Valley News Dispatch category, Page 322
Customers stunned as Kings in Allegheny Township permanently closes
For those who didn’t know, white sheets of paper taped Sunday to a glass front door told the story. “Attention Guests: Thank you for the opportunity to serve this community over the years,” one read. “Unfortunately, this location is now permanently closed.” Judging by surprised and annoyed customers arriving about...
Support for slain Brackenridge police chief, injured Tarentum officer continues with spaghetti dinner fundraiser
Zach Blume and Rebekka Schmid thought their VFW post in Tarentum should do something to express support for fallen Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire, wounded Tarentum police Officer Jordan Schrecengost and their families. So when the idea of holding a spaghetti fundraiser Sunday was settled on, they approached area businesses...
LED lights, other exterior upgrades to boost safety at UPMC St. Margaret hospital
Ongoing upgrades to the UPMC St. Margaret hospital campus near Aspinwall will boost safety for patients, staff and visitors, hospital leaders said. A switch to LED lights in the parking areas is a key component of the project. Work cost about $50,000 for 96 new lights in the parking and...
Leechburg resident combines passion for barbecue with helping people in need
A barbecue pitmaster from Leechburg uses his grill skills for charity. Joe “Big Joe” Felschow organizes barbecue benefits for anyone experiencing hardship in the Leechburg area. “It’s something I started and have a passion for. I love helping others in this crazy world we live in, even if it’s just...
Remember When: Long-gone Hairs Island once served a vital role in transportation issues
Before 1910, there was a large island in the Allegheny River between Lower Burrell and Tarentum. It ran from the Braeburn area downriver to the site of the present Tarentum Bridge. The island was named Hairs Island on early maps and was sometimes referred to as Tarentum Island in old...
Plum Council votes to demolish 2 houses following hearings
Plum Council has voted to tear down two houses the borough’s engineer has declared dangerous, while giving the owner of a third home more time to repair it. During hearings Monday, council voted to tear down houses at 7906 Saltsburg Road and 488 New Texas Road. Council voted to give...
Once-popular summer festival set to return in Allegheny Township
A popular summertime festival is returning to Allegheny Township. Community Days — last organized in 1997 — is set to return June 24. The township recently approved the formation of a Community Days Committee, spearheaded by Supervisor James Morabito. “We have no records indicating why the event ceased 26 years...
Woman accused of assaulting Lower Burrell officers, EMT responding to fight over empty liquor bottle
A woman accused of repeatedly punching a family member in the face when he polished off the last shot of cognac during a night of heavy drinking faces felony charges after Lower Burrell police said she attacked officers and medics who responded to her home. Tia Anastasia Collins, 24, of...
Pair accused by Harmar police of using man’s missing credit card at Home Depot face felony charges
Harmar police accused two men of using another person’s credit card to make more than $2,500 in purchases from a Home Depot store in Pittsburgh. Police charged Franklin Grant Rose, 45, of Brackenridge with felony counts of access device fraud and conspiracy to commit access device fraud along with counts...
Former Vandergrift YMCA preschool teacher branching out with new program
A longtime educator and former Valley Points Family YMCA employee is opening a new preschool program after a drama-filled departure from her previous teaching post at the West Vandergrift Early Learning Center in Vandergrift. Andrea Bennett was a YMCA employee for 35 years before cleaning out her classroom at the...
The Stroller, Feb. 5, 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. Armstrong Conservation group to have tree seedling sale Armstrong Conservation District...
‘Opportunity to redefine’: 7 Westmoreland County communities envision a future free of blight
Seven Westmoreland County communities from Greensburg to New Kensington to Monessen are getting a unique opportunity — the ability to re-create neighborhoods and business districts free of blight. Using $10.4 million in federal money, the project calls for identifying as many as 500 properties for demolition, although some might end...
Spaghetti dinner continues outpouring of support for Brackenridge, McIntire family
Brackenridge officials find themselves overwhelmed by the public support continuing to flow into the borough after police Chief Justin McIntire’s death. A case in point is the dinner being planned to benefit the family of McIntire, who was shot and killed in the line of duty Jan. 2. Councilman Dino...
District Judge Peck Yakopec stresses importance of staying in school
Cheryl Peck Yakopec introduced herself, not as a judge, but as a “Valley girl” to students attending an after-school program at the Salvation Army in New Kensington. Peck Yakopec, a district judge in Lower Burrell and Allegheny Township for 28 years, said she was among the students who voted to...
Tiny North Apollo takes on U.S. Postal Service over missed mail
North Apollo’s electric bill for a storage building never arrived. The borough’s council president and vice president didn’t receive bank statements for their taxes, and the owner of a local diner had to use her personal post office box for business mail. That’s just a sampling of complaints from public...
Wanted man charged after battling with Lower Burrell officers, police say
A man awaiting trial on a felony strangulation charge was accused by Lower Burrell police of driving with a suspended license in a car that had no insurance and had an expired registration and inspection. Thomas Henry Suppers Jr., 37, of the 500 block of Sycamore Street in Vandergrift was...
The Stroller, Feb. 4, 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. Lower Burrell Citizen Police Academy accepting applications The Lower Burrell Citizen...
2nd man faces felony charges after police say he tried to take blame for gun incident at Harmar motel
A second man has been arrested in connection with an incident last month at a Harmar motel during which a convicted felon who is not allowed to have a gun allegedly pulled a stolen pistol on a couple who were arguing outside their room at 2 a.m. Harmar police charged...
Kiski Garden Center in Allegheny Township under new ownership
A popular year-‘round garden center in Allegheny Township is under new ownership. Dave Vargo, former owner of Kiski Garden Center, sold his business Friday for $200,000 to Pat D’Amico of Buffalo Township. Vargo removed a large banner outside his former business that same afternoon as D’Amico looked on and later,...
Kiski Township man accused of attacking bar patron who gave him lift home, causing wreck into creek
Kiski Township police accused a resident of causing serious injuries to a man who offered him a ride home. Michael William Hungerford Jr., 38, of the 100 block of Florida Avenue in Kiski Township was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault along with two counts of simple assault...
Harrison eyes $640,000 sewer upgrades near Sylvan Park Pool
The Harrison commissioners are eyeing a $640,000 sewer project to help ease overflows in the neighborhoods near Sylvan Park Pool. The Little Bull Creek sanitary sewer upgrade is being done to comply with a years-old consent decree from the federal government. “It is a complicated project, but we hope to...
Move to rename Brackenridge street after police chief could take time
The Brackenridge street where police Chief Justin McIntire lived his life — and met his death — may soon bear his name. On Thursday, exactly one month after McIntire was shot and killed on duty, borough council authorized Solicitor Craig Alexander to draw up an ordinance renaming Third Avenue in...
Brackenridge Salvation Army programs uninterrupted despite red kettle campaign falling short
The closing of the Walmart store in The Waterworks mall dampened collection efforts by Salvation Army bell ringers and caused a shortfall in the annual fundraising campaign, leaders at the Allegheny Valley Corps in Brackenridge said. “With that store not available to us, and some other situations, we’re facing a...
Lower Valley Ambulance Service details its appeal for financial help to Springdale Township officials
Lower Valley Ambulance Service is providing Springdale Township and the six other communities it serves with details about how the money would be spent if the municipalities agree to its appeal for a dedicated funding source to pay for its operations. Late last year, the ambulance service told officials in...
The Stroller, Feb. 3, 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. Adult prom event planned Feb. 11 in Brackenridge A King and...
