Valley News Dispatch category, Page 509

A $148,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development will help pay for a $400,000 project in New Kensington and Lower Burrell to replace three old waterlines that often break. The Municipal Authority of New Kensington was awarded the state grant to replace: • 1,300 feet of...

The New Kensington-Arnold School District may have to raise property taxes and furlough employees as it goes into a difficult budget at the same time it negotiates a new contract with its teachers union, the school board’s former president said. The district raised the property tax rate by 3 mills,...

Volunteers needed at Kiski Valley Cat & Kitten Rescue Kiski Valley Cat & Kitten Rescue in Apollo is seeking volunteers and donations. The organization is dedicated to the prevention of cruelty and neglect toward cats and kittens and provides shelter and necessary medical care until they can find their forever...

Tom Scanga, owner of Del Vecchio’s Sausage & Fries, is branching out this weekend with a ghost kitchen — a temporary, pop-up restaurant focusing on something completely outside of his specialty. Friday through Sunday, from 3 to 7 p.m., Scanga will be operating out of his commissary at 328 Lowell...

Former Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold could soon be released from jail after a Westmoreland County judge agreed this week to grant his re-parole. Diebold, 43, has been in jail since Dec. 9, 2019, after he was accused of violating terms of his parole from a 9-to-23-month jail sentence for...

Plans for a Dollar General store in Upper Burrell are on hold because of development issues flagged by township officials. Construction of the proposed 7,500-square-foot store along Route 780 near Dewey Drive has raised the concern of some residents because the vacant site where it would be built is in...

Kiski Township supervisors plan to establish the Kiski Township Sewage Authority next month to oversee a $16 million project to bring public sewerage to nearly 700 homes. That amounts to about half of township households, said township engineer Richard Lenhart of Senate Engineering. About 10% of the township residents have...

Allegheny County Police say they have identified suspects in the November shooting death of an 18-year-old man in Tarentum. Syncere Spruill, of Arnold, was shot shortly before midnight Nov. 22 in the 200 block of Conroy Way. He was pronounced dead at Allegheny Valley Hospital. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner...

A nonprofit is offering free internet service for New Kensington and Arnold residents, but so far not many are signing up. Meta Mesh Wireless Communities can take about 150 households in its one-year pilot providing free, wireless, high-speed internet service, but so far only 38 in New Kensington and Arnold...

A Highlands High School student who helped repair a car for a veteran is the second recipient of an award students created to recognize their peers. Ian Norris, 17, a senior from Fawn who attends Forbes Road Career & Technology Center in Monroeville, received the “Student Spotlight” award for December,...

Is your church or organization going to serve free takeout Christmas dinners? Send information to The Stroller at vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Pajama Project seeks pajama donations The Rotary Club of Leechburg and Interact Club of Leechburg Area High School are sponsoring the Pajama Project collection through...

Criminal charges have been withdrawn against an Arnold assistant fire chief, who, along with his teenage son, was accused of kidnapping the son’s pregnant girlfriend and holding her against her will for over a month. The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office withdrew five charges, including kidnapping and burglary, that were...

A rivalry is brewing between Riverview and Springdale students, but this time it’s a race to get on Santa’s nice list. The school districts are dueling to help the region’s homeless community by collecting small, stuffed stockings to deliver to shelters this holiday season. “There is no greater gift than...

Is your church or organization going to serve free takeout Christmas dinners? Send information to The Stroller at vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Saxonburg church to present Christmas cantata Saxonburg Memorial Presbyterian Church, 100 W. Main St., will present its annual free Christmas cantata in person and online...

A Vandergrift woman is accused by borough police of punching and kicking at least four people earlier this week, including two police officers — one of whom she allegedly kicked in the face when she was taken to the police station. Police say Jaden Nicole Etchison, 21, of Vandergrift got...

A West Deer teen is taking a family hobby and turning it into a business. Noah Long and his mom, Wendy, are selling Christmas ornaments they’ve made out of wine corks and are donating a portion of the proceeds to the West Deer Food Bank. They call the business Cork...

One of O’Hara’s largest employers will vacate leased township office space as the lingering covid-19 pandemic impacts its corporate operations. Giant Eagle will not renew its lease at 701 Alpha Drive, one of three office buildings it occupies in RIDC Park off Route 28. The building sits on 8.2 acres...

The First National Bank branch in Lower Burrell is scheduled to close March 5. It is among 21 First National branch offices that will be shuttered in the Eastern United States, said FNB spokeswoman Jennifer M. Reel. Some customers were not happy to hear about the closure of the branch...

Forget about those sugar plums dancing in heads this holiday season and make way for a new Yuletide treat: the Cannoli Christmas Tree. A cannoli tree may seem like something out of a debaucherous dessert dream. But Char Hixson, proprietor of Char’s Creative Confections in Harmar, is baking them up...

Is your church or organization going to serve free takeout Christmas dinners? Send information to The Stroller at vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. HOPE Center seeks support for program The HOPE Center is seeking support for its annual Adopt-A-Family Christmas Program to benefit HOPE Center families. This program...

Uncertainty brought on by the covid-19 pandemic is prompting owners of the Praha restaurant and bar in Tarentum to close, possibly for good. Unless businesses are shut down sooner, owner Ken Gulick said the Praha will close at the end of business on Dec. 23. He expects the closure to...

Tarentum police say a borough man attacked a woman and hit two young boys after coming home from a bar late Monday night. Borough police charged Stacy Andrew Smith, 29, with simple assault, endangering the welfare of children, resisting arrest and harassment. In a criminal complaint against Smith, police say...

As Fox Chapel Area students returned to in-person classes this week, officials said there is no current plan for middle and high school students to be in the buildings on a full-time basis. Elementary students have returned to five-day, in-person classes but older students will remain in a hybrid learning...