Valley News Dispatch category, Page 126
Frazer sues Pittsburgh Mills mall owner over potholes, lack of maintenance
Pothole-riddled roads near the Pittsburgh Mills mall are the result of negligence by the mall’s owner and would cost Frazer $4.5 million to fix if the mall owner doesn’t. That’s according to a lawsuit filed by the township against the Mills’ property owner — identified in court records as Pitt...
Alle-Kiski High School Reunion News — Sept. 20, 2024
• Har-Brack High School Class of 1965 will have a picnic at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Veterans of Foreign Wars pavilion, 894 Veterans Drive, Harrison. Cost: $5. Bring your drinks and a covered dish to share that will serve at least four people. No glass bottles permitted. •...
The Stroller, Sept. 20, 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. 5K Event to raise...
Burrell requests specifications on potential construction projects at 3 district schools
Burrell School District is moving ahead with preparations to handle renovations at three of its schools should it go through with closing Stewart Elementary. The school board this week revised its agreement with HHSDR Inc. for the Pittsburgh-based architect to map out proposed construction projects that include renovations at Burrell...
Local artist adds personal touch to Leechburg’s shopping district
Leechburg’s Market Street is a little more colorful these days. Artist Veronica Manzanilla painted 10 parking meters along the street for a beautification project headed by the borough’s mayor, Doreen Smeal. Smeal said she got the idea after attending a meeting for Experience PA in Kittanning where public art was...
Lower Burrell native Tom Squitieri remembered as a determined journalist and devoted father
Tom Squitieri, a veteran journalist who began his career at the Valley News Dispatch and became an award-winning foreign correspondent for top newspapers in the country, died Sept. 1, his family said. Squitieri, a native of Lower Burrell, died in Washington, D.C., from an aggressive form of leukemia. He was...
With no agreement on use of Veterans Memorial Field, Allegheny Valley eyes converting soccer field on school grounds
The Allegheny Valley School District and Springdale officials can’t seem to come to an agreement over Veterans Memorial Field, so school officials are reviewing the possibility of having a football field on the district’s grounds. Superintendent Pat Graczyk said Tuesday that despite the district’s work with the borough “demonstrating the...
Freeport Area middle and high schools locked down after unknown man spotted on track
Freeport Area School District’s secondary campus went into lockdown Thursday after a gym class found an unknown man using the track in violation of district policy. The call came in about 11:40 a.m., according to Buffalo Township police Chief Tim Derringer. He said there was “no immediate threat” to the...
Oakmont adopts sustainability plan
Oakmont now has a sustainability plan that stretches out over the next decade. The 2024 Oakmont Borough Local Sustainability Plan outlines short- and long-term goals for the borough. This is the borough’s first sustainability plan and was developed by a graduate student from the University of Pittsburgh. Simon Joseph, 24,...
Arnold police chief accused of stealing money in state-run sting
State narcotics agents say they caught Arnold police Chief Josh Stanga pocketing more than $200 during a sting set up to see if he would properly handle cash and drugs staged in a purportedly stolen vehicle. In court documents obtained Thursday afternoon, a narcotics agent said Stanga failed an “integrity...
The Stroller, Sept. 19, 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. Pink Day festival planned...
Leaders hope local EMS authority could ensure service in Tarentum, neighboring towns
Small-scale donations are rolling in to help sustain operations at Eureka Community Ambulance Service in Tarentum, enough that Chief Brad James is feeling hopeful about the future of EMS. “They’re not going to keep the doors open, but it’s nice to have the support,” James said. His department this year...
Panera eyes larger space with drive-thru outside Pittsburgh Mills mall
A move by Panera Bread will leave yet another vacant storefront in the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer. The quick-serve restaurant, with more than 2,200 locations in 48 states, wants to fill the former Steak ’n Shake restaurant building in the Village at Pittsburgh Mills near Lowe’s. Frazer Supervisor Lori...
Preparations underway for Better Block event in New Kensington
The roads outside the YMCA in New Kensington got a lot more colorful on Wednesday. Sarah Snider, a member of the Valley Points Family YMCA board, and Draven Pointer, a Better Block architectural designer from Dallas, were among volunteers and members of Dallas-based Better Block Foundation who began painting the...
Surprising $404K bid approved for demolition of Colfax Elementary School in Springdale
Colfax Elementary School in Springdale will be coming down at a cost well below what district officials had anticipated. The Allegheny Valley School Board on Tuesday approved a $404,000 base bid from Pine-based Kane Specialty Group LLC to perform asbestos abatement and demolish the 99-year-old building, which sits off Colfax...
Sober game room in Sharpsburg to create safe haven for people in addiction recovery
A sober game room opening in Sharpsburg is expected to be a game changer for people in addiction recovery. “It’s designed for fellowship because people with addiction issues need support and camaraderie,” said Larry Wagner, a Fox Chapel resident and board member of the Addiction Recovery Ministry who is spearheading...
The Stroller, Sept. 18, 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. Drivers needed at Freeport...
Area bands strut their stuff at 77th annual Alle-Kiski Valley Marching Band Festival
Eleven high school marching bands performed Tuesday night at the 77th annual Alle-Kiski Valley Marching Band Festival. The band fest — the longest running in Western Pennsylvania — took place at Valley High School in New Kensington. Nearly 900 musicians from Valley High, Freeport Area, Highlands, Leechburg, Springdale, Apollo-Ridge, Deer...
North Huntingdon cancer survivor’s nonprofit offers support, resources to other patients
The Celebration Circle online support group for cancer patients became smaller Aug. 1. That’s when participant Kathy Casey, 66, of New Kensington lost her four-year battle with the disease. Her husband, Bill, credits the support group co-founded by North Huntingdon resident and cancer survivor Lori Ball with giving his wife...
Threat at Dorseyville Middle School ruled noncredible by police, district
An increased police presence last week at Dorseyville Middle School in the Fox Chapel Area School District was in response to investigated social media posts that ultimately showed no credible threat, district officials say. Bullets also were discovered at the middle school earlier this month, Indiana Township police Chief Steven...
Judge grants leniency for key witness in New Kensington killing
A Pittsburgh man who testified during a criminal trial last year against three co-defendants charged with killing a New Kensington man was granted leniency Tuesday by a Westmoreland County judge. “You are going to get a second chance because of those two people,” said Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani...
Prep work for Parks Township nuclear waste cleanup about halfway done, officials say
New buildings are popping up at a Parks Township nuclear waste dump site as the Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors continue preparations to remove radioactive material there in a project that is expected to cost over a half-billion dollars. Steve Vriesen, a project manager with the Army Corps,...
New Italian restaurant planned for Tarentum moves to Arnold
An Italian restaurant has said “Arrivederci!” to Tarentum. More specifically, Al Colelli said he decided to move his new restaurant, Totaro’s, from Tarentum to Arnold before it ever opened. Originally, Colelli was planning to open his restaurant in a space on East Sixth Avenue. Colelli now plans to open Totaro’s...
The Stroller, Sept. 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. Groups, floats welcome to...
‘I hope to learn how a community government works,’ says new Fox Chapel junior council member
Shady Side Academy junior Kabeer Chopra is Fox Chapel’s latest junior council member. Mayor Alex Scott III swore in Chopra on Sept. 16 after council unanimously voted to appoint him. “I thought it would be a great experience because I feel like I’m doing something for this community that’s different...
