Valley News Dispatch category, Page 675
Pennsylvania’s new class of drug recognition experts hopes to make roads safer
Years of responding to deadly crashes along Route 28 spurred O’Hara patrolman Benjamin Wolfson to seek additional training in the hope it might help save lives. “Almost all of (the deadly crashes) had some type of driving-under-the-influence cause,” Wolfson said, adding that PennDOT statistics show nearly half of all crashes...
Wesley Family Services to start $18.2M project in New Kensington
Work is set to start this month on a long-awaited complex in New Kensington that will provide affordable housing and behavioral health services under one roof. The Pioneer Apartments is being built by Wesley Family Services on a former parking lot between 10th and 11th streets and Fourth Avenue and...
Boyce Park wave pool closed for emergency repairs
The wave pool at Boyce Park will be closed for up to 10 days for emergency repairs, according to an Allegheny County news release. The pool began losing water May 31 due to a malfunctioning “hydrostatic relief valve.” The valves are designed to maintain pressure between water in the pool...
Cat spay, neuter clinics scheduled in Tarentum
The Homeless Cat Management Team will be offering several free and low-cost spay and neuter clinics from June to December in Tarentum. No-charge clinics for feral cats only will be held on June 22, July 27, Aug. 24, Oct. 5, Nov. 9 and Dec. 7. “Fast track” clinics, which cost...
Police: Shots fired at men cutting grass in Armstrong County
An Armstrong County man accused of firing half a dozen rounds at two men cutting grass near his Plum Creek home on Monday was found to be growing marijuana there, according to state police. Police said they investigated a report of someone firing shots at two landscapers as they cut...
Fawn pet resort treats animals like familyVideo
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. Years spent working in the pet food industry forced...
Valley High School bids farewell to the Class of 2019
Here is the Valley High School Class of 2019: Hayley Ruth Albright, Evan Michael Anderson, Megan Estelle Anthony, Matthew L. Ashbaugh, Joseph Louis Ayala, Jadyn Lee Baker, Sam Patrick Barca, Shaolin Ameris Barr, Tess Elizabeth Bartlett, Tyler Jamar Bassett Seandale Beckom-Barron, Preston Bradley Berecin, Noah Rayshawn Blanchard, Skye Lynn Bonzani,...
Police: Cuffed assault suspect launched himself down Frazer hillside
A New Kensington man who police say attacked his girlfriend and another man last week at a Frazer gas station is accused of trying to get away from officers by launching himself down a steep hillside while handcuffed. Frazer police Sgt. Aaron Scott said officers were called to the Sam’s...
Strawberry festival an annual Cheswick highlight
The threat of rainy weather didn’t keep Cheswick residents away from the borough’s annual Strawberry Festival on Sunday. Hundreds of people turned out for the festival at Rachel Carson Park that featured strawberry shortcakes, Glen’s Custard, strawberry pie, dozens of vendors and live music from Up the River band. The...
Pioneering River Forest owners to host Women’s Golf Day event
Allegheny Township’s River Forest Country Club will participate Tuesday in the fourth annual Women’s Golf Day by holding a scramble and luncheon featuring former LPGA golfer Missie Berteotti. Women’s Golf Day events will be held at more than 900 venues in 52 countries in conjunction with International Women’s Day, according...
Ex-gymnastics coach pleads guilty to Allegheny County sex assault charges
A former gymnastics coach who was granted two new sexual abuse trials last year pleaded guilty to his Allegheny County charges Monday, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Keith Callen, 48, pleaded guilty to aggravated indecent assault, sex assault by a sports official, unlawful contact and corruption of minors. Callen...
Concrete falls from Tarentum Bridge
Several chunks of concrete fell from the Tarentum Bridge on Monday morning, but no one was hurt and no damage was reported below, according to officials. The pieces appeared to fall shortly before 9 a.m. from the eastern edge of the bridge, which carries about 30,000 vehicles a day across...
Highlands reschedules June school board meeting
Highlands School Board has changed the date of its June voting meeting. It will be held June 25 instead of June 24. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. in the audion at Highlands High School in Harrison. The board is expected to vote to adopt a proposed $46.2 million...
ABC Transit plans dinner to woo Roenigk bus drivers in Highlands
Highlands School District’s new bus contractor has scheduled a dinner to try to attract drivers away from W.L. Roenigk, the district’s outgoing transportation company. ABC Transit is inviting all of the district’s current bus and van drivers and monitors to the buffet dinner starting at 5:30 p.m. June 12 in...
Tour-Ed Mine in Fawn offers lessons in underground history
Go beyond the typical tour and get really down-to-earth with a trip under Fawn Township. Dubbed the “Coalest” Pittsburgh attraction, Tour-Ed Mine and Museum in Fawn offers educational underground coal mine tours 160 feet below ground. Dating back to the 1850s and formerly the once-active Avenue Mine, its workers provided...
Harrison to focus grass cutting efforts on abandoned properties
They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In Harrison, the tall grass that gets complained about the most may get cut. With a roster of five to six dozen uncared for properties, the township’s five part-time summer workers can only get to so many, commissioners Chairman Bill Heasley said....
Kids help out as environmental group cleans trash out of the Allegheny River
Elliott Covolo, 8, spotted the first piece of litter that was collected out of the Allegheny River in Tarentum during a cleanup event Sunday. He grabbed a net and waited until the boat idled next to the object. “I don’t know what it is,” he exclaimed as he pulled it...
Biking-walking corridor in Harrison gets another financial boost
The biking-walking corridor project in Harrison has received another financial boost. Township Commissioner Robin Bergstrom said the township was notified that the project’s first phase for design and engineering has been awarded a $75,000 grant from the state Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund (CITF). It brings the total money received...
One step at a time, Highlands, Oakmont Relays for Life walk to fund cancer researchVideo
The goal of the Relays for Life throughout the country is that one day they won’t be necessary. That would mean that cancer is cured and there’s no reason to walk around school tracks and in parks to raise money each summer for the American Cancer Society. Until then, they...
Car struck by bullet in New Kensington
At least one bullet struck a four-door sedan sitting on the New Kensington side of North Street on Saturday afternoon. Westmoreland County dispatchers said officers responded to a call for shots fired around 12:40 p.m. near the intersection of North Street and Leishman Avenue at the New Kensington/Arnold border. Nearby...
‘Whitey’ Williams taught scores of firefighters how to perform task safelyVideo
Teaching a kid how to use a firefighter’s oxygen gear was an opportunity for Bratton T. “Whitey” Williams Jr. “He already was a legend,” recalls the kid, Eddie Saliba Jr., who now is the New Kensington Bureau of Fire’s assistant chief. “I was about 10 years old. My dad was...
Armstrong County locks closed on Allegheny River this weekend due to high water
Due to high water, the Allegheny River Development Corp. and with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have decided to keep four locks closed in the Armstrong County portion of the Allegheny River. The closed locks are located in South Buffalo, West Kittanning, Boggs, and Madison townships. During the summer,...
Welcome: Here’s the Evangel Heights Christian Academy Class of 2019
Here is the Evangel Heights Christian Academy Class of 2019: Peter Caporali, Evan Clinger, Kayleigh Conaway, Grace Emerson, Kaylee Fink, Heath Hassler, Matthew Heinl, Madison Holcomb, Alexis Jones, Bethany Jones. Katie Kelley, Aneisa Klingensmith, Charis Miller, Matthew Olean, Hyunbin Song, Elijah Thompson, Brock Villella....
Congratulations to the Freeport Area High School Class of 2019
Here is the Freeport Area High School Class of 2019: Zyan Adams, Emily Alvarez, Dylan Arnold, Ainsley Arrington, Hayden Bash, Abigail Bastaja, Cameron Bennick, Cole Bennick, Coleman Bergad, Rebecca Black. Erik Bodily, Trevor Bolte, Marissa Borino, Charles Borromeo, Lydia Bouch, Mara Bowser, Michael Brezinski, Rachel Bricker, Jalen Brown, Gabriel Brunck....
Introducing the St. Joseph High School Class of 2019
Here is the St. Joseph High School Class of 2019: Matthew Arvay, Daniel Keith Babilon II, Grant David Bendis, Abigail Lynn Book, Joseph Emmanuel Ciniello, Samantha Lynn Dennis, Daniel José Fábregas, Hunter Michael Ferdarko, Dominic Anthony Ferrante, Adeline Elizabeth Fuesting. Jacob L. Gigler, Shelby Caroline Gogal, Kayla Golightly, Leah Mei...
