Valley News Dispatch category, Page 318
The Stroller, Feb. 20, 2023: 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. Children encouraged to enter bookmark design contest Vandergrift Public Library is...
Plum awards contract for $1M road paving program, mostly for Holiday Park and Logans Ferry Heights
Plum’s Holiday Park and Logans Ferry Heights neighborhoods will be the main beneficiaries of road work in the borough this year. Of nearly a dozen roads that will be resurfaced, seven are in Holiday Park. Eighteen that will be tarred and chipped are all in Logans Ferry Heights. Borough council...
Harrison, Brackenridge police investigating after ‘taggers’ vandalize properties
Graffiti artists have left their unwanted mark on a Brackenridge business and other sites in Harrison. Property owner Cameron Yockey said he discovered Feb. 3 that his building along Brackenridge Avenue had been tagged. Vandals scribbled on the storefront, sidewalk and trash can. “Thankfully, we bought this building to renovate...
Plum Council approves first 35 houses of Patriot Estates plan; a total of 158 in the works
Plum Council has attached a few conditions to its approval of the first phase of a three-phase, 158-home housing development. Council voted 6-0 to give final approval to the 35-house first phase of Patriot Estates, a development that would cover about 140 acres off Davidson Road. Council’s approval followed a...
Faces of the Valley: New Kensington-Arnold’s beloved ‘Ms. Isaac’ brings out the best in students
Fifth grade teacher Samantha Isaac takes advantage of her classroom being at something of a crossroads inside Roy A. Hunt Elementary School in Arnold. Isaac is often outside her door, extending her influence beyond the students in her room. “She’s out in the hallway talking with students, giving them fist...
Truancy can carry legal penalties, affect the ability to get a job
Frank J. Pallone Jr. has had many truancy cases come before him during his 24 years as a district judge in New Kensington. In those hearings, Pallone said he takes the time to learn what is going on in homes that caused a child to miss school and rack up...
Remember When: Bridges changed the way people, merchandise crossed the river in New Kensington
Until the late 1800s, river crossings were accomplished primarily using ferries throughout much of the Alle-Kiski Valley. They were used to transport not only pedestrians but also animals, carriages and wagons filled with goods going to market. As the population increased in communities along the Allegheny River, the ferry system...
Lower Burrell prepares for $9.2 million sewage project
The Lower Burrell Municipal Authority and the city’s leadership are gearing up for a $9.2 million sewage project, likely the most expensive project for the city in the next decade. The municipal authority will replace and upgrade the Big Braeburn pump station at the bottom of Edgecliff Road plus repair...
Armstrong County commissioners explore park transfer offer to Gilpin and Leechburg officials
The Gilpin/Leechburg Park in Gilpin might soon be under new ownership. On Jan. 26, the Armstrong County commissioners sent letters to Gilpin and Leechburg officials to gauge interest on the municipalities taking ownership of the park property. The Gilpin supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday, Feb. 14 to accept the park’s transfer....
Allegheny Township supervisors consider resident’s request for street lights in his neighborhood
The Allegheny Township supervisors will investigate the costs for installing street lights in the Pleasantville neighborhood. That’s in response to an inquiry by Michael Blakeny, a resident of Sunrise Drive. Blakeny said he is concerned about the safety of pedestrians, particularly children, walking the neighborhood after dark. He said it...
Anti-violence and community healing event in New Kensington urges citizens to ‘get on board with love’
Parents, teachers, children, pastors and concerned citizens turned out Saturday afternoon at Valley High School auditorium in New Kensington to consider how the area’s recent spate of violence might be stopped. The event was coordinated by former New Kensington- Arnold School District dean of students Henry “Hank” Commodore, who said he...
The Stroller, Feb. 19, 2023: 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. Tickets available for spaghetti dinner in honor of Brackenridge chief Pioneer...
Birds of a feather flock together at Harrison Hills Park for annual Great Backyard Bird Count
Like most birding enthusiasts, Jessica Lakari looks forward to every chance to get out in the woods to glimpse the colorful and often complex behavior of winged creatures. So when birders from around the Alle-Kiski Valley gathered at Harrison Hill Park this weekend for the Great Backyard Bird Count, she...
Arnold Council delays vote on roofing company request to lease lots for storage
Arnold Council has delayed voting on a roofing company’s request to lease city-owned land for outdoor storage. Liberty Roofing Center wants to lease the vacant lots at 1501-1507 Fourth Ave. As proposed, the rent would be $400 per month, or $4,800 per year, with a five-year minimum. What would be...
Homeless man accused of robbing Harrison Sunoco at knifepoint is jailed without bond
A district judge denied bail for a homeless man accused of holding a knife to a Harrison gas station attendant’s throat during a robbery Tuesday night. Nicholas Dupree, 21, was charged with a felony count of robbery along with counts of theft, possession of an instrument of crime, simple assault...
The Stroller, Feb. 18, 2023: 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. Children’s bereavement workshop offered online Good Samaritan Hospice, a mission of...
Fox Chapel Area students glam it up with ‘Guys and Dolls’
It’s a golden year filled with glitz and glamour for Fox Chapel Area musical theater. A student-driven production of “Guys and Dolls” will hit the stage to mark the district’s 50th year of shows where teens consistently turn in near-professional performances, belting out Broadway-style tunes and sashaying across the stage....
New Kensington police officer dragged by car while attempting to arrest wanted woman
A New Kensington police officer was dragged by a vehicle Thursday when he attempted to arrest a woman he knew had an outstanding warrant against her. The incident began about 5 p.m. at the Sunoco gas station on Tarentum Bridge Road, according to court records. A pursuit — first by...
Homeless man arrested in burglary after New Kensington apartment break-in attempt
A homeless man who was barred in 2019 from entering the Central Towers public housing complex in New Kensington was arrested Tuesday, accused of trying to break into an apartment the day after its tenant died, according to authorities. Paul Walter “Charlie” Graves, 54, was charged with felony counts of...
Social Security moving office from New Kensington to Harrison’s Heights Plaza
The Social Security Administration office that has been in New Kensington for nearly 40 years will be moving to Harrison, a government spokesman said. The U.S. General Services Administration signed a new lease for the office to be at Heights Plaza in Natrona Heights, spokesman Will Powell said. The office...
Spaghetti dinner fundraiser returns after long hiatus at St. Gertrude’s in Vandergrift
A big fundraiser with big flavor is back in Vandergrift. The monthly spaghetti dinner, long held in person at St. Gertrude Roman Catholic Church in Vandergrift, has returned. “I’m glad it’s back,” the Rev. James Loew said. “It’s a fundraiser, but it’s an event that brings the parish and the...
The Stroller, Feb. 17, 2023: 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. Early Childhood Fair planned by Highlands School District Highlands School District...
Local entrepreneurs profit from advice offered through free programs
Bryan Krazel and Mark Williamson have taken control of their destinies. They both started new businesses last year — joining about 5 million other U.S. entrepreneurs who did the same thing, according to the Commerce Institute, a website that curates small-business statistics. Krazel had worked as a veterinarian for 25...
Fire displaces 8 New Kensington residents; multiple pets rescued
Eight New Kensington residents, including three children, are being helped by the American Red Cross after being displaced by a fire Thursday night. The three-story building in the 400 block of Fifth Avenue housed two apartments. Two people lived in the apartment on the first floor while six lived on...
New Kensington Council halts Tarentum contractor from buying abandoned house
New Kensington officials said they were doing a Tarentum contractor a favor by not allowing him to buy a long-vacant house in the city from Westmoreland County’s unsold repository. Council voted unanimously last month to not consent to the sale of 304 Charles Ave. to Bryaunt Williams, owner of One...
