Valley News Dispatch category, Page 608
Memorial service for kayaking victim, formerly of Gilpin, set in Kiski Township
A memorial service for a former Gilpin woman who died in a kayaking accident on a West Virginia river is set for Saturday. A wife and mother of two children, Jamie Gray went missing on Feb. 9 while kayaking with nine other people on a remote section of Middle Fork...
The Stroller, Feb. 28, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Stroller is your go-to place for local meeting notices, charitable events and volunteer opportunities. Information for The Stroller may be dropped off or mailed at least a week in advance to: The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084, email vndnews@tribweb.com or fax 724-226-4677. TryLife Center...
North Primary teachers collaborate for Black History Month lessons
It all started with a conversation in the hallway, said Joe Scheller, a music teacher at North Primary School in the Kiski Area School District. Shelley O’Malley and Rochelle Bires, both fourth-grade teachers, were struggling to engage their students in their lessons on the poetry of Langston Hughes, which they...
Police chief: Officer gave East Deer man ride home, where man then killed dad
An East Deer man who hopped in a police car for a courtesy ride to his father’s home hours before he allegedly killed him was “polite and compliant,” a police chief said. Police Chief Mike Naviglia of the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department said Shane Howard was walking along Freeport...
Allegheny Township man accused of using device to record woman’s conversations
An Allegheny Township man is accused by police of putting a tracking and recording device in a woman’s SUV to listen to her conversations and follow her movements, according to court papers. Kerry Richard Jackson, 35, is charged with intercepting communications, possession of a device for intercepting communications, criminal use...
Alle-Kiski Valley school districts get state money for security, reducing violence
School districts in the Alle-Kiski Valley will receive money from a state committee aimed at school safety that ranges from more than $400,000 for the South Butler and Highlands school districts to $30,000 for Riverview. The School Safety and Security Committee was established under the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and...
Crash near Freeport Area High School prompts districtwide delay
All schools in the Freeport Area School District operated on a two-hour delay Thursday following a crash that closed part of Route 356 for just more than an hour. A two-vehicle crash happened shortly before 6 a.m. on Route 356 at Cole Road in Buffalo Township, according to a Butler...
The Stroller, Feb. 27, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Stroller is your go-to place for local meeting notices, charitable events and volunteer opportunities. Information for The Stroller may be dropped off or mailed at least a week in advance to: The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084, email vndnews@tribweb.com or fax 724-226-4677. Dance marathon...
Cheswick appoints businessman to fill council vacancy
Cheswick’s vacancy board has appointed Brian Testa to borough council. Council members were encouraged that three candidates applied for the position after, earlier in the year, they hadn’t received interest from anyone for the open seat except a past councilman willing to help out. There are still openings on several...
Last day at Tarentum library like losing ‘family’Video
For nearly the past 10 years, 92-year-old Norm Jacobs of Natrona Heights, Harrison, has had a daily routine. Jacobs, a retired attorney who still has a law license, stops for eggs at Massart’s restaurant on Sixth Avenue, checks in at his nearby office, and then walks down Lock Street to...
Former Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold to stand trial on alleged sex offender violations
Former Leechburg police Chief Michael Diebold will stand trial on charges that he didn’t comply with registration requirements for convicted sex offenders, a district judge confirmed Wednesday. Diebold, 42, was charged by state police in Armstrong County with two felony counts of failing to provide accurate registration information. The case...
Volunteers needed for Bull Creek and Deer Creek trout stockings
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is looking for more volunteers to help stock trout next month in Bull Creek and Deer Creek. “I am one person, and when I have two truckloads of fish, it’s hard to get them all into the water myself,” said Sgt. Mike Walsh of...
Richard King Mellon Foundation gives $5.5M for tech lab in New Kensington
The Richard King Mellon Foundation has awarded $5.5 million for a new digital innovation lab in New Kensington. The lab is expected to be located in New Kensington’s Corridor of Innovation, a five-block stretch along Fifth Avenue between Penn State New Kensington’s innovation hub, The Corner entrepreneur center, and Westmoreland...
Bogus threat at Kiski Area High School raises concern about Safe2Say app
Kiski Area School District administrators are concerned about the unintended consequences of Pennsylvania’s anonymous reporting app, Safe2Say Something, after a noncredible threat prompted a lockdown this week. The incident raises concern among administrators, who fear the anonymous nature of Safe2Say leads to more hoax claims and pranks. Kiski Area Superintendent...
Police: Man killed father with shotgun during Harmar fight
An East Deer man admitted he shot and killed his father early Wednesday after his dad badmouthed his girlfriend and their baby, police said. Shane Howard, 23, also told police that he hit his father in the face and head with a fire extinguisher before he shot him with a...
Springdale Township plans to demolish 3 blighted houses
Springdale Township plans to use a $35,000 state grant to demolish three blighted houses this year. The demolitions haven’t been scheduled. The township is waiting for results from asbestos testing of the three houses to determine where asbestos removal will be necessary, according to Robert Roach, a project manager with...
East Deer couple, children escape house fire unhurtVideo
A couple and their children escaped unhurt from a fire at their East Deer home early Wednesday. The fire at 510 West Ninth Ave.was reported shortly before 3:30 a.m. Crews cleared the scene about two hours later. East Deer fire Chief Jack Bailie Jr. said the husband and wife were...
The Stroller, Feb. 26, 2020: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Stroller is your go-to place for local meeting notices, charitable events and volunteer opportunities. Information for The Stroller may be dropped off or mailed at least a week in advance to: The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084, email vndnews@tribweb.com or fax 724-226-4677. Today is...
Harrison police investigate Natrona crash near North Canal Street houses
Police are investigating what caused a Harrison man to crash his car into a guardrail, then strike multiple objects in a neighbor’s yard before getting stuck along a short hillside, alarming nearby residents. Emergency dispatchers received a report shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday of the crash on North Canal Street....
PennDOT closes Fawn’s Millerstown Road for landslide repair
A $1.2 million landslide repair project has closed a portion of Millerstown Road in Fawn. The closure between Callen Lane and Bull Creek Road began Monday and is expected to last through mid-April, according to PennDOT. The slide occurred June 26, 2018. Signs will be posted to direct motorists around...
Threat leads to increased police presence Wednesday at Kiski Area High School
Police officers will step up their presence at Kiski Area High School on Wednesday because of a non-credible threat received Tuesday, the district announced. Police and police dogs searched the school Tuesday in response to an “anonymous, non-specific threat,” according to the district. Officers did not find any danger, but...
Wesley Family Services’ $18.2M complex in New Kensington on target to open Aug. 1
Herb Hughes of New Kensington sees the positives of working on the Pioneer Apartments project in New Kensington. It’s close to Hughes’ home, and the project by Wesley Family Services aims to inject life into the city’s business district. The $18.2 million apartment building is being built on the site...
Leechburg looks to beef up police force
Leechburg is looking to hire a third full-time police officer. Council gave the Civil Service Commission permission to advertise for the position, which would help the borough come closer to having 24/7 police coverage, officials said. “It’s going to make it so we have better coverage,” Mayor Wayne Dobos said....
West Deer man charged with homicide by vehicle in fatal Hampton wreck
A West Deer man involved in a crash along Route 8 in Hampton in early December has been charged with causing the death of his passenger, Allegheny County Police said Tuesday. Investigators said Carl John Keating, 32, was traveling north at a high rate of speed on Dec. 11 when...
New Kensington cop killer’s appeal contends his name, police presence at trial swayed jury
The man sentenced to death this month for murdering New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw on Tuesday contended Westmoreland County jurors reached a faulty verdict because of his “Muslim-sounding name” and because they were intimidated by a heavy law enforcement turnout during trial. Defense attorneys Tim Dawson and James Robinson...
