Valley News Dispatch category, Page 704
Dredging work expected to end soon at Harrison lock on Allegheny River
A West Virginia company was performing maintenance dredging downstream of the Allegheny River lock chamber in Harrison this week. The work was needed to maintain the 9-foot navigation depth for commercial vessels, said David Heidish, a project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Pittsburgh. The work is...
Harrison road work costs exceed budget
Harrison awarded two contracts for road work this year, but may not be able to afford to do all of the work. The two contracts total $481,500, which is nearly $80,000 more than the township wanted to spend, according to township Engineer Raymond Antonelli Jr., vice president of NIRA Consulting...
Car takes out utility pole in Allegheny Township crash
A driver escaped unhurt after flipping a car and taking out a utility pole in Allegheny Township on Thursday evening. The crash happened around 7 p.m. in the 200 block of Crain Road, according to a Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher and Allegheny Township Fire Co. No. 1. The car landed...
Chronicling Burrell’s unparalleled wrestling success
Burrell wrestling reigned supreme for the 13th straight season this past season, continuing a streak of WPIAL Class AA championships that is unmatched in the sport. The Bucs defeated Freedom, 54-21, in the district championship match, adding more hardware to an already crowded trophy case. The years of success has...
Harrison seeks volunteers for war memorial restoration committee
Harrison would like to make renovating the township’s crumbling war memorial a tie-in to the township’s 225th anniversary next year. The township plans to appoint a committee to determine what needs to be done to restore the war memorial, whether a new one needs to be built and how money...
3 to join Allegheny Valley School District’s Alumni Hall of Fame
Three people have been selected this year to be inducted into the Allegheny Valley School District’s Alumni Hall of Fame. New inductees will join more than 60 alumni already part of the Hall of Fame. An induction ceremony open to the public will be held April 13 at the high...
Freeport officials weigh options for police protection as pool of part-timers diminishes
The shortage of applicants for part-time police positions in Freeport is prompting council to reconsider its options. For months, the borough has been advertising for part-time police officers to supplement its two-man, full-time force but with little to show for it. Councilman Sean McCalmont said the situation is serious. “We’ve...
Armstrong County billboard owner on controversy: ‘I will not give in’Video
The owner of an Armstrong County gas station said Thursday he might close his business after Sunoco and at least two local fuel suppliers cut ties with him over controversial messages he posted to a digital billboard. John Placek, who owns both the billboard and a gas station along Route...
Deer Lakes aims to ‘launch’ new uses for intermediate school libraryVideo
Deer Lakes School District’s East Union Intermediate Center plans to transform its library into an interactive space where students can work together on projects using high-tech STEM equipment and still do traditional reading and research there. The school is raising money for the estimated $10,000 project, which it hopes to...
Frazer to hold clean-up event for residents
Frazer will hold a spring clean-up April 22-28 for its residents. Dumpsters will be available between 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the township’s maintenance building at 2129 Butler Logan Road. No batteries, tires, electronics, TV’s or appliances with freon will be accepted. Proof of residency is required....
Police say New Kensington man wanted on multiple warrants hid crack in SUV
A New Kensington man wanted on multiple warrants now faces additional charges after police reportedly found cocaine on him when he was arrested Wednesday. “That crack’s not mine,” Luther Boyd, 38, told police, according to a criminal complaint. Boyd was arrested after a Lower Burrell patrolman saw him riding in...
Frazer woman found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in killing of husband
A Frazer woman was found guilty Thursday of voluntary manslaughter for fatally shooting her husband after they had a drunken argument about money, sex and a burned tuna casserole almost two years ago. Allegheny County Judge Jill Rangos handed down the ruling a week after Teresa M. Drum’s non-jury trial...
Father of accused New Kensington cop killer charged with threatening a witness
The estranged father of a man accused of killing New Kensington police Officer Brian Shaw in 2017 was arrested Thursday and accused of sending messages to a witness in his son’s case, authorities said. Gregory Baucum, 48, is accused by police of contacting the witness Jan. 8 through Facebook. “So...
Easter activities in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Apollo Community egg hunt, 9:30 a.m. April 20 in Owens Grove for children 12 and younger. Sponsored by the Apollo Lions Club. Arnold Egg hunt, 10 a.m. to noon April 14 at Roosevelt Park. There will be visits with the Easter Bunny, a basket raffle, face painting, bake sale, sack...
Highlands program to focus on opioid addiction
Opioid addiction will be the subject of a movie and discussion panel at Highlands High School on Wednesday. The school district and the Allegheny-Kiski Health Foundation are sponsoring the workshop “Opioid Addiction: True Confessions of Pain, Misery and Destruction” in the high school auditorium. Middle and high school students and...
Light catches fire in Plum High gym, no injuries reported
No injuries were reported as a small electrical fire disrupted track practice Wednesday afternoon at Plum High School. Unity firefighters said they were dispatched around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday for a fire in the school’s upper gymnasium. A short burst of flames was seen from one of the ceiling lights. It...
1 injured in motorcycle crash in Fawn Township
A motorcycle passenger was taken to a hospital Wednesday evening after a crash in Fawn Township, state police said. Dispatchers received a report at 6:20 p.m. of the crash along Route 908 at Lardintown Road. A trooper alleges Frank Novosel, 65, of Tarentum, failed to stop at a stop sign...
Missing Armstrong County man found unharmed a few miles from home
An Armstrong County man who had been missing for more than 24 hours was found unharmed Wednesday in the woods a few miles from his home, officials said. Officials confirmed they found Paul Walker sleeping on the ground in the brush shortly before 5 p.m., Trib news partner WPXI-TV reports....
Attorney claims police made false statement in search warrant for Pittsburgh Mills mall store
The attorney for a Pittsburgh Mills mall store owner charged with selling counterfeit merchandise has accused a former Frazer police officer of lying in a search warrant that ultimately lead to the criminal proceedings against his client. Attorney Casey White again asked a judge to throw out the charge against...
Units responding to Washington Township barn fire
Firefighters from multiple departments were responding to a barn fire in Washington Township Wednesday afternoon, the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety reported. Several tankers were dispatched to the fire at 260 Echo Ridge Road. It was reported at 3:40 p.m. Additional details were not immediately available....
Bell Township man flown to hospital with severe burns from brush fire
A Bell Township man was flown to a local hospital with severe burns suffered in a brush fire outside his home Wednesday afternoon. The brush fire was reported just before 2:40 p.m. in the 300 block of Bell Point Road, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatch supervisor. Fire Chief...
Lower Burrell councilman on harassment conviction: ‘I will be vindicated’
Lower Burrell Councilman Joseph Grillo denies claims that he harassed his ex-fiancee. Grillo accused Cecelia Sharrock of making false statements before a Turtle Creek district judge as well as in a private criminal complaint she filed against him on charges of harassment and defiant trespass. “I feel that I will...
Upper Allegheny officials ‘very pleased’ with improvements to sewer systems
The Upper Allegheny Joint Sanitary Authority’s member municipalities have made progress with their state-mandated sewer improvement projects, but officials say there’s still work to be done. The communities received status reports at an authority meeting last week on what still needs to be done to satisfy the state Department of...
Snow make-ups add 2 days to Fox Chapel Area school year
The school year just got a little longer for Fox Chapel Area School District students. School board members approved tacking on two days of classes for students in kindergarten through 11th grade. The last day of school will be Tuesday, June 11. Classes were to end on Friday, June 7,...
Work begins near Route 28 ramps on Hite Road in Springdale Township, Harmar
Traffic along Hite Road in Springdale and Harmar townships will be reduced to a single lane in each direction beginning Monday as crews make preparations for a bridge repair project near ramps to and from Route 28, PennDOT said. The lane restrictions will start at 8 a.m. and continue around...
