Valley News Dispatch category, Page 46
The Stroller, Aug. 7, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Lower Valley Ambulance plans...
Residents see 1st glimpse of proposed Springdale data center
Springdale residents got their first look at a proposed massive data center at the site of the former Cheswick Generating Station on Wednesday. At a well-attended planning commission meeting, representatives from the site’s land developer, Allegheny DC Property Co. LLC, presented their preliminary plans for what could be a massive...
Jury deliberations to continue in New Kensington murder trial
A Westmoreland County jury will resume deliberations Thursday morning in the retrial of a New Kensington man charged with the murder and robbery of an Arnold drug dealer. Jurors heard three days of testimony and deliberated nearly six hours Wednesday without reaching a verdict in the case against Letresse Williams....
Vandergrift, surrounding communities rally for 5 abandoned children
Two women are facing charges after Vandergrift police said five children were left alone for days without food or water in a home officers described in court papers as an “absolute disgrace.” Leslie Ann Keller, 69, of Parks Township, the children’s maternal grandmother, and mother, Heidi Lynn Beer, 35, of...
Leechburg Area School Board makes controversial hire, members face backlash
School boards usually get applause for hiring more teachers, but Leechburg Area School District directors are getting public criticism for who they didn’t hire. During a special voting meeting July 30, the board hired Makenna Goldinger as an emotional support teacher for kindergarten through second grade students. The vote was...
2 women face charges after police say 5 children left in unsanitary Vandergrift home
Two women are facing charges after Vandergrift police said five children were left alone for days without food or water in a home officers described in court papers as an “absolute disgrace.” Leslie Ann Keller, 69, of Parks Township and her daughter, Heidi Lynn Beer, 35, of Vandergrift were charged...
Lack of fire hydrants in Harmar neighborhood concerns residents, fire chief
Residents of Harmar’s Werner Camp neighborhood, tucked along the Allegheny River, have great views of the water and little traffic. But it’s what they don’t have that should be of concern: fire hydrants. “It’s definitely not safe,” said Allegheny Valley fire Chief Jay Zangrille, following a weekend fire there. Harmar...
The Stroller, Aug. 6, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. HS marching bands plan...
Tarentum police find spiked ‘caltrops’ on Brackenridge streets
Tarentum police received reports — and later discovered — small spiked “caltrops” scattered in Brackenridge on Tuesday. Police said they confirmed reports that the caltrops — multi-spiked metal objects designed to puncture vehicle tires — were found in the area of First Avenue as well as Brackenridge Avenue. Police said...
Witnesses link New Kensington man to 2020 murder of Arnold drug dealer
A New Kensington woman testified Tuesday that her former boyfriend confessed to his role in a fatal shooting of an Arnold drug dealer nearly five years ago. Shawnti Lee told a Westmoreland County jury that Letresse Williams made a frantic call to her in the late afternoon of Jan. 15,...
Fire crews fish truck out of Allegheny River in Harmar
When firefighters arrived at the Deer Creek Boat Ramp in Harmar on Monday, it wasn’t a boat they found in the Allegheny River. The crews instead found a white Chevy Colorado pickup mostly submerged in the water, according to Allegheny Valley Fire Chief Jay Zangrille. The driver, who escaped without...
The Stroller, Aug. 5, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Tarentum Summer Concert series...
Retrial begins in 2020 New Kensington fatal shooting
For the second time in 14 months, Westmoreland County prosecutors will attempt to convince a jury that Letresse Williams killed a suspected drug dealer during a botched robbery attempt. Assistant District Attorney Anthony Iannamorelli said the Jan. 15, 2020, fatal shooting of Anthone Williams warrants a second-degree murder conviction. (Letresse...
Saturday fire in New Kensington considered suspicious
A fire early Saturday in New Kensington is considered suspicious, authorities said. The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that police are investigating the blaze along Sixth Avenue as potentially intentional. “On behalf of the New Kensington police department, we can confirm that police and a Pennsylvania State Police fire...
South Buffalo bridge to remain closed for weeks as township plans informational meeting
A wooden bridge that provides one of only two access points to South Buffalo’s Clinton neighborhood is set to remain closed for at least a few weeks, according to a spokesman for the railroad that owns the structure. Last week, crews closed the 115-year-old bridge, which carries Clinton Road over...
Beloved North Apollo woman’s legacy to be carried on through inaugural scholarship
Gillian Tones was a giver. When her brother, Dillon Tones, remembers his sister, he’s reminded of her selfless nature, putting others before herself, all with a radiant personality. That’s why the Tones family of North Apollo is paying it forward to the community with an upcoming golf outing and scholarship...
The Stroller, Aug. 4, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. New Kensington to host...
New Kensington bustling 5 years into revitalization plan
Mike Malcanas took the advice he got years ago at a business convention to heart. “Everybody — no matter where they were from — said the day a brewery came into town, the attitude started to change,” said Malcanas, operator of New Kensington’s Voodoo Brewing and founder of Olde Towne...
‘Rallying for Rescues’ in Lower Burrell brings financial support, awareness to animal rescues in the region
Sometimes, it’s those who do the saving that need the help. That’s the idea behind Rallying for Rescues, first held in 2024 and brought back for a second year Sunday at Derek Kotecki Memorial Park in Lower Burrell. Proceeds from this year’s event are benefiting 16 rescues, primarily for dogs...
Butler Freeport Community Trail mural celebrates the 25-year effort to complete the 21-mile trail
A giant mural mounted on a partial wall left standing along the Butler Freeport Community Trail in Winfield honors the visionaries, volunteers and public servants who gave years — and in some cases, decades — to make the popular trail a reality. “The mural depicts the history and development of...
The Stroller, Aug. 3, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. National Night Out celebrations...
Families come from near, far to enjoy annual Festa Italiana at Mount St. Peter in New Kensington
Festa Italiana is a long-running tradition for the families that attend and the families that volunteer for the fundraiser at Mount St. Peter Church in New Kensington. But for the Rev. Dan Blout, who took over as pastor of Mount St. Peter four weeks ago, this year’s 44th Festa was...
New Kensington house fire displaces residents of 4 apartments
No one was hurt in a fire that severely damaged a house containing four apartments on New Kensington’s Sixth Avenue early Saturday. The fire appeared to start at the back of the three-story house at 533/535 Sixth Ave. and burned through the roof. A state police fire marshal will investigate...
Harmar riverfront fire battle without hydrants closes Freeport Road, stops train traffic
When popping sounds from her neighbor’s burning home woke Holly Bills up early Saturday morning, her fire safety training kicked in. She knew to get out and away from her home along the Allegheny River in Harmar, but it wasn’t easy. “I had difficulty opening the door because the siding...
2 women die in nearly head-on crash on Route 66 in Washington Township
Two women in their 60s died after a two-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon on Route 66 in Washington Township. The nearly head-on crash of two SUVs happened about 1 p.m. near Paradise Drive, township Police Sgt. Vincent Surace said. There were witnesses to the crash, he said. According to Surace, Janice...
