Valley News Dispatch category, Page 663
Tarentum electrical contractor relocates to New Kensington
Editor’s note: Building the Valley tells stories of businesses big and small and the employees who make them special. If you know of any standout employees, bosses or companies with a great story to tell, contact reporter Madasyn Czebiniak at mczebiniak@tribweb.com. A Tarentum business that started in its owner’s home...
Brackenridge robbery suspect surrenders after standoff
A Brackenridge man who is accused of robbing the Allegheny-Ludlum Brackenridge Federal Credit Union of more than $100,000 surrendered to FBI agents Tuesday morning after a nearly four-hour standoff at his home. Thomas George, 64, of Eighth Avenue was charged Tuesday in federal district court in Pittsburgh and held without...
Harrison commissioners meeting rescheduled
The Harrison Commissioners meeting for July has been postponed a week. The board will meet at 7 p.m. July 29. Commissioners meet at the township building on Municipal Drive....
What’s causing Route 28 to flood? PennDOT might have found the reason
PennDOT is investigating the possibility that illegal dumping in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood is behind recent flooding along Route 28 near Pittsburgh’s 40th Street Bridge, an official said Monday. Cheryl Moon-Sirianni, PennDOT’s District 11 executive, said crews were in Troy Hill Monday to see whether a report of illegal dumping...
Dry Bones owners finding their groove after 1st year open in TarentumVideo
Editor’s note: Building the Valley tells stories of businesses big and small and the employees who make them special. If you know of any standout employees, bosses or companies with a great story to tell, contact reporter Madasyn Czebiniak at mczebiniak@tribweb.com. The first year for Dry Bones, a skateboard shop...
Recreational boaters reminded to check river levels before setting out
River experts say Saturday was a perfect example of why kayakers and other paddlers need to check river conditions before setting off on a float. Three kayakers had to be rescued from the Kiski River near Leechburg when their kayaks got hung up on submerged trees in the fast-moving water....
2 charged with selling heroin from Arnold apartment
State drug agents are alleging at least two people were involved in drug sales from a Murray Avenue apartment in Arnold. Devon A. Koch, 27, of New Kensington and Douglas S. Hogan, 27, of Allegheny Township are accused of selling heroin. They were arrested at the apartment on Murray Avenue...
Police: Arnold woman to blame for baby’s opioid overdose
An Arnold woman is facing felony charges in connection with a December incident in which police said a baby boy for whom she was caring suffered an opioid overdose. Police said Johna Sonya Price, 35, had been caring for a relative’s baby at her Arnold home Dec. 5 when Price...
Brad James is totally committed to Tarentum’s Eureka Fire-Rescue-EMSVideo
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things that they do. Little things matter to emergency medical technician and deputy fire Chief Brad James. “I’ve always paid attention to the little things,” said James, of Tarentum’s Eureka Fire-Rescue-EMS. “In the...
Army Corps to test groundwater at nuclear waste dump in Parks Township
The Army Corps of Engineers will be on site to conduct routine groundwater sampling at the nuclear waste dump along Route 66 in Parks Township from July 22 to 25, and maybe later. The 44-acre dump, officially known as the Shallow Land Disposal Area, was used primarily in the 1960s...
Curbside Coffeehouse in Blawnox combines perk with fresh foods
Curbside Coffeehouse owner Kylee Witchey may be perkier than the coffee she brews at her popular Blawnox eatery. Witchey, 32, originally from Lower Burrell, took over an existing Curbside in 2008, a mere seven days after graduating from Duquesne University. “I had no idea what I was getting into,” Witchey...
Harrison police: Natrona man assaulted man, woman in Burger King drive-thru
A Harrison man was arrested Saturday after attacking a man and a woman as they all drove through the Burger King drive-thru, according to police. Harrison Sgt. Michael Ropelewski said police were called to the incident at the Burger King on Freeport Road around 6 p.m. for a report of...
Church continues at Central Presbyterian in Tarentum while stained glass project closesVideo
Restorationist Ralph Mills knows the century-old stained-glass windows at Tarentum’s Central Presbyterian Church. “I’ve been here from the first, in 2014,” he said about 12 large windows that his Pittsburgh-based specialty company cleaned, repaired, preserved and reinstalled. The windows were new when the church opened in 1913. Two weeks ago,...
Tarentum Bicycle Safety Rodeo passes out free helmets, bikes, safety message
Some Tarentum kids were on a roll Saturday. Youngsters lined up at the Tarentum marina to learn about bike and public safety at the inaugural Tarentum Bicycle Safety Rodeo. As part of the program, they received free bike helmets and bicycle tune-ups. The event was sponsored by the borough’s special...
Harmar drug activity down due to visible police presence, chief says
Harmar police Chief Jason Domaratz said a visible police presence is curtailing drug activity at the township’s hotels. “I would say within the last year, from what I’ve seen, it’s went down a lot from what we had,” Domaratz recently told the Tribune-Review. “I think a big part of that...
Lower Burrell woman’s story personifies failures in Medicaid waiver program
Fran Morgante brushed back her mother’s hair tenderly as she offered the tiny elderly woman a drink of water on a hot June day. Vilma Morgante, who celebrated her 100th birthday June 21 in her Lower Burrell home, never asked much of the world. Her one desire: to die in...
Water task force rescues 3 kayakers from Kiski River
An Armstrong County river rescue team pulled three kayakers out of the swollen Kiski River on Saturday afternoon after they got hung up in submerged trees in Leechburg and their kayaks sank. Joe Clark, divemaster with Armstrong County Water Rescue Task Force , said a mother and her two daughters...
Pittsburgh cartoonist collaborates on comic book series
Joe Wos often takes photos of paper napkins when he’s having a meal. He saves the pictures on his smartphone. Why? “Some of the best ideas are drawn on a napkin,” says Wos, an acclaimed cartoonist and founder of Pittsburgh’s Toonseum, a museum devoted to the cartoon arts. “If you...
New director of public works and parks starts in Lower Burrell
Lower Burrell has a new director of public works and parks after the city’s longtime public works foreman moved on. Jeff Fleming, the city’s director of public works and parks, will earn $82,000 annually and started July 8. The former foreman, Scott Johnson, resigned to take a job in Colorado....
Lower Burrell announces partial road closures for milling work
Craigdell Road, Wachter Drive and part of Oregon Drive will be open only to local traffic as they are milled on Tuesday. Base repairs will be done on Tuesday and possibly paving, which is otherwise scheduled for July 17, weather permitting. There are flaggers to assist residents to reach their...
Vandergrift Councilman Pete Basile resigns for health reasons
Former Vandergrift Councilman Pete Basile told the Tribune-Review on Friday that he resigned from his elected position for health reasons. A retired Westmoreland County assistant police chief, Basile, 58, was elected in November 2017 to a four-year term. He also was a part-time Vandergrift police officer for 34 years. His...
Indiana Township’s Ice Cream World serves its last scoopVideo
Five days after Ice Cream World opened in Indiana Township, the Flood of 1986 cascaded down Harts Run Road and water climbed to the window where thousands of hand-dipped cones have since been served. “We had an employee standing on the roof,” said Joel DeBaldo, owner of the old-school ice...
Indiana Township road to remain open during bridge work
McClellan Road in Indiana Township will remain open while a bridge is being replaced, Allegheny County Public Works announced Friday. Work to replace Deer Creek Bridge No. 9 will start at 7 a.m. on Monday, July 22, according to the county. The work is expected to last four months. The...
Lower Burrell man unsure what to do about backyard sinkhole
Jim Davis is used to having a hole filled with water in the backyard of his Lower Burrell home. That’s his swimming pool. On Friday, he was trying to figure out what to do about another, unwelcome one — a sinkhole. Davis, 71, said he noticed an indentation in his...
Freeport’s Bower, Lichtenfels videos win money for charities
Two Freeport Area School District video makers won grants to help their favorite charities. The students participated in XTO Energy’s Community Leaders of Tomorrow contest, which encourages students to become involved in their communities. The contest runs at high schools throughout the region. Mara Bowser, who graduated from Freeport this...
