Valley News Dispatch category, Page 534
No one injured in Lower Burrell house fire spotted by New Ken fire chief
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...
The Stroller, Dec. 7, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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...
Lower Burrell family keeps Italian nativity scene tradition alive, new pieces added yearlyVideo
An Italian Christmas tradition encompassing a couple generations continues in a Lower Burrell household. For at least six weeks out of the year, retired cabinet maker Pat Pesce shows off the family’s presepe, or nativity scene. It has grown from a small manger set that could fit on a coffee...
Virtual learning tips stress well being and establishing new routines
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...
The Stroller, Dec. 6, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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...
Santa visits Harrison, Brackenridge and Tarentum
A Santa caravan travelled through Harrison, Brackenridge and Tarentum Saturday afternoon....
Laurie’s Hallmark to close at Pittsburgh Mills mall in FrazerVideo
Laurie’s Hallmark is leaving the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer in January, citing a decrease in foot traffic exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Co-owner Hemanth Kapoor said the greeting card, home decor and gift store is closing because several other businesses in that section of the mall have left, and...
Freeport students film production of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
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...
Audit of Upper Burrell fire department finds no problems
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...
First Commonwealth Bank in Leechburg to shut its doors Dec. 11, the victim of increased online traffic
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...
Apollo-Ridge students designing new logo for Kiski Township
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 Municipal Authority water, sewage rates going up next year
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...
The Stroller, Dec. 5, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
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....
Christmas tree program to benefit West Deer church, Deer Lakes suicide prevention program
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...
Freeport Area School District to remain fully remote until January
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 proposes several large projects, no tax increase in 2021 budget
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...
Gilpin tree farm offers personal touch to help make Christmas a little brighterVideo
A rural family-owned and operated Christmas tree farm in Gilpin has served the Alle-Kiski Valley for more than 80 years. Habe’s Nursery co-owners and husband-and-wife team John and Janie Sterosky work overtime during December, making hundreds of homemade pine custom wreaths, grave blankets and kissing balls. “We make our own...
Valley Points YMCA closes Allegheny Valley branch after positive covid case
Valley Points Family YMCA announced that its Allegheny Valley branch in Harrison will be closed through Sunday because of a covid-19 case. The organization made the announcement on its Facebook page late Thursday night. In the post, the YMCA said it was notified Thursday evening of a positive covid-19 case,...
The Stroller, Dec. 4, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your church or organization going to host a community holiday event? Send information to The Stroller at vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Santa needs help: You can ‘adopt’ senior for Christmas Concordia Lutheran Ministries has again opened its Adopt-A-Resident Program to the community. Individuals, businesses and congregations...
Plum High School toy drive going drive-thru, no students this year
Plum High School’s sixth annual Stuff-a-Bus toy drive will be in a different format this year due to the covid-19 pandemic. The event is still set for 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday in the high school parking lot at 900 Elicker Road. However, there will be no hot chocolate...
Frazer supervisors approve first property tax increase in at least 25 years
Property owners in Frazer are going to see their township real estate taxes go up by 76% next year. It’s the township’s first property tax hike in at least 25 years, officials said. Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously passed a $1.3 million budget for 2021 that includes a 1.08-mill increase. The...
Leechburg Area to resume in-person instruction next week
Leechburg Area School District plans to return to in-person instruction on Monday despite the state deeming there to be a “substantial” risk of covid-19 transmission in Westmoreland and Armstrong counties. The school board approved the move in a 7-1 vote Wednesday following a lengthy discussion. All students in grades pre-k...
Westmoreland County to award additional pandemic grants
Westmoreland County will award a final round of covid-relief grants next week to small businesses, while nonprofit agencies and local volunteer fire departments will receive awards later this month. Commissioners on Thursday increased grants handed out last week to Penn and Washington townships to cover coronavirus-related costs incurred by their...
Kiski Township man loves his train display so much, he custom-built his house to fit itVideo
Russ Fry built a house around his beloved hobby. Fry, 86, of Kiski Township, is a second-generation train display enthusiast. He designed and constructed a new home on his rural property in Armstrong County about 10 years ago. Key to the design was including a large, custom basement and storage...
Deer Lakes won’t resume in-person instruction until January at earliest
Deer Lakes School District will not resume in-person instruction until Jan. 11 at the earliest in response to the surge in covid-19 cases. “Our county continues to remain in a substantial level of transmission as we see dramatic increases in positive cases and hospitalizations,” Superintendent Janell Logue-Belden wrote in a...
