Valley News Dispatch category

Unlike school districts and county governments, Alle-Kiski Valley municipalities aren’t sounding the alarm on how the state’s budget impasse is affecting their coffers or future projects. In fact, unless the impasse continues well into next year, local governments won’t be feeling it at all. “It’s really not hurting us at...

A former Rite Aid building in Tarentum will find new life as a community center/food hall. Gifted by the now-bankrupt pharmacy chain in 2019 to Abundant Joy Fellowship, the building at Fifth Avenue and Corbet Street will be a place for people to connect, Pastor Cathy Blythe said. Construction crews...

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Oct. 3: Man faces arson charges over Giant Eagle fire A man was arrested Thursday after allegedly sparking a fire in the Giant Eagle Market District at the Waterworks in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood. Police said Russell Weleski, 33,...

Logan Bashioum testified Thursday that he didn’t remember much from an alleged attack in New Kensington two years ago. A video played for jurors during the second day of trial against a brother and sister accused in the beating showed two men standing over Bashioum, who was 17, kicking him...

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. A-K Hope Center event...

Trick-or-Treat Residents participating in trick-or-treat should turn on their porch lights. To have information included in the Stroller’s big Halloween listings online at TribLive.com and in the Valley News Dispatch, email information to cpinto-smith@triblive.com. Allegheny Township: 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31. Apollo: 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31. Arnold:...

The TECfusions data center in Upper Burrell will be live by the end of this year, according to founder Simon Tusha. Part of the 1,395-acre site, located at the former Alcoa Research Center, already has been built out to accommodate some tenants, Tusha said. The Florida-based company is working through...

The Dark Hollow Woods Committee wants to mingle with the Oakmont community. Leaders of the committee have been overseeing a plan to restore Dark Hollow Woods, a 40-acre nature reserve that has fallen victim to erosion and invasive species. A master plan detailing each phase of the restoration across 50...

Another piece of the decades-long repair efforts at Vandergrift’s Casino Theater is set to wrap up by the end of the year, borough engineer Lucien Bove said. He said crews will complete the second phase of a restoration project that will see sections of the building’s masonry repointed, windows replaced...

At least one Pennsylvania lawmaker wants school districts to be more careful when choosing school bus stops. A proposal from state Rep. Jeremy Shaffer, R-Pine, a member of the state House Education Committee, would prohibit school bus stops from being within 300 feet of a Megan’s Law offender’s residence. The...

When Jamin and Bethany Gardner parked a box truck in the driveway of their new Plum home, the couple never imagined they would lose nearly all their possessions before they could even move in. The Gardners, who were preparing to settle into a modest brick house on Garlow Boulevard on...

Westmoreland County prosecutors contend a New Kensington brother and sister conspired to assault an autistic teenager two years ago during a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Jurors will begin hearing evidence Thursday in the trial of Stacey Oneal Jr., 36, and his younger sister, Krystae Oneal, 33, who are charged in...

Derrian Alcorn, the Buffalo Township man accused of raping an intoxicated 15-year-old girl last year, turned himself in Wednesday for his preliminary arraignment. Alcorn’s defense attorney, Duke George Jr., said his client is in the process of posting the $100,000 bond set by District Judge Jack D. Ripper. Alcorn is...

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. German food to be...

The location of a former Rite Aid in Lower Burrell, near the Route 56 and Leechburg Road intersection, could make it attractive to a potential retailer, city officials say. “What we’ve found is large retail establishments, they insist on having a four-lane highway,” said Councilman David Stoltz. “With that building,...

With the second round of brush fire season upon us, Oakmont Fire Chief Joseph Flanick is being proactive in stopping fires before they start. Factors such as dry weather, windy days and fallen autumn leaves creating a thick layer of dry fuel all contribute to the quick spread of brush...

For people who love a treasure hunt, the Tarentum history museum is the place to be Saturday. Four appraisers affiliated with the Sen. John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh will be on-site to assess the value of old jewelry, art, side tables, lamps and more. “People seem to love this...

The father of the man on death row for the murder of New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection to claims he propositioned two teenage girls in Latrobe. Gregory Baucum Jr., 54, was sentenced to serve six to 12 months in jail but was immediately paroled...

Inventory is starting to dwindle at Community Supermarket in Harrison. The store, which has operated in the Heights Plaza shopping center since 2002, is expected to close by Oct. 31. Joe Glaister of Brackenridge believes it might be sooner. “I’m probably there three or four times a week,” he said....

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 microchips available for...

PennDOT has unveiled online its plans for repairing slides along three roads in North Huntingdon and another in Allegheny Township. Work is expected to begin in December, with two of the slides in North Huntingdon — along Baker School and Leger roads — scheduled to receive attention first. PennDOT project...

West Deer officials are narrowing expansion project options for the township’s dog shelter. The idea was born last year when operations moved from the township’s old building to its new location on Union Road. The shelter’s head volunteer, Barb Pasquale, 74, approached the township supervisors about expanding the shelter. It...

Route 28 coming out of Pittsburgh is jammed because of a crash. The crash happened around 4 p.m., closing the northbound lanes between the Millvale and Etna interchanges, a PennDOT spokesman said. The crash was cleared and the road began reopening around 4:40 p.m., but traffic remained congested from the...

The garden at St. Joseph High School in Natrona Heights will forever honor one of the school’s graduates. On Monday, Bishops Mark Eckman of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Larry Kulick of the Diocese of Greensburg joined to bless the garden in memory of Domenico Schiano di Cola, co-owner of...

A Buffalo Township man is facing charges, accused of raping an intoxicated 15-year-old girl more than a year ago after supplying her with alcohol. Derrian Alcorn, 27, is charged with seven felony sex crimes, including rape by forcible compulsion, rape of an unconscious victim and corruption of a minor. Police...