Valley News Dispatch category, Page 611

New evidence that a police officer may have improperly questioned a witness before the trial of a former East Franklin fire chief and Applewold councilman accused of sexually assaulting a child prompted the defense attorney on the case to ask for an acquittal. Attorney Marc Daffner said he suspected a...

Police accused a homeless man of stealing about 30 pieces of mostly gold jewelry from a residence along Tarentum’s Third Avenue last month. Mark Bachman, 51, was arraigned Monday night. Police say Bachman once lived near the house that was burglarized. Officers found that someone had broken a basement window...

Freeport Borough is hoping to bring in a partner to share the burgeoning costs of its new sewage treatment plant. Borough officials will contact South Buffalo supervisors to ask if that township would be interested in having its sewage treated at the new plant. Freeport officials found out last week...

Lower Burrell council unanimously agreed to no real estate tax increase in the city’s 2020 preliminary budget of $10.97 million during city council’s Monday night meeting. A Lower Burrell homeowner assessed at $18,210 would continue to pay $414 in real estate taxes to the city in 2020. Councilman Chris Fabry,...

Humans aren’t the only ones using CBD — a compound found in the cannabis plant — to help relieve pain and other problems. Dogs and cats are, too. That’s one thing Wade Timmerson and Mark McCloud learned when they opened Your CBD Store in Harrison. “Dogs are afraid of lightning,...

The Chartiers pump station upgrade project in Lower Burrell is expected to cost about $7 million causing a rate increase for city residents at some point in the future. Exactly when and how much of a rate increase is not yet known, according to city officials. The Lower Burrell Municipal...

Rahmael Holt jumped from an SUV the night he allegedly shot New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw because its driver wouldn’t let him hide his gun in the vehicle, according to testimony Tuesday on the second day of Holt’s trial in Westmoreland County. Tavon Harper, 29, the driver of the...

Veterans Day Races set for Saturday in Buffalo Township The ninth annual Buffalo Township Veterans Day Races will be Saturday at the Butler-Freeport Community Trail trailhead at Monroe Road. There will be a certified 10K and 5K, and a two-mile Fun Run/Walk. All three events will be on a level...

The race for Lower Burrell’s open two seats on city council pits two Democrats, an incumbent and a longtime attorney, against a young Republican. Residents can cast their ballots during Tuesday’s general election for the two four-year terms. The three candidates all say they want a lean city budget, but...

Plans to develop a small park recalling Freeport’s past as a port on the Pennsylvania Canal are moving forward. Two members of the Freeport Renaissance Association, Karen Lindbergh and Mary Bowlin, outlined plans for the Canal Park to Freeport Council last week. Lindbergh, the association’s vice president, presented a rough...

Brian Shaw, a wounded New Kensington police officer, called out for help moments after being shot three times in an alley where he chased a man believed to have run from a sports utility vehicle following a traffic stop. “I’ve been shot. I’ve been shot,” Shaw said into his radio...

Volunteers needed to help with tree planting in Harrison Volunteers are needed Saturday to help with a tree planting project in Harrison Township. Volunteers will gather at 8:30 a.m. at the Highlands Community Center for coffee and breakfast rolls and sign in. A planting demonstration with the TreeVitalize staff will...

Rahmael Sal Holt insists he didn’t kill New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw two years ago, but his lawyers won’t have to prove or say who did, according to a legal expert who identified a potential defense strategy for the capital murder trial slated to start Monday morning. Bruce Antkowiak,...

Freeport Area High School expanded its musical theater program, adding a fall musical. A cast and stage crew of almost 60 students from grades 9 through 12 will showcase “Mamma Mia” on Nov. 16 and 17, with three performances at the Freeport Middle School Auditorium. Freeport Musical Director Tom Koharchik...

For most of the six candidates vying for five seats, the fate of Colfax Elementary School is still very much an issue. The general election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5. The current school board voted 6-3 in October to demolish the Colfax school after moving its students to the...

After a portion of the veteran’s monument in front of Stewart Elementary School along Leechburg Road toppled earlier this year, state Rep. Bob Brooks, R-Murrysville, and others kicked in $8,000 to fix the deteriorating memorial for residents who served in World War II. Repairs started last week on the stone...

There will be at least two, and possibly three, new faces on the Freeport Area School Board after Tuesday’s election. Three political newcomers, Greg Selinger, Ron Kobelenske and Adam Toncini, all of Buffalo Township, join three incumbents to make up the six candidate field. Toncini is the only one who...

A Republican challenger is looking to unseat a longtime elected official for an open Allegheny Township Board of Supervisors seat in the Nov. 5 election. Republican Michael Korns will face Democrat Joseph Ferguson, whose term expires in December. Terms on the three-member board are six years. Ferguson, 66, has been...

Benefit for Vandergrift cancer patient set Sunday A fundraiser to benefit cancer patient Karen Dongiovanni will be from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the Moonlight Inn, 1011 La Belle Vue Road, Vandergrift. There will a lunch buffet from 1 to 4 p.m., a cash bar, basket raffle, t-shirt sale...