Valley News Dispatch category, Page 661

A Tarentum child care center is launching a new pre-school program. The new program has been in the works for three years, said Heather Wells, of West Deer, owner and director of The Growing Garden Child Care Center on Lock Street. The summer session starts June 10 and runs until...

Kiski Area School District’s proposed $62.4 million budget for next school year includes no increase in property taxes. The school district, however, would use $4.2 million in reserves to fill an anticipated budgetary shortfall. Officials unveiled the proposed budget for the 2019-2020 school year this month. The school board is...

The new $2.7 million computer science facility at Shady Side Academy has its leader. Jesse Robinson, the director of information technology at a school in Westport, Conn., will join the senior school in August as the head of the Glimcher Tech and Design Hub, with his mission to enhance the...

Highlands School District has released the proposals it received from two companies to bus its students over the next five years. The proposals from W.L. Roenigk, the district’s current and long-time provider, and ABC Transit are available on the district’s website at www.goldenrams.com. Links to the documents can be found...

Arianna Wilson was watching Disney Junior before school Monday when she saw a commercial for National Police Week. An admirer of the police, the 4-year-old told her mom she wanted to bring officers with the Lower Burrell Police Department something to eat. “She said ‘Mommy, it’s police week. Let’s bring...

The Casino Theatre in Vandergrift is turning back time to the days of peace and love with its “Age of Aquarius 3” and wants everyone to dress the part. “We dress up for this show, and we invite the audience to do the same,” says one of the performers Linda...

Gilpin is considering a proposal to allow all-terrain vehicles on more than two dozen township roads. ATVs would still be banned on state roads such as Route 66, but the proposal would allow them on 25 township roads in the mostly rural township of 14 square miles, according to Supervisor...

Contractors will break ground next week for the $3.1 million Lower Burrell City Hall renovation project. Years in the making, the project entails creating more space for police and the public works department and moving the tax office back into city hall. City services won’t be impacted by the project....

Lower Burrell Council recently awarded a $110,895 contract to A. Folino Construction for this year’s summer paving projects in the city. City Administrator Amy Rockwell said streets slated for paving include Wachter and Oregon drives and Craigdell Road from Carl Avenue to the rear of Giant Eagle....

The annual Burrell Lake Park Kids’ Fishing Derby is scheduled for June 8. The event, which runs from 9 to 11:30 a.m., will feature free fishing, free lunch and a grab bag, and prizes for the biggest fish caught. Registration will be from 7:30 to 9 a.m. All activities are...

Allegheny Valley School District’s proposed $23 million preliminary budget for next school year includes no increase in property taxes. The school board is expected to vote on the preliminary plan Monday. The budget will then be on review for the public before final approval in June. At the tax rate...

Allegheny Valley School District is hoping to offer a pre-kindergarten program for the first time next school year, but significant details still need to be worked out before it could begin operating. The school board is expected to vote Monday to create the program, but questions remain on the criteria...

ABC Transit is preparing to buy property in Highlands School District now that the company has been awarded the district’s transportation contract for the next five years. ABC is “currently looking at a number of properties in the district,” company Vice President Todd O’Shell said Wednesday. The school board voted...

No one was injured when a Norfolk Southern train struck the front of an SUV Monday morning in Harrison, according to officials. The crash was reported at 7:45 a.m. at the railroad crossing at Vine Street and Philadelphia Avenue. Harrison Police Chief Michael Klein said a woman was turning right...

Apollo-Ridge School District’s $25.5 million preliminary budget for next school year does not include an increase in property taxes, despite a 1% increase in proposed spending over this year, officials said. The preliminary budget unveiled Monday keeps the tax rate at 62.4 mills in the Armstrong County municipalities of Apollo,...

It’s going to be a good day for flea market lovers and collectible and antique hunters in the Tarentum area Sunday. Two events are planned — the first “Fleatique” of the year at the Tour-Ed Mine grounds in Fawn, and the first “Trash to Treasure” outside of J.G.’s Tarentum Station...

More than $1 million in grants will pay for sweeping security upgrades and wireless internet services at Fox Chapel Area School District, officials announced. The district is set to receive $908,000 from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to pay for safety improvements implemented this year. The money is...

The upcoming closure of a rolling mill in Avonmore is heartbreaking in the borough of about 1,000 people, many of whom have ties to the plant, according to Mayor Paula Jones. “A lot of people have worked there from cradle to grave. My dad worked there. Uncles. Cousins. Everyone has...

A history teacher at St. Joseph High School in Harrison is one of two nominees in Pennsylvania for a national teaching award. Rosanne Pucciarelli is nominated for the Hannah E. (Liz) MacGregor Teacher of the Year History Teacher Award. The award is sponsored by James F. Harris, past president of...

On the good side, mixed greens, arugula, spinach and radishes are among the crops ready to pick at Tarentum’s Greg Blythe Friendship Garden. “They’re doing very well,” said the Rev. Phil Beck of First United Presbyterian Church, an organizer of the group that oversees the garden. On the not-so-good, there’s...

Trees slid down a hillside and struck two homes Tuesday morning along Kittanning Pike in O’Hara, officials said. Emergency crews responded to the scene just before 6 a.m., according to an Allegheny County 911 supervisor. No one was injured. The trees hit two homes on Kittanning Pike, Township Supervisor Julie...

A property tax increase up to the state limit is possible in Highlands School District for the upcoming school year. But even with a 3.3% increase, the district would still need to spend about $1.7 million from its reserves to cover all of its spending, according to a presentation Monday...

W.L. Roenigk didn’t take kindly to Highlands School District’s decision Monday to hire a new transit company as its school bus contractor. “We’re not done,” company President Sue Roenigk said after the board voted 7-1 Monday to award a five-year contract to ABC Transit. Pat Roenigk, an attorney and shareholder...