Valley News Dispatch category, Page 98
Building the Valley: Posh Pawws Grooming Services a ‘boujee’ experience for dogs and humans alike
Rosie the Yorkshire Terrier is a far cry from her wild ancestors. She scampers around in her 7-, maybe 8-pound frame, ponytail bouncing with each step. Her favorite trick is to sit pretty. And when it comes to food, if it’s not dehydrated chicken, she doesn’t want it. That makes...
Leechburg Area award series celebrates student appreciation, puts spin on tradition
Leechburg Area students have a chance at the belt. Tyler Vargo, Leechburg Area High School principal, restarted the district’s Student of the Month Award but with a few changes. Each month teachers and staff members receive an email to nominate students who exemplify “successful habits” such as self- discipline, proactiveness, preparedness,...
The Stroller, Jan. 12, 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. Food bank distribution canceled...
Backyard ice rinks a ‘labor of love’ for handy hockey families
Growing up in Monroeville, Matt Sargo fell in love with ice hockey after his neighbor, a Buffalo, N.Y. transplant on a mission to spread the sport’s good word, built a small rink in his backyard. “He came here with a plan,” said Sargo, a hockey coach who now lives in...
Kiski Township needs to replace another supervisor, secretary, assistant after resignations
After filling one supervisor vacancy, Kiski Township needs to replace another supervisor and two employees following more resignations this month. The supervisors accepted the resignations of Supervisor Mark Kendall, Township Secretary Patrick Bono and administrative assistant Jerrilyn Mollick on Wednesday, all effective that day. Bono left the supervisors’ meeting after...
The Stroller, Jan. 11, 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...
Relative of New Kensington cop killer’s helper threatens to shoot woman ‘like we shot up Brian Shaw,’ police say
Editor’s note: All charges against Mayona Harrington were withdrawn by the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office on Jan. 23 after, police say, prosecution witnesses fail to appear to testify at a hearing on the charges. A relative of a woman convicted of helping a New Kensington police officer’s killer escape...
6 Highlands students charged in connection with hazing allegations
Six student-athletes from Highlands School District have been charged in connection with an alleged hazing incident. Harrison police Chief Brian Turack said the students, all members of the boys basketball team, were charged with harassment, disorderly conduct and hazing stemming from an incident Nov. 26 on a bus carrying the...
Former Leechburg police chief faces new charge of failing to report internet use
Former Leechburg police chief Michael Diebold is facing a new felony charge after state police say he didn’t report all of the internet sites and apps he’d been using. Diebold, 47, is a convicted sex offender and was ordered to be listed on the state’s Megan’s Law site for 25...
Springdale resident rallies community to fight Pittsburgh Mills’ potholes
Lisa Alexander refuses to go to the Pittsburgh Mills mall. “I used to walk at the mall or eat at the restaurants or swing by Starbucks a few times a week,” she said. Alexander, of West Deer, vowed to avoid the shopping complex in Frazer after a November trip to...
The Stroller, Jan. 10, 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. Drive-thru dinner to benefit...
Patient shuttle service grows, remains vital link to care from Tarentum to Etna
Brad Scherf doesn’t miss a chance to help a fellow cancer survivor — or anyone else — who needs medical attention. As coordinator of a free shuttle offered by the St. Margaret Foundation and Wesley Family Services in New Kensington, Scherf has found himself up before dawn to drive a...
Gilpin supervisors elect new leadership, but not without complaints
A change in leadership on the Gilpin board of supervisors isn’t sitting well with at least one township official. During the board’s annual reorganization meeting this month, Tina Thompson was elected as the new chairperson for supervisors in a 3-2 vote, replacing Charles Stull, who held the position for six...
Oakmont officials share plans for traffic control near Riverview Jr.-Sr. High School
Oakmont officials are making plans to reduce accidents at the place that has the most wrecks in town. They have identified that spot as an intersection near Oakmont Bakery and Riverview Junior-Senior High School. They blame many of the wrecks there on drivers making an illegal left turn from Third...
Kiski Area school bus, car collide in Washington Township
No children were hurt when a Kiski Area school bus was involved in a crash on Thursday afternoon in Washington Township, Superintendent Jason Lohr said. The collision between the full-size bus and a car at Route 66 and Mamont Drive was reported shortly before 4 p.m. Eight elementary school-age students...
New Kensington-Arnold School Board schedules special meeting for budget vote
A vote this week will reveal if New Kensington-Arnold School District will seek to raise property taxes by more than its state-imposed limit for the 2025-26 school year. The board is scheduled to hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the boardroom at Valley High School “for the...
Harbor Freight opens New Kensington store, plans grand opening event
Harbor Freight opened its new tools store in New Kensington this week, marking another step in the redevelopment of Riverview Plaza following the closing and demolition of the Kmart department store. The Tarentum Bridge Road store is the company’s fourth in Westmoreland County and its 67th in Pennsylvania, Harbor Freight...
Fox Chapel officially designated as a ‘Bird Town’
Fox Chapel is officially being recognized for its environmental efforts, especially pertaining to birds. Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania wildlife habitat educator Nick Stahlman recently presented borough council with a certificate from Bird Town Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Audubon Council as an official Bird Town. Stahlman also presented new Bird...
Oakmont budget raises taxes 33%
Oakmont property owners will be paying 33% more in real estate taxes this year. Oakmont Council passed a budget calling for a real estate tax increase of 1.22 mills, taking the rate from 3.73 to 4.95 mills. That means a home at the borough’s median assessed value of about $153,000...
Zynka Gallery marks 5 years of showcasing art in Sharpsburg
It’s a thrill for Jeff Jarzynka when the glass doors of his Sharpsburg art gallery are ajar and something inside catches the eye of a passerby. “The doors are open wide all summer, and you’ll have kids running up the street who stop and ask, ‘Is this a museum? Can...
Tarentum to tow vehicles in no-parking zone
Motorists who park in a no-parking zone at the intersection of East Street and West 10th Avenue in Tarentum have run out of chances. Moving forward, vehicles will be towed and violators will be responsible for costs. “We’re having a problem with people not complying,” Mayor Bob Lang said. “We...
Home for struggling women to rebuild, improve lives approved in Arnold
Arnold officials have approved a woman’s plan to turn a house in the city into a place where struggling women can be safe while rebuilding their lives. The three-member zoning hearing board attached several conditions to its approval of city resident Amanda Wheeler’s use of the house in the 1700...
Burrell’s Huston Middle School delays classes after equipment failure leads to smoke
Charles A. Huston Middle School in Lower Burrell operated on a two-hour delay Thursday morning after an air-handling unit malfunctioned. “We had an air handler failure on the roof of the kitchen,” Superintendent Shannon Wagner said. “The fire department responded to the situation and identified it was an equipment failure...
The Stroller, Jan. 9, 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. Westmoreland Museum of American...
Nonprofit founded in 1928 looks to bolster membership, awareness among Fox Chapel-area municipalities
A community-based nonprofit is looking to boost membership and raise awareness throughout the Fox Chapel-area communities it has served for almost 100 years. The District Association of the Fox Chapel Area raises funds that are donated directly back into the communities in the Fox Chapel Area School District — Aspinwall,...
