Valley News Dispatch category, Page 105
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...
Fox Chapel’s John Miclot recalled for entrepreneurship and volunteerism
Friends of John Miclot are recalling the Fox Chapel businessman as a visionary who was generous with his time and leadership. The former president and CEO of Respironics served on the board of the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium and the St. Margaret Foundation and was an active volunteer at the...
Cheswick considers AI programming to assess street conditions
Cheswick might turn to advanced technology when assessing its streets and roads. Council in April will consider a contract with New Jersey-based Vialytics for its RoadAI road-scanning program. The three-year cost would total $12,000. “We wanted to have a neutral third party scan our streets and give us a true...
The Stroller, March 24, 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 shuttle available...
Scenes from the Valley: Images captured in the Alle-Kiski Valley from March 13-19, 2025
Here is a weekly look at recent images captured throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley. From major news events to routine gatherings, TribLive’s “Scenes from the Valley” photo package brings to life activities and moments happening in your backyard. To have a photo considered as a “Scenes from the Valley” candidate, please...
New Kensington man arrested for terroristic threats while packing gun during IUPatty’s
Indiana Borough police arrested a New Kensington man accused of assault and making terroristic threats while displaying a gun Saturday evening during the IUPatty’s student celebration held annually in the community. Police said Adisun Lee Jackson, 22, who is not a student at local Indiana University of Pennsylvania, refused to...
Building the Valley: New Kensington brewery, Buffalo Township restaurant combining forces
A shuttered Buffalo Township restaurant and New Kensington’s newest brewery are evolving together. Evolution Grille, which chef and owner Michael Barbiaux closed in September, has moved into the kitchen at Tortured Souls Brewery, which is marking its first anniversary on Sunday. Barbiaux learned through a friend in a band, The...
Brackenridge author chronicles mother’s immigration from Slovakia
Karolina Hrustinec was abandoned in Slovakia at 9 years old, left in the care of an aunt and forced to forge her way as a farmhand until she could follow her parents to the United States nine years later. “The war broke out, but she made her way to Creighton,...
Springdale High School work just months away
Plans for renovation work at Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School are nearly complete, and a contractor is expected to be hired by mid-May. Terry L. Thompson and Doug Zaenger, vice presidents of Foreman Architects Engineers, whom the Allegheny Valley School Board retained to develop plans for the work, updated the board...
The Stroller, March 23, 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 distribution set Tuesday...
Process underway to rehab former Newport Business Institute property in Lower Burrell
The future isn’t clear for the former Newport Business Institute property in Lower Burrell, but officials say it is bright. Brian Lawrence, executive director of the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank, said the property is in the land bank’s “preparing for sale” status after the agency acquired it...
