Valley News Dispatch category, Page 373

The relief association for Arnold’s two volunteer fire companies improperly paid nearly $5,000 in death benefits for members who had not died, a state audit found. The unauthorized expenditures, meant to help members who encountered financial difficulties, were repaid. The expenditures were among five concerns the state Auditor General’s Office...

Publicize your community events 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. Help needed at Vandergrift Meals On Wheels Vandergrift Meals On Wheels is seeking regular and substitute volunteers to help with food packing,...

A new contract continues to elude the New Kensington-Arnold School District and its teachers union. Negotiators for the school district and the New Kensington-Arnold Education Association met for four and a half hours Thursday night, said school board member Terry Schrock, the district’s lead negotiator and spokesman. While reporting “some...

Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market launched a T-shirt fundraiser Tuesday to help the people of Ukraine as they suffer under a Russian military invasion. The Sprankle’s chain, with locations in Leechburg, Saxonburg and Kittanning, hope to raise $5,000 for the Red Cross by selling the shirts. Co-owner Ryan Sprankle said an employee...

Students at Kiski Area Senior High School will get a chance to gain real world financial experience next year. The school board approved locating a branch office of the Pheple Federal Credit Union at the high school starting in the fall. “The credit union is actually training our kids and...

Burrell School District’s Pupil Services program, which the district started last year, has treated about 100 students for social-emotional behavior issues this school year. Many of the students and some staff are treated for anxiety, said Greg Egnor, director of student services. As the district’s mission is education, it tries...

A free workshop on the dangers of colon cancer, and the benefits of early screening, will be hosted at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. Surgeon Steven Gribar will present the free seminar April 21 to discuss the second deadliest form of cancer in the United States. “Colorectal cancer is a...

A stove being used to heat a New Kensington home may have caused a fire in which a woman died this month, a state police fire marshal said Thursday. Angel A. Gray, 49, died in the March 6 fire in a duplex at 554 Fourth Ave. Her husband, Bob Gray,...

Publicize your community events 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. Food items needed for Leechburg weekend distribution The Leechburg Food Bank and Leechburg School District sponsor the Providing Alternatives to Hunger “PATH”...

A Wilkinsburg resident was one of two men involved in stealing an SUV from a Sheetz parking lot in New Kensington last week, city police allege. Police charged Markhi Deondre Hunter, 19, of South Avenue with theft and receiving stolen property. In a criminal complaint against Hunter, police said a...

Actor Trevor Donovan wanted Deer Lakes Middle School students to leave with one thing in mind Thursday morning. “No one deserves to be bullied. All you deserve to be safe,” he said. “If you see someone being bullied, say something.” His words of advice were a part of an anti-bullying...

A Westmoreland County jury spared a Pittsburgh man from a mandatory life sentence Thursday by acquitting him of first-degree murder in a 2019 fatal shooting in Arnold. Jurors found Shawden L. Ross, 35, guilty of third-degree murder in the killing of Lamont Simmons, 27, of Arnold on April 5, 2019,...

Police said they charged a Tarentum man with multiple felonies after officers got a tip he was illegally buying and selling guns. Jarrell Miller, 36, of the 200 block of Conroy Way, faces felony charges that include two counts of illegal possession of a firearm, two counts of receiving stolen...

The “Souper Bowl” trophy made its way back across the Allegheny River, as Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School came out on top over Riverview Jr.-Sr. in their annual food drive competition. The Souper Bowl, an homage to the NFL’s Super Bowl, kicked off in February. Springdale collected 1,600 items and Riverview...

Editors note: The original version of this article contained incorrect times and dates for when the food distribution will take place. A charitable organization that has provided a range of social services to residents in the North Hills for the past 35 years is expanding its footprint to help needy...

The New Kensington fire department hoped to have its aerial ladder truck back in service by the end of last week, fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. said Wednesday. After that, the job became figuring out how the city will pay the anticipated $1.5 million to replace the 24-year-old vehicle. “We...

Publicize your community events 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. Spaghetti dinner to benefit Tarentum fire victims A spaghetti dinner to benefit the two families who lost their homes in the Feb....

Editor’s Note: This event has been canceled. First United Presbyterian Church in Tarentum is getting decked out for a baby shower where several moms-to-be will be feted but none of the guests will be acquainted. The church at 913 Lock St. is hosting the community event to provide baby items...

When Ford City District Judge J. Gary DeComo launched a youth anti-drug campaign in 2000, he knew that helping kids make choices that lead them away from drug abuse would take more than a catchy slogan, a pep talk and handing out sports memorabilia. But it was a start. “Those...

The U.S. Department of Energy has named Penn State New Kensington’s Digital Foundry as a Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center — one of only seven in the nation. The designation of the facility, which is under construction on Fifth Avenue in downtown New Kensington, as an “SMIC” was made in partnership...

Journalist Nelly Bly, union organizer Mother Jones and artist Mary Cassatt are among the female trailblazers showcased at the Sharpsburg Community Library for Women’s History Month. “We wanted to highlight sung and unsung women of Pennsylvania and educate people on their contributions,” library Director Sara Mariacher said. The Trailblazing Pennsylvania...

The Alle-Kiski Valley firefighting community is mourning the death of longtime Arnold firefighter and officer Keith Dziobak. Dziobak died Tuesday night. A cause of death was not immediately known. He was 57. A firefighter with Arnold No. 2 since he was 17 years old in 1982, Dziobak was in his...

The Kiski Area School District is collecting back-to-school supplies for a districtwide summer event. This year’s 2nd Annual Back-To-School Backpack Bash will be held on Aug. 10 at Kiski Area High School. The district is asking the public to donate backpacks, school supplies and general hygiene items at any of...

What time is it? Come Friday, it’ll be time for Highlands students to dazzle audiences by dancing across the stage to catchy, up-tempo songs made popular in Disney’s “High School Musical 2: On Stage!” “Being on stage always feels exhilarating, akin to playing sports in a huge stadium in front...