Valley News Dispatch category, Page 334

Police charged two New Kensington men with conspiring to sell fentanyl and methamphetamine after significant amounts of the drugs were confiscated during a raid at one of their homes Monday evening. Andrew Michael Slywczuk, 38, of the 400 block of Charles Avenue and Shawnti Eugene Shifflett, 26, of the 500...

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. Barbeque bash to feature food, vendors and music Leechburg Area Community Association...

Allegheny Valley School District students will not have to quarantine if they come in close contact with a student who tests positive for covid-19. School board members voted 8-0 to approve the district’s health and safety plan, which eliminates contact tracing, during their meeting Tuesday, Aug. 16. Board member Jessica...

Highlands Dems are hosting an environmental rally Thursday at Harrison Hills, where participants are encouraged to don Super Hero capes and accept the challenge to help climate-friendly candidates get elected in November. “This is a call to action,” said Autumn Monaghan, organizer. “All of us green heroes will channel our...

An interactive ballet-themed story program provided a unique experience for youngsters Wednesday in Vandergrift. Instructors from The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre presented “Dance the Story” to more than 20 girls at the Casino Theatre. The annual event was sponsored by the Vandergrift Public Library and presented by the Westmoreland Library Network....

The historic Salina Bridge connecting Kiski and Bell townships will be replaced with a modern bridge, maybe as early as 2024. And the new bridge won’t be built in the same spot as the existing one. The exact dates are not set in stone, but Troy Pitts, PennDOT project manager,...

As World War II approached, New Kensington was truly “The Aluminum City.” In 1940, there were 7,500 people employed at ALCOA facilities in the city at the riverfront aluminum works, the powder plant along the river in Plum and at the research center along Freeport Road. Thousands of other support...

The Kiski Area School Board and the district’s teachers union have ratified a new five-year contract. Under the agreement, teachers will receive a total salary pool increase of 3.35% each year, according to Kiski Area Business Manager Amy Simmons. The funds from this increase are distributed based on each teacher’s...

One person was injured in a house fire early Wednesday morning in Kittanning, authorities said. Crews responded to scene in the 500 block of North Water Street just before 5 a.m. Armstrong County dispatchers said one person suffered burns and was transported to a hospital. Crews are still on the...

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. Cadogan to mark 100 years with festival The township of Cadogan will...

A Gilpin Township police officer was suspended without pay and subsequently resigned after he was charged with corruption of a minor in Greensburg. William Andrew Rapone II, 22, of the 200 block of Long­fellow Street in Vandergrift, was charged by Greensburg police on Aug. 3 with misdemeanor counts of corruption...

A Monroeville man on probation for corruption of a minor in a 2020 case was issued a summons last week from Allegheny Township police on similar charges. Guerau Bernat Cabrera, 44, of the 3800 block of Northern Pike in Monroeville was charged Aug. 8 by township police with a misdemeanor...

People can still weigh in on a joint comprehensive plan between O’Hara and Fox Chapel via survey. Both communities are in the process of forming a plan that will shape their futures for the next decade. A survey is open through the end of the month. It is available online...

After a sold-out Gateway Clipper cruise in Armstrong County last year, the county’s tourism agency is offering three Allegheny River cruises on Oct. 1. Tickets for cruises lasting several hours aboard the clipper fleet’s Princess are selling fast, said Experience Armstrong, Inc. Director Cheyenne Filous. As of Tuesday, the sightseeing...

Wooden Door Winery in Allegheny Township is officially on the market. Owners Jeff and Chrissy Pollick announced they were selling their flagship winery in June, but the property wasn’t officially listed for sale then, and an asking price was not disclosed. The barn-themed winery at 4087 Greenwood Road in Allegheny...

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. Dogs and owners welcome at annual HOPE Center fundraiser The annual Mutts,...

A Tarentum diner is offering “good vibes only” through its homestyle cooking and friendly conversation. Cindy’s Soft Serve and Hometown Food, at 309 E. Fourth St., is a 1950s-style eatery with menu items named as an homage to the Alle-Kiski Valley. There’s the Red Cat, a burger with fries and...

An Arnold man was ordered to serve up to nine years in prison for his role in a shooting near the city’s police station more than three years ago. Michael Todd Lasko, 30, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and two firearms offenses in connection with gunfire that erupted May 24,...

Police accused a Lower Burrell man of being a drug dealer after narcotics, body armor, a large amount of cash and other evidence was seized from his home during a raid. Jevon Damian Sims, 33, of the 100 block of Ireland Drive was charged with felony counts of illegal possession...

New Kensington police accused a man of stealing a cane from a 75-year-old man with physical challenges and using it to smash the rear windshield of the 75-year-old’s car because he was rooting through a dumpster to gather metal cans. Charles Darnell Jones, 48, of the 1900 block of Alcoa...

Authorities say a Michigan man who was found dead in the Allegheny River several hundred yards downstream from the Tarentum Bridge on Thursday drowned accidentally at the scene. Tirrell Lamont Smith, 40, of Grand Rapids was found unresponsive in the water a short time after first responders arrived because someone...

Arnold residents who are not paying their garbage and sewage bills are placing a burden on the city, which is stepping up its efforts to collect. The city was owed about $250,000 from delinquent accounts when it took over billing for the services from Pennsylvania Municipal Service, commonly known as...

A hybrid home-school program has doubled its fledgling enrollment since opening last year in Vandergrift. Willow Tree Academy opened last September at The Center on Franklin Ave. Classes are held in two sessions, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. All students enrolled are required to be in a...

New Kensington native Shane Henderson followed his father’s example into his life as an artist. “He taught me stuff before I was even in high school. I had a nice starting point for taking it professionally,” Henderson said. “I always drew as a kid. He always encouraged that. It was...

A Lower Burrell mom is working with the city to present the first Alle-Kiski Inclusion Games for kids who can’t play traditional sports. Courtney Kobelenske, a Lower Burrell mom and co-owner of Cora Lee Cupcakes in New Kensington, said she wanted to provide a fun, athletic event for her daughter,...