Valley News Dispatch category, Page 373

The Alle-Kiski Valley has been blessed with great inventors over the years. Among them is Natrona’s Samuel Kier, inventor of the oil-based lamps that illuminated homes and businesses before the incandescent light bulb came along. Another was New Kensington’s Stephanie Kwolek, a chemist at DuPont who invented Kevlar, the material...

Ten Fox Chapel roads are expected to be rebuilt this year as part of the borough’s road paving program. Council unanimously voted April 18 to award a $1.369 million contract to Wampum-based Youngblood Paving. Borough Manager Gary Koehler said the company was the lowest of four bidders and has done...

Fox Chapel resident Bill Kolano believes his town has an image problem. Specifically, the image that serves as the borough’s logo, on street signs and newsletter. “It’s time for a refresh,” the longtime graphic designer told council at its April 18 meeting. Kolano, president of Kolano Design, presented a couple...

A Westmoreland County prosecutor on Tuesday told jurors the case against an Allegheny Township man charged with rape and sexual assault based on allegations from six accusers was “messy.” “This is a case of a sexual predator who hid in secret for more than a decade who was brought down...

An Arnold woman was arrested on Sunday after a police officer investigating a complaint at her home said he witnessed her throw a puppy across a room. Brittney Kinsey, 20, of the 1400 block of Fourth Avenue, was charged with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals and torture...

Leechburg Area School District Superintendent Tiffany Nix is fully aware of the challenges facing students in this era of the covid pandemic. At a school board meeting last week, she related the story of a student having a mental and emotional breakdown during class. “It is real, and it is...

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. Alle-Kiski Sports Hall of Fame tickets on sale Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame will have its 51st induction banquet at...

A man from Homestead faces felony drug dealing charges after Arnold police and narcotics agents said they arrested him with more than 2 ounces of cocaine in his vehicle. Marco Dane Crowe, 34, 0f the 100 block of West 10th Avenue, was charged with two felony counts of possession of...

What started as a vision for an ice cream shop evolved into a coffee shop and cafe, Barnyard Coffee & Creamery, offering experimental taste twists at the No Offseason Sports complex in Russellton. Barnyard owner Holly Johnston, a Richland resident and Shaler native, worked for years as a sales rep...

A West Penn Power crew drilling to place a new utility pole struck a natural gas line along Tarentum Bridge Road on Monday, causing a leak. Westmoreland County 911 said the incident was reported shortly after 8 a.m. It happened at the entrance to Riverview Plaza in front of Donut...

The Leechburg High School baseball team will not be able to play games on its home turf for the rest of the season. The announcement came during an April 13 school board meeting as the school’s solicitor Amy Schrempf gave a status update on the condition of the field, which...

A Westmoreland County jury was seated Monday to hear evidence in the retrial of an Allegheny Township man accused of the rape and sexual assault of six women. Prosecutors claim Eric Wright, 50, was a serial rapist who committed crimes for nearly two decades. Originally charged with more than 50...

Two people arrested at an Upper Burrell home face multiple felony drug and weapons charges after police said they found more than 2 ounces of crystal meth, a stolen handgun and other evidence of drug dealing during a search of the home. Djuan “Chiz” Osceola Williams, 42, of the 7000...

Freeport businesses have teamed up to offer a community open-air market with food trucks and live music every month through November, weather permitting. Dubbed “Freeport Days,” the event offers a festival vibe showcasing the products and services of local businesses. To accommodate the festivities, the borough will close down a...

The food truck event that brought throngs of people to downtown New Kensington last year is coming back. “Fridays on Fifth” will make its return this Friday to — you guessed it — Fifth Avenue. It will run from 5 to 9 p.m. between Ninth and 11th streets. This will...

Spring is in full swing at the Art in Bloom Floral and Photography Show at the Focus on the Arts Gallery in the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer. The gallery displays and sells work from the New Kensington Camera Club and the Allegheny Valley League of Artists. Nearly 80 pieces...

Foxwall EMS and Aspinwall Volunteer Fire Department are encouraging people to Run for the Hill of It. The new fundraiser to benefit both groups will celebrate its inaugural race on Sunday, April 24. “This is the kind of event that we have thought about for a long time,” said Rob...

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. St. Joseph HS to honor alumni St. Joseph High School, Natrona Heights, Harrison, will honor several alumni with Spirit of St....

Rick Harbaugh concedes that there’s still a lot for him to learn about Natrona Heights Presbyterian Church and its parishioners as he fumbles for the correct switches to turn lights on in the nearly 100-year-old stone church on Broadview Boulevard. “I’m still finding my way around and learning things,” Harbaugh...

The once polluted and blighted Roaring Run Trail area in Kiski Township has greened over much of its past and has become a destination for walking, biking and kayaking. But the history of coal mining still haunts the area. A visitor to Roaring Run a few years ago found a...

Market Street in Leechburg continues to grow, as a new shop has wheeled its way along the street. Allegheny Township resident Tim Carson opened his new bike shop, Spokes, in February. Customers can browse a range of bikes, from trail, mountain, women’s, kid’s and e-bikes. Bike repairs and accessories are...

Harrison Commissioner Jamie Nee already is eyeing larger-than-normal pieces of litter to be collected at the township’s April 23 Earth Day cleanup. Her list includes an inventory of 82 tires, 25 TVs and seven couches that have been tossed in township parks or left on sides of roads as eyesores....

In 2020, the headline about “Newsies” was “Canceled.” The Valley High School Drama Club was two weeks from its first performance of the Disney musical when the covid pandemic shutdown started in March. “It was very crushing,” said Spencer Pastrick, 17, a junior from New Kensington who was a freshman...

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. Springdale students to present ‘Wizard of Oz’ The drama department of Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School will present the musical, “The Wizard...

The Gilpin Township supervisors have awarded a contract to Mackin Engineering to overhaul the township’s decades-old zoning ordinances. The supervisors voted 4-0, with Supervisor Linda Alworth absent, to hire the firm April 12 for just under $39,000 for the project. Gilpin has zoning laws, which only allow certain types in...