Valley News Dispatch category, Page 705
Local filmmaker to shoot scenes at Leechburg B&B, converted churchVideo
A local independent film crew has set its sights on filming in the Leechburg area. Spruce Films of Ebensburg has secured historic buildings at 156 Siberian Ave. in Leechburg and a tavern in Hyde Park as filming locations for a short feature horror film titled “Occurrence at Mills Creek.” Written...
West Deer announces paving plan, money for bathroom repairs
West Deer Supervisors plan to spend almost $1 million on this year’s summer paving program. A contract of just more than $803,500 and another worth $173,500 were awarded to Youngblood Paving of Wampum. The larger contract is for paving Hillcrest Drive, Rickenback Road, Havencrest Drive, Dawn Road, Skyview Terrace, Paradise...
Lower Burrell’s Clark’s Diner is the place for breakfast or lunchVideo
Start your day with the Cafe Mess. It’s a breakfast dish of eggs, home fries and sausage scrambled together, topped with cheese and covered in a secret-recipe sausage gravy, served with a side of toast. “It’s a pretty popular selection,” says John Clark, owner of Clark’s Diner in Lower Burrell....
Harmar appoints planning commissioner Buchman to fill vacant supervisor seat
Harmar supervisors no longer have a vacant seat on the board. David Buchman was appointed Thursday to fill the vacancy left after Patricia Janoski resigned in February. He will serve the rest of this year, which was the sixth and final year of Janoski’s term. The vote was unanimous. Buchman...
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...
Police: Racing may have caused Allegheny Township wreckVideo
A woman escaped serious injury Friday morning when the SUV she was driving was forced off Allegheny Township’s South Leechburg Hill Road by a car that police say may have been racing another vehicle. The crash happened just after 8:30 a.m. According to police at the scene, the woman’s small...
Highlands adds 3 new electives at high school for 2019-20
Highlands High School students will have three new elective courses to take in the 2019-20 school year. The school board approved adding courses in SAT Prep, Community Engagement and Introduction to Computer Science. The SAT Prep class will be a full-year course available to sophomores and juniors. It will prepare...
Student art again honors Arnold firefighter contributions
Valley Junior-Senior High School students have again painted ceiling tiles to send a lasting “thank-you” to Arnold firefighters. The idea came from firefighter Wendy Duncan of Arnold five years ago. She is also an aide for special need students at the school. “I’m a life member of Arnold No. 2....
Cheswick, Springdale Township a step closer to merging police departmentsVideo
Officials took another another step Thursday night to merge the Springdale Township and Cheswick police departments by July 1. The Springdale Township commissioners voted 4-0 to advertise an ordinance that would consolidate the two departments. Cheswick Council already passed a similar measure. So both municipalities appear on track to have...
Clearfield Township Republican seeks state House 11th District seat in special election
Clearfield Township resident Gregory Walter announced Thursday he will seek the 11th District state House seat in the May 21 special election. The seat was left empty after former Rep. Brian Ellis resigned earlier this month after allegations came to light he allegedly had sex with a woman against her...
Joe Pittman, longtime aide to state. Sen. Don White, wins GOP nomination to replace him
A longtime aide to five-term state Sen. Don White on Thursday won the Republican nomination to replace his former boss. Joe Pittman, 42, of Indiana, Indiana County — who served as White’s chief of staff for 19 years — secured the unanimous support of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania in...
Lower Burrell police seek person of interest in thefts from motor vehicles
Lower Burrell police are reminding residents to lock up their vehicles after another rash of break-ins. Detective Sgt. Jason Napier said police received reports that at least five vehicles were broken into on March 14 and March 15. All of the vehicles were left unlocked. The thefts occurred on Chestnut...
Verdict in Frazer woman’s trial for murder not expected until next week
A Frazer woman accused of killing her husband will have to wait until next week to learn her fate . Allegheny County Judge Jill Rangos, who heard the case against Teresa M. Drum of Crawford Run Road as a non-jury trial, said Thursday she will hand down a verdict on...
Police say New Kensington man shot during struggle with masked gunman
A New Kensington man was shot twice Wednesday when he struggled with a masked man who held a gun to his girlfriend’s head, police said. The shooting happened about 8:30 p.m. in the 800 block of Anderson Street. New Kensington police Chief Bob Deringer said the man, 36, told police...
Lower Burrell man accused of naked assault released on bond
A man police say assaulted and robbed a woman while he was naked earlier this month is set to appear in court next week. Robert E. Brown, 48, of Lower Burrell, was released on $5,000 unsecured bond after being arraigned this week by District Judge Cheryl J. Peck-Yakopec in Allegheny...
Route 28 improvements, bridges, landslides all on PennDOT’s to-do list for 2019Video
The Route 28 improvement project is front and center among the $310 million worth of road improvements PennDOT plans in the Alle-Kiski Valley for the coming construction season. That figure represents what PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan called the “total amount of investment” PennDOT has in store for this year ....
Harrison hosting ‘Too Toxic to Trash’ recycling collections in April
Editor’s note: Due to incorrect information provided by the township, this report has been updated to correct the rates for CRT TVs and monitors and paint. Registration is open for Harrison’s “Too Toxic to Trash” recycling collection events for household hazardous and electronic waste in April. The township is holding...
Man accused in New Kensington drug delivery death caught in Missouri
Federal marshals on Wednesday arrested a Springfield, Mo., man accused of selling and delivering the drugs that police allege killed a New Kensington woman last year. Matthew Covey, 47, is one of three men accused of providing drugs containing heroin and fentanyl that police say killed Shanelle Waugh, 40, on...
PennDOT to present plans for Kiski Township bridge replacement
A seven-mile detour is expected to be in place when PennDOT replaces a bridge on Kiski Township’s Shady Plain Road in three years. Project plans will be on display during meetings April 16 at the township building. The public meeting for residents will be from 6 to 7 p.m. It...
Free Narcan training in Lower Burrell
Lower Burrell will offer a free Narcan training and education to the public at 6 p.m., April 9, at city hall. The Westmoreland County Drug Task Force will present an opioid addiction education forum, including training on how to administer naloxone, also known as Narcan, which reverses the effect of...
Kiski Area hires first out-of-district food services manager
The Kiski Area School District is outsourcing management of its food services department for the first time. The school board awarded a contract to Nutrition Inc. to manage the district’s food services. The contract, which Business Manager Peggy Gillespie said must also be approved by the state Department of Education,...
More water project change orders irk Springdale councilmen
Another costly change order for Springdale’s water system renovation project prompted two councilmen to put the heat on the project’s engineer — again. Councilmen Frank Forbes and Mike Ziencik questioned project engineer Kevin Szakelyhidi, of Bankson Engineers, this week about a change order of more than $24,000 council was being...
2 injured in Parks Township car crash
A two-vehicle crash in Armstrong County sent two people to the hospital late Wednesday afternoon, officials said. Emergency dispatchers received a report of the crash near Stitts Run and Dime roads in Parks Township shortly after 5:30 p.m., an Armstrong County 911 shift commander said. As of 6 p.m., a...
Witness: Gunshot residue ‘inconclusive’ for Frazer woman charged in husband’s death
Closing arguments are scheduled Thursday morning in Allegheny County Court for a Frazer woman accused of killing her husband two years ago after they argued about money and her having burned a casserole. Teresa Drum, 40, is charged with the Feb. 27, 2017, homicide of her husband, Dennis Drum Sr.,...
Arnold woman who missed court date related to New Kensington cop killing turns herself in
It turns out, an Arnold woman likely wasn’t on the lam when she failed to appear in court for a hearing earlier this week. She just didn’t know when she was supposed to be in court. Lisa Harrington, 33, told a judge she believed her hearing on Monday had been...
