Valley News Dispatch category, Page 164
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...
Harrison police warn of vehicle break-ins
Harrison police are urging residents to lock their doors after a spree in which two females were reported to be rifling through vehicles early Tuesday. Chief Brian Turack said officers were called about 12:15 a.m. to Spruce Street in the township’s Natrona neighborhood. “We received a report of two individuals...
The Stroller, Aug. 13, 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. Rick Gercak and Three Who Rock to play Tarentum Park Tarentum...
Plum schools seek $9.9M loan for $30M renovation and expansion project
The Plum School Board on Tuesday will consider borrowing the first one-third of the money needed for a roughly $30 million building project. During its meeting Tuesday, the board is expected to hear a presentation from the district’s financial advisors, PFM Financial Advisors, before voting on proceeding with borrowing nearly...
Plum holds solemn vigil for those lost in house explosion a year ago
At 10:23 a.m. Monday, Plum paused to remember those who died in a house explosion in the borough’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood exactly one year ago. Church bells at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church were among those that began chiming at the precise moment Paul and Heather Oravitz’s home exploded...
Wreck knocked out power to part of Lower Burrell, closed Leechburg Road for hours
A wreck closed Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell for nearly 12 hours Monday. Leechburg Road, the main thoroughfare through the city, was closed between MacBeth Drive and Edgecliff Road from 3 a.m. to 2 p.m. after a vehicle struck a utility pole. The vehicle sheered a utility pole, which fell...
The Stroller, Aug. 12, 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. Local food shuttle expands hours, service areas The Fresh Food Shuttle...
State funding to boost Main Streets could assist local communities
Only $20 million is up for grabs statewide for small cities and boroughs looking to improve their downtowns, but local officials say they’re optimistic the money could head their way. The money is designated for a new Main Street Matters program that aims to foster economic growth and development for...
Freeport, Fox Chapel become Bird Towns; Tarentum to consider joining
A nationwide loss of more than 3 billion birds since the 1970s has spurred an effort to make Pittsburgh and its suburbs a better place to roost. Bird Town, a statewide grassroots program, is partnering with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania to restore habitat and bring people together for...
Grandma’s cookie jars: Nostalgic trend making a sweet comeback
Lifting the lid and reaching in to sneak a cookie from a cookie jar is a childhood memory for many. There was nothing better than grabbing one — or more — of the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies we knew were just waiting for us inside that ceramic, porcelain or...
