Valley News Dispatch category, Page 592

Highlands School District asked a federal court Monday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former principal claiming the district and its superintendent retaliated against her for taking unpaid leave and dating a former teacher. In a 29-page filing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania,...

Volunteer tax preparers needed Allegheny Valley Association of Churches and United Way of Allegheny County are looking for people to give their time as volunteer tax preparers. Many of our neighbors don’t have access to affordable tax help, fall victim to rapid refund loans or are not aware of state...

Hoagies will play a key role in Leechburg’s police security plans. Businesses and residents have donated about $4,000 since June to the plan to add surveillance cameras at some intersections. Chief Jason Schaeffer said the borough needs an additional $3,000. So Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market and its food fundraiser is stepping...

A Westmoreland County judge Tuesday rejected a request from the son of a Lower Burrell district judge to be transferred back to the county’s jail to finish serving out a six-month sentence for drug offenses. The attorney for Stephen Yakopec III, 29, of Lower Burrell in court documents filed this...

Harrison police said they used surveillance camera footage, license plate readers and help from other departments to track down a Brackenridge man suspected of stealing a car on Christmas Eve. Terry Alan Montgomery, 51, is accused of taking a 2008 Hyundai Accent that was parked in the 2000 block of...

Dave Houston got an unexpected knock at his door the Saturday morning before Christmas. “Did you see your garage?” his neighbor asked. Perplexed, the 55-year-old man walked outside his Springdale Township home thinking, “Maybe I left my garage door open all night.” “Well,” Houston recalled, “The garage door wasn’t even...

The average Harmar homeowner could save about $34.50 in real estate taxes in 2020 as supervisors recently passed a $10,000 increase for the homestead tax exemption. The township supervisors last Thursday passed the township’s final 2020 budget of $2.7 million. It does not include a tax increase. The township real...

A joyous and blessed Christmas to our loyal readers and their families! Enjoy a safe and happy holiday season. – Carol Pinto-Smith Hockey game to raise money for Brian Shaw Memorial Fund The Brian Shaw Memorial Hockey Game will be at 8 p.m. Friday at the Pittsburgh Ice Arena, 700...

Tarentum will be looking for prices from other garbage haulers after Waste Management proposed increasing the rate it charges the borough, according to borough Manager Michael Nestico. “We want to see what options we have here,” he said. “Council was initially hopeful to keep Waste Management. They like the service...

Dave Lynch had pulled two double shifts when his phone started ringing and texting about a Ford truck while he drove on Route 28 to his Indiana Township home. “I thought it was some solicitation, and I wasn’t interested in buying anything,” said Lynch, 54, who works in law enforcement....

East Deer residents will pay more for water after Tarentum increased what it charges the township for bulk water, but exactly how much more is not yet known. East Deer buys water from Tarentum, then distributes it to its customers. East Deer Commissioner Tony Taliani said the township will not...

Springdale Township police are investigating a weekend hit-and-run crash that heavily damaged a garage off Riddle Run Road. Police said an unknown motorist driving a burgundy or brown Buick Lucerne at a high speed crashed through the side of the large garage around 1 a.m. Saturday. A surveillance camera captured...

Special visitor set to visit the Alle-Kiski Valley tonight Hopefully the clouds will hold off in the Alle-Kiski Valley tonight. Many children – and adults – will have their eyes focused on the skies looking for a special visitor! HOPE Center seeks donations Throughout the winter months the HOPE Center...

Editor’s note: Building the Valley tells stories of businesses big and small and the employees who make them special. If you know of any standout employees, bosses or companies with a great story to tell, contact reporter Madasyn Lee at mlee@tribweb.com. Dr. John Bissell knew by age 13 that he...

Lawrence Goodbread didn’t just love fire trucks, he collected them. Goodbread, who died Dec. 18 at 92, owned two antique fire trucks at the time of his death. To honor the longtime firefighter and avid collector, a 1946 Ford fire truck that Goodbread took to parades was parked outside the...

New Kensington Council has scheduled a special meeting to adopt the city’s 2020 budget, which includes a proposed property tax increase. Council will meet at 5 p.m. Dec. 30 in council chambers at city hall, 301 11th St. Council earlier this month approved an $8.1 million preliminary budget that would...

A New Kensington-area teen is accused of throwing an unloaded gun at police as they pursued him and two other teens in connection with the theft of a purse last week in Harrison. That didn’t stop police from arresting the teens on Dec. 17, a day after police said they...

Peoples Library seeking tutors for elementary students Peoples Library in New Kensington is seeking adult volunteers to tutor elementary students in its afterschool program. Adult tutors work one-on-one with at-risk students from the New Kensington-Arnold School District from 4 to 5:20 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at the New Kensington library,...

Stewart Elementary School ditched its typical holiday parties this year. Instead, the Lower Burrell school’s roughly 265 fourth- and fifth-graders spent their final day before winter break working together to raise money for sick children. “We broke away from our traditional classroom parties,” Principal Jim Croushore said. “We wanted to...

Steelworkers at ATI in Harrison are Secret Santas, as they bought 39 bikes and helmets for Alle-Kiski Valley kids this Christmas. The money was raised over the last two months, according to Bill Campbell, union grievance representative for the United Steelworkers Local 1196 in Brackenridge, which serves ATI’s steel mill...

In an effort to do some much-needed paving, Springdale Council will vote this week on a 6.5% property tax increase. Council unanimously agreed last Tuesday to raise taxes by a half-mill in order to pave either Colfax Street or Rosslyn Avenue in 2020. The vote on the tax hike will...

A section of Route 28 northbound in Armstrong County was reopened around 8 p.m., after a crash caused the road to be closed Sunday for more than seven hours. State police said two vehicles crashed when a truck lost a load on the road in Mahoning Township at about 12:45...