Valley News Dispatch category, Page 381

A Parks Township man faces multiple felony sex charges, including the rape of a child, after, police say, he got drunk, crawled into a 6-year-old girl’s bed and sexually assaulted her. In addition to the child rape charge, Nathan Raymond Bortz, 34, of Jackson Street, faces a count of unlawful...

A Vandergrift man was charged with illegal possession of a firearm after a pistol fell out of his pants leg while officers were arresting him on a warrant for failing to pay child support, police said. William Dante Charles, 41, of the 300 block of Longfellow Street, was charged with...

The farm life is alive and strong at the Karpinski Farm in Gilpin. Myriad farm animals reside on the 11-acre farm, owned by the Karpinskis, a family of six who are dedicated to creating a self-sustaining farm. The family farm has numerous chickens, cattle, turkey, sheep, goats, pigs, horses and...

A new garden-themed event is sprouting up in Vandergrift. Gardeners are invited to gather for a free Community Seed Swap from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Vandergrift Public Library. Seed swaps are events in which participants can bring veggie or flower seeds to exchange and learn gardening tips...

At Del Vecchio’s Market in Vandergrift, a seafood special is back on the menu for the Lenten season that begins Wednesday, but it’s not typical Southwestern Pennsylvania fare. Lobster roll — a mainstay of New England popular cuisine — is returning to Del Vecchio’s, alongside the classic fried and baked...

The Stroller is compiling a list of fish fries taking place Ash Wednesday and/or Fridays during Lent. To your non-profit’s fish fry listed in the paper and online, send complete information in writing to Carol Pinto-Smith, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084 or email cpinto-smith@triblive.com. Highlands SD...

Slow flow meditation and gentle yoga are keys to holistic wellness offered by Amy Feldbusch at her Sincerely Yoga and Massage studio in Tarentum. “People need stress relief for their health,” said Feldbusch, a licensed therapist from Vandergrift who has operated from a cozy space along West Ninth Avenue for...

A national contest with a patriotic theme is seeking original art submissions from high school students. The 2022 VFW Auxiliary’s Young American Creative Patriotic Art Contest is accepting entries until March 31. The annual contest recognizes budding artists and encourages patriotism among youth. Vandergrift VFW Post 566 Commander Carl Trusiak...

Apollo-Ridge musical director Bethany Greenlee and orchestra director Andrew Jones have fond memories of performing “Hello, Dolly” together when they were in high school. That’s one of the reasons Apollo-Ridge High School drama students have been gearing up to present the musical, set in New York City at the turn...

Students and staff at Valley High School stepped up Monday to help meet the need for blood, even if some of them were not able to go through with it. Senior Brooke Alcorn Ferry, 17, said some of her classmates who volunteered to donate during the blood drive she organized...

New Kensington-Arnold School District teachers who have been without a contract for 181 days are planning to rally before Tuesday evening’s school board meeting, the Pennsylvania State Education Association said Monday. The rally is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at Valley High School in New Kensington. The school board...

The Rev. Phil Beck is looking for a few hungry people to eat roughly a few hundred pancakes, all for free. His church, First United Presbyterian in Tarentum, is hosting a pancake dinner to celebrate Shrove Tuesday, the night before the start of Lent. It is co-hosted by Cub Scout...

Highlands families with children who will be enrolling in school this fall can get acquainted with the district’s Early Childhood Center during a two-day event this week. The Early Childhood Fair, an annual tradition to welcome the district’s youngest learners, will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday....

Apollo police charged a man with 10 felony counts after the father of an 8-year-old boy showed them a video on his son’s cellphone of the man performing a sex act, police said. Matthew Alan Sinclair, 21, of the 100 block of Railroad Avenue in Apollo faces two counts of...

It’s official: Aldi is coming to Natrona Heights. Company officials confirmed the announcement Monday, saying construction of the discount supermarket is expected to begin later this year. No other details were released, including the exact location of the store. “We are excited to confirm we are planning to open a...

Kiski Township police issued a warning for residents to be alert for suspicious activity after receiving numerous reports about attempted burglaries during the past several weeks. The latest incident occurred Sunday when police responded to 12th Street in North Apollo after a man went onto the porch of a home...

Emergency crews are wrapping up the scene of a fire on Godfrey Road in Gilpin. Firefighters were called to the 100 block of Godfrey Road, on the banks of the Allegheny River, around 5:45 a.m. for a report of a fully involved house fire. Gilpin fire Chief Phil McConville said...

For the first time in six years, the Apollo Area Historical Society is offering its walking tour of the 1936 St. Patrick’s Day flood. This year’s tour will be March 19, a Saturday. The hourlong walking tour will feature borough sites that were hard hit, some of them marked with...

The Stroller is compiling a list of fish fries taking place Ash Wednesday and/or Fridays during Lent. To your non-profit’s fish fry listed in the paper and online, send complete information in writing to Carol Pinto-Smith, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084 or email cpinto-smith@triblive.com. Knead Community...

Two men were arrested Saturday night after Kiski Township police say they were driving a car with marijuana and an unlicensed gun inside. Police conducted a traffic stop shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday night along Route 56 near McKinstry Hill Road. The vehicle’s occupants, Clevon Helton, 21, of Pittsburgh and...

If you want to celebrate Mardi Gras with a genuine Louisiana delicacy, you don’t need to go to Bayou country to enjoy it. Over the weekend, the Slovak American Club in Tarentum brought a full-grown alligator to its headquarters on West Seventh Avenue for its Saturday night Mardi Gras celebration....

When the curtains rise next week on Freeport Area High School’s production of “High School Musical,” Troy Bolton and Sharpay Evans will be watching from the audience — sort of. Actors from Highlands High School — set to perform the show’s sequel, “High School Musical, 2: On Stage!” — will...

Deer Lakes will be bringing a high school edition of the broadway musical “Chicago” to the stage. Co-director Matthew Derby said the show will be a “nice return to form” after last year’s spring musical being canceled amid the pandemic. The musical follows the story of a woman named Roxie...

West Deer and Indiana Township residents will see a 47% sewage cost increase from the cost of the Allegheny Valley Joint Sewage Authority’s treatment plant expansion. The Deer Creek Drainage Basin Authority board passed the new rate in November. The new rate will take effect in April. The Deer Creek...

The maternal grandfather of a nearly 3-year-old New Kensington boy beaten to death in 2020 claims the Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau failed to protect the child after it received allegations he was subjected to repeated incidents of physical and sexual abuse at the hands his mother and her live-in boyfriend....