Valley News Dispatch category, Page 396
Upper Burrell’s Versa-Fab helps update electrical grid
Demand for precision machining and manufacturing continues to grow for Versa-Fab Inc., a family business in Upper Burrell founded in 1989. Located in the Westmoreland Business and Research Park, the company provides products and engineering services to customers in North America and Europe. Their products include electrical enclosures, conveyor systems,...
Officer taken to hospital after fall while breaking up brawl at Sheldon Park complex
A Brackenridge police officer was taken to the hospital after falling backward onto a concrete sidewalk while breaking up a fight Sunday at the Sheldon Park Apartments in Harrison, according to authorities. Officers were dispatched to the public housing complex after residents called 911 to report a large fight at...
Howdy partner: The Cadet Restaurant’s iconic cowboy welcomes patrons back to Kittanning eatery
An iconic roadside eatery is reopening after being shuttered for more than two years during the pandemic. The Cadet Restaurant, known for its hearty down-home diner fare and cowboy mascot “Sam” — a 30-foot-tall statue seen holding a giant hamburger along Route 422 near Kittanning — will welcome diners today....
New Kensington man shot to death on South Side
Allegheny County Medical Examiner Dr. Karl Williams identified Adam Cloud, 29, of New Kensington as the man who was shot and killed on Pittsburgh’s South Side Flats on Saturday night. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Pittsburgh Zone 3 Police officers arrived at the 1000 block of Freyburg Street...
The Stroller, March 21, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your community events and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Cabaret theater event to support St. Joseph HS musical St. Joseph High School, Harrison, will host a musical cabaret dinner April 2...
Police use license plate readers, video to link suspect to 4 robberies, 2 shootings
Detectives investigating four violent robberies over nine days were able to link them together using license plate readers, video surveillance and matching shell casings collected from the scenes. All of that evidence led to the arrest Saturday of a Pittsburgh man, now charged with robbery, aggravated assault, attempted homicide and...
Faces of the Valley: Raine Siegel helped shape Highlands musical theater program
Former Highlands Theater Director Raine Siegel finds it miraculous that high schools are able to stage a Broadway musical with just a few months of rehearsal time. As department head from 1992 until her retirement 10 years later, Siegel said it always was wonderful to watch the students discover the...
Man charged with robbery at Harrison BP station
A homeless man is charged with robbery, accused of attacking a clerk Saturday at a Harrison BP station. William Menhart, 54, is being held in Allegheny County Jail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 30. According to the criminal complaint, Menhart entered the BP station on Freeport...
Pro wrestling returns to Springdale with fundraiser for high school marching band
Sounds of wrestling ring bells and body slams will be music to the ears as a local pro wrestling promotion partners with a Springdale Junior-Senior High School booster club to raise money for its marching band. The Keystone State Wrestling Alliance returns to the Donald C. McGhee Fieldhouse for Springdale...
Taco Bell opens in Allegheny Township
Allegheny Township has a Taco Bell. The restaurant at 500 Hyde Park Road in Allegheny Plaza welcomed customers during a drive-thru-only soft opening Saturday and Sunday. Inside dining opens Monday. Customers lined up in their cars in the drive-thru portion of the eatery both days, awaiting the 11 a.m. opening....
New Kensington’s largest building, formerly Citizens Bank, to be sold at online auction
The downtown New Kensington building that until a few months ago housed a Citizens Bank branch is slated to be sold in an online auction in April. A $200,000 starting bid was placed on the six-story building on Ninth Street at Fifth Avenue. The auction through Ten-X will run from...
Vandergrift police return to full staffing with 2 new officers
Vandergrift Borough has two new full-time police officers. Council approved hiring Danny Anthony and Steven Zemba at a starting salary of $59,692 each. Their salaries would increase to $71,075 after three years, Vandergrift police Chief Joe Caporali said. They will begin patrolling this month. The borough normally maintains eight full-time...
Highlands eyes $3.2 million in safety upgrades
The Highlands School Board on Monday will consider $3.2 million in safety upgrades that would impact all four campuses. Dan Engen, from DRAW Collective architectural firm, presented design options to the board during its agenda meeting Tuesday night. Work ranges from HVAC to paving to new water coolers. “There is...
From big to small, local governments expect to feel the pinch of high gas prices
Some local governments are running over budget on their fuel costs as gasoline prices surge and remain volatile. Many are looking to juggle that expense with other items in their budgets. While most say it’s too early to know exactly what the impact of high fuel prices will be on...
Police: Harrison robbery suspect held gun to man’s head because he wanted money for snacks
A 17-year-old from Sheldon Park told police he attacked a man outside a pizza shop in Harrison early Friday because he needed money for snacks. He is charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy, receiving stolen property, drug and gun charges. Bail was denied, and he remains in the Allegheny County Jail...
Tarentum man accused of DUI in Sharpsburg crash that injured 1
A man was driving under the influence of cocaine when Allegheny County Police said he slammed into another vehicle in Sharpsburg, seriously injuring its driver. James Edward Sundberg, 66, was arrested Thursday by the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Fugitive Squad. He has addresses in Tarentum and Salem Township, Westmoreland County. Sundberg...
First Baptist Church in Tarentum eager to rebuild after covid shutdown
The Rev. Felicia Brock moved to the Alle-Kiski Valley in late 2019 to start a new life as pastor of First Baptist Church in Tarentum. Then covid-19 shut everything down. “When you have a calling from God, you follow it,” said Brock, who relocated from Detroit. “God didn’t tell me...
The Stroller, March 19, 2022: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your community events and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Evening of Celtic music planned at Concordia Lutheran Ministries Concordia Lutheran Ministries will host an evening of Celtic folk music by singer...
Allegheny Township police to be issued firearms, ending practice of carrying personal weapons
Since the 1960s, Allegheny Township police have carried their personal guns on the job, like officers at many small municipal police forces. Starting this year, however, the township’s police will be supplied with township-issued guns. At the March 14 township supervisors meeting, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli presented Allegheny...
Lower Burrell police Sgt. Cernava and K-9 partner Dax to retire: ‘It just seems right’
Lower Burrell’s police K-9 Dax is 11. In dog years, that’s a bit over 60. His handler, Sgt. Steve Cernava, turns 57 next month. By Cernava’s calculation, both are old enough to retire. They’ll work their final day together on the Lower Burrell police force at the end of the...
Woman rescued after jumping from New Kensington Bridge
A woman was rescued from the Allegheny River after jumping from the New Kensington Bridge on Friday morning. The incident was reported shortly before 10 a.m., a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said. The woman was sedated when she was taken from the scene by ambulance, according to officials at the...
Man accused of selling fentanyl, cocaine after informant buys drugs during sting, police say
Arnold police arrested a man from Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood on Tuesday after they said he sold narcotics to an informant during a sting operation. William Charles “Shug” King, 34, of the 700 block of South 21st Street, was charged with three felony counts of possession of drugs with the...
New Kensington police say DNA test on discarded beer can helped ID burglary suspect
New Kensington police say they used a DNA test on saliva from a discarded beer can to help identity a man they charged with stealing cash from his neighbor’s apartment. Don Levon Graves, 57, of the 300 block of Main Street in New Kensington, was charged with a felony count...
Community gardens planned near Citizens Hose in Harrison’s Birdville neighborhood
A community garden in the Birdville section of Harrison is expected to be producing crops by summer. The groundbreaking for the one-acre plot adjacent to Citzens Hose Fire-EMS-Rescue is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday, March 24. The public is invited. “We are so excited to move forward with this and...
Lower Burrell approves funding to study improvements at city parks
Lower Burrell Council has approved the development of a plan to rethink most of the city’s parks. City parks include Braeview Fireman’s Park, Burrell Lake Park, Kotecki Memorial Park, Kinloch Fireman’s Park and Veteran’s Central Park. The city received a $20,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural...
