Valley News Dispatch category, Page 66

Power company workers from multiple states are helping West Penn Power restore service to thousands of residents without electricity since Tuesday’s storms. The workers set up a base in the parking lot of the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer. “We have more than 4,000 FirstEnergy crews and external resources, including...

Prosecutors have valid concerns that a key witness against a Clairton man accused in the 2023 shooting of a Monroeville police officer could flee or die before next month’s trial, a Westmoreland County judge ruled. The witness, according to prosecutors, was a passenger with Bruce Alvarado as he fled in...

Tiffany Mantzouridis had a hunch that something was off with her employer, Patrick Vereb, owner of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorials. “He would throw away crematory tags and keep handwritten notes of where which pets should go, but he never could name the crematory he was using for...

ATI leaders on Thursday credited strong revenue growth to a thriving aerospace and defense industry. The specialty metals company released its first-quarter results, with sales of $1.1 billion — up 10% from the same period last year. Growth was driven by a 23% increase in aerospace and defense, officials said....

Tina Moore of Greensburg paid to have her cats — Pickle, Daisy and LaLa — cremated. She learned this week they may have been thrown into a landfill instead. “I’ve spent the past three days so angry and bitter,” Moore said. “I need to concentrate my energy on positivity rather...

A new musical is set to hit the stage at Saint Vincent College in Unity next month. But according to its lyricist and co-creator Scott Logsdon, the whole concept is the result of a typo. Several years ago, while corresponding with a friend about auditions for a showing of Shakespeare’s...

The following events are planned to help residents with the power outages: Buffalo Township • Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company, 565 Sarver Road, will be open from 2 to 4 p.m. today for food, water, ice and charging cell phones. Freeport • Freeport Fire-EMS will offer charging and light refreshments...

As hundreds of thousands go without electricity after severe storms battered the region, officials and experts have begun weighing in with guidance about how to proceed. Though some customers have had their power restored since the storm, Duquesne Light said it could take five to seven days to fully restore...

Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services may have found a new permanent home for its annual fish fry. The combined Aspinwall and Sharpsburg volunteer fire departments, led by Chief Mike Daniher, moved this year’s Good Friday fundraising operation to Camp Guyasuta in Sharpsburg and offered a dine-in option for the first...

Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Artisan festival planned in...

Fox Chapel and O’Hara officials recently approved this year’s paving projects. Both communities authorized contracts with Bakerstown-based Shields Asphalt Paving. The company was the lowest of six bidders for a joint project that included Fox Chapel, O’Hara, Blawnox and the Fox Chapel Authority. Larry Kurpakus, director of public works for...

A 52-page book to celebrate the Blawnox centennial might surprise readers with its eye-opening tidbits about the rivertown. The limited edition “Blawnox: 1925-2025,” authored by O’Hara historian Tom Powers, will reveal the clothing store millionaire who funded the community of Hoboken — the borough’s original name. It also will detail...

Schools throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley and well beyond were shuttered Wednesday, and maybe longer, after Tuesday’s fast-moving thunderstorms. Several trees, two power poles and a transformer were brought down by strong winds at New Kensington-Arnold’s Valley High School and a portable toilet was flipped upside down. The district canceled school...

Harrison residents are under a mandatory water conservation until further notice. The township water authority issued an alert Wednesday that calls for residents to curb water use. Laundry, gardening and dish washing are not essential, they said. The mandate comes after heavy storms rolled through the region Tuesday. Large trees...

The listing agent facilitating the sale of Vereb Funeral Home in Harrison said he was unaware the owner was entangled in alleged criminal activity. Patrick Vereb, 70, of Hazelwood was charged Monday by the state Attorney General’s Office with theft of almost $660,000 after taking money for pet cremations but...

Joe and Kathy Guyaux were without health insurance when their first child was born in 1972 at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. “I paid $15 a month with no interest. I’ll always remember that,” said Joe Guyaux, a Tarentum native who now lives in Fox Chapel. “We know what it...

With summer and hot temperatures fast approaching, it is just the right time to prepare for snow and ice-covered roads. Indiana Township recently expanded its salt shed to near double capacity. The original shed was constructed in 1964 and consisted of three bays, each 32 feet wide by 40 feet...

Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Riverview Relay for Life...

Scores of area pet owners were shocked and angered this week when authorities charged a Pittsburgh and Harrison funeral director with improperly disposing of thousands of dogs and cats after owners paid for pet burials or cremations. Patrick Vereb, 70, of Pittsburgh’s Hazel­wood neighborhood, owns and operates funeral homes in...

The Giant Eagle supermarket in New Kensington is undergoing some changes to its layout. A renovation of the store’s Starbucks is connected to a change in Giant Eagle’s overall layout, said store spokeswoman Jannah Drexler. The beer and wine department is being relocated to the middle of the store, and...

The phones at K Vet Animal Care in Hempfield rang almost constantly Tuesday as concerned pet owners wondered whether they actually have the ashed of their former companions. “Our phones and emails have been pinging off the charts since the news broke,” practice manager Beth Zaccari said. “Our team is...

Lower Burrell Councilman Mike Stanoski looks forward to taking his three grandsons fishing at Burrell Lake Park this summer — without harmful algae in the water. “Everything is good down at the lake,” Stanoski said. “People are using it, the weather’s breaking, everybody’s happy to get outside and head to...

Officials from Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage will host an open house Tuesday in Murrysville for the Appalachian Reliability Project, which will add pipeline and carrying capacity in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The project involves updates to existing compressor stations and other natural gas facilities in Westmoreland, Armstrong and Greene counties, including...

Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Help needed at Vandergrift...

New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent Chris Sefcheck is grateful for the unprecedented funding that was granted to Pennsylvania’s public schools this academic year. But, as education experts continue to note inadequate funding among the majority of the state’s K-12 schools, Sefcheck knows there is still a long way to go in properly...