Valley News Dispatch category, Page 360

Grants are boosting New Kensington-Arnold School District’s budget by $7.2 million, but a maximum allowable property tax increase — 5% — remains. The school board approved the district’s proposed budget for the 2022-23 school year, with plans to take a final vote on June 7. The budget is showing a...

Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said authorities have a person of interest in the death of Azuree Charles, a 9-year-old resident of East Ken Manor in New Kensington. Ziccarelli did not share any details Thursday afternoon as East Ken Manor residents prepared to honor the memory of Azuree, who...

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. Please include a daytime telephone number. Gospel concert to feature local musicians A gospel music concert, Gospel Explosion, will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at...

A man died in a fire early Thursday at an apartment house on Woodmont Avenue in Arnold. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Frank J. Cable, 54. The early morning blaze in the two-story frame house at 1937 Woodmont Ave. also claimed the life of Cable’s dog,...

The creek passing in front of Valley High School is set to become a race course — for rubber ducks. The first-time “Rubber Ducky Derby” scheduled for May 15 is a fundraiser for the junior varsity and varsity girls volleyball teams, said April Stone, their coach and a paraprofessional at...

If the Natrona neighborhood of Harrison is looking fresh and clean, there are volunteers to thank for the makeover. A group of diligent workers collected a massive amount of garbage April 23 during a townshipwide Earth Day cleanup event. More than 120 tires were collected from streets and empty lots....

When a classmate and friend asked Hanna Essey to help raise money and awareness for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society last school year, the Fox Chapel Area High School student did not hesitate. She assisted with then junior Sarah Giuffre’s campaign and the team raised around $30,000. Now, both seniors,...

A 150-foot tall elm tree that toppled Tuesday along Carlisle Street in Harrison couldn’t have been positioned more perfectly. Inches either way, and the 110-year-old tree would have smashed roofs, broke windows or at least tore gutters away from the two homes it landed between. “If this had to happen,...

Police are investigating the death of a 9-year-old boy, Azuree Charles, in New Kensington. The Westmoreland County coroner was called to the scene Wednesday afternoon at East Ken Manor, a Westmoreland County Housing Authority complex along Haser Drive. Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli was also at the scene. The...

Two New Kensington roads are slated to be resurfaced this year, and city officials are looking for more that can be done with the money available. Council on Monday awarded a nearly $103,000 contract to A. Folino Construction to resurface Locust Street from Victoria Avenue to Freeport Road, and Earl...

Two Alle-Kiski Valley educators are among finalists in an awards program in which the public selects the winners. R. Patrick Marchand, principal of Kiski Area East Primary School, is up for principal of the year for The Education Partnership’s third annual Teacher Appreciation Awards. Julie Erb, a teacher at Martin...

Freeport and Gilpin officials are considering the idea of merging police departments. No decisions were made at a recent meeting, where both municipalities were represented by three officials. Among the pros and cons discussed was 24-hour coverage for both communities, led by eight full-time officers. Already, Chris Fabec serves as...

West Deer will receive a $1.5 million state grant that will go toward the construction of a municipal complex. Rep. Bob Brooks announced the grant in a news release April 22. He advocated for the funding through the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP), according to the release. “The grant...

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. Please include a daytime telephone number. Bingo fundraiser to benefit Lower Valley food bank Lower Valley Community Food Bank will host a spring fling bingo at 7...

It was a day many in the Alle-Kiski Valley thought might never come: Aug. 9, 1985, the day the Allegheny Valley Expressway was completed. More than 40 years of designs, redesigns, funding, defunding and demographic changes that threatened to derail the entire project were overcome that day with the ribbon-cutting...

Fifth-generation Tarentum resident Cindy Homburg relishes memories of time spent in her grandmother’s kitchen. “Her creamed cucumber recipe with the sauteed onions, that’s one that our family still makes today,” Homburg said. “She would add a touch of sugar and enough vinegar to make it bite.” Homburg is hoping that...

A new five-year contract between the New Kensington-Arnold School District and its teachers union is formally in place following the school board’s approval Tuesday. The board voted 8-0 in favor of the agreement, which increases teachers’ pay while also having them pay more toward health care. Board member Eric Doutt...

A New Kensington woman is charged with breaking into the house where she previously lived and strangling a woman who now lives there. Nazhae Vicki Nico Banks, 25, of the 1900 block of Victoria Avenue, is charged with felony counts of burglary, strangulation and criminal trespass as well as one...

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. Please include a daytime telephone number. Riverview football boosters and alumni plan golf outing The Riverview Football Boosters and Alumni Association will host a golf outing July...

It has been almost two years since Affival moved into New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park. The move from Plum has worked out well for the business, which supplies the steel industry with cored wire products used to change the properties of steel. “A move anywhere was going to be a...

An Allegheny Township man accused of auto theft and trying to carjack another vehicle by assaulting the owner has been arrested, according to authorities. Jeffrey Scott Nedley, 39, of the 200 block of McGeary Hollow Road, was charged with felony counts of aggravated assault and theft along with two counts...

Tarentum’s loss is Murrysville’s gain. Tarentum Borough Manager Michael Nestico is expected to resign during a council meeting May 10 to take the job as Murrysville’s top administrator. Tarentum Council President Scott Dadowski said council is aware of Nestico’s decision and that his leaving will be a loss for the...

A Tarentum couple was arrested on felony drug charges after police raided a home where they were living and found heroin and cash that included bills marked for an undercover drug buy, police said. Michael Joseph Spears, 29, and Kelly Flemming, 28, of the 100 block of Curtis Street, were...

From light to heavy, vegan to meaty, the upcoming new menu at Knead Community Cafe in New Kensington is full of options. While the winter chill lingered this year, Knead’s fall and winter menu will exit with the launch of the spring and summer menu on May 10. It brings...