Valley News Dispatch category, Page 76

O’Hara officials have teamed up with the Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Brother’s Brother Foundation to collect supplies for California wildfire victims. The township launched its collection for hygiene kits Jan. 22. The deadline to donate at the municipal building is Feb. 6. Items requested include toothbrushes, feminine hygiene products, flushable wipes and...

Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers will be charged an additional 9.5% for water and sewer services starting in April. The authority board approved a $129 million budget that included the second rate hike in the past two years. The latest, officials said, is attributed to costs for energy, construction...

Two people were critically injured in an explosion Wednesday at Braeburn Alloy’s Steel Division in Lower Burrell, according to emergency officials. A Westmoreland County 911 public safety supervisor confirmed the incident at 11:57 a.m. at the site, 101 Braeburn Road. One of the critically injured people was flown to an...

Allegheny Valley School District officials hope a new alert system can provide a more effective way to respond to incidents. The school board approved purchasing badges to be worn by district staff members for the Centegix silent crisis alert system. “They are badges the staff can use in the event...

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. Local food bank seeking...

A man involved in a standoff with police last month in New Kensington was handling two loaded guns and might have tried to blow up a house with a natural gas explosion, according to new charges filed against him. New Kensington police withdrew their initial charges against Burnell Johnson, 26,...

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. Free meal distribution planned...

Sharpsburg officials have made it a little easier for environmentally friendly residents to not have to pay more green for having a green thumb. Council recently passed an ordinance amending its nuisance vegetation code to permit pollinator gardens. Pollinators are “the engine that run healthy habitats,” according to the U.S....

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. Entries welcome for annual...

Two Leechburg churches are combining forces to help others. Members of Cross Roads Community Presbyterian Church and First Evangelical Lutheran Church have begun raising money to go on a mission trip this year to aid those affected by last year’s hurricanes. While the trip is definitely happening, the Rev. James...

On an evening in October 1979, a part-time Apollo police officer called then-mayor William Kerr and asked if he’d like to ride ‘shotgun’ with him that night. Kerr said he and Leonard Miller talked about Miller soon becoming a full-time police officer for the borough. “Leonard said that he loved...

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. Grants available to Westmoreland...

With the region bracing for a bitter cold snap next week, anglers from near and far, young and old may have been thinking of warmer days ahead along rivers and streams as they gathered for a long-running annual sport show and flea market in Harrison on Saturday. Nearly 50 vendors...

Settling into a new life can be scary, especially in a foreign land. Second Harvest Community Thrift Store in Sharpsburg is making the transition easier. Through a partnership with Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Hello Neighbor, refugee families are getting a lift creating a new home in the Lower Valley. “With Second Harvest,...

The widow of a Buffalo Township firefighter killed at President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Butler County over the summer plans to be in Washington for inauguration-related events. “It’s an honor to be invited. I am always so honored when the president invites us to spend time with him, and...

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. St. Joseph HS plans...

Audrey Bensy of Fox Chapel unloaded a trunk full of flattened cardboard boxes on Friday and stacked them neatly into the public recycling bins at Harrison Hills Park. She is among a drove of people who drop off plastics, aluminum, glass and paper at the blue bins near the park’s...

Rob Hallett and Kyle Kotchey are finding it difficult to retire. The owners of Robert Hallett Goldsmith in Oakmont, a jewelry store and studio, they’ve been designing and making one-of-a-kind jewelry since 1980. Their custom pieces have become intertwined with the generations of customers who have walked through their shop...

A Murrysville ambulance driver transporting a patient from Plum was injured Friday evening in a crash involving another vehicle. An Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said the crash occurred around 6:45 p.m. along Route 286 and Old Frankstown Road on the Plum side of the Plum/Monroeville border. Plum Police Sgt. Scott...

Jason Dailey has become the go-to managerial stopgap for municipalities in the Alle-Kiski Valley facing the sudden departure of their chief administrators. He might have his work cut out for him in Kiski Township. The township supervisors hired Dailey this week just days after former Township Secretary Patrick Bono abruptly...

With one arm in a sling, Highlands seventh grader Emily Svorcek struggled to put her socks on using only her other hand. “I was pretending I had a stroke,” said Emily, 12, of Harrison. “It makes the difficulty pretty real.” The demonstration was part of a career expo hosted Friday...

Proposed renovations at Freeport Area High School would cost between $20 million and $55 million and result in tax increases for years to come, officials said. The $20 million proposal would include upgrades to roofing, lighting, windows and heating and cooling, while the $55 million plan would also include sewage...

A new West Penn Power policy will force Freeport to spend an additional $80,000 on electrical work for its new sewage treatment facility. Crews must lay power lines between the perimeter fence and control room underground instead of overhead, leading to the change order requested by Robert Horvat of KLH...

Arnold is beginning the new year with two vacant offices at city hall. Council has accepted the resignations of longtime employee Rick Rayburg, currently the city’s community development director, and city Controller Toni Montemurro. Neither attended Tuesday’s council meeting, when their resignations were accepted. While Mayor Shannon Santucci and council...

Burrell School District officials think bidding their boiler projects a different way will result in lower costs. The school board on Tuesday rejected bids for a boiler replacement at Burrell High School and a rebuild at Bon Air Elementary School. It authorized administrators to rebid the project. Superintendent Shannon Wagner...