Valley News Dispatch category, Page 518

Food insecurity is an ongoing problem in the Pittsburgh region, made much worse by the covid-19 pandemic. Area food banks have responded by redoubling their efforts while facing new challenges. With pandemic restrictions putting many American breadwinners out of work or reducing their hours, food banks this year have been...

Is your non-profit organization going to have a fundraiser? Send information to The Stroller at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Local volunteer fire companies to escort Santa on Saturday In preparation for his trip around the world on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus...

It appears Santa Claus will make an early trip to Plum this month even after its holiday celebration was canceled. Borough officials canceled Christmas at Plum Creek this month due to the pandemic, increased covid restrictions on gatherings and vendors withdrawing as a result. However, Plum’s four fire departments have...

Plum School District will be closed Thursday due to Wednesday’s heavy snowfall. A message from Superintendent Brendan Hyland about the snow day was posted on the district’s twitter page and newsfeed. The closure was in large part a result of Wednesday’s snow storms. “Students are directed to close their Chromebooks,...

Leechburg Area School District will go to online learning next week in response to a continued increase in covid-19 cases and a recent increase in students requesting to be taught at home. In an email to district families on Monday, Superintendent Tiffany Nix outlined changes for all students in grades...

An Allegheny Township man accused of shooting two men outside a Leechburg tattoo shop last month was ordered to stand trial after pleading not guilty during a preliminary hearing Wednesday. Chad Robert Goldstrom, 37, was charged last month with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment in connection...

Four weeks after introducing a new instruction model that allows for four days of in-person learning each week, roughly half of Kiski Area students are taking advantage of it. Superintendent Tim Scott said just over 1,800 district students are enrolled in the four-day model. Meanwhile, 963 students are learning fully...

Highlands School District is delaying the release of a resignation agreement with an unidentified employee against whom the school board had brought disciplinary charges. The school board voted at its Dec. 7 meeting to approve the agreement with an employee identified only by the number 6093. The agreement was retroactively...

Fox Chapel Area School Board has new leadership. Marybeth Dadd was elected president, and Ron Frank was elected vice president. Dadd, who represents the district’s Region 3, said her priority is to work with fellow members to keep schools safe and help families get through the covid-19 pandemic. Once a...

Is your non-profit organization going to have a fundraiser? Send information to The Stroller at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Santa to visit Kiski Township Kiski Township Volunteer Fire Department will host a drive-thru with Santa Claus from noon to 2 p.m....

Bars and restaurants may be closed to indoor dining, but a Freeport-based nonprofit is still tipping local restaurant workers. Dynamic Community Foundation, a foundation linked to local real estate firm NextHome Dynamic Realty, announced a program called Serve the Server and Tip the ‘Tender. Its goal is to help food...

Five students and staff members at Allegheny Valley School District have tested positive for covid in the past week, the district said. Spokeswoman Jan Zastawniak said those infected were last in a school building more than a week ago, and the cases are unrelated and do not suggest school community...

A grassroots activist group will host a public Zoom forum with Westmoreland County commissioners Wednesday evening to air local concerns and urge them to take an active role in battling the region’s growing public health crisis. Although the county does not have an independent public health department, a spokesman for...

New Kensington Council has approved a preliminary budget for next year that includes no increase in property taxes. Council voted 4-1 Monday to approve the first reading of next year’s $8.16 million budget, up from $8.12 million this year. The property tax rate would remain unchanged at 32.03 mills. After...

As populations across Pennsylvania increased over the past 10 years, Westmoreland and Allegheny counties have seen the opposite effect. New data from the American Community Survey shows that from 2010-19, Westmoreland County lost more than 16,000 people with the population of Allegheny County dropping by about 7,500. Those numbers aren’t...

East Deer residents and businesses will pay 35% more for water next year because Tarentum increased what it charges the township for bulk water. The new rates, approved by township commissioners, will take effect Jan. 1. The average East Deer homeowner will pay $13.50 for the first 1,500 gallons, an...

Blawnox residents will pay the same real estate taxes to the borough in 2021 but revenue loss related to covid-19 will suspend road improvements in the new year. Council approved the borough’s $2.6 million budget on Dec. 10, keeping the property tax rate at 9.85 mills. The owner of a...

Is your non-profit organization going to have a fundraiser? Send information to The Stroller at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Grab-and-go dinners to be passed out at Knead Community Cafe Knead Community Café in New Kensington will hand out free grab-and-go dinners...

A Freeport catering business is distancing itself from a similarly named Brentwood restaurant that is flouting the state’s covid safety regulations. On its Facebook page, Cracked Egg Catering Co. said it has no affiliation with the Crack’d Egg, a diner defying state shutdown orders. “Cracked Egg Catering Co. is a...

A 72-year-old Harrison man will not be charged in the death of his wife, who died after he hit her with a vehicle in August, according to Allegheny County Police. Shirley Anne Jump, 65, died after she was hit in the driveway of the couple’s Village Green Road home on...

Excela Health officials plan to administer their first doses of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine to staff in Westmore­land County on Friday, officials said. “We have requested 6,000 doses,” Excela spokesperson Robin Jennings said. Excela officials have conducted an internal survey among staff about the vaccine. Employees will not be required to...

Pennsylvanians can vote online for the state’s River of the Year, and Susan Huba would like to see a Westmoreland County waterway win the award. “This is a great opportunity,” said Huba, executive director of the Loyalhanna Watershed Association. The association helps manage Loyalhanna Creek, one of the Department of...

Students at the Catholic elementary school in Aspinwall have been in full-time in-person learning since the beginning of the school year, bucking a trend across the region which has so many districts switching between remote and classroom instruction. Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy, which houses about 190 students in...

Is your non-profit organization going to have a fundraiser? Send information to The Stroller at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.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...