Valley News Dispatch category, Page 407
Former Leechburg police chief Michael Diebold ordered to prison for failing to register as sex offender
Despite an impassioned plea to serve his sentence on house arrest, former Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold will spend 18 to 36 months in prison for failing to properly register as a sex offender. Diebold, 44, pleaded guilty in December 2018 to soliciting sex online from a state trooper posing...
Police: 15-year-old girl hurt after running into car on West Seventh Avenue in Tarentum
A 15-year-old girl was flown to a hospital from Tarentum on Monday after police say she ran into the side of a car on West Seventh Avenue. The driver, a man from Tarentum, remained at the scene and is not facing any charges because he did not commit any violation,...
New Kensington Camera Club offers classes on product photography and more
The New Kensington Camera Club is offering four free photography classes at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer. Among the offerings is a March 5 workshop called Lightbox Photography for amateur shutterbugs wanting to improve their techniques for lighting and photographing products to sell on Facebook, Craigslist and elsewhere. The...
Seeing double: 2-22-22 is not your ordinary Tuesday
Some dates just stick out. Today is one of those. It’s Feb. 22, 2022, or 2-22-22. People are calling it “Twosday” and it falls on a Tuesday, which makes it even more of an anomaly. Known as a palindrome, which means it reads the same backward and forward, people take...
Retired Lower Burrell electrician sparks interest in lamp figurines via Penn Hills marketplace
When Willard “Bill” Booth decided to retire after being an electrician for 38 years, he decided to use his skills to pursue a fun hobby. The 60-year-old started making industrial-styled pipe lamps out of repurposed electrical parts and miscellaneous objects. His specialized hobby has produced figurines of baseball players, musicians,...
Highland Hose firefighter injured in Tarentum fire expected to recover fully; aid sought for families
A Tarentum volunteer firefighter is expected to make a full recovery after his feet became trapped on an aerial ladder while he and others were battling a fire at a duplex Monday. Richard Schuller, 22, was trapped near the far end of the ladder as it was extended from an...
The Stroller, Feb. 22, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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. Support available...
Resident twin felines earn their keep at garden center in Allegheny Township
Two cats are earning their keep in Allegheny Township. Mary-Kate and Ashley are 15-year-old twins living permanently at the Kiski Garden Center. The cats originally were brought to a former New Kensington store, Arnold Feed and Garden, by store manager Linda Ban when they were 6 weeks old. Ban brought...
STEM event and online registration offered for incoming Kiski Area kindergartners
Kiski Area School District is offering an interactive STEM-based event for incoming kindergartners Feb. 23 at Kiski Area North Primary School. “Family Science Night” serves as the kickoff for multiple kindergarten-themed readiness events hosted by the district before the start of classes next fall. Participating students will convene in the...
1 person hit by vehicle in Tarentum, taken to hospital by medical helicopter
A pedestrian who was hit be a vehicle Monday afternoon in Tarentum was flown by medical helicopter to a hospital, authorities said. Emergency crews were called about 3 p.m. to the 100 block of East Seventh Avenue for the single-vehicle crash in which a pedestrian was struck, according to an...
Fire destroys duplex in Tarentum; firefighter injuredVideo
Two families lost their homes to fire in Tarentum on Monday, and a volunteer firefighter responding to the blaze was injured. The fire that destroyed a duplex at 205-207 W. 11th Ave. was reported to 911 shortly before noon. It sent a thick plume of smoke into the air that...
Lower Burrell brothers on target placing in national Las Vegas archery competition
The Luke family of Lower Burrell isn’t your typical sports family. They are archers — with at least one of them aiming for the U.S. Olympic team. Earlier this month, Brayden Luke, 15, took second place and his brother Wyatt Luke, 11, came in ninth in competitions for The Vegas...
Allegheny Valley School District hires new musical director
The show will go on at Allegheny Valley School District with a new musical director for the upcoming season. The school board unanimously voted to hire Anthony Martello. “He was chosen for his willingness to work for our students, his understanding of theater and the ability to share that knowledge...
House fire in Parks Township sends woman to hospital
Three occupants escaped from an early-morning house fire Monday on Lincoln Street in the North Vandergrift section of Parks. Joel Brown, chief of the Parks Township Volunteer Fire Department, confirmed there were no life-threatening injuries in the blaze that was reported at 7:51 a.m. Brown said one woman was flown...
Recently honored Burrell School Board member is former coordinator of national sports broadcasts
Tricia Shank credits her experience coordinating the logistics of national sports broadcasts for ESPN and other national media outlets for providing the business acumen necessary for her role as a Burrell School Board member. Shank and former Burrell School Board member Genia Koziarski recently received Pennsylvania School Boards Association Honor...
Seeders and Weeders Garden Club creates floral deliveries for Meals on Wheels clients
Aspinwall Meals on Wheels clients received more with their deliveries recently than the typical meatloaf or lunchmeat sandwich. Each of the 48 participants living in the Fox Chapel Area School District was gifted a vintage tea cup with a dainty succulent wedged inside. “They truly appreciate it,” said longtime cook...
Leechburg Area School Board set to vote on major improvements to HVAC, roofs
A project targeting fluctuating temperature woes inside Leechburg Area Junior- Senior High School will be coming up for board approval Wednesday. The the capital improvement project is estimated to cost nearly $1.8 million. The project includes replacing the junior-senior high school’s boiler, new heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls and replacing...
The Stroller, Feb. 21, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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. Goodwill offers...
Award-winning former Kiski Area principal fills new district technology role
An award-winning former Kiski Area principal has a new position in the district. Dan Smith has been named director of Technology and Information, responsible for all grade levels on six campuses. Most recently, Smith served as assistant principal at Kiski Area Upper Elementary, where he was named Pennsylvania’s 2021 Outstanding...
Fox Chapel Area High School to present whimsical musical ‘Seussical’
The Cat in the Hat is one of the many Dr. Seuss characters set to unleash entertainment in Fox Chapel Area High School’s spring musical production of “Seussical.” A cast of more than 100 students will present “Seussical” March 3-6 in the high school auditorium. The family-friendly, whimsical show is...
For Sara Voyten of Parks Township, turning 100 is ‘no big deal — I feel good’
Sara Smith Voyten, a lifelong resident of Armstrong County, is about to add another chapter to the story of her life: turning 100. Voyten, an avid reader, spends the majority of her time with her nose in a book in her private room at Pine View Personal Care Facility in...
With a pandemic pivot to tech, Christ Church Fox Chapel builds flock
A former British barrister turned minister in Fox Chapel has turned to technology to boost membership during the pandemic. The Rev. Alex Shuttleworth, 43, a native of Liverpool, has been at Christ Church Fox Chapel since 2014. Since then, membership has grown by 50%, with 44 new members added during...
Three Rivers Depression Glass show is back, now in 45th year
After taking a year off during the covid pandemic, the Three Rivers Depression Era Glass Society will present its 45th annual glass show on March 5 and 6 at the Quality Inn in New Kensington. About 28 vendors will display and show off dazzling Depression Era glass primarily from the...
Quality Inn in New Kensington damaged by fire after car severs natural gas line, crashes into building
Quick action by firefighters early Sunday prevented a blaze from spreading through a New Kensington hotel when a car slammed into the building and sheared off a natural gas supply line that fed the flames, a New Kensington fire official said. “We averted a disaster,” New Kensington fire Chief Ed...
Valley graduate set to release debut novel, ‘Gridiron Girl’
Keen-eyed readers will notice local landmarks and other A-K Valley name-drops in the debut novel by Tamara Girardi, a Lower Burrell resident. “Gridiron Girl” is the first in a six-book set aimed at young adults. It launches March 3, published by Wise Wolf Books. “Locals will see a lot of...
