Valley News Dispatch category, Page 370
Brian Shaw scholarship winner named at Allegheny County Police Academy graduation
An Allegheny County Police Academy cadet from Green Tree was awarded the Officer Brian Shaw Memorial Scholarship on Friday. Shaw, of Lower Burrell, was a New Kensington police officer who was shot and killed after a traffic stop and foot chase in 2017. He was 25. Nicholas Rajakovich, 26, won...
Apollo man wins top prize in fishing tournament for paralyzed veterans
An Apollo man was the winner in the 18th annual Team Bass Tournament for disabled veterans that was held recently on the Monongahela River near West Brownsville in Washington County. Veteran Mark Rosensteel of Apollo, president of the Keystone Paralyzed Veterans of America chapter, won the June 12 tournament with...
Police: Man held woman hostage at gunpoint in New Kensington apartment
A man is accused of holding a woman hostage at gunpoint over two days this week in New Kensington. New Kensington police charged Drayvawn Lamont Smith, 24, described as homeless, with unlawful restraint, strangulation and simple assault. He was arraigned Thursday afternoon and is being held in the Westmoreland County...
Harmar bald eagles unflappable as 2 take their first flights
The Harmar bald eagles, now in their ninth year of breeding on the same hillside above Route 28, raised a family of two eaglets that took to the skies this week. “The first flight of one of the juveniles on Wednesday was smooth but when it came to land, she...
Police: Woman picked up on warrants charged with felony for handing crack pipe over to deputy
A woman wanted on warrants issued in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties was arrested when New Kensington police spotted her inside a McDonald’s restaurant. Police also charged her with felony possession of contraband after they said she handed a crack pipe over to a deputy sheriff who came to transport her...
Severe weather forecast results in rescheduling of Gathering on Grant festival in Vandergrift
Mother Nature forced a rescheduling Thursday of a new monthly food and music festival in Vandergrift. Gathering on Grant organizers decided to move the event from this past Thursday to next Thursday, June 23, in response to what was a rather ominous storm forecast. Vandergrift Council helped organizers by unanimously...
Historic Hotel Saxonburg for sale but will remain open while on the market
The oldest continuously operating hotel, bar and restaurant in the heart of historic Saxonburg in Butler County is on the market. The Hotel Saxonburg, built in 1832 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is listed for about $1.2 million with Coldwell Banker of Fox Chapel. The business,...
Freeport Theatre to stage ‘Massy Harbison,’ ‘The Curious Savage’ and more
For its 33rd season, Freeport Theatre’s summer festival revives its most popular production on the region’s most famous pioneer woman, “Massy Harbison,” in August. Other theater productions this summer are John Patrick’s “The Curious Savage” in July and Lisa Camerlo’s one-woman show “Deliriously Daffy” in September. The theater is owned...
The Stroller, June 17, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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. Corpus Christi celebration to feature sawdust carpets Guardian Angels Parish, 343 W....
Allegheny Township to equip police with handguns despite supervisor saying policy should be rewritten
In a first for Allegheny Township, the supervisors voted to equip its police officers with handguns purchased by the township. The 2-1 vote to make the purchase came after a debate, not about if the purchase should be made, but about the caliber of the weapons being bought in regard...
Man accused of having illegal firearm after traffic stop in Harmar for tinted windows ordered to stand trial
A man charged with illegal possession of a firearm after his vehicle was pulled over by state police on Route 28 in Harmar because the windows were tinted too dark has been ordered to stand trial. Tyrone Lamar Shackleford, 29, of the 1200 block of Ravine Street in Munhall, was...
Oakmont Greek Food Festival returns with bigger layout and menu than last year
The Oakmont Greek Food Festival is returning with a more substantial layout and menu. This marks the 48th year for the festival, presented by the Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church at 12 Washington Ave. Food will be served from noon to 9 p.m. June 24-26. Live music and...
Fire damages home in New Kensington
Firefighters from multiple departments responded to a house fire in the 300 block of New Kensington’s Fifth Avenue on Thursday night. The fire at 324 Fifth Ave. in the Parnassus section of the city was reported shortly before 8:30 p.m. Crews used three ladders to get to the second floor...
Medical examiner releases identity of pedestrian hit, killed on Route 286 in Plum
Authorities have released the identity of a man who died after being hit by a vehicle along Route 286 in Plum last Monday night. Nicholas Edward Witucki, 36, of Pittsburgh was struck shortly after 11 p.m. June 6 while walking along Golden Mile Highway in the borough’s Holiday Park section....
Arnold Council unanimously approves joining land bank
As expected, the Westmoreland County Land Bank completed its local trifecta Tuesday when Arnold Council unanimously voted to join. Noting that the New Kensington-Arnold School Board and New Kensington Council recently voted to join the agency and that the Arnold Redevelopment Authority offered to pay the city’s $5,000 one-time membership...
$1M winning lottery scratch-off sold at Arnold convenience store
A lottery scratch-off ticket worth $1 million was sold in Arnold, Pennsylvania Lottery officials announced Thursday. The $20 “Cash King” ticket was sold at Jadden Stop-N-Go on Constitution Boulevard. Gagan Saini, manager of the convenience store, said it feels good to have sold the winning ticket from his store. The...
The Stroller, June 16, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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. Corpus Christi procession postponed due to forecasted weather Due to the forecasted...
Harmar police accuse man of nearly starving dog to death; felony charges filed
A Harmar man faces felony charges after police accused him of leaving his dog in a crate for weeks and nearly starving it to death. John Anthony Wells, 23, of the 400 block of Nixon Road was charged with two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals along with multiple...
Man pleads guilty in New Kensington drug overdose, gets 10 years of probation
The most serious charge connected to a 2018 drug overdose death was dismissed Wednesday against a New Kensington man. Gust R. Stone, 42, was sentenced to 10 years of probation on a felony drug charge after prosecutors agreed to drop a drug delivery resulting in death offense. Stone pleaded guilty...
Volunteers sought for 32nd annual Kiski River cleanup this weekend
Volunteers willing to float their boat — and collect garbage along the banks of the Kiski River — are needed for a two-day cleanup event this weekend. Sponsored by the Kiski Watershed Association and Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, the cleanup is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to noon Friday...
Northbound Route 28’s Exit 7 ramp to Delafield Avenue to be closed through June 29
The Northbound Route 28 ramp to Delafield Avenue (Exit 7) will be closed through June 29 for ramp reconstruction. The work is a part of a $15.32 million project to improve 3.5 miles of Route 28 between the Delafield Avenue exit and the Harmar Township line, according to PennDOT. The...
Fawn supervisors declare emergency on Sun Mine Road after hillside slippage
Problems persist for Fawn Township on Sun Mine Road. The township supervisors on Tuesday night made part of the township road one lane after another hillside slippage took place recently. Supervisors also declared an emergency on Sun Mine Road. The move will enable the township to expedite repairs on the...
Goats help clear out noxious plants along Allegheny River in OakmontVideo
Goats are clearing brush, poison ivy and other noxious plants along the Allegheny River in Oakmont. They began their work June 6 along a hillside in the Edgewater housing development. Phyllis Anderson, assistant to the borough manger and the person who proposed the idea of using the animal landscapers, said...
Traffic restrictions changed near Oakmont Bakery
Oakmont officials have temporarily changed traffic restrictions at the Third Street and Hulton Road intersection by the Oakmont Bakery and Speedway. Restrictions the past few years were right turn only from 7 to 9 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. weekdays, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Sundays had...
Wooden Door Winery’s Allegheny Township location for sale
A popular winery in Allegheny Township is up for sale. Wooden Door Winery at 4087 Greenwood Road opened in 2010. Husband and wife wine-making team and co-owners Jeff and Krissy Pollick have a message for all of their loyal customers: “We are open. We are not closing,” said Krissy Pollick...
