Madasyn Lee stories
West Deer tables proposed parking ordinance
The West Deer Supervisors on Wednesday tabled an ordinance prohibiting parking on certain township streets in order to re-evaluate language and procedure. Supervisors last month approved advertising the ordinance, which was drafted to address safety hazards in the township’s Cedar Ridge; Grouse Run; Fawn Haven II and III; Oakwood Circle;...
West Deer diner welcomes riders and their horses
You might not be able to lead a horse to water and make it drink, but West Deer’s Gerry Vaerewyck led his horses to Deer Creek Diner and got a free hot drink for himself. As he and two friends were headed home from horseback riding in Deer Lakes Park...
Drive-thru e-waste, hazardous household waste recycling event planned in West Deer
Noble Environmental is offering a hazardous household waste and e-waste recycling event in West Deer in March for people to get rid of unwanted electronics or household chemicals not typically picked up by garbage haulers. The recycling event will take place at the township’s municipal building from 9 a.m. to...
Former Best Buy store in Frazer renovated, has 2 new tenantsVideo
Two stores have moved in and are open for business at the site of the former Best Buy at the Village At Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer. Township Zoning Officer/Building Inspector Edward Crates said the former consumer electronics store that closed in 2018 was renovated to accommodate multiple tenants, two of...
Deer Lakes returning to hybrid schedule
Deer Lakes School District will return to a hybrid instruction schedule Tuesday, with modified hours that will allow high school students to have nine periods of live instruction per day. Students have been learning remotely since November in response to rising covid-19 cases. Remote learning will still be available for...
Movie theater to reopen at Pittsburgh Mills
The shuttered movie theaters at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer will reopen this spring under new management that promises cheaper movie tickets. Mark McSparin, president of Michigan-based GQT Movies, confirmed Thursday that the company is taking over the former Cinemark space. It has a tentative opening date of March...
Man taken to hospital after vehicle rollover in West Deer
A man was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital Wednesday after he fell asleep while driving and crashed into a utility pole in West Deer, according to police. Police Chief Jon Lape said emergency responders were called to the single-vehicle crash on Middle Road near Steeplechase Circle shortly before 6:30 p.m....
Police: Men meet on Grindr, beat each other up in New Kensington
Two men who met on the dating app Grindr face assault charges after they got into a fistfight and bit each other after hooking up at one of the men’s houses, according to a criminal complaint. New Kensington police charged Ryan Christopher Grabigel, 40, of New Kensington with aggravated assault...
Brackenridge man, woman charged with child endangerment in connection to sex assault case
A Brackenridge man and woman have been charged with felony child endangerment and other offenses after investigators said they violated a no contact order with two children the man is accused of sexually abusing. Court records show John Godfrey and Shannon M. Godfrey, both 42, were released from Allegheny County...
Vandergrift man was drunk when he flipped car, found walking barefoot in Apollo, police say
A Vandergrift man has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after police say he crashed his car while drunk on Friday in Kiski Township. Police said Ryan Lee Nelson, 20, had a blood alcohol content of 0.147% when police found him walking barefoot along the road in...
Frazer hires 3 new police officers, including Officer Brian Shaw Scholarship recipient
Frazer has hired a police officer and two recent police academy graduates to replace three part-timers who resigned to take positions elsewhere. Two of the new hires, Andrew Hakos and Alexander Carmody, recently graduated from the Allegheny County Police Academy, police Chief Terry Kuhns said. The third new hire, Olivier...
East Deer passes 2021 budget, no tax increase
East Deer residents won’t be paying more in real estate taxes next year despite an increase in spending. Commissioners Chairman Tony Taliani said commissioners approved a $1.5 million budget for 2021 that keeps the property tax rate at 4.9 mills. The final budget, adopted Dec. 31, was roughly the same...
Pittsburgh man accused of robbing friend with friend’s gun in Upper Burrell
Upper Burrell police charged a Pittsburgh man with robbery, saying he used a friend’s gun to rob the man in his own home, according to a criminal complaint. Tezhon Delvon Thompson, 23, faces felony charges of robbery, burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and illegally possessing firearms. He was released from...
Police: Man stabbed Arnold woman, then called 911 for help getting belongings from her home
A New York man accused of attacking his girlfriend with a knife in Arnold was arrested Monday after he called 911 asking for help getting his belongings from her house, police said. Police said Thomas H. Smith Jr., 29, of Amityville, N.Y., stabbed and cut his girlfriend after they got...
State police: Pittsburgh man suspected of DUI tried to hide marijuana blunt in his crotch
A Pittsburgh man accused of illegally having two loaded guns – one of them stolen – in a car he was driving Sunday in East Deer stuffed a marijuana blunt down his pants when he was pulled over by state troopers, police said. Police said they pulled over a car...
Police: Wilkinsburg man charged after shots were fired at Harrison housing complex
A Wilkinsburg man is charged with attempted homicide and other crimes after police said he tried to shoot another man and narrowly avoided shooting a 3-year-old girl at Harrison’s Sheldon Park public housing complex last week. Harrison police said after the shooting, Antonio Williams, 20, buckled the girl into a...
Police looking for leads in North Braddock shooting
Police are investigating after a 17-year-old was shot Sunday afternoon in North Braddock. The shooting was reported shortly before 2:30 p.m. near the intersection of Baldridge and Jones avenues. Police said first responders found the victim to have multiple, non-life threatening injuries. He was taken to a local hospital and...
Former Valley News Dispatch news assistant remembered for love of local news, family
Karen L. Stein Motosicky loved letting people know what was going on in the Alle-Kiski Valley. A longtime senior news assistant at the Valley News Dispatch in Tarentum, Motosicky, 68, of New Kensington, died of Lewy body dementia on Saturday, Jan. 2. She had been living at Belair Healthcare and...
Brackenridge approves 2021 budget with no tax increase
Brackenridge residents won’t be paying more in real estate taxes next year despite a slight increase in spending. Secretary-treasurer Denise Tocco said council approved a $1.2 million budget for 2021 that keeps the property tax rate at 6.25 mills. The last time the borough raised taxes was in 2018, Tocco...
Fawn passes 2021 budget, no tax increase
Fawn Supervisors adopted a $1.9 million budget for 2021 that includes no increase in property taxes. The township hasn’t raised property taxes in at least 24 years. The budget keeps the tax rate at 3.04 mills. “We’re pretty prudent on our expenses,” Supervisors Chairman David Montanari said. “We don’t have...
Pregnant during the pandemic: How a Gilpin family copedVideo
Editor’s note: This is the final story in a series highlighting five people whose lives were reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic. When Shera Rugh-Arner and her husband, Jason, found out she was pregnant, they were a bit concerned. The January news was exciting because they were welcoming a new child...
New Kensington-Arnold teachers want your help to buy students ChromebooksVideo
Remote learning can be hard on students, especially those who don’t have access to computers at home. Teachers in the New Kensington-Arnold School District have watched their students struggle with that firsthand. In response, they have started a GoFundMe asking people to donate money to buy laptops — Google Chromebooks...
Fire at West Deer metal recycling company ruled accidental, owner vows to rebuild
The owners of a West Deer metal recycling company plan to continue operations and eventually rebuild after their building was destroyed by a fire Saturday morning. “The long-term plan’s to rebuild, absolutely,” said Rick Tibensky, who co-owns TNT Metals with his brother, Joe Tibensky. “Temporarily we have to find somewhere...
‘Voice of Knoch High School,’ Rege Schiebel remembered for dedication to school, athletics, education
Regis I. “Rege” Schiebel lived, breathed and died Knoch blue and gold. Known as “Mr. Knoch,” the “voice of Knoch High School” and the “voice of Friday nights,” those who knew him said you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who wouldn’t do something Schiebel asked of them because he...
Pittsburgh police: SWAT situation ends after domestic in Larimer
A SWAT situation in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood ended without incident after a search of a home for a possibly armed and barricaded man, authorities said. The incident was reported shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday in the 400 block of Enright Court, according to an Allegheny County 911 emergency dispatcher. UPDATE:...
