Valley News Dispatch category, Page 687
Cheswick primary comes up 2 candidates short for council spots
The race for Cheswick Council appears to have still come up two people short after Tuesday’s primary election. Republican incumbents Michael Girardi and Brad Yaksich were the only two running for three open four-year seats and one open two-year seat. Girardi got the nomination for both the two-year seat and...
2 Tarentum council members lose seats in primary
Two incumbent Tarentum council members lost their seats in Tuesday’s primary, according to unofficial election results. In the Democratic race for a four-year, at-large seat, Councilman Tim Cornuet lost his bid for re-election to 3rd Ward Councilwoman Carrie Fox, who also won her party’s nomination for her four-year seat in...
Vandergrift house fire was arson, police say
A Tuesday morning house fire in Vandergrift was arson, state police Tpr. Seth Hellman said Wednesday. The intentionally set blaze caused about $3,500 in damage, mostly to flooring to a vacant house at at 924 Holland St. , Vandergrift fire Chief Steve Potoka said. There were no injuries. Patrolman Willie...
Hope Run brings in record amount for UPMC St. Margaret patients
More than 500 runners, walkers, strollers — and even four-legged participants — came out May 19 for the St. Margaret Foundation Brian Demchak Hope Run. In its 31st year, the family friendly 5K raises money to help underserved patients at UPMC St. Margaret, near Aspinwall. Streets are filled with people...
Babysitter to be charged after toddler found alone in Tarentum park
A 2-year-old boy found alone at a Tarentum park on Tuesday is home safe but a babysitter will be charged with child endangerment, WPXI reported. Police had posted a picture of the toddler on social media asking for the public’s help in identifying him or his family. They said he...
Andrejcik tops Callender for Democratic Lower Burrell mayor nomination; Yakopec gets shot at council
First-time political candidate John Andrejcik clinched a victory over incumbent Lower Burrell Mayor Richard Callender in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, preliminary vote tallies show. Andrejcik, 60, a Navy veteran and retired Allegheny County Common Pleas court reporter, secured 55% of the vote to Callender’s 45%, with all nine precincts reporting, according...
Incumbent, challenger earn Democratic nods for Harrison commissioner
The husband of a district judge edged out an incumbent Harrison commissioner in Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary, while another incumbent on the ballot cruised to victory. In Harrison’s 3rd Ward, challenger Eric S. Bengel defeated incumbent Robin Bergstrom by 18 votes, 182-164, according to unofficial results. Bengel, who had never...
Plum School District Republican committee members earn sweep for party nods; Dem newcomers get nods
Plum School District’s packed primary race resulted in Republican committee-endorsed candidates sweeping their party nods with several Democratic newcomers on the November ballot, ensuring a contested general election for six seats. Incumbents Steve Schlauch (14.13 %), Sue Caldwell (13.18 %) and Karin Acquaviva (11.92 %), along with fellow Republicans Jacqueline...
Democrat Joe Bia ousts embattled Arnold Mayor Karen Peconi
The challenger who defeated incumbent Arnold Mayor Karen Peconi in Tuesday’s primary called her actions last summer “an embarrassment” to the city, and it appears many Democratic voters agreed based on Joe Bia II’s victory by a three-to-one margin. Bia, an Arnold councilman with two years left in his first...
Highlands incumbent Michelle Peters ousted by challengers
Two challengers sent an incumbent packing Tuesday in primary races for Highlands School Board, according to unofficial results. All three candidates cross-filed to seek two nominations up for grabs in the Republican and Democratic primaries in Highlands’ Region 3. Kristie J. Babinsack, 46, won the GOP and Democratic races, collecting...
Joe Pittman wins big in state Senate special election
A longtime aide to former state Sen. Don White will replace his former boss in Harrisburg, according to unofficial election results. Republican Joe Pittman collected nearly two-thirds of the votes cast in Tuesday’s primary to defeat Indiana University of Pennsylvania professor Susan Boser in a special election race in the...
Apollo-Ridge and Burrell school districts awarded nearly $50,000 for security equipment
The Pennsylvania Department of Education awarded a $25,000 Safe Schools Targeted Grant to the Apollo-Ridge School District and nearly $25,000 to the Burrell School District for security equipment. Apollo-Ridge was among 39 school districts that did not receive other competitive grants from the Department of Education last fall. Information on...
Army Corps to cut hours at Lock 4 in Harrison
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is cutting service at lock and dam No. 4 in Harrison by nearly a full work shift per day because of dwindling barge traffic and federal dollars to operate the locks and dams on the Allegheny River. Beginning Friday, the lock in Harrison’s Natrona...
Kunco retrial arguments to drag into summer months
On Tuesday, nearly a year to the day after they secured an order overturning John Kunco’s 1991 rape conviction and ordering a new trial, lawyers from the Innocence Project were back in Westmoreland County. And Kunco, 53, who had been released from prison amid a celebration May 23, 2018, was...
Tarentum spray park open, movie series starts Thursday
With spring firmly in place and the first day of summer just a month away, life is returning to Tarentum’s Riverview Memorial Park. The spray park in the First Avenue park has reopened, and a free monthly movie series will start Thursday. The first showing for “Movies by the River”...
Allegheny Valley School Board OKs pre-K program
Allegheny Valley School Board unanimously gave the go-ahead Monday for the district to create a pre-kindergarten program that will begin next school year. The decision came after lengthy discussions about the number of students the program will serve and what students will be eligible. The district’s plan calls for two...
Vandergrift man accused of kidnapping baby in Arnold
A Vandergrift man is accused of beating up a woman and kidnapping her baby Saturday in Arnold. Police arrested Jusu Jeovainni Kanneh Jr., 30, of Grant Street at his home after the woman accused him of assaulting her and taking her 4-month-old son from her when she arrived at her...
Highlands special education director resigns
The special education director at Highlands School District is resigning. Debra Lehew’s resignation was among a number of personnel actions the school board approved Monday. Lehew’s resignation is effective June 30. The board approved an agreement along with accepting Lehew’s resignation; the agreement was not immediately released. Lehew could not...
Public’s concerns, suggestions sought to shape future of 3 communities
People who live, work and do business in Tarentum, Brackenridge and Harrison have a chance to tell local officials how they’d like to see the communities improved over the next decade. The two boroughs and township are working together on a new comprehensive plan. Part of the more than yearlong...
Authorities investigating overnight shooting in Arnold
Westmoreland County authorities are investigating an overnight shooting in Arnold that ended with a bullet-riddled SUV in New Kensington. The shooting occurred in the 1600 block of Woodbine Alley in Arnold, according to John W. Clark, a detective with the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office. The office is investigating the...
Highlands School District to appeal ruling requiring release of teacher’s name
The Highlands School District wants a court to decide whether school districts can keep private the names of employees facing disciplinary actions. The school board voted 8-0 Monday to appeal an April 30 decision by the state’s Office of Open Records in a case brought by the Tribune-Review. Board member...
No tax hike in Allegheny Valley School District’s proposed budget
Allegheny Valley School Board approved the district’s proposed $23 million preliminary budget for next school year. The spending plan includes no increase in property taxes. District officials said expenses increased by about 1%, mostly because of pension contributions. The budget will be on review for the public before final approval...
Highlands budget would hike taxes, spend $1.6 million from reserves
The Highlands School District would increase property taxes by the maximum allowed by the state, and spend $1.6 million from its reserves, under the district’s proposed final budget for the 2019-20 school year. Unless it is changed before the final vote in June, property taxes would go up by 3.3%,...
Stolen Fawn race car found, trailer still missing
A race car stolen from Fawn has been found, but police still are looking for the trailer it was on. “It was recovered in West Mifflin,” Fawn police Chief Tim Mayberry said Monday. The customized Dodge Neon was reported stolen from a lot along Lumber Drive, off Bull Creek Road,...
16-year-old faces arson charges in connection with Harrison fire
A 16-year-old is accused of starting an April 22 fire at a Sheldon Park apartment building in Harrison that displaced four people and caused at least $500,000 in damage, according to investigators. Authorities did not identify the suspected fire-starter on Monday, but said the teen lives in Harrison and is...
