends “just had to meet.” That meeting eventually led to a revitalized 450-acre River Forest Country Club. Andi Irwin and her husband, Steve, owned half of the country club in Allegheny Township when they...
Lower Burrell mayor with 2 donated lungs now sets sights on a new kidney
After surviving a double lung transplant in 2015, the mayor of Lower Burrell is looking for a new kidney. But you would never know Rich Callender, 51, needs a new kidney, as he often arrives at city hall by 9 a.m. on weekdays, ready to tackle the problems of the...
Highlands posts names of delinquent property taxpayers
As warned, the Highlands School District released the names of those delinquent in their school district property taxes. The lists for the four communities within the school district — Brackenridge, Fawn, Harrison and Tarentum — were posted to the district’s website on Tuesday. That was one day later than expected....
