Valley News Dispatch category, Page 538
Lower Burrell completes $3.3 million city hall renovationVideo
Lower Burrell’s $3.3 million city hall renovation project came in close to budget and is done about six months later than its original completion date because of delays caused by the covid-19 pandemic. The renovation is readily apparent by the newly painted main city hall building, going from the outdated...
Harmar youth won’t ‘Shop with a Cop’ but program will still help kids in the region
Harmar’s fourth annual “Shop with a Cop” event will not be happening this year. Instead, children within the Allegheny Valley School District will be receiving money courtesy of Target. Organized by Harmar police, the event pairs Harmar children with township police officers to shop for toys and clothes at the...
Rupprecht family encourages Deer Lakes to implement ‘Hope Squad’ suicide prevention program
The family of a West Deer teenager who died by suicide last year wants to bring a school-based, peer-to-peer suicide prevention program to the Deer Lakes School District. “Hope Squad” was created by Gregory Hudnall, an associate superintendent with Provo City School District in Utah. For over 12 years, the...
The Stroller, Nov. 22, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your church or organization going to host a community holiday event? Send information to The Stroller as soon as possible to vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Letters from Santa offered by Vandergrift Public Library Vandergrift Public Library will send your child a personalized letter from Santa Claus...
No property tax hike in Harmar; supervisor calls for tax break in future for homeowners
While the Harmar supervisors passed its $2.7 million budget for next year with no real estate tax increase, one supervisor wants to pass a tax break to township property owners in the future. The 2021 budget includes typical increases for salaries and benefit expenses for its 17 employees, said Ian...
Pandemic forces Tarentum Area Lions to hold longtime annual fundraiser online this year
A mainstay Alle-Kiski Valley charity dinner has opted to instead hold a virtual fundraiser this year due to pandemic restrictions. The annual Jack Marino Lions Club Charity Drawing will take place online Dec. 9 via Facebook livestream. Sponsored by the Tarentum Area Lions Club, the fundraiser is traditionally a dinner...
Harrison World War II veteran celebrates 100th birthday with a bona fide paradeVideo
A slight drizzle didn’t dampen Howard Traenkner’s party on Saturday. A parade was held in his honor for his 100th birthday outside his Harrison home. There were police cars and ambulances and firetrucks. More than 60 vehicles filled with old friends and family members drove by with their windows down,...
Leechburg woman spends Thanksgiving week organizing holiday take-out dinner for 150
Jamie Rimmel never spends Thanksgiving Day in her own kitchen. Instead, she volunteers her time every year organizing and cooking a traditional Thanksgiving meal for the public at her church, Cross Roads Community Presbyterian Church in Leechburg. A free take-out Thanksgiving dinner will be offered Thursday to anyone from noon-...
The Stroller, Nov. 21, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your church or organization going to host a community holiday event? Send information to The Stroller as soon as possible to vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Fire truck parade planned in Oakmont A fire truck parade with Santa, Mrs. Claus and Chip Chip will be from noon...
Santa and Mrs. Claus to ride around Oakmont on Saturday afternoon
Oakmont residents hearing the fire sirens go off early Saturday afternoon should not panic. It’s just Santa Claus coming through town with his wife and helpers. The Oakmont Volunteer Fire Department and the Oakmont Chamber of Commerce have partnered to make the visit possible. Santa and Mrs. Claus will lead...
West Deer women facilitate free item giveaway via social media
A West Deer woman is excited to see that a post she shared on social media over the weekend attracted attention in the community. Kelly Rykaceski made a post in the West Deer/East Deer Current Events public Facebook group last Saturday encouraging community members to give away things they don’t...
Tarentum’s Manos Theater reborn as art galleryVideo
As a young artist, Ernesto Camacho Jr. had issues with people not understanding him or his paintings. “Being able to show it in a gallery was kind of tough,” said Camacho, 41, a native of the Philadelphia area who lives in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. “When I went to a...
Court decisions loom in tied state Senate race between Brewster-Ziccarelli
Lawyers for the campaigns of Democratic incumbent state Sen. Jim Brewster and Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli continued to argue in two different courts Friday over the legality more than 400 ballots cast in two counties that will swing the outcome of the tied race for the 45th District, which straddles...
Harrison officials, groups work together to install food pantry in NatronaVideo
A new, free community food pantry is available for residents in the Natrona area of Harrison. The pantry, located near the basketball court and concession stand in Natrona Community Park on River Road, is one of two that was the idea of township resident Michele Plocki and built by her...
Highlands junior donating hair to charity receives school’s first ‘Student Spotlight’ award
Highlands High School junior Kevin Gonzales is the first recipient of an award created by the school’s senior class officers to recognize students who go above and beyond what’s expected of them and set good examples. Gonzales, 17, of Brackenridge, was selected for the “Student Spotlight” award because he found...
New Kensington-Arnold considering how to find a new superintendent
New Kensington-Arnold School Board is meeting with consultants as it considers how to go about finding a new superintendent. The district’s most recent superintendent, John Pallone, resigned at the end of July. Jon Banko, previously assistant superintendent, has been serving as the district’s acting superintendent since late August. In a...
Fox Chapel’s Adam Rosenberg pleads not guilty to killing Christian Moore-Rouse in preliminary hearing
A Fox Chapel man accused of killing a Verona man will stand trial after pleading not guilty in a preliminary hearing Friday at Pittsburgh Municipal Court. Adam Rosenberg, 22, was charged in May with criminal homicide, robbery, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in connection to the killing...
9 die in covid-19 outbreak at Washington Township nursing home
Nine residents of Quality Life Services nursing home in Washington Township have died since Nov. 11, and the National Guard has been called in to assist, according to Chief Operating Officer Paul Maguire. About half of the deaths occurred at the nursing home formerly known as West Haven Manor and...
Washington Twp. police confiscate marijuana, mushrooms, Xanax pills during traffic stop
A traffic stop for a broken tail light resulted in the arrest of a 29-year-old man Thursday after Washington Township police seized nearly 5 pounds of marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, Xanax pills and drug packaging material from his SUV. Patrick C. Meanor, 29, of Worthville, Jefferson County, is charged with four...
Kiski Township man, a registered sex offender, accused of exposing himself to girl
A Kiski Township man who is on parole for sexually assaulting a minor has been arrested on charges he exposed himself to a teenage girl, police said. Township police investigating a complaint from a resident along Sugar Hollow Road on Thursday accused Wayne Danjou, 76, of “committing lewd acts to...
The Stroller, Nov. 20, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Is your church or organization going to host a community holiday event? Send information to The Stroller as soon as possible to vndnews@tribweb.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Community Library of Allegheny Valley selling lottery calendars Community Library of Allegheny Valley is sponsoring a Cash Calendar Lottery Raffle for...
Holiday events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
To have your event listed, send information to Carol Pinto-Smith, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084; or email cpinto-smith@triblive.com. Gilpin • A Stuff the Cruise toy collection to benefit Allegheny Valley Marine Corps League will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 19 m. at Dollar General,...
Allegheny Township woman killed in crash along Route 66
An Allegheny Township woman was killed in a two-vehicle crash on Route 66 on Thursday morning. The crash victim was identified as Brooke Moyle, 20. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office said she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death, which was ruled an accident, was attributed to blunt force...
State Sen. Brewster now tied with challenger Ziccarelli in 45th District race
Republican challenger Nicole Ziccarelli has pulled into a tie with Democratic incumbent state Sen. Jim Brewster in the race for the 45th District seat. Ziccarelli, a New Kensington lawyer, was trailing Brewster by 28 votes late Thursday afternoon, but she made up those votes as the tally from the Westmoreland...
New Kensington-Arnold immediately closing schools, cites rise in covid-19
New Kensington-Arnold School District announced Thursday it is immediately closing all district schools because of an increase in local incidents of covid-19 transmission. All students will be moved to fully remote instruction from Friday through next Wednesday, Nov. 25, according to acting Superintendent Jon Banko. The district’s Thanksgiving break runs...
