Valley News Dispatch category, Page 591

A property tax increase is needed for New Kensington to maintain its services, officials said as council unanimously approved the city’s 2020 budget and tax rate Monday. Police protection is among those services. The city hired five new officers this year, which accounts for much of the 3% increase in...

When John C. Vecchi began his manufacturing career at Allegheny Ludlum Steel in Brackenridge nearly 80 years ago, he made history. While serving as a tool-and-die apprentice, Vecchi helped build the world’s first carbide progressive die, an integral part of a process in which coiled metal is used to produce...

A smoke alarm helped a woman and her 4-year-old son safely escape a fire that heavily damaged a two-story duplex in Arnold on Monday afternoon. The fire in the 2000 block of Proctor Alley was reported around 2 p.m. Firefighters had it put out within about 30 minutes. Kayla Pirozzi...

State lawmakers who represent Avonmore said Monday they are concerned that the new owners of the Akers National Roll plant haven’t been more forthcoming about their plans for the site. “Documentation shows that the plant was sold, but we are unsure who the new owners are and what they ultimately...

Hospital auxiliary sponsors vacation raffle Allegheny Valley Hospital Auxiliary is sponsoring a raffle for a seven night Hilton Head Hideaway vacation. The prize includes seven nights in a condo at Shelter Cove Harbor in Hilton Head, S.C. The winner will choose one of three available weeks to vacation. Meals and...

Maura Rupprecht was never one for the spotlight. But she would be glad to know her death might just help save a life, her mother believes. Maura was a Deer Lakes High School sophomore who died by suicide in March. She was 16. “I really think that she would be...

An East Deer family of six left homeless after a Friday morning fire is expected to move into a new place in the township Monday. The Red Cross initially assisted Aaron Ciccanti, his fiancee, Andrea Small, and Small’s four children, two boys and two girls, with a temporary place to...

Jim Clawson hopes that one day he will watch the last breaths of the man who killed his friend and fellow police officer 40 years ago. Clawson has been waiting for decades to be summoned as a witness to John Lesko’s final day. He wants to be seated behind a...

When Craig Cannon’s 34 years of directing the Fox Chapel Area High School choir program were coming to an end, he wasn’t ready to quit teaching music. The Duquesne University alumnus started a nonprofit seven years ago for women who wanted to sing beyond high school, college and Sunday church...

Volunteer opportunities available at Allegheny Valley Hospital Allegheny Valley Hospital is recruiting volunteers to join the lobby escort, information desk and surgical reception teams. Orientation and training are required and provided. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old. Apply online at allegheny.vsyslive.com/pages/app/61EFWO7WP9NQRA10 or contact Kim at 724-226-7370 or avhvol@ahn.org....

One of the early advocates for Alle-Kiski Valley police surveillance cameras is moving from leading Freeport police to a neighboring force. Jeff Swiklinski, 53, of Buffalo Township, who was chief of the Freeport Police Department for 19 of his 32-year career with the force, will become a Buffalo Township patrolman...

Only one person, a councilman whose term was running out, applied for appointment on the board governing the newly formed joint police department between Cheswick and Springdale Township. Both communities merged their police departments in May 2019 to form the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department. Each municipality has two representatives...

A community is rallying in support of an East Deer family who lost everything in a Friday morning fire. The Red Cross is assisting Aaron Ciccanti, his fiancee, Andrea Small, and their four children with a temporary place to stay, clothing and food after their home at 405 Freeport Road...

The Vandergrift Improvement Program is beginning to make progress on renovating the town’s historic J.C. Penney building at 134 Grant Ave. after years of saving and struggle. The building has sat vacant for more than a decade. The Vandergrift Improvement Project owns the building. VIP recently invited Patton Engineering to...

Concordia to offer classes Concordia Institute for Lifelong Learning is offering free classes for those of retirement age. Classes will include Beavers: Behavior and Habitat, Backyard Bird Identification, Importance of Pollinators, Women Suffrage, Creative Journal Writing, Book Crafts and many more. Some classes have a nominal fee. For a catalog,...

With free holiday time on their hands and relatively balmy temperatures, Alle-Kiski Valley residents have been playing golf, catching walleyes in the Allegheny River or simply going outside more. The higher temperatures — 62 degrees Thursday and around 57 degrees Friday — are unusual but not unheard off, according to...

The fire that quickly consumed a home in East Deer and damaged two others has also burned through Comcast lines in the area, affecting service that was not restored until after 10 p.m. “This fire burned fiber of ours. We just got access to the site 15 minutes ago,” Comcast...

An East Deer couple and four children narrowly escaped a roaring, natural gas-fueled blaze that started Friday morning when a pickup crashed into a gas meter in front of their home. Aaron Ciccanti and fiancée Andrea Small got the children, ages 4 to 8, to safety by smashing out a...

Valley High School baseball team offers camp for students The 2020 Valley High School Baseball Camp for students in first through ninth grade will be Sundays in January at the high school, New Kensington. Boys and girls in first through fifth grade will meet from 9 to 11 a.m. and...

The Deer Lakes Hockey Club wants more people to be more aware of suicide and how it can be prevented. On Sunday, the club will host its inaugural Maura C. Rupprecht Alumni Hockey Game at the Frozen Pond Arena in Middlesex Township. All proceeds will be used to fund additional...

A Winfield man with a history of drunken driving is accused of threatening a Saxonburg district magistrate, a Butler County judge and a Buffalo Township supervisor in different phone messages because he was angry with the latest charges filed against him. Frederick William Buehler, 61, made six threatening phone calls...

Diane Raible of White Oak agreed last fall to temporarily foster a small dog that was paralyzed from the waist down after being struck by a car. It didn’t take long for Raible to fall in love with the 20-pound spaniel mix Dolly, who uses a wheeled cart to get...