Valley News Dispatch category, Page 344
Delayed $16 million senior housing project resumes in East Vandergrift
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...
The Stroller, Nov. 15, 2022: 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. Basket bingo event to benefit Penn State THON Students at Penn...
Missing 70-year-old Springdale Township man found
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...
New Kensington to hold line on property taxes despite rising costs
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 urge residents to provide input on zoning ordinance
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...
Faces of the Valley: Coach takes pause from retirement to help inspire latest crop of Highlands cross-country runners
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...
The Stroller, Nov. 14, 2022: 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. Saxonburg woman’s club to place wreaths on vets’ headstones GFWC Saxonburg...
Local schools share in $190 million from state to boost security and mental health programs
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...
Winter Ready Rams brings in 200 coats to keep Highlands students warm
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...
Leechburg Area officials interview firms that collect delinquent property taxes, now at $900K
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...
Site work expected to begin at Harrison’s mixed-use business park
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...
Man killed in early morning rollover crash in North Apollo identified
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...
Thanksgiving turkeys say no to inflation, but everything else up
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...
Leechburg’s Twisted Thistle has new ownership, new name
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...
The Stroller, Nov. 13, 2022: 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. Volunteers needed for River Road cleanup in Parks Kiskiminetas Watershed Association...
Accolades, financial help coming in for Trib newspaper carrier who saved elderly couple from burning home
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...
Pittsburgh leads national Light To Unite for Purple Heart’s 240th anniversary
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 Council moves forward with financing for sewage treatment plant
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...
Drug sting in Apollo leads to arrest of Vandergrift, West Deer suspects accused of selling meth
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...
The Stroller, Nov. 12, 2022: 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. Murder/mystery dinner to benefit local feline rescue group A murder mystery...
‘Start Up’ television episode featuring New Kensington debuts at Voodoo Brewing
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...
Public invited to weigh in on $3 million Freeport Area High improvement project
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...
Highlands Elementary students mark Veterans Day by honoring family members who served
Desert Storm veteran Frank Banks shared a special breakfast Friday morning with fellow serviceman Robert Hayden and his nephews, Grayson and Ezra Killian, at Highlands Elementary School. “I love being here with the kids,” said Hayden, an Air Force veteran and Harrison resident. “It’s a nice event all-around.” The pancake...
Bitter 2021 ATI strike focus of documentary, Zoom discussion
Caustic picket line conversations and fiery union hall debates will take center stage in an upcoming documentary about the bitter 2021 ATI strike that impacted 450 workers in the Alle-Kiski Valley. “Local 1196: A Steelworkers Strike” gives a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of union workers and their families while...
Friends, family of late Vietnam veteran from Freeport hope to secure military honors for him at VA cemetery
Late Freeport resident Bob Johnston served three tours of harrowing conflict in the Vietnam War, running supplies along the Cua Viet River at Dong Ha. He served four years in the Navy, 1965-68, basically living on the water while repelling ground attacks and artillery fire from the enemy. “He made...
