Valley News Dispatch category, Page 442

Face masks will remain optional when Highlands School District students return to classes next week. After hearing from residents for and against requiring students to wear masks Monday night, Kristie Babinsack was the only school board member wanting to reverse the board’s 5-4 decision in July that makes wearing masks...

Oakmont officials have had enough of false alarms going off and draining police and fire department resources. Council on Aug. 16 unanimously approved advertising an ordinance to address the issue. “False alarms in any community are a challenge,” borough Manager Scot Fodi said. “This is one mechanism that we have...

Plum EMS officials know making sure a car seat is properly installed in a vehicle and a child is safely secured prior to travel can be a challenge. That is why borough emergency responders are providing an opportunity to show parents and caregivers how to overcome that challenge this weekend....

Organizers of Saturday’s fourth annual Officer Brian Shaw motorcycle run expect this year’s event to be the biggest yet, attracting more than 700 riders. “It’s probably going to be the largest charitable motorcycle ride in Western Pennsylvania this summer,” said Eric Felack, a spokesman for the event. Proceeds from ShawRide...

East Vandergrift officials appear to be making progress in the ongoing war against a rat infestation in the borough. Council voted last June to hire a commercial division of Terminix in Bridgeville for 10 weeks at a cost of $1,525 after fielding numerous complaints from residents about rats. The Terminix...

State police are looking for information after a single bullet struck a home in Oklahoma on Friday night. Troopers said the incident is believed to have happened between 10 p.m. and midnight at a home on Hancock Avenue. It was unclear if anyone was hurt. Police are looking for information...

Publicize your club meetings, community events 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. Concert to pay tribute to Aretha Franklin The Casino Theater, Vandergrift, will present, “United in Song,” a tribute to Aretha Franklin,...

Allegheny Township officials are taking steps to tackle a sewage problem affecting multiple residences on LaBelle Vue Road. Eight houses on the rural road in Westmoreland County have what township Manager Greg Primm described as failing septic systems. An unidentified female LaBelle Vue Road resident filed a complaint June 28...

The Officer Brian Shaw Foundation donated $15,000 to the Lower Burrell police department to buy and train a new police dog. The foundation was established to honor the memory of Shaw, a New Kensington police officer who was fatally shot while on duty in 2017. His foundation continues to support...

A resident has sued Kiski Township, claiming it is illegally dumping and burning in the township. Gene Kline, 41, who lives along Brownstown Road, filed his civil lawsuit against the township on Aug. 6 in Armstrong County Court. Kline said he is not looking for money. He wants the township...

Allegheny Valley School District Superintendent Pat Graczyk said masks should remain on the faces of students, teachers and any visitors to Allegheny Valley school buildings for at least the start of the coming school year, and likely throughout it. He also said the same level of social distancing, contact tracing...

Publicize your club meetings, community events 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. Peoples Library expands book sale to both locations Peoples Library will have its annual book sale at both the New Kensington...

The body of a 3-year-old boy was found Saturday afternoon by dive teams in the Allegheny River in Armstrong County. Dwight Lee Dinsmore, 3, of Yatesboro was recovered from the water about 2:40 p.m., about a mile south of Lock No. 6 in Bethel, Armstrong County Coroner Brian K. Myers...

East Deer will soon be paying more for water, but township officials don’t yet know if that cost will be passed on to township residents. East Deer buys water in bulk from neighboring Tarentum, whose council recently approved increasing the cost by 3 cents per 1,000 gallons beginning Dec. 1....

Publicize your club meetings, community events 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. Casino Theater looking for volunteers The Casino Theater in Vandergrift is seeking volunteers to check in ticketed guests for productions. Volunteers...

After nearly scrapping the event due to pandemic restrictions, Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company has decided to host its 83rd Saxonburg Carnival. The event, a longtime fundraiser for the fire company, will be hosted from Aug. 18-21 at Saxonburg VFC Firemen’s Grounds, said Carnival Chairman Paul Donaldson, who serves as an...

A new charity event in Vandergrift is making the cut with area students. The Kiski Valley Lancers & Ramsey’s Place Cuts 4 Kids will offer free back-to-school haircuts to any student in prekindergarten through 12th grade at the borough’s Kennedy Park on Aug. 23. “There’s a lot of underprivileged people...

Lower Burrell Council could consider making rules for residents living on small residential lots who want to keep backyard chickens. Solicitor Steve Yakopec advised council at Monday’s meeting that he believes the city needs an ordinance to set down regulations. Council did not immediately move to advance the issue. Farm...

Residents can resume one of the country’s most popular past times: feeding the birds. As bird deaths decrease, the Pennsylvania Game Commission announced Friday that it is lifting its recommendation issued in early July to cease bird feeding in the state because of a mysterious bird illness. Longtime bird-feeding aficionados...

Production of a movie is underway at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer. Ernest Diaz, the mall’s general manager, said spaces throughout the mall have been leased for use in the production of “Cha Cha Real Smooth.” It stars Dakota Johnson. It’s directed by Cooper Raiff, who is also a...

Dozens of police, fire, ambulance, river rescue and special operations task force units from around the region spent several hours Friday searching for a 3-year-old boy. The child was reported missing near a sandbar known for ATV recreational riding near the Allegheny River just off Kelly Station Road in Armstrong...

State police are investigating a stabbing that happened early Thursday outside an Oklahoma Borough bar. Two people went outside the Oklahoma Inn at 1544 Hancock Avenue around 1:30 a.m. to engage in what police described as a “mutual fight” in an alley. One of the people was injured during the...