Valley News Dispatch category, Page 515
The Stroller, Feb. 17, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s meetings, fundraisers and community events in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Drive-through food distribution set at Lernerville Speedway Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank will host a drive-through food distribution for anyone in need from...
Pa. jobless benefit scams at $2.5M; Arnold woman pleads guilty to defrauding system
While many jobless Pennsylvanians have struggled to get unemployment benefits during the covid pandemic, the state has paid out at least $2.5 million in fraudulent claims, state officials said Tuesday. That might be just the tip of the iceberg, the officials said. The $2.5 million was siphoned off by just...
Penn man accused of assaulting woman during fight about bathroom use
State police say a Penn Borough man assaulted two people during a fight about who was going to use the bathroom at an apartment Monday, according to court documents. Dakota Scheetz, 24, was arraigned Tuesday on two counts each of harassment and simple assault filed by troopers after the 5...
Highlands considers allowing students up to 4 days of in-person instruction
Highlands School District is considering allowing students to return to school four days a week, with reduced social distancing. The district is now using a hybrid schedule that has students separated into two groups, each of which learns in school two days a week and remotely three days a week....
Aspinwall’s Christ the Divine school holding take-out only fish fries
Spring fish fry fundraisers at Aspinwall’s Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy won’t resemble years past, but organizers said the Lenten events will forge on. The school along Brilliant Avenue will host two takeouts, Feb. 26 and March 26. Hungry diners can pick up meals from 11 a.m. to 1...
Pittsburgh’s Miss Freddye nominated for several music awards
A song published 120 years ago, “Wade in the Water,” is making waves for a local singer today. Freddye Stover, known in the regional music scene as Miss Freddye, debuted her version of “Wade in the Water” as her latest single. ‘I grew up in church listening to ‘Wade in...
Fox Chapel Area teen earns honors for mental health advocacy
Fox Chapel Area senior Abby Rickin-Marks has emerged as a change-maker in teen mental health advocacy, winning the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Keystone Pennsylvania Youth Award. Given to youth leaders who shift perceptions and spearhead change in mental health education, the NAMI honor comes with a $500 scholarship....
Highlands community rallies to help 2 Tarentum families burned out of homesVideo
The Highlands community is rallying to support two Tarentum families whose homes were destroyed by fire on Monday. A GoFundMe campaign to help the Lott family had exceeded its $10,000 goal by Tuesday afternoon. The fire is believed to have started in the Lott family’s home in the 200 block...
The Stroller, Feb. 16, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s meetings, fundraisers and community events in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Blood drive to make monetary contributions to Freeport Food Bank Zion United Methodist Church, Buffalo Township, will host a community blood drive, “Save...
Oakmont paving project sent out for bid, Civil Service requirements for police sergeant to change
Oakmont officials put this year’s paving project out for bid and plan to award the contract next month. Council unanimously voted Feb. 15 to advertise its street improvement program, which includes eight streets and a boat ramp. Borough officials budgeted about $350,000 for the infrastructure upgrades. Streets to be improved...
Plans for a pump track and trail extension in Oakmont’s Creekside Park near completion
Construction plans are being developed for a new pump track and walking/bike trail extension at Creekside Park in Oakmont. The recreation board proposed these projects a couple of years ago. Oakmont officials since acquired a state grant and the necessary permits for the project. Borough Manager Scot Fodi announced Monday...
Armstrong County to give $733K in grants to restaurants hard hit by pandemic
Armstrong County announced it expects to distribute about $733,000 in grants to county restaurants for relief from pandemic losses under the new state covid-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program. The program recently announced by Gov. Tom Wolf includes $145 million in funding to the state’s 67 counties, based on population, to...
$1.5M Babcock Nature Center under construction in Buffalo Township
A soft opening is planned this spring for the $1.5 million Babcock Nature Center in Buffalo Township, under construction off Monroe Road next to the Butler-Freeport Community Trail. A collaboration between the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and Buffalo Township, the new 2,500-square-foot center and a 1,200-square-foot pavilion will offer...
Tarentum house fire spreads to neighboring homeVideo
Tiffany Lott stood on Tarentum’s Lock Street on Monday afternoon, a blanket draped over her, as smoke billowed from her home and firefighters pumped it full of water. A fire Lott said had started in her home had spread to another beside it, ultimately destroying both. “I am OK,” she...
Medical shuttles across Alle-Kiski Valley among services funded by St. Margaret Foundation
A free medical shuttle that transports patients throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley is among services funded by $675,755 in grants recently announced by the St. Margaret Foundation. Money will be distributed with the specific goals of supporting patient access, education and experience, foundation President Mary Lee Gannon said. “This past year...
The Stroller, Feb. 15, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s meetings, fundraisers and community events in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Highlands students to perform virtual talent show Highlands High School will present a virtual February Follies Talent Show at 7 p.m. Thursday online...
Aspinwall Riverfront Park gets a little more ‘love-ly’
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Aspinwall Riverfront Park got a little more lovely. Colorful, oversized letters that spell love were installed at the park entrance, near the playground’s imposing slide. Two large painted wooden hearts were erected in the western section and near the off-leash dog park, so that...
New craft beer festival may prompt Tarentum to alter alcohol ban
Tarentum Council has approved holding a new craft beer festival at Dreshar Stadium later this year. But in addition to hoping the covid-19 pandemic has waned by late August, council will need to amend borough regulations that prohibit drinking alcohol on borough-owned property. Councilman Brian Snyder, who proposed and is...
2 women transform historic Buffalo Township barn into event venueVideo
Two local women are transforming a historic Buffalo Township barn into an event venue that will host weddings and other private events. Cathy Burnheimer and Jessica Krynicki are set to launch Avenue in Sarver in June, though couples can tour the venue and book event dates now. The barn, Krynicki...
Lower Burrell councilman to hang up politics but singing ‘God Bless America’
After 16 years, Lower Burrell Councilman Joe Grillo said it’s time to go. He announced last week he would not seek reelection this year during a council meeting this week. “I’ve given it long and hard thought since 2018 when I had a cancer scare,” Grillo said. “Thank God, I’m...
Deer Lakes considers possible return to full-time, in-person instruction
Deer Lakes School Board is expected to consider a possible return to full-time, in-person instruction when it meets Tuesday. Last week, the district temporarily closed East Union Intermediate Center and Deer Lakes Middle School after multiple people tested positive for covid-19 at the respective schools. At a meeting last Tuesday,...
Want to help make a baby? Jobs available at Cook Medical for in vitro fertilization devices.
As one of the world’s leaders in producing equipment for in vitro fertilization, Cook Medical in Parks Township is expanding operations and looking to hire 25 employees this quarter. Headquartered in Bloomington, Ind., Cook Medical recorded worldwide sales of $2.2 billion in 2019 for all of its business lines. Cook...
Duster Funeral Home in Tarentum commits to eco-friendly practices
While an electric Tesla SUV may seem like a luxury, Duster Funeral Home in Tarentum’s most recent vehicle purchase is actually a big step toward “going green.” The funeral home has set in motion a five-year plan to create an eco-friendly facility. The plan includes eliminating air pollutants by replacing...
Well, La Dee Dah! Vintage jewelry store in Leechburg celebrates 10th anniversaryVideo
Judy Provias has always loved antiques. “My grandmother lived in a 200-plus-year-old house that George Washington actually slept in. Everything in her house was antique,” Provias said. “I loved it.” Provias, of Leechburg, owns and operates La Dee Dah Antiques, located at 161 Market St. in her hometown. La Dee...
New Kensington’s Knead Community Café has provided food for the soul for 4 years
At Knead Community Café in New Kensington, a meal is more than just a plate of food. “This is about community and feeding everyone,” said Mary Bode, who opened the nonprofit restaurant with her husband, Kevin, four years ago on Feb. 20. “We care about everyone who walks through the...
