Valley News Dispatch category, Page 431
Holiday event at Allegheny RiverTrail Park includes music, vendors, ‘joy’
Allegheny RiverTrail Park will be filled with joy this holiday season. A pair of 7.5-foot signs that spell “joy” were manufactured by students from the Fox Chapel Area School District and will be unveiled during the park’s Shiver on the River event from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 17. “In...
New Kensington police: Woman wanted on multiple warrants tased while resisting arrest
New Kensington police arrested a woman wanted on multiple warrants and added additional charges of identity theft and aggravated assault after, police say, she gave them a false name and fought with officers while being taken into custody. Cally Jade Mills, 29, of South Leechburg Hill Road in Allegheny Township...
Lower Burrell man accused of strangling girlfriend who found evidence of other women
A Lower Burrell man was accused of strangling his girlfriend during an argument after she found evidence on his telephone that he was communicating with other women. Christoper Mark Wiley of Leechburg Road was charged with one felony count of strangulation as well as lesser charges of aggravated assault and...
The Stroller, Dec. 9, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your holiday events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Miss Freddye to present concert in Brackenridge Trinity United Methodist Church, Brackenridge, will present Miss Freddye and her gospel band Glory...
Leechburg Area School Board retains president and vice president, welcomes newly elected members
Leechburg Area School Board’s top leaders will retain their positions next year, and the newly elected members were sworn in Wednesday night. Neill Brady and Anthony Shea were unanimously retained as president and vice president, respectively. Brady has been on the board for about 18 years. He enters his fourth...
Bill Callahan Sr. was best known for Buffalo Bill’s Roadhouse in New Kensington and his charity work
Comparatively few get to live out their dream of owning their own business. But New Kensington’s Bill Callahan Sr. got to do it for 27 years. Callahan, popular owner of Buffalo Bill’s Roadhouse on Freeport Road in the Valley Heights section of New Kensington, died Saturday at 79. After finishing...
Vandergrift man sentenced for break-in
A Vandergrift man will serve up to five years in prison for an incident in which police said he threatened to kill himself. Justin Danjou, 23, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count of criminal trespassing and a misdemeanor offense of unlawful restraint after police said he broke into a...
Army Corps to update public on $500M-plus nuke cleanup in Parks Township
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will update residents on the status of the $500 million-plus cleanup of the nuclear dump in Parks Township in a virtual meeting Thursday evening. Excavation for the cleanup will start in 2024 at the 44-acre dump off Route 66. It is formally known as...
Lower Burrell has unsold property in county repository; councilman buys tiny parcel
When Lower Burrell Councilman Chris Fabry was buying a new home on Aloha Drive, the city treasurer told him about an unclaimed sliver of neighboring land. City Treasurer Brian Eshbaugh alerted Fabry and some other residents about small properties adjacent to their own in an effort to get them onto...
Brackenridge Council votes to hold steady on 2022 property taxes
Brackenridge residents will pay the same amount in property taxes next year after council approved the borough’s $1.1 million budget. Council voted Dec. 2 to maintain the real estate tax rate of 6.2 mills — the same as it has been since 2018. “It’s a tight budget,” Borough Secretary Denise...
New Kensington police issue warning about leaving cars running after rash of thefts
New Kensington police are warning people not to leave their vehicles running while unoccupied after a number of thefts were reported. City police posted the notice on social media Wednesday morning noting that a specific area of concern is the Sheetz in the 300 block of Freeport Street, where several...
Woman accused of dealing drugs after cop finds half-ounce of suspected meth during traffic stop
Washington Township police accused a woman of selling drugs after finding more than half an ounce of suspected methamphetamine when she was pulled over for speeding. Deborah Jane Babyak, 60, of Carnahan Road in Bell Township was charged with a felony count of manufacture, delivery or possession with the intent...
Freeport couple creates Christmas display with a Halloween twist
A Freeport couple wants to wish everyone a happy haunted Christmas via a new holiday display. James Libengood said this is the first December he and his wife, Melissa, decided to decorate their front yard and home for the holidays. However, it does not feature the traditional reindeer and snowmen....
Freeport’s Small Town Christmas parade draws a crowdVideo
Sleigh bells rang throughout Freeport as hundreds of people packed the main street sidewalks for a chance to see Santa and other groups marching in the Small Town Christmas parade. At least 20 groups marched in the celebration Saturday including various Freeport Area High School athletic teams, the marching band,...
Crossing-guard shortage in Vandergrift forces police officers into duty
A shortage of school crossing guards in Vandergrift has forced more borough police officers to step off their beats to cover the shifts. The schedule became tighter last month with the resignation of full-time crossing guard JoAnn Hazlett. The borough now has four full-time and one part-time crossing guards. Previously,...
Damage in St. Vladimir fire valued at $4 million, police say cause undetermined
A devastating fire at an Arnold church over the weekend caused $4 million in damage, according to a state police fire marshal. Trooper Keith Sobecki said the cause of the blaze at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church is undetermined, pending further investigation. The fire at the 74-year-old Kenneth Avenue church,...
Kindermusik to offer classes at Starlight Dance Academy in Emmerling Plaza in JanuaryVideo
Kindermusik educator and program owner Christa Beck will be starting the new year with an additional location — her fourth — of the children’s music program. Opening Jan. 4, the new spot in Indiana Township will be inside Starlight Dance Academy in Emmerling Plaza on Route 910. “I am so...
The Stroller, Dec. 8, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your holiday events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Stuff A Trailer event to benefit Allegheny Family Network Protectors of the Phoenix will host a Stuff A Trailer event from...
Arnold resident turns hobby into passion project, donates proceeds to local animal rescues
After spending much of her time working at an animal rescue, an Arnold woman found a way to turn her longtime hobby into a gratifying venture. Stacy Berkoben’s love for sewing proved handy as she began crafting handmade pet toys and beds, accessories, purses, handbags and more. Her inventory of...
Burrell loosens covid-19 quarantine requirements for asymptomatic students
Students and staff members who have been exposed to covid-19 but don’t have symptoms won’t need to quarantine under a revised health and safety plan Burrell School Board approved Tuesday. Effective Wednesday, any students who were exposed to covid-19 but have no symptoms can return to school immediately. Parents will...
Freeport Councilwoman Mary Bowlin resigns, citing clashes with mayor
Freeport Councilwoman Mary Bowlin has resigned. Her former colleagues were expected to accept her resignation at Monday night’s council meeting but the meeting was canceled due to a lack of a quorum. One council member was in quarantine because of covid. One was on vacation, and another was working. The...
2 men accused of breaking into Digital Foundry construction site in New Kensington to steal tools
New Kensington police have accused two men of breaking into the construction site of Penn State’s new innovation and manufacturing lab along Fifth Avenue to steal tools. Randy Dean McGuire Jr., 31, of Pipers Road in West Leechburg, and Kevin Paul Pierce, 32, of First Avenue in Hyde Park were...
Highlands votes to keep mask policy in place
Highlands students will continue to wear masks through at least mid-January, regardless of an impending state Supreme Court ruling that could scrap the state mandate by Gov. Tom Wolf. The school board on Monday voted to keep masking policies in place for students, teachers and visitors on all district campuses...
Highlands to offer covid-19 vaccine clinic; reviewing survey results on mask policy
Highlands School District will host a covid-19 vaccine clinic Dec. 14. The event is a partnership with UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. All three vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — will be offered. “We are providing increased access to the vaccines that will enable our students to...
New Kensington-Arnold seats new school board members, fills vacant seat
The New Kensington-Arnold School Board seated four new members Monday night. Nicholas DiCarolis, Jane Graham and Sarah Yurga, all elected in November, were sworn into office by Westmoreland County Judge Anthony Marsili as part of the school board’s reorganization meeting. A former board member also was sworn in to fill...
