Valley News Dispatch category, Page 333

Police say they used DNA and surveillance video to identify a man accused of stealing a pickup from the Sheetz parking lot on Freeport Street in New Kensington last year. New Kensington police charged Michael Joseph Spears, 29, of Carnegie on Wednesday with a felony count of theft. In a...

A lack of volunteers, mainly the kitchen manager, is causing the closure of the Kinloch Meals on Wheels. The program will shut down July 29. Kinloch delivers meals on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to 27 clients, mostly elderly or disabled residents, in the Kinloch section of Lower Burrell and parts...

Publicize your community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15068. Please include a daytime telephone number. Fun on Wheels to be featured at Leechburg events Leechburg Volunteer Fire...

Three brothers are continuing the legacy of their family-owned automotive repair business in Indiana Township. Kepple’s Garage, co-owned by Wilbur, Howard and Chuck Kepple, celebrates 74 years of repairing vehicles and equipment this year. The garage, founded by their late parents, Edna and John Kepple, opened in 1948. “I learned...

Harmar police are investigating after a pickup ended up submerged in the Allegheny River on Wednesday evening. Allegheny County dispatchers said no injuries were reported in connection with the incident at the boat ramp along the 2500 block of Wenzel Drive. Two men went boating late that afternoon when things...

Ground has been broken for the off-leash dog park planned at Harrison Hills. The 1.3-acre site will sit along Woodchuck Drive, across from Laurel Shelter in the upper portion of the park. Allegheny County landscape architect Joel Perkovich said the open field is a perfect spot to let dogs of...

A New Kensington man is accused of assaulting a caregiver with the cut-off handle of a shovel. Police charged Marvin Tyree Hall, 36, of Constitution Boulevard with two felony counts of aggravated assault and a misdemeanor count of simple assault. Police said the assault was reported shortly after 11 a.m....

Tyler Balla knew he wanted a career in law enforcement when he was growing up in New Kensington. “My uncle was a police officer in St. Petersburg, Fla., and he was my buddy,” Balla said. “Every time he’d come home, he’d always tell law enforcement stories. He passed away from...

Work to repair a landslide will close a section of Logans Ferry Road in Plum for up to three months. The stretch between Entrance Drive and Columbia Road, near the border of Plum and New Kensington, tentatively is scheduled to close beginning Aug. 2. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said, if...

Two people from Springdale were charged with a felony after each of them told police the other person stabbed them with a fork. Gary Joseph Turner, 64, and Theresa Marie Smiesko, 50, both of the 600 block of Lincoln Avenue, were charged with a felony count of aggravated assault in...

Business owners dream of having a captive audience for their products. But in the mid-18th century, a businessman had the Alle-Kiski Valley and much of Western Pennsylvania to himself. Pierre (Peter) Chartier was a trapper who set up a fur trading post in 1734 near where Chartiers Run empties into...

The fourth annual Officer Brian Shaw Foundation Concert Series will feature six live bands and more than 140 auction baskets Saturday at Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower Burrell. Admission is $10 for the event, which runs from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Shaw, of Lower Burrell, was a New Kensington...

A Lower Burrell couple face fraud charges after police say they filed an insurance claim for gold and diamond jewelry and a Louis Vuitton handbag they reported stolen after selling the items. William Leonard Klems II, 41, and Kaylyn Leeann Klems, 31, of the 100 block of Chippawa Drive, each...

No injuries were reported in a house fire Wednesday morning in Washington Township. Fire crews responded about 7:30 a.m. to a home in the 100 block of Hope Hollow Road. Clayton Murphy, Washington Township fire chief, confirmed a man and a dog were not at home when the blaze broke...

Publicize your community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15068. Please include a daytime telephone number. Performers needed for annual Casino Theater Christmas show The Casino Theater in...

An Arnold house was unoccupied when it was damaged by fire Tuesday afternoon. The fire at 1432 Third Ave. was reported at 5:20 p.m., according to Westmoreland County 911 and Arnold No. 1 fire Chief Brian Gouza. The house is at the rear of the lot, abutting Cherry Alley. Units...

No serious damage was caused by a chimney fire Tuesday at a coffee shop in downtown New Kensington. Firefighters responded to the call at Steel Cup Coffee Roasters on 10th Street about 11 a.m., fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. said. Business owner Doug Pinto said he was roasting coffee when...

A New Kensington police officer who was trying to break up a fight between two women has charged one of them with felony aggravated assault after she began punching him in the head. Katelyn Marie Conrad, 27, of the 1800 block of Leishman Avenue also faces charges of simple assault...

Kiski Area School District has created a new full-time position to help serve the district’s special education and gifted programs. Darren Kennedy was hired as the district’s new director of student support services at a salary of $115,000. He started in the position July 1 and will serve students on...

A Hyde Park company donated an iron gate that allows river rescue teams to access the Kiski River at the Roaring Run Trail in Kiski Township. Previously, poles blocked all vehicles from backing down the ramp to launch motorboats at the Roaring Run trail launch, said Ken Kaminski, board president...

Armstrong Community Theater is wrapping up rehearsals for its annual summer musical “Once Upon a Mattress.” The actors will take to the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 22 and 23, and 2 p.m. Sunday, July 24, at the Casino Theatre in Vandergrift. Director David Emanuelson said the...

Corbet Street in Tarentum is expected to have a new look by fall with the demolition of a two-story building that was home for many years to a corner market. Borough officials on June 23 closed on the purchase of 215 Corbet, the two-story red brick building that is noticeable...

Publicize your community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15068. Please include a daytime telephone number. Tickets on sale for 80s Beach Bash An 80s Beach Bash will...

Darla Cuppy of Vandergrift was driving along McKinley Avenue on Sunday when something new caught her eye. Cuppy noticed a large, handmade wooden blessing box filled with food and toiletry items, and decided to stop and grab a few items to take home. “This is one of the best ones...

A musical fantasy with rad costumes — on wheels — will transform the stage at Allegheny RiverTrail Park for an out-of-this-world rendition of “Xanadu.” Riverfront Theater Company’s Young Artists will transport audiences to the disco-loving days of 1980 for the roller skating adventure. It will be presented at 7 p.m....