Valley News Dispatch category, Page 688
One injured in Allegheny Township BMX crash
One rider was taken by ambulance to the hospital after a crash at the Westmoreland BMX track in Northmoreland Park, Allegheny Township, Tuesday night, according to Westmoreland County 911. The crash was reported around 8:15 p.m. A local race was scheduled at the track for Tuesday evening, according to the...
Penn Hills, Plum, O’Hara face costly repairs after floods
Penn Hills and Plum, two of the worst-hit communities from flooding Sunday and Monday, face steep costs to get things all back up to normal, according to officials. Penn Hills declared a state of emergency Monday afternoon in order to fast-track certain repair projects, said Scott Andrejchak, the municipality’s manager....
Highlands gets 4 bids to fix Tarentum clock tower
Highlands School District has four bidders and an array of options to choose from to fix the leaking clock tower at its elementary school in Tarentum. This is the second time the district has sought bids for the work at Highlands Elementary School. The school board rejected the two bids...
Former Knoch High School student won’t serve jail time in online threat case
A Butler County teen charged with making online threats about shooting classmates at Knoch High School won’t face any jail time after a plea agreement was reached Monday with the Butler County District Attorney’s office. Laura Pitchford, assistant district attorney for Butler County, said Tuesday that Jason Michael Bowen entered...
Sheetz seeks liquor license for New Kensington store
Sheetz is planning to remodel its store on New Kensington’s Freeport Street in a project that will qualify it for a restaurant liquor license. The company wants to transfer a liquor license into the city from New Stanton and use it to sell beer, according to a letter to city...
Man dies after crash on Route 380 in Washington Township
A man’s car hydroplaned on a stream of water crossing Route 380 moments before it hit a utility pole early Tuesday, Washington Township police said. Richard P. Harrie Jr., 30, of Monroeville died at AHN Forbes Hospital, police Chief Scott Slagle said. Officials said it took more than an hour...
Lower Burrell veteran overwhelmed by Taco Bell teen worker’s generous offer
Army veteran Chris Archer will never forget the experience he had Saturday at the Taco Bell in Harrison. As he was ordering his lunch — four tacos and a water — he asked the employee serving him if the restaurant offered a military discount. The crew member, Liam Samples, said...
Police say they’ve identified the motorcyclist wanted in Allegheny Township road rage incident
Allegheny Township police said that, with the public’s help, they identified a man allegedly involved in a road rage assault. Police said the incident took place around 5:45 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Route 56 and Hyde Park Road. A male motorcyclist allegedly followed another vehicle from the Vandergrift...
Options for trail from Oakmont to Boyce Park to be unveiled
Details of a proposed 10- to 15-mile trail from Oakmont to Boyce Park will be unveiled at a meeting Tuesday. Officials from four municipalities have been working to develop a recreational trail from the Allegheny riverfront in Verona, through Oakmont and Penn Hills along Plum Creek, to Boyce Park in...
Oaks Theater to host discovery session on bald and golden eagles
Wishful Wednesday Productions will present an evening of live music, local eagle photography and a discussion on the presence and differences between bald and golden eagles in Pennsylvania on Wednesday at the Oaks Theater, starting at 6 p.m. in Oakmont. The featured guest lecturer Chris Kubiak, education director for the...
Hyde Park man charged in wife’s 2017 deathVideo
State police filed homicide and aggravated assault charges Monday against a Hyde Park man who they say killed his wife two years ago after years of abuse. Jeffrey Mark Fondrk, 57, told investigators in January that he pushed his wife, Patricia Ann Fondrk, over a dog gate during an argument...
Store owner burned out of New Kensington relaunches in Tarentum
Tim Brown’s convenience store in Tarentum was going to be his second. It’s now his only one, after his first in downtown New Kensington was destroyed in the massive Ninth Street fire in September. He’s still planning on opening more. “I would like to start a little chain of convenience...
Both lanes of Freeport Road in East Deer reopen after yearlong bridge project
A yearlong bridge project in East Deer that caused Freeport Road to be reduced to one lane is completed. The road reopened to traffic Monday, according to a news release by Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners. The project to replace the bridge over Baileys Run began last summer. The bridge, located...
Rain garden begins to take shape by Highlands Middle School in HarrisonVideo
They wore gloves, knee pads and boots as they worked in the mud and the rain. Volunteers, numbering between 15 and 20, turned out Monday morning to help populate Harrison’s new rain garden, built on the grounds of Highlands Middle School at Broadview Boulevard and California Avenue. “Everyone here loves...
Soccer club eyes upgrades to Middle Road fields in Indiana Township
Hampered by soggy field conditions, Fox Chapel Area Youth Soccer is launching a plan to upgrade the Middle Road complex that accommodates more than 700 athletes each season. “The soaking rains over the years have made field conditions difficult to maintain,” club President Jake Williams said. The fields sit on...
Vandergrift man uses family knowledge to connect with Kiski Area youthsVideo
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things that they do. Joshua Westurn of Vandergrift is following in his father’s footsteps by helping local youths. He credits his upbringing with being able to lead the Kiski Area Youth Network the...
Springdale public works employees get annual 2% raises in new pact
Wages for Springdale Borough’s public works employees will increase by about 2% per year over five years under a new labor agreement. The wage increase is part of the five-year contract approved Tuesday by council and the five-man public works crew, members of Utility Workers Union Local 509. Public works...
Police searching for man suspected of robbing Lower Burrell pharmacy
Lower Burrell police are looking for a man they say robbed a local pharmacy store on Friday afternoon. The robbery occurred just before 3:45 p.m. at the Walgreens at 108 Greensburg Road, according to a post on the police department’s Facebook page. Police said the man was armed, but did...
Gilpin looks for ways to reduce police costs
A Gilpin committee is looking for ways to reduce police costs, with options including sharing services or hiring a neighboring department to patrol the township. “This is very, very early. A baby step,” said Gilpin Supervisors President Charlie Stull, who is on the exploratory with township Supervisor Susan Brown. He...
At Gino’s Petit Dejeuner in Harmar, a not so little breakfast with a French infusionVideo
An international trifecta of culinary flavors unite at Gino’s Petit Dejeuner in Harmar. The cozy French-inspired bistro, located in Harmar Shopping Plaza, blends American and Turkish influences on an extensive breakfast and lunch menu. In French, “petit dejeuner” translates literally as “little lunch” but means “breakfast” — which is the...
Tarentum skateboard shop that likens itself to community center celebrates 1st yearVideo
Skateboarding is for everyone. That’s the message Dry Bones skateboard shop in Tarentum, which celebrated its one-year anniversary with a block party Saturday, is trying to convey. “There’s no gender. There’s no age limit,” said Brian Snyder, who owns the shop with his wife, Wendy Thimons. “Grab a skateboard and...
Alle-Kiski Valley folks finds ways to beat the heat, humidity
Sylvan Park Pool in Harrison seemed the perfect spot for folks looking to beat the scorching summer heat that overtook the Alle-Kiski Valley this weekend. About 200 people attended Friday’s night family swim — which normally sees an average of 75 to 150 people — due to the soaring temperatures,...
Apollo celebrates moon landing 50 years ago with town party
Apollo was moonstruck Saturday — in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing. Braving brutally hot temperatures under clear skies Saturday, hundreds gathered at Owens Grove and the surrounding grounds to eat, play, learn and reminisce about the day two American astronauts stepped onto the...
50 years after moon landing, Western Pennsylvania sets sight on return to space
Like many American baby boomers, Randa Relich Milliron has vivid memories of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. The Belle Vernon native was in her early teens as she sat glued to a television set throughout the day and well into the night that culminated in the...
Springdale Township officials satisfied with fledgling police merger
Like their neighbors in Cheswick, Springdale Township officials are happy with the early weeks of the merger of their police departments. On July 1, Cheswick and Springdale Township consolidated police services into the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department. A steering committee made up of representatives from both municipalities manages the...
