Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 101
Tarentum Station Grille delays reopening amid coronavirus surge
The owner of JG’s Tarentum Station Grille said Monday he made the difficult decision to postpone the restaurant’s reopening, which had been set for Dec. 1. The restaurant, in a historic train station in the heart of Tarentum’s business district, has remained closed since March because of the coronavirus pandemic....
Toys for Tots distribution begins in Harrison as program struggles for donationsVideo
A Toys for Tots program serving part of the Alle-Kiski Valley began distributing gifts to needy families Monday, but could use more donations and some help to make sure children have a merry Christmas. More than 630 families have signed up to receive toys from the Allegheny Valley Marine Corps...
Tarentum shooting leaves 18-year-old dead, other teen injured
The sound of gunfire, and her dog barking, woke Yvonne Scarselli in her Tarentum home around midnight Monday morning. What Scarselli heard was a shooting that left an 18-year-old man dead and another, 19, wounded. Scarselli said she heard what sounded like gunfire being exchanged near her home on Conroy...
Allegheny County releases schedule for Springhill Road project in Harrison
A new path for people to walk and bike safely up and down Springhill Road in Harrison is now scheduled to be completed by the end of July, according to the Allegheny County Department of Public Works. Construction on the $1.3 million project is expected to start in March, public...
Tarentum’s Manos Theater reborn as art galleryVideo
As a young artist, Ernesto Camacho Jr. had issues with people not understanding him or his paintings. “Being able to show it in a gallery was kind of tough,” said Camacho, 41, a native of the Philadelphia area who lives in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. “When I went to a...
Harrison officials, groups work together to install food pantry in NatronaVideo
A new, free community food pantry is available for residents in the Natrona area of Harrison. The pantry, located near the basketball court and concession stand in Natrona Community Park on River Road, is one of two that was the idea of township resident Michele Plocki and built by her...
Highlands junior donating hair to charity receives school’s first ‘Student Spotlight’ award
Highlands High School junior Kevin Gonzales is the first recipient of an award created by the school’s senior class officers to recognize students who go above and beyond what’s expected of them and set good examples. Gonzales, 17, of Brackenridge, was selected for the “Student Spotlight” award because he found...
New Kensington-Arnold considering how to find a new superintendent
New Kensington-Arnold School Board is meeting with consultants as it considers how to go about finding a new superintendent. The district’s most recent superintendent, John Pallone, resigned at the end of July. Jon Banko, previously assistant superintendent, has been serving as the district’s acting superintendent since late August. In a...
New Kensington-Arnold immediately closing schools, cites rise in covid-19
New Kensington-Arnold School District announced Thursday it is immediately closing all district schools because of an increase in local incidents of covid-19 transmission. All students will be moved to fully remote instruction from Friday through next Wednesday, Nov. 25, according to acting Superintendent Jon Banko. The district’s Thanksgiving break runs...
Tarentum second-hand store owner worries reopening may be short-lived
Even as Lorie Angely prepares to reopen her Tarentum store, she fears she may have to shut it down again, possibly for good. Angely has run Secondhand Treasures on the borough’s West Seventh Avenue for about 20 years. It’s been closed since the pandemic-related shutdown in March. She’s reopening Saturday,...
Tarentum Night Market organizers to go forward with Thursday event despite covid advisory
Organizers of Tarentum’s new Night Market plan to proceed with the monthly event Thursday evening, despite Allegheny County health officials advising residents to stay home except for essential activities because of the surging covid-19 pandemic. Started in September, the idea behind the market is for borough businesses to remain open...
New Kensington-Arnold awards $1.9M in contracts for roof work at 3 schools
New Kensington-Arnold School Board awarded contracts totaling just over $1.9 million to replace roofs at three of the district’s four schools. The board voted 7-0 on Tuesday to accept a $1.4 million bid from David M. Maines Associates for the work at H.D. Berkey and Martin elementary schools and at...
Highlands sees increase in property tax revenue despite pandemic
Highlands School District has collected about $1.1 million more in property taxes over the first four months of the fiscal year compared to the same period a year ago, despite projections that Pennsylvania districts would see such collections plummet because of the covid-19 pandemic. Highlands Business Manager Lori Byron said...
Police: Arnold man assaulted unborn child by punching pregnant woman in stomach
An Arnold man is accused of assaulting an unborn child this month. Arnold police said in a criminal complaint that Aaron Michael McFadden, 28, knew a woman was five months’ pregnant with his child when he punched her three times in the stomach Nov. 3. Police said McFadden went to...
2 men found shot in McKees Rocks
Two men were shot in McKees Rocks Sunday night, according to Allegheny County Police. The shooting near Island Avenue and Churchhill Street was reported to 911 at about 7:25 p.m., county police said. McKees Rocks police found the men with non life-threatening injuries near that location. Their ages were not...
Staff member at Hunt Elementary tests positive for covid-19
A staff member at Roy A. Hunt Elementary School in Arnold has tested positive for covid-19, New Kensington-Arnold acting Superintendent Jon Banko said Sunday. Four people who were in close contact with the unidentified employee are quarantined, Banko said. “Everyone that is considered a close contact of this staff member...
Covid-19 cases among students, staff prompt Highlands to close middle school
Highlands School District announced Sunday that its middle school will move to full remote learning beginning Monday and lasting through the Thanksgiving break because of cases of covid-19 among students and staff. The temporary closure and full remote learning plan affects the middle school only. All other buildings will operate...
Woman dies in Washington County motorcycle crash
A woman died in a motorcycle crash in Washington County Saturday afternoon, according to the Washington County Coroner. The coroner’s office said the crash happened around 2:30 p.m. on Old Steubenville Pike in Robinson Township. According to the coroner, Kristine Irvine, 48, was a passenger on a motorcycle traveling west...
Weather service issues wind advisory for Sunday; rain in forecast
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh has issued a wind advisory for Sunday. The advisory will run from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sustained winds of 25 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph, are expected. The advisory covers Allegheny County and all surrounding counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Strong winds...
North Hills School District announces full remote learning for 2 weeks
All students in the North Hills School District will learn remotely from Nov. 23 through Dec. 4, the district announced Friday. That effectively means students will work online for six days — Nov. 23 and 24 and Dec. 1 through Dec. 4 — because there is no school Nov. 25...
3 Pittsburgh police officers, 3 residents suffer smoke inhalation in Perry South home fire
Six people, including three police officers, suffered smoke inhalation in a fire in Pittsburgh’s Perry South neighborhood Friday night, according to police. Police, firefighters and medics responded to the one-alarm fire in the 2000 block of Drum Street around 10:30 p.m. Police arrived first and saw smoke coming from the...
Allegheny County Elections Board accepts provisional ballots missing 1 signatureVideo
Hundreds of challenged provisional ballots will be accepted, the Allegheny County Board of Elections decided during a hearing Saturday. Most of the ballots, numbering an estimated 600, had been challenged because the voter had not signed in one of two boxes on the provisional ballot envelope, elections officials said. County...
Kiski Township police: Leechburg woman arrested after giving meth to officer during traffic stop
A Leechburg woman unintentionally gave a Kiski Township police officer a bag of methamphetamine during a traffic stop Friday night, township police said. It was one of two drug arrests police made that night. Kiski police said an officer stopped Bobbie Bernat, 42, for driving erratically about 11:40 p.m. on...
Tarentum eyeing more demolitions as work on 23 properties wraps up
Tarentum officials are eyeing another batch of dilapidated houses to tear down, after work on one group has been completed. All 23 houses under a $171,000 contract awarded about a year ago have been demolished, borough code enforcement Officer Anthony Bruni said. The work started in December 2019. Bruni said...
Presidential concession speech ‘critical’ to reconciliation, democracy
After hard fought games, win or lose, even if they feel the officials made bad calls, football coaches walk across fields, shake the other coach’s hand and say “good game.” Should it hold that President Trump loses his bid for reelection to Democratic challenger Joe Biden, Joe DiSarro, a professor...
