Valley News Dispatch category, Page 614

Tarentum will pay a single contractor almost $171,000 to tear down 23 dilapidated houses in the borough. Council awarded the contract to Allen Demolition of Wilkinsburg. Costs for individual properties range from $5,000 to $10,000. The borough was considering awarding contracts to multiple companies based on cost, but Allen Demolition...

Laurie Churma of Washington Township was joined by friends and family Tuesday as they paid tribute to her son Kody and raised money to fund research into the disease that took his life. In less than two years, Kody Churma went from a healthy young man to one who was...

Vandergrift Police Department collecting donations Vandergrift Police Department is conducting its Feed the Families Project through Friday. Non-perishable food items and monetary contributions will be accepted from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday at the borough building, 109 Grant Ave., in care of Officer Gray. Five Forces collecting personal...

A Vandergrift man who police say attempted to flee from authorities was arrested Tuesday afternoon on charges of having suspected heroin and other narcotics. Jerry Moore, 61, of Custer Avenue was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, driving with a suspended license, two counts of possession of controlled substances and...

Carrie DelRosso, an Oakmont councilwoman and public relations consultant, announced she will challenge state Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Oakmont, in next year’s election for the 33rd state House seat. DelRosso hopes to earn the Republican nomination. Dermody has held the seat since 1991. He defeated Republican challenger Joshua Nulph last year....

An Oakmont native who confessed to killing a Bethel Park woman in the Nevada desert two months ago will remain in Allegheny County Jail without bail, a judge ruled Tuesday. But John Matthew Chapman, 39, of Oakland, Md., has yet to be charged with the death of Jaime Mae Feden,...

The Walgreens store on Greensburg Road in Lower Burrell has closed, a spokesman for the pharmacy chain confirmed Tuesday. The store closed on Nov. 13, spokesman Phil Caruso said. Caruso said the store’s closing was part of a previously announced plan to close a number of stores across the country....

The school educating the youngest students in Highlands School District is set to have its third principal this school year. Samantha Perlik, principal of Highlands Elementary School in Tarentum, will become principal of the Early Childhood Center in January after the Christmas break, school board President Debbie Beale said. The...

A new O’Reilly Auto Parts store in New Kensington will open early next year, a company spokesman said. The store on Tarentum Bridge Road at Carl Avenue was previously expected to open this fall. O’Reilly spokesman Mark Merz would not provide more specifics on when the store would open. “There’s...

Highlands Middle School students to present, `The Music Man Kids` The drama department at Highlands Middle School, Harrison, will present, “The Music Man Kids,” at 6 and 8 p.m. Friday in the middle school auditorium, 1350 Broadview Blvd., Natrona Heights. Tickets are $4 for floor seats and $2 for the...

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. Ross Walker grew up thinking living with dead people...

Highlands School Board gave fond farewells Monday night to four of its members who are leaving the nine-member board following this year’s election. Leaving the board are Michael Masarik from Region 1, Jeff Mundy from Region 2, and Heath Cohen and Michelle Peters from Region 3. Superintendent Monique Mawhinney praised...

The flowers of a makeshift memorial at a Washington Township intersection where a Brackenridge woman died in a July 27 crash haven’t faded yet. The fatal crash happened when Haley Montgomery’s northbound car tried to turn left from Route 66 onto Route 366 but was struck by an oncoming SUV....

Mezzo-soprano Marianne Cornetti began singing at local churches, including Brackenridge’s Trinity United Methodist, as a teenager before making her professional debut with the Pittsburgh Opera and singing professionally for three decades. On Sunday, she returned to Trinity United Methodist to hold a concert to raise money for the Allegheny Valley...

A Venango County man drove more than 120 mph while holding a woman against her will in his car as police pursued him on Route 28, according to state police. Kirk Edward Heath, 43, was arraigned Monday on 19 charges, including kidnapping to facilitate a felony and fleeing or attempting...

Just four days after Rahmael Holt was sentenced to death for the Nov. 17, 2017, killing of New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw, Westmoreland County detectives charged his cousin, Lisa D. Harrington, with hiding the murder weapon and hindering apprehension. Assistant District Attorney James Lazar said the decision to charge...

Westmoreland County high school students looking for college scholarships might want to sharpen their public speaking and essay skills for the 2020 Pennsylvania American Legion oratorical and essay contests. The contests are open to all county students in grades 9-12, including home school and charter and private school pupils. Applications...

Deer Lakes Middle School to present, `The Lion King Jr.` Deer Lakes Middle School will present the musical, “The Lion King Jr.,” at 7 p.m. Friday, 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the high school auditorium, 163 East Union Road, West Deer. Admission is $10 at...

An 80-unit residential development planned along South Pike Road (Route 356) in Buffalo Township is moving forward. The housing plan, to be known as Heritage Crossing, would be on a 25-acre site across from the Rosebrook assisted living center. The plan will be built by Weaver Homes. The company hopes...

Freeport Area High School swim team’s major concern may not be as much winning meets as getting to the pool to compete. That was the message Sheryl Schrecongost, a volunteer coach for the swim team, presented to the board Wednesday. It stems from the district not paying for buses to...

The whereabouts of a time capsule buried on the grounds of a former elementary school in Harrison remains a mystery. During the 1950s, 10-year-old Edward Zembrzuski stood outside near a flagpole at Riverview Elementary in Harrison, watching as each class presented an item for inclusion in a school time capsule...

On death row There are 136 men on death row in Pennsylvania, including the following from Southwestern Pennsylvania: ALLEGHENY • Richard Scott Baumhammers, 54, sentenced in September 2001, convicted of killing five people in 2000 shooting spree. • Leroy Fears, 57, sentenced February 1995, pleaded guilty to molesting and strangling...

Convicted cop killer Rahmael Holt’s appeal of his death sentence to the state Supreme Court could take a year to 18 months to resolve, says a Westmoreland County attorney representing another convicted killer on Pennsylvania’s death row. It may take even longer to be carried out, as there are people...