Valley News Dispatch category, Page 691

A Knoch High School student was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on charges of making online threats to shoot classmates. District Judge Sue Haggerty moved all charges against Jason Bowen, 18, of Middlesex, to Butler County Common Pleas Court during a preliminary hearing. He is accused of making terroristic threats,...

Two Philadelphia men are accused of stealing nearly $41,000 worth of cellphones last month from the Walmart store in Frazer, and they are suspected in similar thefts in at least two other states. “This is the biggest theft we’ve ever had at that Walmart by far. It is the largest...

Cheswick officials say the resignation of seven part-time officers from the borough’s police department last month has led to shifts going unstaffed and a reliance on neighboring police departments to respond to calls. The resignations come as the department adjusts to the loss of former Chief Bob Scott, who retired...

Relief is on the way for boaters who know the bump and grind of wakes from speeding boats when they dock along the Allegheny River as the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has proposed an extension to the No Wake Zone at Pittsburgh’s Point. The change is intended to create...

New Kensington council Monday hired three new police officers to fill vacancies created by retirements, city Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti said. Michael A. McSherry of Leechburg, Jerry Hobeck of New Kensington and Jeffrey Vertullo of Export were selected from a list approved last week by the city’s Civil Service Commission. They...

Water and sewer bills are going up this year for people who live in Arnold, Lower Burrell, New Kensington and portions of Plum. The 15,000 water customers of the Municipal Authority of New Kensington, which also serves Upper Burrell and parts of Allegheny and Washington townships, will see a 12...

Lower Burrell police are accepting applications from city residents for its Citizen Police Academy. Classes start in March and will be limited to 25 residents, who must be 18 or older. Topics of discussion include criminal and drug investigation, patrol techniques, firearms, juveniles and our youth commission, crime prevention, community...

The family and personal care home of a missing elderly man last seen in South Buffalo on Christmas is offering a $12,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts. Police have been searching for Kenneth L. Himes, 70, since he left his brother’s home along Cadogan-Slate Lick Road sometime between...

State police are running out of leads in the search for an elderly autistic man who disappeared from South Buffalo on Christmas. Kenneth L. Himes, 70, left the home of a family member along Cadogan-Slate Lick Road in South Buffalo sometime between 11:30 p.m. Dec. 25 and 8 a.m. Dec....

Police charged an Arnold woman with assaulting her 6-year-old autistic son after he soiled his pants. Elena Lovorn, 27, of Fifth Avenue faces felony charges of strangulation and endangering the welfare of children and misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment and simple assault. She remained in Westmoreland County Prison on Monday...

An 18-year-old Harrison man is accused of sexually assaulting two teenage girls over the last two years. The girls were 14 and 13 at the time, according to police. Jason Richard Martin faces felony charges of aggravated incident assault and misdemeanor indecent assault in connection with the alleged incidents, which...

Some Tarentum employees are getting pay raises in 2019 after having their pay frozen last year. The salaries hikes are included in the borough’s $3.58 million 2019 general fund budget. There was no increase in property taxes, which remain at 5.48 mills. The borough’s public works, water plant and office...

Although the renovated Leechburg Public Library opened last week, residents are invited to attend a grand re-opening at 6 p.m. Jan. 22. The library has been closed since May for extensive renovations. It now boasts a more open space with comfortable seating and technological upgrades, including a media center and...

Ten years ago, Jean Diesch finally got the answer she had been looking for after suffering for years from chronic pain and fatigue. Diesch, then in her early 50s, was diagnosed with a form of a rare blood cancer called a myeloproliferative neoplasms — or MPN for short — that...

Pat Fabian has announced that he will seek re-election for Armstrong County Commissioner. “I feel I am a proven leader, have made the tough decisions and am confident in my ability to produce positive results for the tax payers of Armstrong County,” said Fabian, 42, of Manor Township. “I come...

New Kensington is on the way to becoming the latest municipality in the region to require new or newly-renovated commercial buildings to install a lock box to help first-responders gain access in emergencies. City council laid the groundwork this week to enable it to pass an ordinance Feb. 4 that...

Motorists can expect delays on Route 356 in Allegheny Township because of single lane closures starting Monday and running until Feb. 18 for core drilling between White Cloud Road and Pleasant Hill Road. The lane closures will occur from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting, according to PennDOT District...

A receiver appointed to take over operation of the Heights Plaza shopping center in Harrison reports making early progress “to right the sinking ship.” An Allegheny County judge in October named Pretium Property Management of White Plains, N.Y., as receiver of the distressed shopping center, also known as Harrison Town...

A 21-year-old man has been charged in connection with a shooting Thursday in Plum. Malik Hawkins, no address given, was arrested without incident, Allegheny County Police said Friday. He was being held in the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh without bail on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, weapons...

The installation of new water valves in Tarentum has been finished early. The work, initially expected to take two weeks, was completed on Thursday, Borough Manager Michael Nestico said. Residents were warned on Jan. 3 that the work could cause brief water outages. Nine new valves were installed as part...

Four seats on Tarentum Council will be up for election this year instead of the usual three. The extra race comes about because of the resignation of 3rd Ward Councilwoman Rhonda Dzugan. The six remaining council members accepted her resignation Thursday. In her resignation email Tuesday, Dzugan cited family matters...

New Kensington council will be hiring three new police officers to fill vacancies created by retirements, city Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti said. Council is scheduled to vote on the hires at a special meeting at 4 p.m. Monday, once members receive an approved list from the city’s Civil Service Commission. That...