Valley News Dispatch category, Page 137
Police say Plum woman was drunk in O’Hara crash that killed Pittsburgh man, endangered her 7-month-old
Allegheny County Police say a Plum woman drove drunk, with her 7-month-old in the back seat, when she was involved in a crash in January that killed a 74-year-old man in O’Hara. Alyssa J. Galiano, 29, turned herself in Friday morning after an arrest warrant was issued. She faces felony...
The Stroller, Aug. 16, 2024: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your nonprofit’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. Casino Theatre plans auditions for holiday show The Casino Theatre in...
Indiana Township supervisors deny request that could have led to new gas wells and fracking
Plans for Cranberry-based MPF Management to have a portion of Indiana Township rezoned for potential oil and gas development were put to a halt by township supervisors. The board voted 4-1 Aug. 14 to deny advertising a public hearing on a request to change a 59-acre parcel along Route 910...
Allegheny Township enacts information policy after alleged removal of newspaper article from bulletin board
Township Manager Daniel Miller is now the arbiter of information in Allegheny Township. Supervisors agreed to put Miller in charge of what goes on the township’s bulletin board, outdoor electronic sign, website and other means of communication as one official, Supervisor Mike Korns, awaits his day in court. Korns is...
Verona increases police pay rate in effort to attract new officers
As part of a continuing retention and recruitment effort, police officers in Verona soon will be making more money than ever before. Verona Council voted Tuesday, Aug. 13 to raise the pay rate by 15% for all of the department’s current and future police officers. The borough is looking to...
Plum School Board approves finance team for first step of $30M borrowing for building project
The Plum School District has flexibility as it begins a three-step process to borrow $30 million for a building project. The school board last week authorized district administration to work with financial advisers, bond counsel, an underwriter and the district’s solicitor to prepare for borrowing nearly $10 million for the...
Plum approves new contract with police chief, promotes 2 officers
Plum police Chief Lanny Conley has a new five-year contract and two newly promoted officers to go along with it. Council approved the contract and promotions at its meeting on Monday, Aug. 12. Conley’s current salary is $154,628. The contact includes 3.5% annual raises with the first effective in January....
Deer Lakes Park, Burrell Lake Park dealing with lake water issues; officials eye treatment plans
The lower lakes at Deer Lakes Park are “virtually unfishable,” said Tom Fitzgerald, a longtime fisherman and East Deer resident. Fitzgerald walks the park nearly every day and notes three glaring issues with the ponds: overgrowth, algae and lily pads out of control. “There are parts where it looks like...
Vance criticizes Biden, Walz during visit to Lower Burrell VFW
Vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance used his speech to an invitation-only crowd at Lower Burrell’s VFW post to criticize President Joe Biden’s administration for its withdrawal from Afghanistan. “We lost 13 brave service members we didn’t need to lose,” said Vance, flanked by Republican lawmakers, most of whom also are...
Highlands’ tennis team preps for all-away season while courts are renovated
The girls tennis team at Highlands School District will be serving up their skills away from their home court this season while the district completes a $1 million capital project. Court resurfacing and a revamped track at the nearby middle school are included in the work. “Crews will come Monday...
The Stroller, Aug. 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. Professional wrestling event to benefit Citizens Hose/EMS/Rescue Citizens Hose Fire, EMS...
Fox Chapel Area School District to welcome students Aug. 22
Fox Chapel Area School District officials are preparing to welcome students for the start of the 2024-25 school year. First day of classes is scheduled for Aug. 22. Teachers reported to work and had staff meetings with administrators Aug. 14. Superintendent Mary Catherine Reljac said there is a lot of...
Defense contends biased probe led to arrest in New Kensington boy’s death
Lawyers for Brackenridge man facing a potential death penalty if he is convicted of killing of his 9-year-old son contend the investigation that led to his arrest in 2022 was the product of biased prosecutors and based on insufficient evidence. Jean J. Charles, 44, is awaiting trial on charges of...
Highlands School District considering tax appeal settlement with the Highlands Mall
The Highlands School District could reap a tax windfall of $28,000 if the board accepts an assessment appeal settlement proposal from the owners of the Highlands Mall, the 15-store shopping plaza off of Freeport Road. The district also would earn more tax income each year going forward. The Highlands Mall...
Faces of the Valley: Harmar man uses nature, film to promote waterway conservation
Ian Smith is a go-with-the-flow type of guy. Whether it’s the flow of an ocean or a river, he’s there. Smith fell in love with surfing after taking lessons on the East Coast and decided to bring the activity home with him. “I loved the sport and wanted to bring...
Remember When: 6 family members perished in ferry tragedy on Allegheny River near Brackenridge
One of the major problems facing the early settlers of the Alle-Kiski Valley was crossing the rivers. Before 1900, for the residents of communities near Tarentum, the closest bridge crossing was Garvers Ferry Bridge, which was built in 1886 near Freeport. The problem was alleviated, somewhat, in 1900 with the...
Increased police presence in Harrison’s Sheldon Park ‘paying huge dividends’Video
Promised foot patrols by police officers in Harrison’s Sheldon Park neighborhood have led to fewer altercations in the neighborhood and a better rapport between law enforcement and residents, officials say. In response to a shooting in the neighborhood nearly two months ago, Allegheny County Housing Authority Police Chief Mike Vogel...
Longtime Buffalo Township movie theater set to close, reopen under local ownership
One of the few remaining movie theaters in the Alle-Kiski Valley is set to close, but only for a few weeks as new ownership takes over. The AMC Classic South Pike 10 cinema complex is scheduled to shutter its doors Thursday, according to Buffalo Township Supervisor Mike Oehling Jr. and...
New Kensington police identify, arrest suspect in gas station robbery
A man accused of robbing a New Kensington gas station early Wednesday was quickly identified and arrested thanks to an anonymous tip. Police had sought the public’s help in identifying a man who, armed with a knife, robbed the Sunoco station on Tarentum Bridge Road at Caldwell Avenue around 4:30...
The Stroller, Aug. 14, 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. Annual Riverbration planned in Kittanning The Kittanning Boat Races Riverbration event...
Judge orders Arnold man accused of fatally stabbing his mother to undergo mental health evaluation
A Westmoreland County judge ordered an Arnold man jailed earlier this month after being charged in connection to the fatal stabbing of his mother to undergo a mental health evaluation. Brian Rebold, 38, was charged with criminal homicide and first-degree murder following the Aug. 4 death of his 73-year-old mother...
Salvation Army’s Back-to-School Bash doles out supplies, confidence
From Bluey to Dora to Transformers, nearly 350 colorful bookbags — and all the supplies that could fit into them — went home with school-aged children at the Paul Field Memorial Back-to-School Bash at the Salvation Army in Brackenridge. In its 15th year, the event doubled as a festival for...
J.D. Vance set to campaign at Lower Burrell VFW, but event is by invitation only, Post 92 says
Vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance will make a campaign stop in Lower Burrell on Thursday. Vance, the Republican senator from Ohio, will speak at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 92 on Wildlife Lodge Road at 10 a.m., his campaign announced Tuesday. VFW Post 92 posted on Facebook on Tuesday evening...
Investigation into Plum house explosion could take years, officials sayVideo
It could take years to determine a cause of the deadly house explosion in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood, officials said Tuesday. “These can be very, very lengthy investigative processes,” said Matthew Brown, chief of Allegheny County’s Department of Emergency Services. “The key is to actually, definitively, get to what the...
Indiana Township pizza shop sells winning Powerball ticket worth $214 million
Someone is $214 million richer after buying the jackpot-winning Powerball ticket at an Indiana Township pizza shop. The ticket, sold Monday at AJ’s Pizza on Harts Run Road, matched all five white balls drawn, 9-22-57-67-68, and the red Powerball, 14. The shop’s owner, Jinal Pandit, was shocked to hear he...
