Valley News Dispatch category, Page 148

Some Kiski Township residents are questioning the potential benefits of the township’s police force becoming part of the Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department. At a community meeting this week, Southern Armstrong police Chief Chris Fabec told a crowd of about 50 people that Kiski Township would cut its police costs...

Plum’s volunteer firefighters began using the borough’s former municipal building for training Tuesday night. Firefighters from the Holiday Park, Logans Ferry, Renton and Unity departments were expected to start by practicing forceful entry, wall breaching, large room searches and long hallway searches in the building. The building is slated for...

A Vandergrift man will serve at least 16 years in prison for the sexual assault of two children. Timothy Johnson, 38, was convicted by a Westmoreland County jury in February in two separate cases in which he was convicted of 12 counts. Those included involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, conspiracy, indecent...

It may be some time before Frazer has a new, permanent police chief. Supervisors will not vote at their meeting Tuesday to appoint a new chief, and there is no timeline for doing so, said Lori Ziencik, board member and township secretary. “That takes time,” she said. “We haven’t really...

New trails in the Alle-Kiski Valley mean new areas for police to patrol. The Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department added two electric bikes to its vehicle fleet in mid-April, weeks after the opening of a 10-mile trail section that runs through Ford City and Gilpin. The department purchased them from...

Lily Sassani learned about the Holocaust through her studies in the Burrell School District. But the 17-year-old Girl Scout from Upper Burrell never knew about the role of Girl Guides in World War II until her mother, Rachel, gave her a book on the topic. Now, she is expanding on...

Students in the Leechburg Area middle and high schools might be meeting their new principal for the first time, but, for Tyler Vargo, he’s coming home. The Leechburg Area alum not only graduated from the high school but taught social studies there for nine years before heading to Knoch School...

Refuse-hauling contractors got an extra week to submit proposals for a joint contract covering Cheswick, Springdale and Springdale Township. Contractors have until 3 p.m. Thursday to submit bids, according to Springdale Township Solicitor Craig Alexander. Bids will be opened Monday. The communities have contracts that expire at the end of...

Fox Chapel resident Gina Johnson knew when she walked through the doors of the Lauri Ann West Community Center the last Saturday in April that it was going to be for more than a routine workout. The fitness enthusiast took part in a circuit class and wellness activities that day...

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. Vendor spaces available for Flea-tique season The Alle-Kiski Valley Historical Society’s...

Shoppers in Allegheny Township soon will have another option for groceries. Aldi has committed to opening a store later this year in Hyde Park Plaza, along with three other locations in Western Pennsylvania. Hyde Park Plaza owner Jeff Paul expects the opening to take place the last three months of...

A Vandergrift woman was ordered to serve five years on probation for her role in the theft of more than $30,000 from a roommate over a two-year period that ended in April 2022. Rebecca Lynn Hubert, 56, pleaded guilty to charges of theft and receiving stolen property as part of...

A Tarentum man who claimed that a heart condition caused him to pass out and hit 145 mph before he crashed his sports car on Route 28, killing his passenger, was sentenced Monday to five years of probation. Frederick Fattman, 79, could have been sentenced to incarceration, but Allegheny County...

A brick duplex under renovation in Sharpsburg went up in flames Sunday evening, causing half of the building to be demolished just before midnight. “We had to tear half of it down because the roof had collapsed to the basement,” said Mike Daniher, chief of Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services....

Kiski Area School District will be operating under a new administrative structure beginning July 1. It has some similarities to the one former Superintendent Misty Slavic proposed, but the school board rejected, in February. That proposal gave more responsibilities to certain administrators but also included salary increases ranging from 7.2%...

Jim Rugh knows one thing for sure: Companies like his need workers to fill manufacturing jobs. As human resources manager for Washington Township manufacturer Composidie Inc., Rugh is familiar with the challenges employers face when looking for workers. “Anything we can do to help make people more aware of the...

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. Children welcome at free annual fishing derby Concordia Lutheran Ministries in...

Kiski Area School District can claim another award- winning principal. Brian Swartzlander, Kiski Area Upper Elementary School principal, was named Pennsylvania’s 2024 National Distinguished Principal by the Pennsylvania Principals Association. Dan Smith, then-assistant principal of the building, won an award through the state association in 2021. Swartzlander called the experience “surreal.”...

Here is a weekly look at recent images captured throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley. From major news events to routine gatherings, the Tribune-Review’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,...

Southern Armstrong police are looking for a man who fled a police stop in Gilpin Township, Saturday night, police said. The motorist, Robert Sipe, fled from his vehicle and ran into a wooded area behind the Portage Inn when police stopped it in the area of Route 66 and Johnetta...

It’s a problem that too many pet parents are familiar with — what to do when your four-legged friend is sick or injured after office hours. “The options are either go to the emergency room and wait for hours or take a chance to get them seen the next day,”...

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. Leechburg Hall of Fame dinner set for May 19 The annual...

Amy Capiross-Watterson of Allegheny Township has an uncanny talent of inspiring people to do hard things. And with her only goal being to make people feel good, she has united a group of about 50 cyclists who visit her spin classes each week at Accelerate Cycle Studio in Leechburg. Capiross-Watterson,...

The Rev. Kent Commodore of Second Baptist Church in Ford City had to remind his older brother Hank several times it’s OK to be appreciated. That everything is as it should be when more than 100 people pack the dining hall of MJ’s Bar & Grille in Arnold on a...

Brianna Bicker of Delmont recalled how strange it was for students starting at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg campus in fall 2020, where they didn’t eat their meals in the dining room, had few people attend class in person and couldn’t gather in large groups because of the covid-19...