Valley News Dispatch category, Page 706
New Brighton CPA will do Tarentum Borough audits
Tarentum Borough’s new auditor submitted a bid that is well below one filed by the long-time auditor and another CPA, officials say. Borough Manager Michael Nestico said Mark C. Turnley CPA’s bid was $10,500 to perform all of the the borough’s audits. That was more than $9,000 less than the...
Study shows Penn State New Kensington contributes about $28.7 million to A-K Valley’s economy
In terms of dollars and cents, Penn State New Kensington contributed $28.7 million to the Pennsylvania economy and supported just under 400 jobs during the 2017 fiscal year, according to a study. But those numbers don’t begin to reflect the campus’ role in the Alle-Kiski Valley, according to Chancellor Kevin...
Lower Burrell homeowners will soon pay about 20 percent more in sewage fees
Lower Burrell is raising its sewer rates by 21 percent. The new rates will be reflected in customers’ quarterly bills, which will arrive in the next few weeks, according to city officials. The average customer currently pays $81.81 per quarter. The same customer will now pay $98.71 per quarter. That’s...
Western Pennsylvania police departments, part-time officers stretched thinVideo
Nick Bartoszewicz routinely finds himself working around the clock as a part-time police officer. Last Wednesday, Bartoszewicz, 26, started an eight-hour shift with the West Deer Police Department at 8 a.m. After going home for dinner and a few hours of sleep, he was back on the clock by 11...
Police seeking information in death of Manor Township woman
State police are seeking information about the death of a 40-year-old Manor Township woman. Alyssa Rene Claypool was found dead in her home early Saturday afternoon. Upon arrival, police found several used and unused stamp bags. Toxicology tests and an autopsy are scheduled to be conducted Sunday. Anyone with information...
Brackenridge preparing to repair damaged memorial, but wants insurance info first
Brackenridge is getting prepared to restore the vandalized memorial monument at its community park. First, however, council wants to see how much of the damage is covered by the borough’s insurance carrier. The veterans memorial was damaged by vandals with silver spray paint in mid-February. For now, a group of...
4 Leechburg area churches held crafts, vendors festival for cancer research
An inaugural crafts and vendors festival held Saturday, March 9 in a Leechburg church is good clean fun with a serious purpose. All money raised at the festival, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will be donated to the Apollo Relay for Life anti-cancer program. Four Lutheran churches put...
Vandergrift awards contract for more than $180,000 to repave borough streets
A state grant will pay for repaving a number of Vandergrift streets this year. Vandergrift Council recently awarded a paving contract to A. Liberoni Inc. of Plum. Their price is a little more than $180,000. It was the lowest of nine bids received. According to the contract, 10 streets will...
$330K Penn State New Ken grant will train Alle-Kiski Valley teachers tech skills
A $328,000 state grant to a Penn State New Kensington collaborative with 14 Alle-Kiski Valley school districts will pay for teacher education and learning modules for students to take on computer coding and other technologies. The grant is part of $30 million awarded by Gov. Tom Wolf’s PAsmart, which is...
Great American Cleanup event planned in West Leechburg
The Kiski Watershed Association will participate in the Great American Cleanup with a cleanup event at the West Leechburg Wildflower Preserve from 9 a.m. to noon March 23. Volunteers are needed and should wear boots, gloves and clothes that can get dirty. Registration is not necessary. The Keep America Beautiful/Great...
PennDOT: Route 28 lane restrictions from East Deer through Harrison to resume Monday
Separate projects along Route 28 will restrict traffic for several months in most of the stretch from Harrison to around the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer. The larger of the two projects is the completion of a $34 million project started last year. That work covers a seven-mile stretch of...
Lower Burrell’s former solicitor questions city’s savings with new firm
Lower Burrell’s new solicitor appears to be charging about half as much as the city’s former solicitor, but the former solicitor questions whether the city will wind up paying half as much. City council voted this month to part ways with its longtime solicitor, Stephen Yakopec Jr. It then hired...
Highland Hose fish fry kicks off Lent
The Highland Hose Volunteer Fire Company kicked off the 2019 fish fry season on Ash Wednesday. Like many volunteer fire departments, churches and service organizations, Highland Hose serves fried fish throughout the Lenten season as a way of raising funds as well as bringing the community together....
Police: Harrison man choked driver for singing Christmas songs
A Harrison man was arrested this week after police say he assaulted another man because he was singing Christmas songs in the car. According to court documents, Clayton Lucas, 25, of Eisenhower Drive told police he began to choke a man who was driving the car because the driver was...
Lawyers want 1990 New Kensington rape case against John Kunco dismissed
Lawyers for John Kunco, the former Harrison man who served nearly three decades behind bars for the rape of a New Kensington woman, wants a judge to dismiss the case. In court motions filed Thursday, lawyers contend missing evidence and the loss of testimony through the deaths of the alleged...
Fraudulent bank withdrawals from North Apollo Borough investigated
Kiski Township police are investigating two fraudulent withdrawal attempts from North Apollo Borough’s bank account in February. According to borough council, someone tried to withdraw $4,200 from the borough’s Apollo Trust Bank account on Feb. 12 and another $5,000 on Feb. 26. An unauthorized person tried to convey the money...
Deer Lakes principal recognized for healthy school breakfast initiatives
A Deer Lakes School District principal is being recognized for her efforts to make sure students are eating a healthy breakfast every day. Jennifer Cavalancia, principal at Curtisville Primary Center, was named as a 2019 Pennsylvania School Breakfast Hero, sponsored by the No Kid Hungry campaign. Cavalancia said in a...
Oklahoma Borough man gets house arrest for stealing natural gas; how much still debated
An Oklahoma Borough man will serve five years on probation and a year of house arrest for his role in what Westmoreland County prosecutors continue to maintain is the theft of more than $200,000 of natural gas. Jeffrey Zinchini, 60, avoided jail time as part of a sentence announced Thursday....
Rahmael Holt’s cousin guilty of hindering arrest after shooting of New Kensington officer
A 30-year-old Duquesne man accused of helping Rahmael Sal Holt escape arrest following the November 2017 shooting death of a New Kensington police officer was convicted Thursday of hindering apprehension in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Judge Kevin G. Sasinoski found Holt’s cousin, Marcel R. Mason, guilty of the third-degree...
Westmoreland DA says Vandergrift father was ‘reckless’ in infant’s death
The death of a 1-month-old boy who police said suffocated after his father fell asleep with him was not an accident, Westmoreland County’s top prosecutor said Thursday. Owen Copney was repeatedly told not to fall asleep with the boy, Isiah, on his chest but did it anyway, District Attorney John...
Renovations will force lane restrictions on Butler-Logan Road bridge, Route 28 in Frazer
Motorists traveling on Route 28 near the Pittsburgh Mills mall will be among those who will have to work around lane restrictions for most of the spring and summer. The traffic disruption stems from a major overhaul of the Butler-Logan Road bridge, which crosses over Route 28 in Frazer. The...
Vandergrift seeks loan to keep its pool open this summer
A chronic problem with the Vandergrift pool is prompting council to apply for an $80,000 loan to buy a pool liner. Councilman Pete Basile, the recreation committee chairman, pleaded with his council colleagues to take some action to keep the borough-owned Joseph A. Petrarca Veterans Memorial Pool running with summer...
West Deer accepting bids for Harley Davidson motorcycle
West Deer is selling a Harley Davidson motorcycle to raise money for police equipment. A bid of at least $17,500 is required for the 2001 Harley Davidson Willie G. motorcycle, which remains in its original packing crate. Township Manager Daniel Mator said a local family that collects motorcycles donated the...
As Lent arrives, so do the fish fries that many nonprofits rely on for fundraising
Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent. As such, it also marked the beginning of fish fry season. Many local fire departments and churches will offer various meatless dinners and a la carte items every Friday through Good Friday (April 19) as a way to help raise money for their...
Lower Burrell awards almost $3M in contracts for City Hall project
Lower Burrell Council voted unanimously Monday to approve $2.8 million in spending for the long-anticipated renovation of City Hall. The biggest chunk of money will go to Arcon Contracting of Lower Burrell, which bid $2,015,000 to be the project’s general contractor. Arcon beat out 11 other bidders. Other contracts awarded...
