Michael DiVittorio stories, Page 28

A search for a missing Springdale man is expected to resume Wednesday morning after an extensive search Tuesday was unsuccessful. Sean Dugan, 58, was reported missing by borough police Monday. He is described as a white man with short hair and a goatee. Harmar police Chief Jason Domaratz said Dugan’s...

Imagination will get a workout at Fireman’s Memorial Park in Aspinwall now that the borough has installed new playground equipment there. Kids can race to an imaginary fire or play house using two new pieces. Other new equipment includes two spring-based rocking rides and a three-bay swing. Borough Manager Melissa...

Quaker Valley seventh grader Skylar Egbert bets her bottom dollar that the middle school’s upcoming performance of “Annie Jr.” will be a memorable one. “We have a live dog and have a lot of amazing people in our cast, really focused people, kind people as well,” said Skylar, who plays...

Quaker Valley School Board members approved a five-year deal with the district’s assistant superintendent. Andrew Surloff rose through the ranks from a teaching internship to the second highest administrator of the schools serving Sewickley, Leetsdale and surrounding communities. School directors unanimously voted Oct. 30 to keep Surloff around into the...

Several Gateway School District schools were placed on lockdown Monday morning as Monroeville police chased down a wanted man. Police Chief Doug Cole said officers responded to a domestic incident around 10:25 a.m. at the Cambridge Square Apartments. Officers identified Leonard Robinson III, 22, of Clairton, as part of the...

An Aspinwall man who started raising funds for a local charity using a giant pumpkin display years ago still has a gourd time giving back more than a decade later. Joel Keefer, 72, is in his 11th season collecting for WTAE’s Project Bundle-Up. The program is a partnership with the...

A Brookville woman caused a bit of a commotion Friday evening when she was found hiking along a railroad bridge spanning the Allegheny River in Harmar. Township police Lt. Otto Gaal said officers received a call shortly after 5:30 p.m. from a motorist along the Turnpike about a person making...

Dozens of families from multiple communities flocked to Verona for its third annual Trunk-or-Treat event. The Halloween-themed activity was part of the Verona Farmers Market at Railroad Park Oct. 26. Borough police and fire departments, along with local organizations such as the Lower Valley Athletic Foundation participated. There were multiple...

Volunteers are needed to make Sewickley’s Light Up Night celebration environmentally friendly. The holiday event is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1. Festivities are planned for 5-9 p.m. along Broad, Beaver and Walnut streets. More than 10,000 people attended last year’s Light Up Night. Such a crowd can produce a lot...

The Quaker Valley teachers’ union and school district officials are inching closer toward a new contract. The previous four-year deal with the 165-member Quaker Valley Education Association union expired June 30. The negotiations teams met Oct. 25. It was unclear how talks progressed. However, officials from both sides of the...

Five people are displaced and a longstanding Verona business was destroyed as a result of a fire Wednesday evening. Smoke and flames began to billow from the basement of the Masonic Building, a three-story structure along the 300 block of Center Avenue around 6:15 p.m., according to Verona fire Chief...

Fox Chapel Police Department and Foxwall EMS each hosted pumpkin-themed events. Police officers transformed their station at 401 Fox Chapel Road into a pumpkin patch with about 90 children painting pumpkins on Oct. 21. There were other crafts and a costume contest. Children received glow sticks and glowing wrist bands...

A man was hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood Tuesday. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said officers were dispatched to the intersection of Geyer and Shadeland avenues for two ShotSpotter alerts. Eight rounds reportedly were fired. Police found a man in the area of Schimmer...

State police are investigating a crash involving a Sewickley Academy school bus. Sewickley police were among the first on scene Tuesday around 5 p.m. at the intersection of Ohio River Boulevard and River Road. Police Chief Dave Mazza said the bus and two other vehicles were traveling northbound along the...

A Halloween themed benefit party is planned for Saturday in Sewickley. The Edgeworth Club hosts Monster Bash from 7-11:30 p.m. at 511 East Dr. It is a fundraiser for Christopher’s Kitchen, a nonprofit dedicated to helping sick children and their families. There will be live and silent auctions for various...

Rainy weather could not dampen the spirits of the dozens of families at Allegheny RiverTrail Park’s fall festival in Aspinwall. “We definitely wanted to experience some local community activities,” Alyson Frick of O’Hara said at the event Oct. 20. “It’s been a little rainy today, but wanted to make sure...

Aspinwall residents questioned why borough officials implemented a policy that regulates how the borough responds to inquiries from news outlets. Council never formally adopted the policy, which was released in July and posted on the borough’s website. Resident Steve Kochanowski at the Oct. 4 workshop meeting asked why it was...

The race for Leetsdale Council has five candidates vying for three four-year seats in the November election, according to the Allegheny County Office of Elections unofficial candidate list. Candidates are Democratic incumbents Roger A. Nanni; Republican incumbent Jeffrey Weatherby; Republican challenger Debra Canney; and Democratic challengers Scott Zahner and Benjimen...

Sewickley officials have inked a new five-year contract with their police department and promoted a part-time patrolman. Both actions were done by unanimous vote earlier this month. The contract runs from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2028. It includes 3% salary increases the first year and 2.5% annual wage hikes...

Deliberations continue in the appeal from former Leet Police Chief Michael Molinaro to the township’s Civil Service Commission. Molinaro, a Leet officer since 2013 and chief since March 2021, was fired on July 25, 2022, at a township commissioners’ workshop meeting. He appealed his termination to the commission. It resulted...

Leet Board of Commissioners’ race features six candidates vying for three four-year seats in the upcoming November election, according to the Allegheny County Office of Elections unofficial candidate list. Candidates are incumbent and commission president Martin McDaniel, incumbent and vice president Carolyn Verszyla, former commissioner Donna Adipietro, newcomer Katherine Longwell,...

Fox Chapel resident Byron Falchetti wants motorists to slow down when driving in the borough. “It’s getting worse,” Falchetti told borough officials Monday. “Someone’s going to get seriously hurt and there’s going to be liability issues. I don’t think it’s right. “I have never seen a car pulled over for...

The Aspinwall Council race has six candidates vying for three, four-year seats in November. Republican incumbent and current council president Tim McLaughlin and Democratic incumbents Patti McCaffrey and Heth Turnquist are joined in the political battle by Republican challengers Terry Taylor and Louis Curcio Jr. and Democrat Mark Chimel. Here...

Editor’s note: Sewickley Herald is featuring candidate interviews in contested municipal and school board races only. Additional race previews will run in the Oct. 26 issue. Two out of three four-year Sewickley council seat races in the upcoming November election are contested, according to the Allegheny County Office of Elections...

Aspinwall officials are making changes to access and regulation of the borough’s dog park. Dogs can roam free in the Aspinwall Recreation Area ball fields Nov. 1 through March 31. The infields are fenced off to limit damage to the baseball playing area. Residents and nonresidents will have to register...