Valley News Dispatch category, Page 646
Beth Mellor closing in on 10th anniversary as Oakmont Carnegie Library directorVideo
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things that they do. Beth Mellor plans to enter her 10th year as Oakmont Carnegie Library director with the same enthusiasm as her first day. “Today’s public libraries are very focused on community,...
The Stroller: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Dinner to benefit Children’s Hospital The annual Chow-Chow Dinner to benefit Children’s Hospital Free Care Fund will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Springdale Veterans Association, 1151 Pittsburgh St. Sponsored by the Allegheny Valley office of Howard Hanna, tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at...
Carrie Underwood, Dick’s Sporting Goods donate $100K to girls sports programsVideo
Burrell High School’s 2019 homecoming queen skipped Saturday’s school dance to go to country star Carrie Underwood’s concert in Pittsburgh. Homecoming queen Sara Novak said she and classmate Hannah Koziarski, both student-athletes, were told by district officials that they would be able to pick out an outfit from Underwood’s CALIA...
Valley High School grad returns to alma mater to help students find their valueVideo
It’s been 13 years since Stephen Thomas Jr. sat in a desk at Valley High School. The 2006 Valley graduate, now 32 and a pastor in Washington County, has returned to his alma mater to talk with today’s students about having value, vision and purpose in their lives. “We teach...
‘Walk for Hunger’ hopes to raise $15K to support church association food programs
Deanna Nicholson knows firsthand what it’s like to wonder where your next meal is going to come from. She used to be on welfare and use food stamps because she wasn’t able to afford food through regular means. “They got me through some very tough times. Without them, I don’t...
Creepy good time awaits at Fawn’s The ShadowsVideo
The Alle-Kiski Valley’s only outdoor haunted attraction is open for its eighth Halloween season. The Shadows Haunted Attraction in Fawn (next to the Tour-Ed Mine & Museum) offers a haunted walking trail, complete with multiple scares when visitors least expect them. The Shadows is open Thursdays through Saturdays until Nov....
Missing Lower Burrell man found dead
A Lower Burrell man who had been missing since Oct. 3 was found dead on Sunday, his parents confirmed. The body of Clinton J. Weleski, 37, of Chicago Avenue, was found off Merwin Road by a concerned group of family and friends who got together to search for him, his...
Allegheny Valley School Board president urges decision on Colfax Elementary’s fate
Allegheny Valley School Board President Larry Pollick wants a decision on Colfax Elementary School’s fate at Monday’s board meeting. But he knows he may not get one. “I would hope we would have a clear understanding are where we are with a sale or information on partial or full demolition,”...
Water rescue teams from 6 counties train on Allegheny River in O’HaraVideo
The greater frequency of storms is just another reason for regional swift water rescue personnel to hone their skills on the Allegheny River on Saturday in O’Hara. “Hurricane Ready” was the rescue focus for about 120 certified water rescuers from six counties. They’re part of the Pennsylvania Region 13 Homeland...
Fall festival in Harrison’s Burtner House offers glimpse of American history
Abraham Lincoln was greeting visitors Saturday during an annual fall festival at historic Burtner House in Harrison. It made sense, considering the national historic landmark built by Phillip Burtner in 1821 served as a polling place in 1860 when Lincoln was elected president, according to Rick Miller of Cranberry, a...
Lower Burrell police concerned about man missing since Oct. 3
The Lower Burrell Police Department is requesting assistance in locating Clinton Weleski. The 37-year-old man was reported missing since Thursday, Oct 3. Weleski is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 170 pounds. He has dark brown hair and hazel eyes. “There has been no contact with any friends or family...
Lower Burrell polling place moves from Lower Burrell Manor
Some voters in Lower Burrell will cast their ballots at a different polling place on Election Day, according to the Westmoreland County Election Bureau. Voters in Lower Burrell precinct 3-1 will now vote at Moose Lodge 53, 499 Reimer St. Voters in that precinct had cast their ballots at Lower...
New Kensington firefighters pay visit to Martin Elementary SchoolVideo
Two fire trucks and an ambulance were parked outside Martin Elementary School in New Kensington on Friday morning, but there wasn’t any emergency. Volunteer firefighters visited the school to talk about fire safety with the school’s kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students and, of course, to show them their trucks. Assistant fire...
New Kensington man whose mother was found dead in duct-taped room faces 62 chargesVideo
A New Kensington man faces 62 criminal charges in connection with an August incident in which authorities found his mother dead in her Victoria Avenue house with the vents and door of her room duct-taped shut, court records show. Most of the charges filed against Robert Aaron Hawk, 48, are...
Relay for Life events help American Cancer Society all year
On Oct. 17, downtown Greensburg will be filled with teams raising money for a good cause while having a heck of a good time. As part of the Great Race of Greensburg, more than a dozen teams of four to six people will run their own version of television’s “The...
Police: Women bought crack from New Kensington home just before it was raided
Two Springdale women are accused of buying crack cocaine from a New Kensington house an hour before authorities raided it Tuesday, shutting down what police described as the base of a drug ring that sold fentanyl. New Kensington police said they watched as a red car parked at the city’s...
Halloween activities in the Alle-Kiski Valley – Oct. 10, 2019
Trick-or-treat Trick-or-treat and events open only to residents of the designated community include: • Allegheny Township: 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31 • Apollo: 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 26. A parade will be at 4 p.m. Oct. 26. Lineup will be at 3 p.m. behind AJ Tire and proceed...
Plum student enters shoe design competitionVideo
A Plum teen was scrolling through social media one day when he happened upon a shoe design competition that caught his eye. Inspired, Micah Pierce, 17, entered the Vans “Custom Culture” competition in September that promises the winner $25,000 and mass production of the winning shoe design. Pierce, a Plum...
Kiski Township has new supervisor, police chief, part-time officers
Kiski Township has a new supervisor and a new head of the police department. Township supervisors on Wednesday night selected Chuck Rodnicki, 69, to take over the unexpired term of longtime Supervisor Jack Wilmot. They also named police Officer Thomas Dessell, 35, as sergeant and officer-in-charge. Wilmot, who was supervisors...
British vocal group that performs for the queen to sing in New Kensington
The British are coming — to New Kensington. The Queen’s Six, a male vocal sextet of St. George’s Chapel Choir based at Windsor Castle, perform at private and state affairs for the royal family and during chapel services. They are lay members of the church. They will perform a one-hour...
New Kensington delays Carl Avenue repaving
Full paving won’t be done for an important section of Carl Avenue until 2020 — about 18 months after someone used spray paint to implore “fix me.” The short section between Tarentum Bridge Road and Craigdell Road in New Kensington is a shortcut for many to avoid a traffic light...
Medics respond to possible head-on collision in Armstrong County
Police and medics are responding to a possible head-on collision Wednesday night in Armstrong County, initial reports indicate. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was seriously injured. Authorities received a report of the crash believed to involve at least two vehicles near Guthrie Road and Main Street in Manor...
Avonmore man ordered to stand trial on sex charges
An Avonmore man accused of sexually assaulting a girl last spring was ordered to stand trial on four charges against him. Donald Arthur Haverkost, 58, of Water Street, had a preliminary hearing Wednesday in front of District Judge James Andring. Andring dismissed four counts against Haverkost, including having sex with...
Belvedere Hotel demolition in Oklahoma Borough nears completion
The Belvedere Hotel demolition along Route 66 in Oklahoma Borough could be completed next week, according to Lee Schumaker, borough code enforcement officer and the demolition project coordinator. Orr Avenue has been closed between Hancock Avenue and Route 66, which is the project’s staging area. It’s expected to reopen sometime...
Water experts to test polluted waters in the Buffalo Creek watershed to find the source
The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania will plant six acres of native vegetation along area waterways within two weeks and testing polluted waters to find the source in the Buffalo Creek watershed. Known for its rich environmental quality and beauty, the Buffalo Creek watershed runs through Butler and Armstrong counties...
