Valley News Dispatch category, Page 7
The Stroller, April 17, 2026: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Tickets on sale for...
Scenes from the Valley: Images captured in the Alle-Kiski Valley from April 9-15, 2026
Here is a weekly look at recent images captured throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley. From major news events to routine gatherings, TribLive’s “Scenes from the Valley” photo package brings to life activities and moments happening in your backyard. To have a photo considered as a “Scenes from the Valley” candidate, please...
Brackenridge awarded $13.2M from state for water plant upgradesVideo
Brackenridge got a major boost from the state this week to upgrade its water filtration plant and rectify previous concerns from the Department of Environmental Protection about aging mechanisms. The borough landed more than $13 million — a $5.7 million grant and a $7.4 million loan — through the Pennsylvania...
Sharpsburg chili cook-off fundraiser postponed until October
A beloved Sharpsburg Community Library food-themed fundraiser has been postponed. The annual Robert “Snakeguy” Habegger Chili Cook-off was originally planned for April 18 at Roots of Faith. It has now been pushed to early October. Organizers are working to confirm a new date and time. “We’re cooking up something bigger...
Southwestern-themed cantina expands with dinner and bar hours in O’Hara
Brunch, dinner and cocktails are now on the menu at Gordo’s Cafe & Cantina in RIDC Park, O’Hara. Owner Brian Gorder is looking to spread the news that there’s something for everyone at the Southwestern/Mexican-themed eatery featuring made-from-scratch food and cocktails. “We’re so excited to launch our cantina menu,” he...
Parks Township nuclear waste cleanup expected to take 6 to 8 yearsVideo
To residents, cleanup at a Parks Township nuclear waste dump will look like a few trucks leaving the site every week, said Nicholas Melin, commander of the Pittsburgh District of the Army Corps of Engineers. Behind the site’s electric fence, 10 trenches containing about 33,000 cubic yards of materials will...
Leaky roof at Plum High School requires emergency repairs
Plum School District seems poised to replace sections of its high school roof after recent leaks into the building. “It’s 30 years old, it’s beyond repair, it’s out of warranty,” Superintendent Rick Walsh told school board members at a planning meeting Tuesday. The emergency repairs, set to be completed by...
New Kensington’s Willie Thrower family to join Bears brass at NFL Draft to honor league’s 1st Black quarterbackVideo
This fall marks 73 years since Willie Thrower’s monumental moment in football history when he became the first Black quarterback to take a snap in the modern NFL. Legendary Chicago Bears coach George Halas called on Thrower, a New Kensington native, in a game Oct. 18, 1953, against the San...
Lawyer for Mills mall a no-show, hearing on citations from Frazer postponedVideo
Lawyers for the limited liability companies that operate the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills did not show up for the scheduled court hearing on Thursday. District Judge Michael Girardi continued, or postponed, the hearing until early May. Girardi was supposed to hear arguments regarding 32 continued citations stemming from the condition...
Vandergrift street improvement project to boost mobility and downtown aesthetics
McKinley Avenue in downtown Vandergrift is reaching the final stage of a makeover that started last year. The McKinley Avenue Improvement Project will boost mobility, access to local businesses and neighborhood beautification, said Aleesha Kelly, a resident who helps nonprofits with improvement projects. Kelly led the McKinley Avenue effort, which...
Vandergrift fire departments resume operations after 6-day service gapVideo
Vandergrift’s two fire companies are back in business. The volunteer fire departments returned to normal operations Thursday after a six-day service pause, said Mayor Lenny Collini. The gap was caused by lapsed workers’ compensation insurance, which the mayor said was reinstated at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Vandergrift officials noticed the lapse...
The Stroller, April 16, 2026: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Taste of Two Towns...
Alle-Kiski EMS Authority gets state approval
Property owners in Harrison, Brackenridge and Tarentum will learn in the coming weeks how much they’ll pay for ambulance service next year. The Alle-Kiski Emergency Services Authority, voted into existence March 25 by the three municipal governments, was officially approved this week by the Pennsylvania Department of State. The newly...
Harrison family creates community rock garden to memorialize 3-year-old daughter
A purple tulip sprouted in Madisyn Murray-Sinicki’s Natrona lawn the day she decided to plant a rock garden for her daughter. “I believe it was a sign,” said Murray-Sinicki, whose 3-year-old daughter, Karma, died in January at their Pine Street home. “I have this idea — it’s a little silly...
Former players remember Springdale coaching great Dave Meloni
Skip Yakopec’s introduction to varsity soccer at Springdale came as a freshman in 1968. “We had a game early in the season at Sewickley Academy, and I was only in ninth grade and was on the junior high team,” he said. “But coach (Dave) Meloni invited me to come on...
Pittsburgh Brewing pours its heart into new Downtown taproom experimentVideo
After 165 years brewing and distributing some of Pittsburgh’s most iconic beers, Pittsburgh Brewing Co. has reemphasized the first word of its name by pouring its heart into a taproom experiment in the heart of Downtown. With the first of its taprooms located at its 42-acre brewing and distilling campus...
New traffic signal installed at the foot of Tarentum Bridge after the old one was struck last month
Traffic was temporarily diverted from East Sixth Avenue in Tarentum on Wednesday while crews from the borough’s electric company replaced a traffic signal at the foot of the Tarentum Bridge. The light was damaged last month after being hit by a truck, borough officials said....
1 injured in Pittsburgh Mills crash
One person was taken to a hospital from the scene of a car wreck Wednesday morning at The Village at Pittsburgh Mills. About 9 a.m., emergency crews responded to Village Center Drive after receiving reports of a crash. A small SUV had flipped onto its side after colliding with a...
The Stroller, April 15, 2026: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Youngsters welcome to learn...
$15K gift from Garden Club of Allegheny County to help grow native plant center at Beechwood Farms
The Audubon Center for Native Plants at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve is growing. A $15,000 grant from the Garden Club of Allegheny County will support expansion of the center, housed at the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania headquarters on Dorseyville Road in Fox Chapel. Funding will play a key role...
Blawnox volunteer serves as a tireless advocate for borough
Diane Casile-Gross is all about Blawnox. The “first lady” of Blawnox is married to longtime public servant Mayor Anthony Gross, but to most she’s simply a friendly, tireless volunteer involved in a flurry of ongoing programs and events to make the borough shine. Casile-Gross grew up in Aspinwall but has...
Westmoreland County finalizes plans for May primary
Nearly a dozen polling locations will move for next month’s primary election in Westmoreland County. The county commissioners met Tuesday as the county’s election board to finalize plans for the May 19 primary. Despite ongoing lobbying complemented by a rally last week outside the courthouse, no action was taken on...
Research Expo at Penn State New Ken shows students resilient as ever
Solar energy is one of the fastest-growing renewable energy sources — but it has some limitations, reports Penn State New Kensington student Kaleb Schaffer. Schaffer, and three of his peers, have explored how solar power systems can sustain themselves given factors like extreme weather, temperature changes and materials degrading over...
Vandergrift woman forms medieval-themed event in Monroeville to mix fantasy and reality
Aleesha Kelly of Vandergrift likes things that are mysterious. She harnesses that curiosity for the different and unknown through curating immersive, themed events under her business Mystic Market, a Magickal Menagerie. She has helped organize events like the Vandergrift Artsfest and the Witching Hours Night Market. Now, she has turned...
Long-awaited cleanup work begins at Parks Township nuclear dump
More than 20 years after federal legislation added a Parks Township nuclear waste dump to a list of sites needing remediation, excavation work is finally underway on what’s expected to be a yearslong cleanup process. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began its excavation at the site — formally known...
