Valley News Dispatch category, Page 637
Leechburg students raise awareness for disaster relief by camping out in coldVideo
Freezing overnight temperatures didn’t stop students from Leechburg Area School District’s Interact Club from pitching tents outside two borough churches on Nov. 1. The students braved the chilly weather and spent the night in family-size tents to raise awareness for ShelterBox, an international disaster relief charity that gives temporary shelters...
Free Thanksgiving dinners planned in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Churches and organizations are serving free Thanksgiving dinners throughout the Valley. There are Thanksgiving dinners for the less fortunate, and those who are alone or lonely, as well as community dinners offering a time to share a meal and fellowship with your friends and neighbors. Not all dinners are on...
West Deer police launching annual Christmas toy drive
When a West Deer couple heard about a neighbor’s financial needs during the Christmas season more than 20 years ago, they donated $500 to a police gift program, police Chief Jon Lape said. That program, and the family’s annual gift, have become a tradition in West Deer, Lape said. Toys...
The Stroller, Nov. 15, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Concert to benefit local food bank A concert featuring mezzo soprano Marianne Cornetti and pianist Bryan Sable will be at 4 p.m. Sunday at Trinity United Methodist Church, 847 10th Ave., Brackenridge. Donations will be accepted to benefit the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches food bank. Leechburg Library to host...
Frazer to consider changing zoning ordinance to allow horses in certain large residential properties
A couple is interested in putting horses on a 24-acre property in Frazer and is asking the supervisors to amend the township’s zoning ordinance so they can. Frazer doesn’t allow agricultural operations on properties within its two residential moderate density (RM) zoning districts. Keeping horses is considered as an agricultural...
Official: Repairs to vandalized West Deer sports fields could cost thousands
Someone drove a pickup truck in circles on several West Deer sports fields, causing significant damage, officials said. Township Manager Dan Mator said Thursday he estimates repairs for the damaged fields at Nike Site Park and Bairdford Park will cost thousands of dollars. The township has been working to improve...
New Kensington native Anthony Breznican recounts panic after California school shooting
New Kensington native and Santa Clarita writer Anthony Breznican had just dropped off his children at elementary school Thursday morning when he swung around and went back. There’d been a shooting. Not at his children’s school, but a high school nearby. When police officers who live in the neighborhood began...
No tax increase planned in Buffalo Township
Buffalo Township residents would not pay more in township real estate taxes next year under a preliminary budget approved Wednesday. Supervisors approved a preliminary $2.5 million budget that would keep the tax rate at 5.5 mills. Spending would increase by about $196,000, according to the budget. A homeowner with the...
Convicted cop killer Rahmael Holt sentenced to deathVideo
A Westmoreland County jury sentenced convicted cop killer Rahmael Holt to death after deliberating for less than three hours Thursday afternoon. The same jury on Tuesday convicted Holt, 31, of shooting and killing New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw after an attempted traffic stop two years ago. “One year, 11...
Texas man accused of gun violations after arrest in Washington Township parking lot
A Texas man was being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail on gun violations after he was spotted in the parking lot of a Washington Township concrete supplier in the middle of the night, according to police. Bayron Ivan Lopez, 27, of Houston, was arrested at 12:35 a.m....
The Stroller, Nov. 14, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Burrell High School to perform, `Macbeth` The drama department at Burrell High School will present William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” at 7 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday in the high school auditorium, 1021 Puckety Church Road, Lower Burrell. Tickets are $10. For tickets, visit onthestage.com and search for Burrell High School, and...
Plum Town Center construction manager approved, borough plans moving forward
More pieces are falling into place for a proposed Plum municipal center. Council voted 5-0 Wednesday night to appoint Massaro Construction of O’Hara as the Plum Town Center’s construction manager at an estimated cost of $425,000. Councilmen John Anderson and Mike Pastor were absent. The project’s estimated cost is $12...
Burrell School Board to reconsider artificial turf when it seeks contract bids next week
A new estimate knocks down the cost of artificial turf to a $550,000 option for a renovation project at Burrell High School’s Buccaneers Stadium. The original estimate for the field renovation with natural sod was about $400,000, while artificial turf was expected to cost $1.2 million to $1.3 million. However,...
Water line under Kiski River near Apollo to be replaced
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members on Wednesday approved a $1.76 million project to install a new water line under the Kiski River. Officials said about 1.5 miles of pipe will be installed, including an 800-foot section of 20-inch fused PVC material, that will run below the bed of...
2 Alle-Kiski communities reschedule municipal meetings
Two Alle-Kiski Valley communities rescheduled municipal meetings that had been scheduled for Tuesday. Hyde Park Council moved its meeting because several council members were sick. The meeting was rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19. Allegheny Township Supervisors postponed their meeting because it didn’t have a quorum or a majority of...
Veterans assembly teaches Kiski Area students how to be proud Americans
Retired Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Dawn Serakowski thought her daughter was in class. Instead, Kamdyn Serakowski, a senior at Kiski Area High School, surprised her mother Tuesday when she took the podium at Kiski Area Upper Elementary School to deliver the keynote speech for the school’s 16th annual Veterans...
Officer Brian Shaw’s mother to Rahmael Holt: ‘I will never forgive you’Video
Lisa Shaw says she is still waiting to wake up from the nightmare of losing her son, New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw. “All he wanted to do was make a difference in the community,” Shaw told jurors Wednesday on the first day of the sentencing hearing of Rahmael Holt,...
West Deer, Fawn to receive $100,000 each for Bairdford Park, road improvement projects
Two Alle-Kiski Valley townships have been awarded $100,000 in state funding for improvement projects. The money for West Deer and Fawn comes from Allegheny County’s Gaming Economic Development Fund Grant. The program is funded through gambling revenues and doesn’t use money from the state general fund money. West Deer’s money...
The Stroller, Nov. 13, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Musical food drive to benefit Allegheny Valley Association of Churches Food Bank “Will Sing for Food,” a food drive to benefit the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches food bank, will be from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Natrona Heights Veterans of Foreign Wars, 894 Veterans Drive, Harrison. The...
West Deer family displaced by fire
Members of a West Deer family discovered their house was on fire Tuesday night when the lights snapped off and they went to investigate, according to a township fire chief. “It probably was the fire burning some of the circuits,” said West Deer No. 3 Fire Chief Josh Wiegand. The...
Route 28 crash snarls traffic, no injuries reported
A one-vehicle crash along Route 28 southbound between the Tarentum and Harmar exits snarled traffic Tuesday. State police said no one was hurt when a white van went off the road and into a guardrail shortly before 3 p.m. Southbound traffic was reduced to one lane in the area, and...
Buffalo Township to consider final plans for $1M Audubon nature center, park
Buffalo Township Supervisors are scheduled to vote Wednesday on the final site plan for a $1 million nature center and park along the Butler-Freeport Community Trail. The nature center site is owned by the township and operated by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. The proposed nature center and park...
Cops: Infant, toddler removed from squalid conditions in Avonmore home
An infant boy and his 18-month-old sister were removed from an Avonmore mobile home Monday after troopers said they found squalid living conditions and arrested the children’s mother and her boyfriend. Washington Township District Judge Jason Buczak denied bond for Kaitlyn D. Thorpe, 20, of Avonmore, and Timothy L. McMunn,...
Jury finds Rahmael Holt guilty of killing New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw
A Westmoreland County jury found Rahmael Holt guilty on all counts of killing New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw following an attempted traffic stop two years ago. The jury reached its verdict in less than 90 minutes after closing arguments Tuesday. “A verdict like this doesn’t bring Brian back, but...
The Stroller, Nov. 12, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Freeport High School to present, `Mamma Mia` The drama department of Freeport Area High School will present the musical, “Mamma Mia,” at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Freeport Area Middle School, 325 Fourth St., Freeport. Tickets are $11; senior citizens over 65, $7. For tickets,...
