Valley News Dispatch category, Page 660

A change in the makeup of the New Kensington-Arnold School Board is inevitable next year, as three incumbents are not seeking another term. There’s also a movement afoot where five newcomers are running together on a Change4NKASD ticket that’s promising an overhaul in the way the school board operates. Change4NKASD...

Lower Burrell’s former solicitor is going up against two incumbent councilmen for one of their seats on the Democratic ticket in Tuesday’s primary. There was a show of support on Facebook for Lower Burrell resident and longtime city solicitor Stephen Yakopec Jr. when his contract with the city was in...

A newcomer without political experience is challenging the Lower Burrell’s incumbent mayor for the Democratic nomination in Tuesday’s primary. When John Andrejcik, 60, worked as an official court reporter for Allegheny County Court, he was prohibited from seeking public office. He retired in October, so he is running for mayor....

Allegheny County Police have made an arrest in the stabbing of 30-year-old man at the Fox Chapel Yacht Club early Sunday. Police accuse Christopher Schmeider, 28, of committing the stabbing during an argument just after 3 a.m. Sunday. The victim’s wounds were not life-threatening. Schmeider was taken to the Allegheny...

Tarentum police Officer Kurt Jendrejewski knew what he had to do Sunday morning when it was clear there were ducklings in a storm sewer drain on Corbet Street. After a concerned resident called the police station Jendrejewski showed up to find the mother duck and three of her ducklings frantically...

Chad and Carolyn Clark had replaced the roof and gutters, repainted and remodeled most of their house along scenic Rocky Lane in Upper Burrell. Things were moving ahead until a weekend fire. At about 6 p.m. Saturday, an electrical fire changed plans for the Clark family of five. Everyone got...

Arnold Council has opted to have Hoffman Kennels handle its animal control function instead of Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley. That decision came Tuesday after Gary Hoffman, the kennel owner, addressed council and answered questions about his operation. One thing Hoffman tried to dispel is the notion that he euthanizes...

An official state marker now stands at River Avenue in Leechburg close to where founder David Leech established a canal and other businesses starting in the 1820s. “He founded the borough, and he made contributions to the state and the nation,” said Larry Boehm, vice president of the Leechburg Area...

Children didn’t just touch a truck Saturday in Harrison. The louder the horn, the wider the grin that appeared on the faces of preschool and elementary-age children at the second annual Touch-A-Truck sponsored by the Harrison Recreation Board. Most beeped and honked the horns for fire engine and delivery trucks...

A Democratic councilman in Arnold is attempting to knock off the city’s mayor in Tuesday’s primary election. Joe Bia II, 45, is at the midpoint of his first term council term but decided to make a run against Mayor Karen Peconi Biricocchi because, he said, “we can’t financially support the...

No one was reported injured when a house caught fire Saturday afternoon in Upper Burrell. The fire broke out at a house at 205 Rocky Lane just before 6 p.m, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The fire was under control within about 25 minutes, according to the dispatcher. Firefighters...

Cheswick voters might be surprised at the number of candidates for council when they enter the voting booth on Tuesday. Only two people — Republican incumbents Michael Girardi and Brad Yaksich — are running for four open seats. Three four-year seats and one two-year seat are up for election. Councilman...

Between 75% and 80% of the region’s registered voters aren’t expected to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s primary, according to elections officials. The primary features county, municipal and school board races for Republican and Democratic party nominations to run in November’s general election. Local taxes are traditionally one of the...

Four people were injured when a car went into a creek in Plum Borough Friday night. A Plum police spokesman said the occupants were “injured but stable.” The accident was reported near the intersection of Kerr Road and Dinwiddie Drive at 7:07 p.m., an Allegheny County Department of Public Safety...

The Allegheny Intermediate Unit would be forced to close most of its centers serving vulnerable Allegheny County families because of a more than $1 million reduction in state funding. The Highlands School District has put out a “call to action” for support for the center in Tarentum, and the county’s...

Authorities called to a Harrison house to investigate a reported home invasion this month ended up charging a man living there after he told them there was marijuana inside, according to police. Chase Taylor Young, 19, told Allegheny County Police he had marijuana in an upstairs safe and gave police...

A man and woman are accused of stealing merchandise from a New Kensington nonprofit earlier this week. Habitat for Humanity Allegheny Valley said the alleged theft happened Wednesday at Habitat’s ReStore, which resells donated goods. “Today at the ReStore, a man and woman (we have them on camera) stole 3...

A New Kensington man is facing charges after police say he assaulted his “on and off again” girlfriend when she refused to answer her front door as he pounded on it one night in March. David E. Saunders IV, 20, of New Kensington was charged with harassment and two counts...

Students were evacuated from Highlands Elementary School for about a half-hour Friday morning. School officials sent students to the playground across the street after a strong smell of natural gas was detected around 10:15 a.m. Firefighters and gas company crews responded but found no problems at the school, officials said....

Nearly three dozen vacant Tarentum buildings have been marked for demolition. The borough would like to tear down at least a dozen this year. Those buildings either have partially collapsed or are close to a neighboring building, code enforcement officer Anthony Bruni said. How many get taken down this year...

The sunny skies on Thursday brought out the bulldozers and more to Lower Burrell’s city hall where contractors started work on a new public works building. The work is part of a $3.1 million project including the expansion of the police department, moving the tax office back to city hall...

City officials in Arnold were given an $8,491.36 question this week and thus far have only provided an implied answer based on their solicitor’s advice: No. Retired treasurer Joseph Puet wants more than that. “I deserve to receive an answer. There’s been nothing,” Puet, 61, a lifelong resident of Arnold,...

New Kensington-Arnold School District and its teachers union failed to reach an agreement on a new contract during a bargaining session Wednesday night. The two sides can’t even agree on who was involved in the latest negotiations. “No school board members attended the scheduled bargaining session,” New Kensington-Arnold Education Association...

A controversial building project, questions about assessment appeals and a long-stalled teachers’ contract are among the issues driving public engagement in heated school board races in Tuesday’s primary. It’s not unusual for school board ballots to draw few candidates and scarce attention from voters. Given that candidates in such races...