Valley News Dispatch category, Page 637

Six weeks ago, Evie Bodick had just about given up. The 75-year-old Springdale woman broke into tears in mid-June when she recounted that she had to shift her health care treatment away from the doctors and facilities she’d trusted for years, all because of a bitter battle between Pittsburgh’s two...

A 10% spike in water quality impairment in just a decade in the Buffalo Creek watershed — an area known for its rich environmental quality and beauty — is among the findings of an Audubon Society report seeking final public comment. The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania , which owns...

When it came time for Michelle Gibb to begin the painful process of writing her daughter’s obituary, she had a choice to make: list her daughter’s death as a suicide, or use a more vague phrase, like “died unexpectedly.” To many people’s surprise, she chose the first option. It was...

Volunteer firefighters from across the region and numerous state fire officials will meet in Arnold next week for the annual convention for the Western Pennsylvania Firemen’s Association. The Aug. 8-14 convention will be the fifth to be held in Arnold since the 1950s and the first since 1996, according to...

Vince Putignano watched his father Andrew’s face during the performance of the Italian national anthem at a festival in Pittsburgh’s Strip District many years ago. “The pride my dad saw that day when he looked at my grandfather during that song inspired my father to start an Italian festival in...

Brackenridge officials are considering borrowing money to help pay for emergency repairs to a collapsed storm sewer on Roup Avenue. Council on Thursday accepted the $106,400 bid of Glenn Johnson Inc. to do the repair work. Johnson’s bid was the lowest of three received in what was the second round...

New Kensington police are asking for help identifying a suspect in a Friday night robbery. The incident happened at a New Kensington convenience store. The department posted a photo from a security camera to their Facebook page indicating the man shown is a suspect in a strong-arm robbery. Anyone with...

Police across Allegheny County say they are bewildered by a recent rash of thefts by minors who are stealing vehicles, cash and even guns in the middle of the night. The style of thefts are nearly identical in suburban communities from Castle Shannon to Harmar, including cases in Oakmont, Fox...

New Kensington police are looking for a teenager they say has been missing for two weeks. Patience Johnson, 14, of New Kensington, ran away from home two weeks ago and is possibly in the Homestead area, according to police. Police say Johnson is in regular communication with her family, but...

After nearly a year of delays, work to build Allegheny Health Network’s neighborhood hospital in Harmar is expected to begin next week. AHN spokeswoman Candace Herrington said Rycon Construction crews will begin by preparing the site for construction, including installing fencing around it and placing a trailer onsite. The planned...

A Harrison business park development is getting $1 million in state grant funding. The money for the Harrison Point business park is coming from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. In Harrison, the grant money will be used for site preparation work, including stormwater mitigation, utility installation and roadwork. The proposed...

The aroma of fresh basil, rosemary and sage perfumes the Marble Hall of Mount Saint Peter Parish in New Kensington. It’s a familiar smell to parishioners and patrons of the annual Festa Italiana at 100 Freeport Road. Volunteers made more than 3,200 meatballs, 265 gallons of sauce, 60 pans of...

A Freeport man known online as “Verse Dad” was arrested Wednesday night on charges of trying to arrange a sexual encounter with who he allegedly thought was a 14-year-old boy but was actually an agent with the state Attorney General’s Office. Prosecutors say Scott Alan Speer, 54, of Main Street...

A 3-year-old girl drowned in a backyard swimming pool Aug. 1 in Plum. The child reportedly was found at the bottom of the pool by a family member, Allegheny County Police said. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the girl Friday morning as Ca-Nayah Mitchell. The incident happened at a...

PennDOT will close the Hite Road Bridge, over Route 28 spanning Springdale and Harmar townships, from 8 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m., Monday, weather permitting. Work crews will conduct bridge jacking and bearing replacement work. Additionally, rolling closures will occur on Route 28 in both directions as needed from Friday...

Cheswick will be flushing its fire hydrants across the borough the week of Aug. 12-16. During this time, residents may experience discolored water or low water pressure. Officials said hydrant flushing is required by the state Department of Environmental Protection....

Bullets “ricocheted and sparked off the pavement” when an Armstrong County man fired up to 11 shots at a couple after he argued with them Wednesday night, but no one was hurt, according to state police. Anthony Kyle Long, 30, of East Franklin, faces nine charges in connection with the...

A former New Kensington woman in a wheelchair was killed early Thursday when she was struck by a pickup as she crossed Route 28/66 near Kittanning, according to Armstrong County Coroner Brian Myers. Sylvia Jean Denslow, 53, left the Bench Racers convenience store in Rayburn with her boyfriend just before...

Get them before some stamp collector in Missouri does. The hottest commodity out of Apollo is a 50th anniversary moon landing commemorative envelope and postal cancellation. Although the 50th anniversary on July 20 of Neil Armstrong’s historic leap for mankind has passed, the excitement has not, at least in Apollo....