Valley News Dispatch category, Page 510

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...

A historic eatery in Indiana Township is welcoming diners again. Co-owned by Jeff Brungo and Chris Hildebrandt, Brick & Barrel Cross Keys opened in November, offering a casual full-service dining experience. The menu is based on locally sourced burgers and specialty brick oven pizza, and the bar features an extensive...

Gilpin supervisors are proposing a budget for next year that would increase property taxes by 71%. The proposed increase would raise the tax rate by 5 mills, to 12 mills. At that rate, someone who owns a property assessed at $20,000 would owe $240 in real estate taxes, or $100...

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. Send a gift to a senior at Presbyterian SeniorCare Network Presbyterian Senior Care Network is encouraging the public to send a gift to a resident...

Highlands School Board reversed course Monday and voted unanimously to immediately resume winter sports. The decision came after a roughly two-hour discussion in which parents and students asked the board to reconsider allowing winter sports — basketball, wrestling and swimming — to take place, and board members debated whether it...

Fox Chapel residents will likely pay the same real estate taxes to the borough in 2021 thanks to council’s tentative approval of an $8.6 million budget. The property tax rate is expected to remain the same at 2.95 mills. If the final budget is approved, the owner of a home...

Criminal charges were withdrawn against a Hampton woman Allegheny County Police accused of sexually abusing two children in West Deer. The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office withdrew 10 charges, including rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, filed against Iris Schmidt, 21, late last year, according to online court records. The...

New Kensington’s fire chief was working in Lower Burrell late Monday morning when he came across a house fire. In addition to serving as city fire chief, Ed Saliba Jr. is the distribution superintendent for the Municipal Authority of the City of New Kensington, which services Lower Burrell. Saliba was...

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. Cash bash to benefit North Apollo fire department North Apollo Volunteer Fire Department is sponsoring a virtual cash bash at noon Jan.16 live on the...

As frazzled households adapt to the challenges of virtual learning during the pandemic, the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit is offering a free webinar to help parents cope and make it easier for children to succeed in school from home. The free webinar available online,“FACE: Families and Communities Engaged Together,” tackles problems...

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. Drive-through food distribution set for Tuesday at Pittsburgh Mills Allegheny Valley Association of Churches and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will host a drive-through...

A Santa caravan travelled through Harrison, Brackenridge and Tarentum Saturday afternoon....

The show must go on. For Freeport Area High School students, not even the covid-19 pandemic could ruin a Christmas play. This year, a group of about 30 students filmed a movie adaptation of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which will be available to rent online. Tom Koharchik, the movie’s producer...

The preliminary findings from an audit found no issues with Upper Burrell’s volunteer fire company finances, supervisors told residents during their Wednesday night meeting. Unhappy with the prospect of a proposed 2-mill fire tax, township residents this summer asked for an audit of the fire company’s books to confirm their...

The First Commonwealth Bank and its detached drive-thru on Market Street in Leechburg are scheduled to close by the end of business Friday. Other Western Pennsylvania branches scheduled to close in December include locations in Tarentum, Buffalo Township, Pine, McKeesport, Lawrenceville and Squirrel Hill. The closures are the result of...

The Kiski Township supervisors are asking students in the Apollo-Ridge School District to design a logo for the township for a myriad of uses, including letterhead, police department badges and possibly township vehicles. The current logo on township police badges is a generic government seal. But Kiski Township officials want...

Plum homeowners should not expect to see their real estate tax rates go up next year, but their water and sewage bills will increase slightly. Letters were to be sent out this month to Plum Borough Municipal Authority customers informing them of the rate hike, which will be reflected in...

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. Library announces annual Quilt Show Community Library of Allegheny Valley in Harrison will host its 23rd annual Quilt Show Jan. 1 through Jan. 23 online....

A West Deer preschool teacher who loves Hallmark Christmas movies is hoping to build community spirit and foster generosity with township Christmas trees. The “Our Tree of Light” Christmas tree project will benefit Our Lady of the Lakes Parish and the hopefully soon-to-be implemented Hope Squad – a suicide prevention...

Students at Freeport Area School District won’t return to in-person instruction until at least Monday, Jan. 11, the school board said Thursday. The district had previously decided to limit the amount of time students spent in the classroom around the holidays after a surge of covid-19 cases left more than...

Tarentum has identified nearly $500,000 worth of large projects in its 2021 preliminary budget, but the budget does not include a property tax increase. The proposed $8.8 million spending plan is up by about $468,000, or 5.6%, from the $8.3 million budget for this year. The property tax rate would...