Valley News Dispatch category, Page 8
Upper Burrell data center town hall scheduled for May
Upper Burrell Township and developer TECFusions will hold a public town hall May 5 at Penn State New Kensington to discuss an incoming data center and field community concerns. It will be at 6 p.m. in the theater at 3550 Seventh Street Road. At a March township supervisors meeting, residents...
The Stroller, April 9, 2026: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Help needed for Apollo...
As prices continue to rise, Western Pa. food banks see climbing demandVideo
Financial pressure on families from inflation, government shutdowns and the Iran war is apparent at area food banks, where some say demand is outstripping even what they saw during the covid-19 pandemic. From July 2024 to July 2025, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank distributed 5 million more meals than...
Blawnox VFC, SAVES host Good Friday fish frys
Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services and Blawnox Volunteer Fire Company continued their respective traditions of hosting a fish fry on Good Friday. The food-themed fundraiser has been a staple for both fire companies for years. SAVES — the merged fire department serving Aspinwall and Sharpsburg — moved fish fry operations...
Harmar fight leaves 1 elderly man hospitalized, another facing felony charges
Harmar police say a fight between two senior citizens ended with one in a hospital intensive care unit and the other facing felony charges. Robert Schmidt, 76, of Springdale Township is accused of repeatedly punching a man and then stomping on his head because the victim allegedly made inappropriate comments...
Man accused of blowing up Plum home with family inside headed for court
Witnesses told a district judge that Jacob Rabb admitted multiple times to blowing up his Plum home in 2022 with his partner and his four children inside. Charges against Rabb, 41, including four counts of attempted homicide, were held for court Wednesday after a preliminary hearing before District Judge Mike...
Leechburg police ask residents to lock their cars after spate of thefts
Leechburg police Chief Jason Schaffer is reminding residents to lock their cars. The department received reports of about seven cars that had been entered about 2 a.m. Tuesday, he said. “That’s just what was reported,” Schaffer said. The vehicles that were hit, Schaffer said, were unlocked. People reported finding their...
West Deer, Foxwall ambulance services explore merger for better coverage, faster response times
A fledgling partnership between the West Deer and Foxwall ambulance services has resulted in faster, more efficient service for residents. Just four months in, the chiefs of both stations have agreed to participate in a state study to gauge the viability of a merger or shared management. “Instead of each...
Alle-Kiski Valley Earth Day cleanups looking for volunteers
Litter cleanup events are coming to several municipalities across the Alle-Kiski Valley to celebrate Earth Day. On April 25, a cleanup and planting along New Kensington and Arnold’s downtown corridor is meant to “brighten” the area and promote outdoor appreciation, said event organizer Jessica Salerno. “I want everyone to reconnect...
The Stroller, April 8, 2026: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Free American Sign Language...
Small space, big environmental impact: Aspinwall resident to plant public pollinator garden
Pam Dickinson hopes to beautify her Aspinwall neighborhood, even if it’s one little green patch at a time. The First Street resident plans to install a butterfly and pollinator garden along Commercial Avenue in the borough’s business district, just a block or so from her home. “I always walk by...
Some questions remain unanswered after ICE arrests 13 in Armstrong County
Details remain hazy after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation ended with 13 people arrested on Good Friday at a driver’s license center near Kittanning. Jason Koontz, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman, said ICE was called by East Franklin police after “concerned citizens reported an abnormally large amount of...
Aspinwall eyes Brilliant Avenue realignment to provide safer access to Allegheny RiverTrail Park
A project to realign Brilliant Avenue in Aspinwall with the entrance to Allegheny RiverTrail Park is expected to improve safety and ease navigation along one of the borough’s busiest and most challenging corridors, authorities said. Mayor Scott Zimmermann said the $3.9 million construction will fix a long-standing “wonky” entrance to...
Scrap fire briefly sends smoke plume above Tarentum
A scrap fire in Tarentum briefly billowed plumes of black smoke above the Allegheny River on Tuesday afternoon near the Tarentum Bridge. The blaze, reported just before 3 p.m., appeared to be in a metal scrap yard owned by PJ Greco Sons Inc. Fire crews extinguished most of it within...
Free smoke alarms available to New Kensington residents
The New Kensington Fire Department once again will collaborate with the American Red Cross to install free smoke alarms in houses across the city this month after success from the same initiative four years ago. In 2022, the department and Red Cross volunteers installed about 400 smoke alarms as part...
The Stroller, April 7, 2026: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. New support center opens...
New self-care, wellness studio 1st of its kind in Fox Chapel areaVideo
High school sweethearts Dan and Erika Scherling are using advanced technology to provide optimal wellness and health at their new business venture focused on self-care. The Ross residents opened Degree Wellness Fox Chapel on March 21 in Indiana Township. It’s one of two Degree Wellness locations in Pennsylvania — the...
Volunteers replace 10 invasive trees with native ones along Freeport Road in Blawnox
Blawnox is looking a little greener with the help of multiple volunteers and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. The nonprofit environmental agency partnered with the borough for a tree planting through TreeVitalize on April 2. TreeVitalize is a community tree planting program. It’s a joint project of Allegheny County Parks, the...
Immigrant rights marchers continue through Westmoreland County on journey to ICE facility
A small caravan of backpack-clad immigrant rights advocates pushed through Westmoreland County Monday on their way to an ICE detention facility in Clearfield County. Jaime Martinez, executive director of Pittsburgh-based Frontline Dignity, is making the 8-day, roughly 130-mile journey to Moshannon Valley Processing Center in an effort to draw attention...
Building the Valley: New Kensington’s Catoris Candies celebrates 100 years of treats
In the production room at New Kensington’s Catoris Candies, owner John Gentile flipped through a small, yellowed notepad of candy recipes. Most of the scribbled instructions have been followed since the shop’s opening 100 years ago, he said. Still, Gentile often takes creative liberties in developing new sweets, especially variations...
Organizers search for host families for Freeport International Baseball Invitational
Youth baseball players from around the world will gather for a tournament in Freeport in July, but organizers say the visitors need a place to stay. The organizers of the annual Freeport International Baseball Invitational are searching for local families to host traveling players. The families will be responsible for...
The Stroller, April 6, 2026: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Pa. Young Ambassadors program...
Vandergrift native returns to Westmoreland as Bushy Run museum manager
Kiski Area graduate Sarah Mihelic, Bushy Run Battlefield’s latest museum manager, was failing her sixth grade history class when her teacher assigned her an extra credit opportunity at Washington Township’s Fort Hand. Mihelic visited the Westmoreland County historical site for a Revolutionary War battle reenactment — camera, notebook and pen...
Free ‘Birds of Prey’ program aims to ‘inspire curiosity of our own backyards’
Chris Kubiak is willing to bet that time spent outdoors can provide more wonder than social media scrolling. “Everyone has screens galore these days,” said Kubiak, director of education for Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. “Putting the phones down and connecting with nature always makes me want to do it...
O’Hara considers mandating safety boxes at commercial, industrial, multifamily buildings
O’Hara officials are considering an ordinance mandating commercial, industrial and multifamily facilities provide quick emergency access for first responders to their facilities. A Knox Box is a small, wall-mounted safe that holds building keys that fire departments could use to gain access so they wouldn’t have to force their way...
