Valley News Dispatch category, Page 671
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...
State awards $719K in tax credits for Harrison senior housing project
A $10 million senior housing project in Harrison is getting financial help from the state. The development, in the former Highlands School District administration building on 11th Avenue, is among 39 multifamily housing developments getting part of $41.6 million in low-income housing tax credits, Gov. Tom Wolf announced. The Harrison...
Large tree blocks Riddle Run Road in Springdale Township
A large tree fell across both lanes of Riddle Run in Springdale Township on Thursday night, and the road remained closed to motorists Friday morning. PennDOT was called to handle removing the tree. “Usually firefighters handle it, but this one is too large,” said Allegheny Valley Regional Police Patrolman Craig...
Leechburg man killed in Route 66 motorcycle crash
The Armstrong County coroner said a Leechburg man was killed Friday morning when he lost control of his motorcycle along Route 66 in Gilpin. Coroner Brian K. Myers identified the victim as 55-year-old Ronald M. Mego. Myers said Mego was traveling north toward Leechburg just before 6:30 a.m.when he lost...
Arnold Council seeks ideas for spending $300K in federal money
Arnold Council is considering using a portion of its 2019 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for improvements to Roosevelt Park. Council approved Tuesday a CDBG proposal that provides about $16,300 for improvements to the park, located at the intersection of Constitution Boulevard and Drey Street. That amounts to about 5.5%...
Plum’s farmers market to now happen every Monday
A new farmers market program in Plum may have found its roots. The borough had its first Monday Market at Plum Creek Park along New Texas Road on July 8. At least 100 people stopped by from 3 to 7 p.m. to check out the event’s inaugural vendors, including Pappy’s...
Leechburg begins work on borough roadways
Leechburg Borough officials have announced streets that will be repaved or repaired this summer. Mayor Wayne Dobos said improvements will be done on parts of Main, First, Second, Pitt streets. This summer’s projects also include Kiski, Siberian Washington, Logan, Madison and Lincoln avenues. Crews have started some of the work,...
Tarentum Council meeting canceled
The Tarentum Council meeting scheduled for tonight has been canceled, the borough announced. The meeting was called off because not enough council members would be present to conduct business. At least four of the council’s seven members are required. Council next will meet for an agenda meeting on Aug. 6...
Accused Arnold killer already was on the run from police
The man accused in a fatal Arnold shooting last month already was on the run from police before he became a murder suspect. Court records show Allen Duwayne Herring, 32, of Braddock was wanted for failing to appear in Westmoreland County Court in February to face drug possession charges filed...
FBI, police looking for man who robbed Brackenridge credit union
Federal agents and local police are asking for help identifying a man they say robbed a Brackenridge bank Wednesday afternoon at gunpoint. The robbery occurred around 2 p.m. at the Allegheny Ludlum Brackenridge Credit Union at 1131 Brackenridge Ave. According to the FBI in Pittsburgh, the robber displayed a gun,...
Torrential rain leads to widespread flooding across Western Pa.
Traffic on several roads remained affected in Allegheny County Friday morning after heavy rains pounded Western Pennsylvania Thursday, causing widespread flooding and hazards that shut down major thoroughfares throughout the region. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said those roads spanned from Frazer Township to Crescent Township: • A bridge on Kittanning...
Landslide, $45,000 fine didn’t stop Upper Burrell gas well drilling
Wells were drilled despite a state-imposed $45,000 fine against Huntley & Huntley for a landslide on a private road for the Zeus unconventional natural gas well pad in Upper Burrell along Guyer Road. The slide near the fracking well pad added to regulatory and legal challenges at the site but...
