Valley News Dispatch category, Page 119
Pint-sized putter passionate for golf in Fox Chapel
He’s a pint-sized putter with a big-time devotion to his favorite sport. Lucas McMahon, 6, of Indiana Township was still using a pacifier when he first showed an interest in golf. These days, he frequently takes to the course at the Pittsburgh Field Club to play nine holes. “He was...
Blawnox plans to hold line on real estate taxes
Blawnox officials plan to hold the line on real estate taxes in next year’s budget. The proposed 2025 spending plan was briefly discussed at a council meeting Oct. 9. However, no financial figures were released. “We’ll make the numbers work,” council President Deborah Laskey said about not raising taxes. The...
Fox Chapel Area Newcomers Club marks 50 years building connections
When Rita Ruscetti moved to O’Hara in the mid-1980s, she connected with new friends in no time. It was easy, she said, as a member of the Fox Chapel Area Newcomer’s Club, which hosted a slew of dinner parties, scavenger hunts and card games for people adjusting to life in...
Springdale teen creating a ‘scene of our community’ for mural outside library
At first, Ariana Caltagarone wasn’t sure if she wanted to take on painting a 459-square-foot mural on the wall leading up to the Springdale Free Public Library. The library had requested proposals for a mural, and her mom, Melissa, encouraged her to apply. But the 16-year-old from Springdale Township had...
Police regionalization makes progress in Leechburg, other communities
After months of discussion, the committee exploring a merger of Leechburg and nearby police departments is in what one committee member called “the last mile” of deciding the future of policing there. A draft charter agreement that would define how a merged police department would operate was presented to Leechburg...
The Stroller, Oct. 17, 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. Festival to celebrate autumn...
Fractured Allegheny Township supervisors limit their own speech in 2-1 vote
Mike Korns spent about 10 minutes Monday night making his case against a resolution that would limit the ability of citizens and his fellow Allegheny Township supervisors to speak at monthly meetings. “We are supposed to debate and deliberate on these motions,” he said. “We’re actually supposed to try to...
Harbor Freight plans January opening in New Kensington
Harbor Freight’s store in New Kensington will open in late January, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday. In Riverview Plaza along Tarentum Bridge Road, it will be the company’s 67th store in Pennsylvania and fourth in Westmoreland County, said Donna Walker, a spokeswoman for Harbor Freight in Calabasas, Calif. “It will...
Burrell schools contend with whether to keep 5th grade at the middle school after next year
Burrell School District officials are grappling with one of the oldest questions in public education. For decades, schools generally have used the same format for organizing grade levels: the oldest students attend high school and the youngest students attend elementary or primary school. But what about those students in the...
Sharpsburg Community Library to offer remote item pickup, similar to Amazon lockers
By the end of the year, patrons at Sharpsburg Community Library will be able to order a book for remote pickup, much like they order clothes or other items for delivery to Amazon lockers. Leaders said the initiative will address barriers to library services, including limited transportation. Many people in...
New Kensington Democrat seeks to unseat Murrysville’s Jill Cooper in 55th State House race
In a divisive political atmosphere both locally and nationally, Democrat Davon Magwood is proud to be running a race against incumbent state Rep. Jill Cooper that puts negativity aside. “I love that we’re running campaigns where we’re not attacking one another,” said Magwood, 38, of New Kensington, who has worked...
Buffalo Township Sheetz closure imminent ahead of 6-month rebuild
The Sheetz location in Buffalo Township will be torn down and rebuilt much sooner than at least one township official expected. The gas station and convenience store along Route 356 will close Oct. 27, with an anticipated reopening sometime in April, Sheetz confirmed. Workers will be offered other jobs with...
Democratic state rep, Republican newcomer vie to replace retiring state Sen. Brewster in 45th District
Voters in the 45th state Senate race will choose between a two-term state representative from West Mifflin and a political newcomer from Plum who are vying to replace a retiring state senator. State Rep. Nick Pisciottano, 34, of West Mifflin won the Democratic primary over Makenzie White of Brentwood while...
Retired teacher keeps feeding Deer Lakes students
Retired Deer Lakes teacher Carol McCaskey was tired of seeing students come to school with a stomachache. “Us teachers knew the truth. We knew it was because they didn’t have food at home,” said McCaskey, who spent nearly three decades at East Union Intermediate Center and, before that, several years...
The Stroller, Oct. 16, 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 rides available to...
New Kensington police use Taser, dog to arrest man who ran from fight at Sheetz
New Kensington police used a Taser and a police dog to apprehend a man who they say ran from a fight at Sheetz on Saturday. Noah Benjamin Reed, 20, of Springdale was found to be carrying a 9 mm hand gun with an extended magazine, police said in a criminal...
Buffalo Township cutting it close on finalizing covid relief-funded remodel of offices, police station
With the clock ticking to allocate its roughly $1.2 million in covid relief funds, Buffalo Township has taken another step toward remodeling its joint administrative office and police station. Supervisors this month put out a request for proposals and expect bids to come back within 30 days. That leaves the...
Driver who died after Lernerville crash identified as Chicora man
The driver injured Sunday in a crash at Lernerville Speedway has died, a family member and the speedway confirmed in social media posts. Both identified him as Shane Nolan of Chicora. “Lernerville Speedway and the Tomson family are deeply saddened by the passing of Shane Nolan, a cherished member of...
Oakmont Council eyes ordinance to limit feral cat population
Oakmont cat owners will have to look into spay/neutering, microchips and collars with tags if council passes an update of the borough’s feral cat ordinance. Borough Manager Scot Fodi said 412 Animal Rescue, a nonprofit, no-kill, all-volunteer and foster-based rescue organization in Penn Hills, reached out to officials earlier this...
Kiski Township man acquitted of sexually assaulting child
Wayne Lawrence Birch Jr., a Kiski Township man accused of sexually assaulting a minor, has been acquitted. A jury rendered the not guilty verdict Oct. 9, ending nearly two years of proceedings for Birch, 55. In December 2022, he was charged with one felony count each of aggravated indecent assault...
The Stroller, Oct. 15, 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. Harmar concert series to...
Burrell to close Stewart Elementary School; will move 5th grade to the middle school for 2025-26 year
After almost 100 years of serving students in the Burrell School District, Stewart Elementary in Lower Burrell will close its doors next year. The Leechburg Road school, which currently houses about 260 fourth- and fifth-grade students, will cease operations beginning with the 2025-26 school year. The school board made the...
New Kensington’s Knead Café joins hurricane relief efforts, donating revenue from sales
Alle-Kiski Valley residents can help victims of hurricanes Helene and Milton by having lunch this week in New Kensington. Knead Community Café announced it will donate all revenue from food sales this week to World Central Kitchen, which is providing meals to those affected by the natural disasters. That will...
Skunk situation in Harrison stinks, neighbors say
Jeff Pennington moved to Harrison in April and started seeing skunks almost immediately. In the roughly half-year of living in the Campton section of the township, his dog has been sprayed by skunks twice. While Pennington has lived in rural areas before, he said he was surprised by the number...
Plum hires Norwin board president as assistant superintendent
The president of the Norwin School Board has been hired as the assistant superintendent at Plum School District. Matthew P. Thomas of North Huntingdon, who has been the student services director for the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit 7 since June 2018, was hired Oct. 8 by the Plum School Board at...
