Valley News Dispatch category, Page 666
Arnold ready to host Western Pa. Firemen’s Convention
Volunteer firefighters from across the region and numerous state fire officials will meet in Arnold next week for the annual convention for the Western Pennsylvania Firemen’s Association. The Aug. 8-14 convention will be the fifth to be held in Arnold since the 1950s and the first since 1996, according to...
3 generations inspire annual Festa Italiana di Vandergrift
Vince Putignano watched his father Andrew’s face during the performance of the Italian national anthem at a festival in Pittsburgh’s Strip District many years ago. “The pride my dad saw that day when he looked at my grandfather during that song inspired my father to start an Italian festival in...
Brackenridge searches for money to fix collapsed sewer line
Brackenridge officials are considering borrowing money to help pay for emergency repairs to a collapsed storm sewer on Roup Avenue. Council on Thursday accepted the $106,400 bid of Glenn Johnson Inc. to do the repair work. Johnson’s bid was the lowest of three received in what was the second round...
New Kensington police seek help identifying robbery suspect
New Kensington police are asking for help identifying a suspect in a Friday night robbery. The incident happened at a New Kensington convenience store. The department posted a photo from a security camera to their Facebook page indicating the man shown is a suspect in a strong-arm robbery. Anyone with...
Hundreds come to Lower Burrell for Brian Shaw Memorial Fund eventVideo
Overcast skies in Lower Burrell on Saturday afternoon did nothing to temper the early turnout for the annual fundraiser celebrating the life of slain New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw. The fundraiser — the prelude to a motorcycle ride next weekend — helps raise money for the Brian Shaw Memorial...
Hyde Park man to stand trial for wife’s 2017 death, her taped accusations played in courtVideo
Among the witnesses who testified Friday against a Hyde Park man accused of killing his wife in 2017 was the victim, herself. Jeffrey Mark Fondrk, 57, was ordered to stand trial Friday for allegedly beating Patricia Ann Fondrk to death in July 2017. Fondrk pleaded not guilty. At his preliminary...
Police frustrated by wide-ranging juvenile car thefts in Allegheny County
Police across Allegheny County say they are bewildered by a recent rash of thefts by minors who are stealing vehicles, cash and even guns in the middle of the night. The style of thefts are nearly identical in suburban communities from Castle Shannon to Harmar, including cases in Oakmont, Fox...
New Kensington police looking for runaway girl, 14
New Kensington police are looking for a teenager they say has been missing for two weeks. Patience Johnson, 14, of New Kensington, ran away from home two weeks ago and is possibly in the Homestead area, according to police. Police say Johnson is in regular communication with her family, but...
Work on Harmar hospital expected to start next week
After nearly a year of delays, work to build Allegheny Health Network’s neighborhood hospital in Harmar is expected to begin next week. AHN spokeswoman Candace Herrington said Rycon Construction crews will begin by preparing the site for construction, including installing fencing around it and placing a trailer onsite. The planned...
Paralyzed New Kensington Navy veteran receives van from Virginia charityVideo
Dan Hika, a Navy veteran paralyzed in a swimming pool accident seven years ago, feels free. And he owes it to Frank Lasch and Azalea Charities, which raised enough money to buy Hika and his family a minivan that will allow him to get to and from places without having...
Police seek people seen near Belvedere Hotel minutes before fire broke outVideo
State police said Friday they want to talk with two people seen walking near the Belvedere Hotel in Oklahoma Borough shortly before it burned down last month. Security camera footage shared by state police briefly showed the two people walking before they disappeared from view near the hotel. The pair...
Harrison Point project awarded $1M state grant for development
A Harrison business park development is getting $1 million in state grant funding. The money for the Harrison Point business park is coming from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. In Harrison, the grant money will be used for site preparation work, including stormwater mitigation, utility installation and roadwork. The proposed...
Festa Italiana in New Kensington serves meatballs, memories at parish
The aroma of fresh basil, rosemary and sage perfumes the Marble Hall of Mount Saint Peter Parish in New Kensington. It’s a familiar smell to parishioners and patrons of the annual Festa Italiana at 100 Freeport Road. Volunteers made more than 3,200 meatballs, 265 gallons of sauce, 60 pans of...
AG: Freeport man tried to arrange sex encounter with agent posing as teen boy
A Freeport man known online as “Verse Dad” was arrested Wednesday night on charges of trying to arrange a sexual encounter with who he allegedly thought was a 14-year-old boy but was actually an agent with the state Attorney General’s Office. Prosecutors say Scott Alan Speer, 54, of Main Street...
3-year-old girl drowns in Plum family’s swimming pool
A 3-year-old girl drowned in a backyard swimming pool Aug. 1 in Plum. The child reportedly was found at the bottom of the pool by a family member, Allegheny County Police said. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the girl Friday morning as Ca-Nayah Mitchell. The incident happened at a...
Hite Road bridge in Springdale and Harmar to close Friday night through weekend
PennDOT will close the Hite Road Bridge, over Route 28 spanning Springdale and Harmar townships, from 8 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m., Monday, weather permitting. Work crews will conduct bridge jacking and bearing replacement work. Additionally, rolling closures will occur on Route 28 in both directions as needed from Friday...
Cheswick to flush fire hydrants this month
Cheswick will be flushing its fire hydrants across the borough the week of Aug. 12-16. During this time, residents may experience discolored water or low water pressure. Officials said hydrant flushing is required by the state Department of Environmental Protection....
Armstrong County man accused of firing up to 11 shots at couple
Bullets “ricocheted and sparked off the pavement” when an Armstrong County man fired up to 11 shots at a couple after he argued with them Wednesday night, but no one was hurt, according to state police. Anthony Kyle Long, 30, of East Franklin, faces nine charges in connection with the...
Armstrong County cat bucks stereotype, spends summers in the poolVideo
The dog days of summer are upon us here in Western Pennsylvania. Just don’t tell that to Tissy, a cat with a penchant for swimming. The fluffy, orange Maine Coon cools off weekly in the Herr family pool in Brady’s Bend , Armstrong County. Tissy even has a tiny custom...
Former New Kensington woman in wheelchair killed by pickup in Armstrong County
A former New Kensington woman in a wheelchair was killed early Thursday when she was struck by a pickup as she crossed Route 28/66 near Kittanning, according to Armstrong County Coroner Brian Myers. Sylvia Jean Denslow, 53, left the Bench Racers convenience store in Rayburn with her boyfriend just before...
Collectors scrambling to get Apollo, Pa., moon landing postmark
Get them before some stamp collector in Missouri does. The hottest commodity out of Apollo is a 50th anniversary moon landing commemorative envelope and postal cancellation. Although the 50th anniversary on July 20 of Neil Armstrong’s historic leap for mankind has passed, the excitement has not, at least in Apollo....
Police: Teen hits Harrison man with baseball bat to protect herself, mother
A teenager and her mother were able to escape from a Harrison man who police said severely injured the woman in a domestic assault early Wednesday. Harrison police said the 16-year-old girl used a baseball bat to defend herself and her mother until they were able to get out of...
Crews scale Harrison water tower for cleaning
Work to clean and paint the outside of a Harrison water tower for the first time since it was put up 16 years ago is underway. Crews with Southern Corrosion, based in North Carolina, on Wednesday were pressure washing the 200,000-gallon, steel pedesphere located along Harrison Avenue and across from...
Zoning change needed for ABC bus garage to service Highlands schools
Highlands School District’s new bus company wants to set up its operations on the site of a slag operation in Harrison. Commissioners have approved having township Solicitor Chuck Means prepare an ordinance that would amend the township’s zoning to allow the property on Spring Hill Road to be used for...
Tarentum suspends employee after alleged assault
Tarentum placed a borough employee on paid leave following an alleged physical altercation, borough Manager Michael Nestico confirmed Wednesday. The incident happened at the borough’s public works garage on July 19, Nestico said. Council met in an executive session closed to the public on July 22 to review details of...
