Valley News Dispatch category, Page 682
Gilpin may allow ATVs, similar vehicles on 25 roads
Gilpin is considering a proposal to allow all-terrain vehicles on more than two dozen township roads. ATVs would still be banned on state roads such as Route 66, but the proposal would allow them on 25 township roads in the mostly rural township of 14 square miles, according to Supervisor...
Multi-million dollar Lower Burrell City Hall renovation starts next week
Contractors will break ground next week for the $3.1 million Lower Burrell City Hall renovation project. Years in the making, the project entails creating more space for police and the public works department and moving the tax office back into city hall. City services won’t be impacted by the project....
Lower Burrell awards summer paving contract
Lower Burrell Council recently awarded a $110,895 contract to A. Folino Construction for this year’s summer paving projects in the city. City Administrator Amy Rockwell said streets slated for paving include Wachter and Oregon drives and Craigdell Road from Carl Avenue to the rear of Giant Eagle....
Annual Burrell Lake Park Kids’ Fishing Derby planned for June
The annual Burrell Lake Park Kids’ Fishing Derby is scheduled for June 8. The event, which runs from 9 to 11:30 a.m., will feature free fishing, free lunch and a grab bag, and prizes for the biggest fish caught. Registration will be from 7:30 to 9 a.m. All activities are...
No tax increased planned in Allegheny Valley School District
Allegheny Valley School District’s proposed $23 million preliminary budget for next school year includes no increase in property taxes. The school board is expected to vote on the preliminary plan Monday. The budget will then be on review for the public before final approval in June. At the tax rate...
Allegheny Valley looks to start pre-K program next school year
Allegheny Valley School District is hoping to offer a pre-kindergarten program for the first time next school year, but significant details still need to be worked out before it could begin operating. The school board is expected to vote Monday to create the program, but questions remain on the criteria...
ABC Transit begins preparing to bus Highlands students
ABC Transit is preparing to buy property in Highlands School District now that the company has been awarded the district’s transportation contract for the next five years. ABC is “currently looking at a number of properties in the district,” company Vice President Todd O’Shell said Wednesday. The school board voted...
Woman unhurt when train clips SUV in Harrison
No one was injured when a Norfolk Southern train struck the front of an SUV Monday morning in Harrison, according to officials. The crash was reported at 7:45 a.m. at the railroad crossing at Vine Street and Philadelphia Avenue. Harrison Police Chief Michael Klein said a woman was turning right...
No tax increase planned in Apollo-Ridge School District
Apollo-Ridge School District’s $25.5 million preliminary budget for next school year does not include an increase in property taxes, despite a 1% increase in proposed spending over this year, officials said. The preliminary budget unveiled Monday keeps the tax rate at 62.4 mills in the Armstrong County municipalities of Apollo,...
2 flea markets planned in Tarentum area
It’s going to be a good day for flea market lovers and collectible and antique hunters in the Tarentum area Sunday. Two events are planned — the first “Fleatique” of the year at the Tour-Ed Mine grounds in Fawn, and the first “Trash to Treasure” outside of J.G.’s Tarentum Station...
Fox Chapel Area earns $1 million to pay for security upgrades, wireless internet
More than $1 million in grants will pay for sweeping security upgrades and wireless internet services at Fox Chapel Area School District, officials announced. The district is set to receive $908,000 from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to pay for safety improvements implemented this year. The money is...
Mayor: Closure of Akers plant in Avonmore devastating for community
The upcoming closure of a rolling mill in Avonmore is heartbreaking in the borough of about 1,000 people, many of whom have ties to the plant, according to Mayor Paula Jones. “A lot of people have worked there from cradle to grave. My dad worked there. Uncles. Cousins. Everyone has...
Fawn’s ‘working police chief’ juggles patrol, administrative dutiesVideo
It’s not easy being Fawn’s only full-time police officer, but police Chief Tim Mayberry makes do. “It can be very stressful,” Mayberry said. “If I had to do it all over again, this isn’t the kind of policing I would want to do. It’s not for everybody.” The Fawn Police...
St. Joseph history teacher nominated for national award
A history teacher at St. Joseph High School in Harrison is one of two nominees in Pennsylvania for a national teaching award. Rosanne Pucciarelli is nominated for the Hannah E. (Liz) MacGregor Teacher of the Year History Teacher Award. The award is sponsored by James F. Harris, past president of...
Summer work day planned at Tarentum community garden
On the good side, mixed greens, arugula, spinach and radishes are among the crops ready to pick at Tarentum’s Greg Blythe Friendship Garden. “They’re doing very well,” said the Rev. Phil Beck of First United Presbyterian Church, an organizer of the group that oversees the garden. On the not-so-good, there’s...
Trees slide into Kittanning Pike homes in O’Hara
Trees slid down a hillside and struck two homes Tuesday morning along Kittanning Pike in O’Hara, officials said. Emergency crews responded to the scene just before 6 a.m., according to an Allegheny County 911 supervisor. No one was injured. The trees hit two homes on Kittanning Pike, Township Supervisor Julie...
Highlands budget proposal raises property tax to state limit
A property tax increase up to the state limit is possible in Highlands School District for the upcoming school year. But even with a 3.3% increase, the district would still need to spend about $1.7 million from its reserves to cover all of its spending, according to a presentation Monday...
Highlands hires new bus company; longtime provider threatens to sue
W.L. Roenigk didn’t take kindly to Highlands School District’s decision Monday to hire a new transit company as its school bus contractor. “We’re not done,” company President Sue Roenigk said after the board voted 7-1 Monday to award a five-year contract to ABC Transit. Pat Roenigk, an attorney and shareholder...
Slain Freeport woman had PFA against ex-boyfriend, faced threats
Shortly after Mary Jo Kornick kicked Nicholas Domek III out of their Freeport apartment, Domek told a neighbor that Kornick “was going to get hers.” That neighbor, Donna Dreyer, told the Tribune-Review on Monday she never expected him to do anything drastic. “I just thought it was going to blow...
Stranger storms into Apollo home, grabs knife, police say
A woman charged into an Apollo home during a Mother’s Day dinner and grabbed a knife before an occupant wrested it away, police said. Eric Cheierici, 41, a chef from North Apollo, and his 62-year-old father had just made a spaghetti dinner for Cheierici’s 87-year-old grandmother in her Apollo house...
Vandergrift woman arrested with drugs in stolen car, police say
A Vandergrift woman suspected of burglarizing a Parks Township home was arrested over the weekend after police said they found her with drugs in a stolen car in Harrison. Harrison police said they found several stamp bags of heroin on Heather Stefanik, 24, after they were called to Walnut Street...
2 Harrison commissioners face challengers in Democratic primary
Two of three Harrison commissioners whose terms expire this year are seeking re-election, and both face challengers in the Democratic primary. In the township’s 1st Ward, the May 21 primary features a rematch between incumbent Commissioner Charles Dizard and former commissioner William Mitchell Sr. In the 3rd Ward, Eric Bengel...
Police: Woman ran stop sign before 2-car crash in Frazer
One person was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital in connection with a two-vehicle crash early Monday afternoon at Murray Hill and Riddle Run roads in Frazer. Frazer police Chief Terry Kuhns said a woman traveling on Riddle Run ran a stop sign about 1:40 p.m. and her vehicle crashed into...
Congressman Lamb learns about issues affecting medical supply companies
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb received a crash course in issues affecting medical supply companies and people who need equipment they provide during a meeting Monday at Tarentum-based Blackburn’s. The 83-year-old medical supply company hosted Lamb for a roundtable discussion with company executives, University of Pittsburgh researchers and other industry professionals....
Fox Chapel Plaza’s Alta Via offers a food tour of northern ItalyVideo
Traditional Italian food step aside. The newest addition to Pittsburgh’s impressive Big Burrito Restaurant Group whisks one off to the Dolomite region in northern Italy. Alta Via is a globally recognized walking trail through the Italian Dolomites, hence the name. “The food is simple, clean, fresh and ingredient driven,” says...
