Valley News Dispatch category, Page 103
Friends recall West Deer’s Rev. James Legge as tireless advocate for less fortunate
The Rev. James Legge, longtime pastor at Bull Creek Presbyterian Church in West Deer, is being recalled by friends as a team player and ardent supporter of leveling the playing field for the less fortunate. Serving on the board at Allegheny Valley Association of Churches and the Alle-Kiski Area HOPE...
Fire at Verona apartment leaves at least 6 people homeless
At least six people were left homeless Thursday evening after a fire ripped through an apartment building in Verona. Multiple fire departments responded to the call for a fire with entrapment shortly before 5 p.m. in the 400 block of Center Avenue. Bystanders and borough police were kicking in doors...
Leechburg Drama Club stages ’50s film noir parody as fundraiser
Leechburg Area student Katie Monroe has been in seven shows with the Leechburg Drama Club. She remembers the first year the club began hosting a student-run production that serves as a fundraiser for the club’s spring musical. Three years later, she’s one of the student officers helping to direct and...
New Kensington man sentenced in kidnapping case called ‘a single woman’s worst nightmare’
A New Kensington man convicted of kidnapping a woman he met online in 2022 was sentenced to serve five to 10 years in prison for what a Westmoreland County prosecutor called a chilling crime. “This defendant is more dangerous than anyone else I could imagine. The facts of this case,...
Acmetonia students’ project connects literacy and community service
Logan Schutzman loves Dr. Seuss books. When he was younger, he was glued to the stories with whimsical rhymes and silly animations. So it made sense for the 11-year-old at Acmetonia Elementary School to spread that joy through a school project that donates blankets and book recordings to the Lower...
Boyce Park slopes set to open for skiing, snowboarding
The slopes at Boyce Park will open Friday for the 2024-25 season, Allegheny County announced Thursday. The slopes, a 20-minute drive from Downtown Pittsburgh, will be open for skiing and snowboarding. The opening of the snow tubing area has been delayed. The lodge is located at 901 Centerview Drive in...
Buffalo supervisors deny zoning change, likely killing housing proposal off Riemer Road
The Buffalo Township supervisors rejected a zoning change Wednesday that would have paved the way for yet another housing subdivision near the Route 356 corridor. Hawthorne Residential LLC asked the board to rezone a section of land off Riemer Road from agricultural to residential with the goal of building an...
Still time to donate to Aspinwall’s Presents from Police toy drive
Aspinwall police officers again will serve as Santa’s deputies as they and other law enforcement agencies join forces to deliver presents to children. The 14th annual Presents from Police is underway with about 20 departments, including the Allegheny County and state police, joining in Aspinwall’s holiday efforts. New, unwrapped gifts...
Fox Chapel Area School Board reelects president, vice president, assistant board secretary
Fox Chapel Area School Board leadership will remain the same heading into the new year. The school directors reelected Marybeth Dadd and Ron Frank as president and vice president, respectively, for the nine-member panel. Board member Vanessa Lynch also was reelected as assistant board secretary. Votes were unanimous at a...
2025 ‘critical’ for Arnold’s finances as council approves budget with no tax increase
After a shaky start to the year, Arnold’s city manager is hopeful for a better financial picture in 2025. “Next year is going to be critical to see where we are financially,” Manager Mario Bellavia said. “It was precarious early in the year. We can make next year a really...
Verona business owners bring policing concerns to council
Whether reflected by actual data or not, one thing is clear: Verona business owners are feeling less safe these days. Borough business owners and managers — 21 of whom signed a letter to Verona officials — say they’ve seen an increase in crime in the business district over the past...
Plum School District aims for $1.2M lifetime goal with annual Make-A-Wish telethon
More than 80 guests, including local celebrities, news media, professional athletes and district administrators, will be featured in the Plum School District’s annual telethon benefiting Make-A-Wish. The nine-hour telethon will run from 6:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20. It will be livestreamed on the district’s website, pbsd.net. The...
Construction underway at new riverfront townhome community in O’Hara
A chance meeting by a third-generation home builder from Plum resulted in the newest housing development in O’Hara. Domenic Ricciuti Jr., vice president of Ricciuti Enterprise, broke ground this spring on Miramar Landings, a 38-unit riverfront townhome community at 1 River Road. Located on the former site of Bell Harbor...
The Stroller, Dec. 12, 2024: 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. Toys, monetary donations to...
New Year’s Eve party doubles as kickoff event for Leechburg’s 175th anniversary
Excitement is in the air as Leechburg leaders and community members prepare to welcome the new year and the borough’s 175th anniversary. To kick off the year of celebrations, the Leechburg Museum and the Leechburg Area Community Association are teaming up to host a New Year’s Eve party at the...
State Sen. Pittman hopes to tap into potential of Alle-Kiski Valley
Northwestern Westmoreland County might be fairly new territory for state Sen. Joe Pittman, but the Senate majority leader from Indiana County said it was easy to recognize the area’s potential when he began representing it after Pennsylvania’s latest redistricting. “The opportunities here are for the taking,” said Pittman, R-White Township....
Brackenridge property tax to increase by 12%
Brackenridge residents will see a 12% tax increase next year. Council approved its $1.2 million general fund budget, which calls for a millage increase from 6.25 to 7 mills. The owner of a home at the borough’s median assessed value of $50,900 would pay about $38 more, or $356. “The...
Allegheny Township budget status bleak but fixable; 3% tax hike proposed
Allegheny Township is barreling toward serious financial woes without some major changes, according to financial documents. That’s why Township Manager Dan Miller proposed a 3% tax increase to help offset $4.2 million in expenses, but the modest hike is just the start of what likely will need to be an...
Proposed Bon Air reconfiguration is ‘using the building space better,’ Burrell superintendent says
Bon Air Elementary School can accommodate Burrell School District’s fourth grade students without any additional classrooms when Stewart Elementary closes next year. And, according to Superintendent Shannon Wagner’s proposal, all six kindergarten classes could be located on the basement floor of Bon Air, as well as a speech classroom, for...
‘To observe and report’: Radio hams play key role for National Weather Service
Steve Fazekas and Eddie Misiewicz are self-proclaimed weather geeks and have the stories to prove it. In 1977, Misiewicz, then a volunteer firefighter in Dawson, Fayette County, went to Johnstown to respond to the devastation from a flood. He remembered picking bodies out of trees. Fazekas, of Winfield, recalled the...
The Stroller, Dec. 11, 2024: 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 advice available for...
Highlands investigating alleged boys basketball hazing
The PA announcer introduced the Highlands High School boys basketball starters and coach Bill Flow, but he wasn’t there for Tuesday’s game at Hampton. Instead, basketball parent and former assistant Mike Foster coached a scaled-back roster that dressed only nine varsity players while the program faces an investigation into hazing...
New Kensington Bridge reopens to trucks, pedestrians as work nears end
Trucks and pedestrians are again able to cross the New Kensington Bridge. A detour that was in place for trucks was removed Friday, and the sidewalk on the bridge spanning the Allegheny River between East Deer and New Kensington is open, PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said. But that doesn’t mean...
Suspect pleads guilty in credit card skimmer scam set up in grocery stores
One of two men charged last summer in a multicounty fraud scheme that employed skimmer devices on grocery store card readers pleaded guilty Tuesday in Westmoreland County. Thomas Fuchs, 34, whose last address was listed as in Pittsburgh, was ordered to serve one to two years in prison for his...
Latest electronic billboard goes up in Tarentum
Tarentum’s newest electronic billboard was set into place Tuesday. Set atop a 70-foot pole, the two-sided display will be visible from the Tarentum Bridge. It is the third on the Tarentum end of the bridge, going up about a year after a similar sign on the other side of the...
