Valley News Dispatch category, Page 684
2 Westmoreland apartment complexes named in lawsuit over disability access
Ann Sloan was surprised to learn that the owner of the Hempfield apartment complex where she lives is being sued by the federal government for discriminating against disabled renters by building units that have “significant accessibility barriers.” “Everything is fine for me,” said Sloan, who uses a walker to get...
Could it happen? Study into Route 28 expressway expansion to I-80 gets funding
The Armstrong County Commissioners and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission have received funding to conduct a feasibility study for making the Route 28 expressway a limited access highway all the way to Interstate 80. Officials have wanted to expand Route 28 from Kittanning in Armstrong to I-80 in Jefferson County for...
Freeport Area OKs proposed tax hike of about 3%, final vote in June
By a one-vote margin, Freeport Area School Board approved a proposed 2019-2020 budget raising taxes to the state-mandated limit. The result would be a 3% or $62 annual increase in real estate taxes on an Armstrong County property with a median assessed value of $32,465. In Butler County, taxes on...
‘Todo Tango’ coming to Tarentum’s Central Presbyterian Church
Do the tango with mom on Sunday. “Todo Tango,” a performance of tango dance music and songs featuring Warren Davidson on violin, Tom Roberts at the piano and mezzo-soprano Raquel Winnica Young is happening at 4 p.m. on Mother’s Day at Central Presbyterian Church in Tarentum. It’s the last concert...
Billboard firm appealing Tarentum’s denial of digital signs near bridge
An advertising company is challenging a Tarentum official’s decision to quash the firm’s plans to put up a digital billboard at the end of the Tarentum Bridge. The borough’s zoning hearing board is scheduled to hear Oliver Outdoor’s appeal this month. The Butler-based company is appealing zoning officer Anthony Bruni’s...
4 Armstrong County drug task force members on leave after money goes missing
Four members of Armstrong County’s Narcotics Enforcement Team (ARMNET) are on administrative leave while the district attorney investigates $300 missing in a drug case. The issue surfaced last week during First Assistant District Attorney Jared Trent’s preparation for the jury trial of a Kittanning man on drug charges. Trent found...
Highlands changes expectations for savings with new bus company
Highlands School District says it will save only about half the money it expected to save by bringing on a new bus company. And its current transportation provider, W.L. Roenigk, insists the district would actually save more than $1 million over five years by sticking with them. The school board...
Fishing teaches lessons, builds bridges at Valley High School in New KensingtonVideo
Something was fishy at Valley High School on Wednesday. The annual fish-for-fun day for fourth-graders was sponsored by Arnold and New Kensington police. The fishing day was established about four years ago by the Arnold and New Kensington police chiefs and New Kensington Patrolman Joe Locke, a previous school resource...
Brackenridge’s Platinum Ridge to celebrate $1.5M faceliftVideo
Matt Tack wants to celebrate, and apologize, on Saturday. Tack is the new administrator at Platinum Ridge Center for Rehabilitation and Healing in Brackenridge. The 97-bed licensed skilled nursing facility had been under renovation for about three years. “It’s been a long time,” Tack said, saying that the center was...
Surveillance cameras capture Vandergrift Dollar General robbery
The search is continuing for a man who robbed the Dollar General store in Vandergrift last week. Vandergrift police have released surveillance photos of the April 30 crime and are seeking tips regarding the case. The photos show the robber entering and leaving the store in the 500 block of...
Learn how to get your Real ID at events in Oakmont, Harrison and New Kensington
State Rep. Frank Dermody, D-Oakmont, and PennDOT are offering free public information sessions locally on the new requirements for residents to obtain Real ID. Although not mandatory, Pennsylvania residents trying to board domestic flights after Oct. 1, 2020, will need to present a Real ID driver’s license or identification card...
Johnstown man accused of leading Lower Burrell police on chase
A Johnstown man is accused of driving into a parked vehicle in Lower Burrell and leading police on a chase through New Kensington before he was pulled over early Saturday, police said. Christopher Jamison, 36, also is accused of driving a vehicle without an ignition interlock device, which he is...
Tarentum considers exonerating up to $70K in unpaid property taxes
Tarentum Council is considering exonerating delinquent property taxes totaling a combined $60,000 to $70,000 that the borough manager says it has little to no hope of collecting. Considering what to do with those accounts was part of the reason the borough held off on posting the names of delinquent property...
League of Women Voters to host meet the candidates forum in Plum
The League of Women Voters of Greater Pittsburgh will host a public forum next week for Plum school board candidates at the Plum Community Center. The event is set for 8 p.m. May 13 at 499 Center New Texas Road. Organizers said all candidates have been invited to participate. Audience...
Residents, communities push Allegheny County for Crawford Run Road fix
Greg Yaworski is tired of waiting for someone to fix Crawford Run Road. “You’ve got to (drive on) the other side of the road or you’re going to blow your car up,” said Yaworksi of East Deer, who lives along the road. And he isn’t alone. Drivers using the road...
Leechburg career breakfast gives students a taste of job optionsVideo
“What are you going to do with your life?” More than 45 Leechburg Area High School 10th-graders pondered that question Wednesday during the 12th annual Career Exploration Breakfast. Professionals on hand included those from the arts, media, the biomedical field, Douglas Education Center, Eichenlaub Landscaping and Penn State University. They...
Police: Penn Hills man endangered other motorists during rush-hour chase
A Penn Hills driver almost hit a Port Authority bus and posed a risk to numerous motorists during Monday’s afternoon rush hour in Plum, according to police. Isaiah Devin Goodwin, 19, of Main Street, is accused of leading police on a chase that started around 6 p.m. as he was...
Old Oakmont Bakery location could become yoga studio, juice bar
A yoga studio and juice bar may be coming into the old Oakmont Bakery location along Allegheny Avenue. Bakery owner Marc Serrao confirmed there have been discussions to lease the former retail building next to Chelsea Grille, and another nearby property. “I have somebody looking at the warehouse and two...
A Taste of Two Towns to serve up the best of Oakmont, Verona
Oakmont Carnegie Library’s largest annual fundraiser promises to offer a variety of food and drink from Verona and Oakmont establishments. The eighth annual A Taste of Two Towns is set for 5:30 p.m. May 19 at the library, 700 Allegheny River Blvd. “This event is great because it’s a community...
Springdale senior citizens fair to highlight available resources
Alle-Kiski senior citizens will have a chance to learn more about services available to them during a spring resource fair this Friday. The fair is hosted by state Sen. Lindsey Williams and will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Springdale Veterans Association banquet hall, 1151 Pittsburgh...
Kiski Area High School open to the public for first Night of the Arts
Kiski Area High School will showcase hundreds of pieces of student artwork for the first Night of the Arts, a free public art show with live music and more from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., May 13, in the high school atrium. The art event will feature student projects, food...
First Commonwealth plans groundbreaking ceremony for new Harrison bank
First Commonwealth Bank has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for its new bank under construction at Highlands Mall in Harrison. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to noon on Thursday, May 9 at the new location at 4015 Freeport Road, in front of Walmart. Light refreshments will be served...
Meeting Wednesday on vandalism, bad behavior and improvements at Vandergrift’s Franklin Park
A community group, the Vandergrift Parent Project, has raised about $500 to pay for a children’s vegetable garden and mural at Franklin Park. The group will discuss the Franklin Park improvements as well as vandalism and bad behavior by unsupervised kids at borough parks during their regular monthly meeting on...
Cheswick man accused of injuring 9-day-old girl
A Cheswick man is accused of assaulting a baby after the 9-day-old girl was brought to a hospital in February with traumatic injuries. Joshua Lee Sandusky, 24, of Beech Street, was arraigned Tuesday and accused of causing injury to the girl’s face and legs while the two were in a...
Photo of final 2 Pittsburgh marathon finishers goes viralVideo
Two strangers found strength in each other about halfway through Sunday’s Pittsburgh Marathon when they realized they would be the last to finish. Coming in at 7 hours, 22 minutes and 56 seconds, Jessica Robertson of Braddock and Laura Mazur of Ohio, who grew up in the Alle-Kiski Valley and...
