Valley News Dispatch category, Page 705
First Commonwealth plans groundbreaking ceremony for new Harrison bank
First Commonwealth Bank has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for its new bank under construction at Highlands Mall in Harrison. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to noon on Thursday, May 9 at the new location at 4015 Freeport Road, in front of Walmart. Light refreshments will be served...
Meeting Wednesday on vandalism, bad behavior and improvements at Vandergrift’s Franklin Park
A community group, the Vandergrift Parent Project, has raised about $500 to pay for a children’s vegetable garden and mural at Franklin Park. The group will discuss the Franklin Park improvements as well as vandalism and bad behavior by unsupervised kids at borough parks during their regular monthly meeting on...
Cheswick man accused of injuring 9-day-old girl
A Cheswick man is accused of assaulting a baby after the 9-day-old girl was brought to a hospital in February with traumatic injuries. Joshua Lee Sandusky, 24, of Beech Street, was arraigned Tuesday and accused of causing injury to the girl’s face and legs while the two were in a...
Photo of final 2 Pittsburgh marathon finishers goes viralVideo
Two strangers found strength in each other about halfway through Sunday’s Pittsburgh Marathon when they realized they would be the last to finish. Coming in at 7 hours, 22 minutes and 56 seconds, Jessica Robertson of Braddock and Laura Mazur of Ohio, who grew up in the Alle-Kiski Valley and...
Alle-Kiski Valley schools, students receive Gene Kelly Award nominations
Three Alle-Kiski Valley schools have received nominations for the Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater. The nominations, announced Tuesday by the Pittsburgh CLO, include the following schools and students: • Deer Lakes’ “Mama Mia!” was nominated for best scenic design. • St. Joseph High School’s “In...
Proposal for Harrison golf course development not up to par
A proposal for a holistic wellness and recovery center on the grounds of a Harrison golf course likely won’t be getting off the first tee, but the course’s owner said the property will remain on the market. Township zoning rules appear to be standing in the way of the proposed...
2 polling places moved in Gilpin, Kiski townships
Armstrong County Elections officials said two polling places have been changed in Gilpin and Kiski townships for the May 21 primary election. The Number 2 polling place in Gilpin will move from the American Legion on Schenley Road to the Gilpin Fire Hall at 113 Fire Hall Road, where voters...
Brackenridge police ‘desperate for applicants,’ councilman says
Back in September, Brackenridge officials issued a desperate call for part-time police applicants. Eight months later, that situation hasn’t changed. The borough continues to find itself as part of an alarming trend plaguing small municipalities throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley. “We’re desperate for applicants,” Councilman John Stanzione said Thursday. “We will...
Get back to nature on the Butler-Freeport Community Trail
At times, the Butler- Freeport Community Trail seems to be a mere ribbon of pathway cutting through a landscape so large. Steep, rocky hillsides loom within a matter of miles of calmer and drier terrain of rolling farm fields, accounting for the trail’s variety and charm. Then there’s the lack...
An Arnold tax preparer pleads guilty to filing false federal income tax returns
A tax preparer for Cititax Refund Co. in Pittsburgh pleaded guilty in federal court to aiding or assisting in the preparation or filing of false federal income tax returns. Authorities said Daniel K. Hamilton of Arnold prepared federal income tax returns for other persons that included false Schedule C information,...
New Kensington man gets up to 20 years in prison for raping child
A New Kensington man will serve up to 20 years in prison for raping a child. Edward McNeal, 63, pleaded guilty Monday to charges that he had sex with a 9-year-old girl and continued the sexual assaults for another seven years. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Rita Hathaway ordered McNeal...
Local SWAT team to help northern Westmoreland County communities
Upper Burrell is the fifth community to join in a SWAT-like team covering northern Westmoreland County to respond to high-risk events such as active shooters, barricaded gunmen and serving drug warrants. This new multi-municipality Community Emergency Response Team (CRT) is a team bound by a mutual-aid agreement among New Kensington,...
Gilpin volunteer firefighter honored for saving man’s life in LeechburgVideo
Gilpin firefighter Charlie Stull was having lunch at a Leechburg restaurant in August when he noticed a man who was having trouble breathing. In seconds, the man was choking. So Stull, 21, who also is a Gilpin supervisor, took action to save the man’s life. “I performed the Heimlich maneuver....
Vandalized Brackenridge memorial set to be restored by Memorial Day
With the help of donations large and small, the vandalized honor roll memorial in Brackenridge Memorial Park is expected to be restored to glory in time for Memorial Day. The 54-year-old memorial, featuring the names of veterans of both World Wars and the Korean War, was damaged by a still-unknown...
Pittsburgh man accused of killing man in Arnold ordered to stand trial
A Pittsburgh man was ordered Monday to stand trial in connection with the April 5 shooting death of a man in Arnold. Shawden L. “Black” Ross, 32, of Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, is accused of fatally shooting Lamont Simmons, 27, after an early-morning argument in which Ross blamed Simmons for setting...
O’Hara native elected president of Penn State College Democrats
For Penn State University junior Kelsey Denny, politics is her priority, particularly with the May 21 primary election inching closer. The O’Hara resident was elected president of the College Democrats on April 1. This club has equipped me in ways I could have never imagined. I attribute all of my...
Tarentum’s closed Cycle Diner continues search for new management
The Cycle Diner in Tarentum is closed but perhaps only for a short time. “We have several people interested in leasing it. One is a guy from Europe who we will be meeting with,” said George Gatto, who has owned the diner since 1990. “So we hope to know something...
Harrison teacher gets to join AVH’s Stork Club on her birthdayVideo
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things that they do. Allegheny Valley Hospital and Linda Hartig Gibson are both marking milestones this year. The Harrison hospital is celebrating its 110th anniversary with daily events this week. Gibson, a retired...
Remember When
100 years ago Borough gives money to fight city annexation An appropriation of $100 was submitted by Tarentum council to the County League of Boroughs and Townships to fight the proposed, forcible annexation by Pittsburgh. Other municipalities have also joined the fight. 75 years ago 100 chickens lost in coop...
Highlands School Board race may serve as referendum for superintendent
The election for Highlands School Board may, in part, serve as a referendum on the district’s recently elevated superintendent. In the contested primary in Region 3, incumbent board member Michelle Peters praises Superintendent Monique Mawhinney as having a “great vision” for the district. Challenger Laura Butler believes Mawhinney is not...
Dozens of motorcycle riders come out for Blessing of the Bikes in LeechburgVideo
One by one, motorcycles roared into the parking lot at Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company on Sunday, despite the gray skies and drizzling rain. “I was happily surprised to see a good turnout,” said Raymond Zekier, co-coordinator of the annual Blessing of the Bikes hosted by Cross Roads Community Presbyterian Church....
Belle Voci women’s choir steps up to help Race for the Cure
Music lovers who attend Belle Voci of Pittsburgh’s final season concert Saturday might feel like they’re on a whirlwind tour of Europe, Asia and Africa — all while never traveling farther than New Kensington. Belle Voci, the inter-generational women’s choir led by O’Hara resident Craig Cannon, will perform “Musica Folk...
Comparing superintendent salaries in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Tribune-Review examined Department of Education data to gauge what our local school districts are paying their superintendent. Below is a look at how superintendents are paid in the Alle-Kiski Valley....
Vandergrift police officer honored for community service by VFW
Vandergrift Police Sgt. Tony DePanicis knows listening is crucial to quality police work. That, and not letting a 103-year-old woman grab her slippers during a house fire. The Vandergrift VFW Post 566 recently honored DePanicis and Vandergrift Fire Co. No. 1 Chief Tom Schaeffer with its prestigious Community Service Award....
North Hills Brew Fest takes over Pittsburgh Shrine Center
They brew beer in the basement, sometimes in their kitchens. It’s a hobby, a passion and often an experiment. They will share their drinks at the third annual North Hills Home Brew Fest on May 11 at the Pittsburgh Shrine Center’s Pavilion, an outdoor covered space in Cheswick. This will...
