Valley News Dispatch category, Page 96
The Stroller, Jan. 22, 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. Local food bank seeking...
Man in standoff had 2 guns, tried to blow up house, New Kensington police now say
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,...
The Stroller, Jan. 21, 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. Free meal distribution planned...
Pollinator gardens permitted in Sharpsburg
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....
The Stroller, Jan. 20, 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. Entries welcome for annual...
Leechburg churches raise funds for relief efforts
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...
Legacy of slain Apollo police Officer Leonard Miller recalled, honored 45 years later
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...
The Stroller, Jan. 19, 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. Grants available to Westmoreland...
Sportsmen gather in Harrison for Tri-County Trout Club’s annual show
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...
Sharpsburg’s Second Harvest helps refugees settle in to new lives
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,...
Widow of Corey Comperatore, firefighter killed at Trump rally, to attend inauguration events
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...
The Stroller, Jan. 18, 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. St. Joseph HS plans...
Contamination threatens recycling programs with Harrison Hills and Westmoreland Cleanways
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...
Oakmont jeweler reminisces after almost 5 decades along Allegheny River Boulevard
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...
Police: Murrysville ambulance driver injured in Plum crash
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...
Kiski Township hires interim manager to keep basic functions afloat as it seeks full-time replacement
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...
Highlands students get up-close glimpse of medical careers at UPMC St. Margaret
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...
Freeport high school renovations could cost up to $55M, raise taxes for years to come
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...
Freeport’s new sewage treatment plant to cost $134K more than expected
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 loses its community development director and controller
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 rejects bids for boiler repairs; architects to present construction proposals next month
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...
O’Hara resident settles into leadership at Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services
A third-generation volunteer firefighter is continuing a family legacy of public service in Sharpsburg and Aspinwall. Shaler native Mike Daniher is the inaugural chief of Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services, or SAVES. The communities of Sharpsburg and Aspinwall merged their fire departments into a new company in 2023 in an...
Highlands community mourns No. 1 fan Eddie Teorsky
He was known as The Mayor, Mr. P.R. and Highlands’ No. 1 fan. Harrison native Eddie Teorsky was best known as a supporter of the Highlands community — but it was just as much of a fan of him. “He was at every practice and on every sideline of every...
The Stroller, Jan. 17, 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. Apollo police officer to...
New Valley High School lab equipment gives students hands-on learning for in-demand future jobsVideo
Valley High School biology teacher Kathy Jo Sagwitz learned how to do more with less for her students. “Before this year, I didn’t have a science room at all,” she said. “I was in a regular classroom with no lab area, no sink, no nothing. I was very limited in...
