Valley News Dispatch category, Page 678
WW II veteran, 101, throws Memorial Day party in Lower Burrell
Bill Tingle’s ears perked as his daughter called out, “Dad, look, there’s a kid waving to you.” “Thanks for your service!” shouted a young boy with a toothy grin from the backseat of a car driving by along Leechburg Road, minutes after the city’s annual Memorial Day parade came to...
Man escapes Tarentum house fire from 2nd-floor window; 2 pet cats dieVideo
A Tarentum man who escaped flames ripping through his two-story home early Monday with help from police and a neighbor’s ladder was treated for smoke inhalation, officials said. At least two pet cats died in the fire at the duplex on Conroy Way, officials and neighbors said. The sound of...
Kiski Area students documenting the lives of local veteransVideo
Merle Sober climbed Mt. Fuji while waiting for battle during the Korean War, and James Thomas Simko helped liberate a Nazi concentration camp during World War II when SS soldiers began shooting and burning its prisoners just before the arrival of Simko’s “Fighting 69th” infantry. The stories of Sober of...
Protecting your skin from the sun as easy as ABC
As summer approaches, many people will begin to hit the pools, lakes and trails. But with the outdoor fun comes an increased risk for skin cancer if you don’t properly protect yourself from the sun’s damaging rays. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, more people are diagnosed with skin cancer...
Aspinwall eatery gets a corner on the comfort food marketVideo
An Aspinwall eatery has cornered the market on the neighborhood restaurant concept. Cornerstone opened in 2009 — commanding the corner of Freeport Road and Eastern Avenue — and celebrated its 10th anniversary in February. According to 2017 figures from the National Restaurant Association, the average life span of a U.S....
New Kensington Donut Connection sells $2M Powerball ticket
A winning Powerball ticket worth $2 million for the May 22 drawing was sold in New Kensington. The ticket with the Power Play option matched all of the five white balls drawn, 07-10-20-44-57, but not the red Powerball 03, to win $2 million. Without the $1 Power Play option, the...
Thunderstorms take down large branch at Prospect Cemetery
Severe thunderstorms that blew through the region Saturday evening took down a large tree branch at Prospect Cemetery in Brackenridge, narrowly missing the cemetery office and nearby headstones. There are only a few headstones in that area and none of them were damaged, said Cindy Homburg, president of the cemetery....
Weather can’t dampen respect for Brackenridge’s Honor Roll memorial
About 100 people turned out Sunday to join in the Memorial Day observance by the Brackenridge American Legion despite the weather moving the majority of activities inside. The events held at Brackenridge Memorial Park included the rededication of the 54-year-old Honor Roll memorial that had been cleaned and restored after...
Apollo-Ridge students laid wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The lead up to Memorial Day this month was extra special for some Apollo-Ridge Elementary School students. Under the guidance of teacher Chad Danka, 27 students visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Three of the students – Julianna Saxion, Caleb Coy and Mackenzie Magness –...
Tarentum man spent decades building relationships with man’s best friendVideo
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things they do. Most of Fawn Township native Bruce Ringer’s life has gone to the dogs. The Highlands High School grad has owned and operated a doggie daycare and training business in Tarentum...
Tribune-Review earns 22 Golden Quill nominations from Press Club of Western Pa.
Tribune-Review stories about the Tree of Life massacre, the killing of Antwon Rose and compensation programs set up after the clergy sex abuse scandal in Pennsylvania are among the top nominees in this year’s Golden Quill Awards. In all, the Trib garnered 22 nominations for the awards, which are presented...
Leechburg Cemetery Co. seeks assistance with grounds maintenanceVideo
The Leechburg Cemetery Company doesn’t have enough volunteers to maintain the grounds that command a hill off of Pershing and Evergreen roads. Knee-high grass and weeds compete with numerous Memorial Day flags recently placed on tombstones at The Leechburg Cemetery. Volunteer and borough resident Larry Boehm squeezes in time mowing...
Alle-Kiski Valley pools dive into the summer season
Four swimming pools across the Alle-Kiski Valley dive into their summer seasons with Saturday openings. For Springdale Township’s Bouquet Park Pool, it took a successful $20,000 fundraising campaign to make this season happen. Pool officials had been worried they would have to scrap the summer season and file for bankruptcy...
Deer Lakes High School prom 2019
Deer Lakes High School had its prom Friday night. Here is a photo gallery of the highlights....
Armstrong County creates court program to help veterans get back on trackVideo
Armstrong County veterans who are accepted into a new court program after running afoul of the law will be expected to do what they did while in uniform: follow orders and work hard to accomplish a mission. In this case, the mission is for veterans to get their life back...
Burrell School District proposes 2.9% property tax hike
Burrell School District’s $32.5 million preliminary budget for next school year calls for a 2.9% increase in property taxes. If the school board approved the proposed 2.8 mill increase, the owner of a home assessed at $22,500 who currently pays $2,159 in taxes would see their annual bill go up...
New Kensington police step up patrols in area of deadly shooting
New Kensington police have increased patrols in the area of a shooting early Thursday that left a newspaper delivery driver dead. Police Chief Bob Deringer told the Tribune-Review on Friday he had no updates on the investigation into the death of Gregory Smith, 69, of New Kensington. “No new leads,...
Child welfare officials seek foster families in Westmoreland County
The Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau is making a bid to recruit additional foster families as it marks Foster Care Awareness Month. Officials from the bureau are partnering with the SWAN Legal Services Initiative as well as 13 private providers and foster care agencies to host a foster family recruitment event...
Arnold planning to have 10 dilapidated buildings razed
A demolition project planned in Arnold has shifted into gear as the city seeks contract bids. There are 10 abandoned and deteriorated structures the city hopes to tear down. City Redevelopment Director Rick Rayburg said the demolition bids are to be opened May 31 in the city’s redevelopment office. Rayburg...
Lower Burrell’s Trinity United Christian Church pastor pens ‘The Call’
The printed word will be there for future generations. “I wanted a written record of this church, a first-hand account of the history here,” says the Rev. Cletus L. Hull III, pastor of Trinity United Christian Church in Lower Burrell since Jan. 1, 1996. Hull penned the 189-page “The Call,”...
Highlands again refuses to name employee put on unpaid leave
Highlands School District placed a middle school English teacher who has worked for the district for more than 20 years on unpaid leave in April. But the district is refusing to name the teacher despite a recent state ruling in a separate but similar case where the district was ordered...
Lower Burrell man, son of district judge, pleads guilty to marijuana distribution charges
The son of a local district judge and nephew of Westmoreland County’s district attorney pleaded guilty Thursday to drug distribution charges. Stephen Yakopec III, 29, of Lower Burrell, could face up to 15 years in prison when he is sentenced in about three months. In court on Thursday, Yakopec pleaded...
Brackenridge memorial reassembled following vandalism repairsVideo
It’s a matter of respect for those who served and sacrificed. That’s what Brackenridge American Legion Commander Frank Svitek said Thursday as workers reassembled the honor roll memorial across the street in Brackenridge Memorial Park. The 54-year-old memorial’s bronze pieces were cleaned and restored after being vandalized in February. They...
Jeannette man charged with raping girl over 8 years
A Jeannette man was arrested Thursday by Westmoreland County Detectives and charged with raping a girl over the past eight years. Ronald Lee Rice, 59, was arraigned before Washington Township District Judge Jason Buczak on charges of rape, aggravated indecent assault on a person less than 13 years old and...
Police: Babysitter to be charged for leaving toddler alone in Tarentum park
A babysitter will be charged with child endangerment after Tarentum police say she left a 2-year-old boy alone in Riverview Memorial Park on Tuesday. Karen Jones, 56, of Pittsburgh, allegedly told police she left the boy in the park so she could go back to the child’s Second Avenue home...
