Valley News Dispatch category, Page 79
Minivan goes off road in Buffalo Township, over steep embankment into creek; driver airlifted
A woman was flown to a Pittsburgh hospital on Thursday evening after she reportedly drove her minivan over a steep hillside in Buffalo Township and it landed in a creek. Buffalo Township police Chief Tim Derringer said emergency crews were called to the intersection of South Pike Road and Sarver...
Harrison car accident sends 2 to hospital
Two people were taken to an area hospital following a two-car crash in Harrison on Thursday afternoon, an emergency dispatcher said. An Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said the crash was reported around 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of Freeport Road and Oak Manor Drive. One of the two cars was...
Former Fox Chapel Area Baseball Softball Association treasurer charged with theft
A former treasurer of a local youth organization is accused of stealing about $147,000 from the club. Carla O’Brien, 48, of Indiana Township is charged with theft, receiving stolen property, access device fraud and misapplication of trusted property. Charges stem from an investigation by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office,...
Plum School Board member resigns, district seeks replacement
Devin Adams, nearing the end of his first term on Plum School Board, resigned from his position this month after he and his family moved out of the district. Headed to the Norwin School District, Adams, who previously served as the Plum board’s vice president, said his time on the...
Fox Chapel council forms negotiation committee, police contract talks to start
Negotiations between Fox Chapel officials and their police department are set to begin this spring. The department’s three-person negotiating team was formed earlier this year. Council solidified its negotiating team on March 17 with Brad Harrison volunteering for its third spot (other council committee members are Frederick Leech and Betsy...
1st Street Cafe posted for sale, owner looks toward retirement
After a decade of ownership, Devra Gromley is saying goodbye to her beloved 1st Street Cafe in Leechburg. “I know this isn’t what I want to do with however many years I have left in my life,” Gromley said. The cafe is in the building formerly known as the Addison...
Oakmont passes new parking ordinance, faces litigation threat
Oakmont Council passed a revised parking ordinance despite a looming threat of litigation from a resident who owns multiple businesses in the borough. During council’s meeting on March 18, the board passed a long-discussed ordinance that updates parking requirements in the borough’s commercial district. The vote was 6-1. Similar to...
Multicultural Night celebrates Fox Chapel High School student diversity
Fox Chapel Area High School students showed how much of a melting pot the district is with the third annual Multicultural Night. The third annual installment of the inclusion celebration started by the DESI Club took place March 19. About 200 people participated in the event, including about a dozen...
Pro wrestling organization returning to Springdale — for 1 last time
Springdale Junior-Senior High School marching band members will likely be playing the swan song to one of its biggest fundraisers Friday. Keystone State Wrestling Alliance superstars return to the home of the Dynamos, the Donald C. McGhee Fieldhouse, for Springdale Slam 6. It will be the end of two eras....
$24M in projects being worked into Burrell school budget
The public can get its first look at how Burrell School District’s multimillion-dollar school realignment could affect their taxes next school year at a meeting Tuesday. “If you want to know where your tax money is going, and what they pay for, show up to the meeting,” board President Rick...
Man accused of killing Mogie’s owner remains in state hospital with no date to resume trial
The man accused of killing the owner of Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower Burrell remains confined to Torrance State Hospital in Derry and, in the view of a Westmoreland County judge, unable to stand trial. Nathan Salem, 46, of Lower Burrell has been in custody without bond since Dec. 21,...
The Stroller, March 27, 2025: 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. Donations welcome for Easter...
Educational programming at Penn State New Kensington vital to local school districts
When asked how Penn State New Kensington’s ABC Create programming has enhanced their students’ learning, Burrell School District technology teachers were quick to answer. Students at Bon Air Elementary learned how to operate small, mobile “Dash robots” to code assignments, putting their math, engineering and technology skills to the test,...
Female veteran from Greatest Generation: ‘Best thing that ever happened to me’
The world that young Emily Drake was navigating in the spring of 1942, armed with an Aspinwall High School diploma, was awash in war — in Europe, Asia, Africa and throughout the South Pacific. Drake, who lives in O’Hara, wanted to join the Women’s Army Corps to serve her country...
Podcast: Pittsburgh Mills’ pothole problems
Pittsburgh Mills has spent much of its 20-year existence as part of the discussion about dying malls around the area and the country. But lately, it’s potholes — not vacancies — that have people talking. These are not ordinary potholes — we’re talking three-foot-wide, one-foot-deep, bone-rattling holes that have damaged...
Alle-Kiski Valley communities rally behind lifelong public servant as he battles cancer
Willie Weber is a giver. The Arnold man has dedicated his life to public service, working at various Alle-Kiski Valley police departments and volunteering as a firefighter in Arnold. After decades of putting his energy into supporting his community and surrounding communities, Weber, 65, is now the one receiving support....
First New Kensington farmer’s market aims for healthy food, local business support
To Michelle Thom, goals for an upcoming farmers market in downtown New Kensington are twofold. The Downtown New Ken Partnership president wants to provide healthy, fresh food in the area and increase foot traffic for small businesses there. The farmers market — which Thom believes is the first of its...
Oakmont archivist Stephanie Zimble preserves hidden history
Stephanie Zimble is a woman who finds treasure in other people’s “trash.” The archivist at Oakmont Carnegie Library often can be found prodding people to reconsider basement finds before they end up in the garbage can. “The more people I can convince not to throw cool stuff away, the better,”...
The Stroller, March 26, 2025: 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. MyHeritage research database available...
Highlands students get farm-to-table lesson from Fawn’s Blackberry Meadows
Farmer Greg Boulos asked first graders in the Highlands School District how many of them liked spinach and was surprised to see 50 hands shoot into the air. Boulos, owner of Blackberry Meadows Farm in Fawn, brought his farm-to-table presentation to the students Tuesday to promote sustainability and raise awareness...
Pittsburgh Mills pothole patching underway, but legal troubles seem unlikely to disappear
The owner of Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer is taking action to patch the mall’s pockmarked roads, just days after they became the target of a criminal investigation. But the $20,000 Namdar Realty has allocated for repairs represents 0.5% of the more than $4 million the New York-based company and Frazer...
The Stroller, March 25, 2025: 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. Harlem Wizards hoops team...
‘I had a bad year’: Arnold man pleads guilty to gas station robbery
An Arnold man faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to the robbery of a New Kensington gas station. Chad William Fitzgerald, 34, was charged last year in connection with an Aug. 14, 2024, heist at the Sunoco gas station on Tarentum...
After 46 years as a Buffalo Township supervisor, Albert ‘Ouch’ Roenigk trails off toward the sunset
Albert “Ouch” Roenigk has never pined for power. That’s probably why, in 1979, a judge made him a Buffalo Township supervisor. The previous ones had resigned amid an intra-board dispute over alleged corruption, leaving the township without elected leaders for six months. A steadying presence in township government for 46...
Upcoming job fair aims to meet the need for life skills students’ future careers
As a parent to a child with special needs, it is difficult to navigate life post-high school graduation, says Courtney Kobelenske. “If you don’t know about these things, they don’t tell you,” said Kobelenske, whose daughter Cora graduates from Burrell High School this spring. “You have to figure it out...
