Kellen Stepler stories, Page 4

Burrell School District’s draft budget for next school year has just under a 4% real estate tax increase for property owners. The draft budget totals close to $37.7 million, which is a 3% increase from this school year’s budget, said Business Manager Jennifer Callahan. The real estate tax increase included...

Second and third grade students at Bon Air Elementary School in Lower Burrell are celebrating March Madness this week — but with a ping-pong basketball, a plexiglass court, paper displays of defenders and Dash robots. The “Dash-ketball” assignment was the brainchild of technology and engineering teacher Brooke Miller, getting students...

Jim Radeshak was about 75% prepared to open a business with his wife, Christine, when he took a free course at The Corner Launchbox in New Kensington around two years ago. The course, which met over about 12 weeks, was a “how-to business course” where attendees learned about starting a...

The public can get its first look at how Burrell School District’s multimillion-dollar school realignment could affect their taxes next school year at a meeting Tuesday. “If you want to know where your tax money is going, and what they pay for, show up to the meeting,” board President Rick...

When asked how Penn State New Kensington’s ABC Create programming has enhanced their students’ learning, Burrell School District technology teachers were quick to answer. Students at Bon Air Elementary learned how to operate small, mobile “Dash robots” to code assignments, putting their math, engineering and technology skills to the test,...

Bridgeville officials say a bump-out planned on Bank Street, at its intersections with Gregg Avenue and Winfield Street, will calm traffic in that area. PennDOT contractors and the borough are currently upgrading the wheelchair-accessible sidewalk ramps on Bank Street, said Manager Joe Kauer. “As part of this project, they are...

To Michelle Thom, goals for an upcoming farmers market in downtown New Kensington are twofold. The Downtown New Ken Partnership president wants to provide healthy, fresh food in the area and increase foot traffic for small businesses there. The farmers market — which Thom believes is the first of its...

As a parent to a child with special needs, it is difficult to navigate life post-high school graduation, says Courtney Kobelenske. “If you don’t know about these things, they don’t tell you,” said Kobelenske, whose daughter Cora graduates from Burrell High School this spring. “You have to figure it out...

Cheswick might turn to advanced technology when assessing its streets and roads. Council in April will consider a contract with New Jersey-based Vialytics for its RoadAI road-scanning program. The three-year cost would total $12,000. “We wanted to have a neutral third party scan our streets and give us a true...

The future isn’t clear for the former Newport Business Institute property in Lower Burrell, but officials say it is bright. Brian Lawrence, executive director of the Westmoreland County Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank, said the property is in the land bank’s “preparing for sale” status after the agency acquired it...

Acmetonia Elementary School student Maverick Gniewkowski was surprised when he learned there are 86,000 miles worth of rivers and streams in Pennsylvania. “I thought there would be less than that,” said Maverick, 10. That fact was one of 100 questions Maverick and his fourth-grade peers studied this month when preparing...

Bridgeville is kicking off its 125th anniversary with a logo contest. The borough was incorporated in 1901, and borough officials and organizations are planning a weeklong celebration next summer to commemorate Bridgeville, its history and its residents. “We chose to do a logo contest because this event is all about...

Kelli Collins believes Penn State New Kensington changed her daughter’s life. “For a kid that struggled in high school, she ended up on the Dean’s List,” Collins said of her daughter, Molly, who graduated from the Upper Burrell campus last year. “She gained so much self-confidence from this school because...

Travelers on Menk Road in Upper Burrell could get some relief this year, but the extent of that is still being discussed. Township Engineer Michael Moore is preparing bid documents for a pavement overlay and repair project on Menk Road, at the direction of Upper Burrell supervisors. “It’s bad there,”...

The twists and turns of the cereal domino lineup on Carnegie Elementary’s gym floor proved to students that there is a bonus to helping others. The school held its second-annual cereal drive domino fall on March 7, which coincided with National Cereal Day. Over the prior month, students brought in...

Tom Guzzo can’t stress enough the importance of Penn State New Kensington in his community. But on Thursday, the New Kensington mayor — as well as a handful of other appointed and elected officials — are going to try. In response to the Penn State branch campus possibly closing in...

There’s a method to the madness in Jacqueline Kowalik’s Lower Burrell basement. Akin to a small bookstore or library, the basement holds four towering bookshelves in the back corner. The reason? Kowalik, 89, says she just can’t stop reading. “I can’t say I never met a book I didn’t like,...

A New Kensington man remains behind bars after, police say, he beat another man with a baseball bat, sending him to the intensive care unit. Brian Douglas Mikesell, 50, was charged with two counts of felony aggravated assault and a misdemeanor count of possessing an instrument of crime. Mikesell was...

Joy Gezo has been walking at the Pittsburgh Mills mall since it opened 20 years ago. Over the years, she and her husband, Larry, have developed friendships and relationships with other mall walkers who otherwise might be complete strangers. The group has grown to about 25 retirees in their 60s,...

Girls in the Burrell School District could have two additional athletic opportunities if plans are approved by the school board on Tuesday. The school directors will consider adding high school girls flag football as a sport this spring and a middle school girls wrestling team this winter. The PIAA adopted...

After three months and more than a dozen meetings, the plans to reconfigure Burrell School District buildings are final. “They actually listened to the public, the stakeholders and the staff,” said school board President Rick Kaczor. “There was nobody in the room that had anything negative to say about the...

A roughly $2 million multiuse field in the Allegheny Valley School District could be ready this fall, if plans are approved by the school board next week. School directors Tuesday will consider an agreement with FieldTurf USA Inc. for the artificial turf project of the soccer/football field at Springdale Jr.-Sr....

A gas main line issue that left 40 customers in the Upper Burrell area without service has been resolved, but White Cloud Road remains closed, according to authorities. Peoples Gas crews responded to the outage, which ran Sunday evening into Monday afternoon, said spokesman Nick Paradise. The Upper Burrell Volunteer...

Caelyn Murray’s goal when coordinating this year’s Women of Pittsburgh event at Chartiers Valley High School was to encourage her peers to dream big with their future plans. “I hope they take in a different experience and broaden their ideas in what they want to do as a career,” said...

An 84-year-old woman died Tuesday in a fire in Penn Hills that officials say was set off by a propane gas leak. Allegheny County medical examiner personnel were called to the scene of a fire and explosion in the 300 block of College Street. The victim will be identified by...