New Kensington police say a Valley Jr.-Sr. High School math teacher prodded students to fight during a geometry class in October. Bradley Reiher, 45, of Tarentum is charged with misdemeanor corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children. The charges stem from an incident Oct. 27 during which, police...

Highlands School Board this week held its annual reorganization meeting where they welcomed new members Clint Crowell, Jeff Thimons and Kelly Powell. Crowell will represent Region 3; Thimons was elected in Region 2; Powell will serve Region 1. During the meeting Tuesday, Deb Lehew was reelected to serve as board...

Indiana Township will hold the line on taxes in 2026. Supervisors on Wednesday approved an $8.7 million budget which keeps the property tax rate at 3.47 mills — 2.99 mills for the township and 0.48-mill for the fire departments. The owner of a home assessed at the township’s median value...

A Hampton woman is facing multiple felony charges after being accused of stealing nearly $130,000 in student activity fees while serving as the Deer Lakes School District’s accounts receivable/payable clerk. Rachel Rominski, 53, is charged with theft by unlawful taking, misapplication of entrusted funds and receiving stolen property. Rominski was...

Nominees for Prime Stage Theatre’s 6th Annual High School Drama Awards were announced Wednesday, with students from Deer Lakes, Springdale, Fox Chapel and Shady Side Academy in the running for top honors. Leading the pack are Fox Chapel Area and Shady Side Academy with eight nominations each, followed by Springdale...

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. Sunday concert moved to...

Some residents of West Deer have big dreams for the township and surrounding communities. The members of Deer Lakes Regional Revitalization Corporation say those dreams can now be followed. An idea born in 2024, the nonprofit was officially founded in March 2025 by Leonard Verdetto, a West Deer resident and...

Steffon Ballard, the Arnold man accused of shooting his brother outside the Elks Lodge in New Kensington last weekend, turned himself in to authorities Thursday morning. Ballard, 38, is charged with homicide, attempted homicide, illegal possession of a firearm and aggravated assault in the death of Jeffrey Ballard, 46, who...

A scratch bakery and cantina in O’Hara will feature tavern-style pizza, fresh-roasted meats and gourmet cronuts in a prime location perched along Route 28. Gordo’s Café and Cantina is scheduled to open in the coming weeks in RIDC Park, in the home of the former Periwinkle’s Bakery & Café. “The...

Sonya Dembowski remembers the moment she decided to begin her Poppin’ Tags Free Store in West Deer. She was driving through Coraopolis in the height of the pandemic shutdown. She remembers seeing piles of donations left outside a closed store. Dembowski later saw on the news that, because the donations...

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. Gift wrapping services available...

Avonmore Light Up Night will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 13 on Fifth Street. Santa will be available at 7 p.m. and there will be vendors, a Santa’s Shop, a basket raffle, crafts and s’mores. Presents will be distributed to children age 1 to 12. Cheswick Christmas in...

Two New Kensington men have been added to the list of people indicted in a Department of Justice investigation of an alleged cocaine trafficking organization in Western Pennsylvania. Andres Flores-Cedeno, 39, of New Kensington and Marcos Francisco-­Tomas, 34, of Riverside, Calif., arrested last year, were indicted previously. Authorities said the...

Tarentum Manager Dwight Boddorf credits much of his leadership ability to a mindset he learned in the Marine Corps — stay calm under pressure, focus on what matters and build systems that last. Over the past several years, he has applied that approach to revitalization efforts in the borough. On...

A Pittsburgh man charged in connection to a home invasion and burglary in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood is linked to other crimes in the city and the Alle-Kiski Valley, police say. Jerry Chambers, 59, was arrested last week by Verona police on theft charges. This week, Chambers was charged in...

Felicia Williams and her family said justice was finally served after a Westmoreland County jury convicted a New Kensington man in the fatal shooting of her brother nearly six years ago. After three days of testimony and two hours of deliberations Wednesday, jurors found Letresse Tareke Williams guilty of second-degree...

Data center developers have cleared the last hurdle before a formal council vote after the Springdale Zoning Hearing Board approved six variance requests from Allegheny DC Property Co. The variances allow the center to stand at 75 feet high with more than 100 diesel generators on its roof and its...

A preliminary hearing for Sean Dicer, a former Highlands School District teacher charged with sexual assault, has been moved from District Judge Carolyn Bengel’s office in Brackenridge. Dicer, 53, of Brackenridge, is instead scheduled to appear at 10:30 a.m. Monday before District Judge Michael J. Girardi in Harmar. His attorney,...

A Ford City man is accused of stealing more than $13,000 worth of trading cards from a New Kensington store. Police say Jeffrey James Spang, 48, stole from the Feisty Goblin store on Fifth Avenue in New Kensington on at least 12 occasions. The total reported loss was $13,118, according...

Lower Burrell property owners will not see an increase in their real estate taxes next year but could pay more for sewage and recycling. Council approved the city’s 2026 budget, which totals just more than $12 million. A home at Lower Burrell’s median assessed value of $20,389 will continue to...