Valley News Dispatch category, Page 308

Demand for office suites at the near-century-old Murphy Building in Tarentum is outpacing available space. The large corner building that sat vacant for eight years is breathing new life into the borough’s business district, with offices on the first floor rented at capacity. Owner Dave Rankin has kicked off a...

Harrison police are seeking information on a person caught on camera entering and stealing from unlocked vehicles in the township. A handgun was among the items stolen, according to police. The suspect was captured by residential security cameras early Sunday ransacking cars along Saxonburg Road, High Street and Jefferson Avenue....

Vandergrift native Bobbie Morda opened her dream jewelry store 34 years ago with a handful of necklaces and six engagement rings. Her store, Bobbie’s Jewelers, occupies a former barbershop at 173 Columbia Ave. in Vandergrift’s historic business district. “This comes from blood, sweat and tears. This was not turnkey,” Morda...

After a nine-month setback, development plans for a new senior citizen residential complex have resumed in East Vandergrift, Westmoreland County. The Morning Sun Senior Lofts project was awarded a $1.2 million grant this month from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) and $1.3 million in low-income tax credits. The low-income...

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. Basket bingo event to benefit Penn State THON Students at Penn...

A Springdale Township man who has been missing since Sunday was found Monday night, police said. Gerald Zilka, 70, was found near the Fox Chapel exit of Route 28, according to Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department chief Mike Naviglia. Zilka’s wife and daughter reported him missing after Zilka told his...

Despite rising costs, New Kensington is expecting to hold the line on property taxes next year. City Council preliminary approved a $9.2 million budget for 2023 that keeps the city’s property tax rate unchanged at 32.03 mills. The city would spend almost 9% more than its $8.5 million budget for...

Gilpin officials are seeking additional public participation at an upcoming zoning ordinance update meeting. An in-person zoning meeting is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Gilpin Township Volunteer Fire Department, 113 Fire Hall Road. Gilpin Supervisor Charles Stull said the informal meeting is open-house style, and...

Rich Bogaty wasn’t thinking about getting back into coaching when a little boredom started nipping at his heels a couple of years after retiring as a biology teacher. So when the Plum native was recruited to fill a vacancy as Highland’s head cross country coach in 2019, he had to...

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. Saxonburg woman’s club to place wreaths on vets’ headstones GFWC Saxonburg...

By spring, Highlands students will have roving access to health and hygiene supplies, clothes and classroom items to help increase their chances of success in school. The Mobile Support Station will be paid for through a $270,000 state grant from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency School Safety and...

Nearly 200 Highlands students will be extra toasty this winter thanks to a warm-clothes collection hosted by the school district community. Parent Christina Faltot spearheaded the Winter Ready Rams drive for the third consecutive year, bringing in coats, hats, scarves and gloves to help students in need. Faltot of Harrison...

The Leechburg Area School Board is getting serious about real estate tax scofflaws. Officials say Leechburg Area is due $900,000 from unpaid taxes. On Wednesday night, the board heard from representatives of three firms that go after property owners who owe back taxes. • Jared McClay of Muni­cipal Revenue Services...

A mixed-use development off Route 28 in Harrison is expected to move forward in the spring after several years sitting dormant. Brian Clark, consultant for R&Z Harrison Properties, said site work and infrastructure are scheduled to begin on Harrison Point, a 162-acre development near the Tarentum interchange of the expressway...

The Armstrong County Coroner identified the man killed in a crash in North Apollo early Sunday as Brady Bollinger, 27, of Blairville. According to the coroner, the crash happened about 2:15 a.m. on Hickory Nut Road in an area between North Apollo and Kiski Township. A statement from the coroner...

National headlines predict doom and gloom at the Thanksgiving dinner table this year. “Inflation is so bad you may be better off dining at a restaurant for Thanksgiving this year,” Fortune magazine prognosticated, while the Eating Well website proclaimed, “Your Thanksgiving Turkey Might Be Twice as Expensive This Year.” Wells...

A well-known restaurant in Leechburg is under new ownership and has a new name. Twisted Thistle was sold this month by Linda Alworth of Gilpin to three new owners: friends Bobby Elliott, Sean Watson and Corey Pistininzi. They’ve renamed it National Public House. Alworth, 68, recently sold Lingrow Farm, a...

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. Volunteers needed for River Road cleanup in Parks Kiskiminetas Watershed Association...

A newspaper carrier who saved an elderly couple from a burning house in Tarentum on Monday said the response to her actions “has been a little overwhelming,” as praise for her bravery pours in and people rally to help her recover from the losses she suffered in a car fire...

As the sun set on Veterans Day, the land of the red, white and blue turned purple. Starting in Pittsburgh at the Koppers Building and followed by New York’s One World Trade Center, reddish-blue illumination glowed across the United States for Light To Unite, an initiative to honor the 240th...

Freeport officials will float a bond to pay for a $5.9 million financing shortfall for the new sewage treatment plant. Council approved a letter of engagement with Piper Sandler, a national bond underwriting firm, at this week’s council meeting. The action came after a presentation by Chris Shelby of Piper...

Two people who were the target of a drug investigation this summer by Apollo police and the Armstrong County Drug Task Force face felony charges for allegedly selling methamphetamine. Curtis John Hepler, 63, of the 100 block of Hamilton Avenue in Vandergrift was charged with four felony counts of possession...

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. Murder/mystery dinner to benefit local feline rescue group A murder mystery...

An episode of a PBS series focusing on revitalization efforts in New Kensington is “a tremendous postcard for the city,” Mayor Tom Guzzo said. The episode of “Start Up” featuring Mike Malcanas and his Olde Towne Overhaul debuted at Voodoo Brewing New Kensington Pub on Friday evening. “Anyone who watches...

After 61 years, improvements are in the works for Freeport Area Senior High School. At its meeting Thursday, the school board revealed plans for the $3 million project include a new boiler system and electrical work. The science wing also is set for modernization. “The full project has not been...