Valley News Dispatch category, Page 635
Sewage rates to increase, property taxes stay flat in Lower Burrell’s 2020 budget
Lower Burrell Council raised the base sewage rates by 9% but will not raise real estate taxes for 2020. Council on Monday unanimously passed the city’s $10.97 million budget for 2020, keeping city real estate taxes at 22.75 mills. A Lower Burrell homeowner assessed at $18,210 would continue to pay...
The Stroller, Dec. 7, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Five Forces to host annual veterans event Five Forces will host its annual Christmas for Veterans event Dec. 14 at the School House Hall, 171 Thorn St., Oklahoma Borough. Doors open at 5 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6. There will be a DJ, a basket raffle and...
Ex-Leechburg police chief back in jail, attorney says
Former Leechburg police Chief Mike Diebold is back in jail on a suspected probation violation, his attorney said Friday night. Diebold, 42, was booked into the Westmoreland County Prison on a 72-hour hold Friday, according to his attorney, Duke George. George, who plans to visit Diebold at the Hempfield lockup...
Demolition of abandoned Tarentum houses underwayVideo
Three empty houses that have blighted Tarentum’s isolated Davidson Street for years were reduced to rubble Thursday. “I think it’s long overdue,” said Davidson Street resident Miriam Kengor. The three empty houses that sit in a row along Davidson Street were among the first of 23 to be torn down...
Police: Incident with van outside Huston Middle School not an attempted abduction
An incident in which a man told a young girl to get into his van was not an attempted abduction, Lower Burrell police said Friday. The department said it was notified Friday of the incident that happened around 8:10 p.m. Thursday. An officer said the entire matter may have been...
Highlands mother angry bus driver left autistic son alone outside school
Rachael O’Connor said that her 9-year-old son sat and cried when he was unable to find an open door to his elementary school Thursday morning after a bus driver dropped him off late and left him alone. O’Connor said her son, who has autism, pulled at the door he would...
Tarentum’s Central Presbyterian Church to host a ‘Russian Holiday’ performance
Experience the sounds of Russia in Tarentum on Sunday. The Academy Chamber Ensemble will present “Russian Holiday” at Central Presbyterian Church at 4 p.m. The program will feature one of Joseph Haydn’s “Russian” String Quartets, Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet #1 and some holiday music. This is the sixth season for this...
Vandergrift Councilman Sciullo retires after 32 years
Vern Sciullo does not care for all the attention he’s gotten recently. A member of the Vandergrift Council for 32 years, Sciullo officially retired this week when the newly elected members were officially sworn in Monday. “I’m not interested in this fanfare,” Sciullo said after his last meeting. At the...
The Stroller, Dec. 6, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Chamber ensemble to perform in Tarentum Central Presbyterian Church, Tarentum, will present a concert, “Russian Holiday,” at 4 p.m. Sunday at the church, 305 Allegheny St. The Academy Chamber Ensemble will perform works by Tchaikovsky and Hayden, as well as holiday favorites. For details, call 724-224-9220. HOPE Center seeks donations...
Festival of Trees to light up River Forest starting Friday
River Forest Country Club’s first Holiday Festival of Trees begins Friday, part of the Freeport area’s Small Town Christmas celebration. The festival kicks off at 6 p.m. with a tree-lighting at the Allegheny Township golf club. Businesses, golf leagues, families and others sponsored 20 small firs at the club, earning...
‘Produce to People’ food bank finds new winter home in Tarentum
A program that provides fresh produce to people in need will be one of the first community services operating out of the former Rite Aid building in Tarentum. “Produce to People,” a program of the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches, will distribute food from the building at 411 Corbet St....
Deer Lakes High School choir and band perform at Allegheny County CourthouseVideo
Holiday sounds echoed through the halls of the Allegheny County Courthouse on Thursday as members of the Deer Lakes High School Concert Choir and Symphonic Band performed on the building’s grand staircase. Deer Lakes was the fourth of more than 20 schools participating in this year’s Holiday Music Program, which...
Police: Harrison man charged in fatal beating of New Kensington man
A Harrison man on Thursday was charged with homicide in connection with the beating death of a New Kensington man last month. Harrison police said Lamont Wilford, 48, got into a fight with Eric D. Henderson, 50, and continued to assault him after Henderson had fallen to the ground. Police...
Freeport Council could change engineering firms to complete sewage project
Miscalculated sewage project costs and a perceived lack of service have spurred Freeport Council to shop for a new engineering firm. Councilman Clinton Warnick said at a council meeting last week that he wants to hire Latrobe-based Gibson-Thomas Engineering to replace KLH Engineers for Phase II of its sewage treatment...
Grants support medical, senior shuttle services in Alle-Kiski Valley area
Free rides for seniors and a medical shuttle to UPMC facilities in the Alle-Kiski Valley area are among the services being funded with nearly $625,000 in grants from the St. Margaret Foundation. Of that amount, nearly $260,000 is going to shuttle services. “The stress of hearing bad news regarding your...
The Stroller, Dec. 5, 2019: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Pearl Harbor service planned Saturday Brackenridge American Legion will host a Pearl Harbor remembrance service at noon Saturday at the post, 845 E. First Ave. The public is welcome. New Kensington to celebrate the season on Saturday Several holiday activities are planned Saturday in New Kensington: • Santa will be...
Penn State New Kensington Art Gallery showcases work by East Suburban Artists League
All of this amazing art is in one place. It’s the East Suburban Artists League’s annual holiday season art show running through Dec. 27 in the Penn State New Kensington Art Gallery. Visitors can meet the artists from 6-8 p.m. Dec. 6. Tina Booth, art gallery coordinator, says the variety...
Father of convicted cop killer has trial on intimidation charge delayed until February
The witness intimidation trial of the father of the Harrison man convicted of the murder of New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw has been delayed until February to allow the defense to investigate claims of new evidence. Just before a jury was to be selected to hear his case on...
Proposed Tarentum budget holds line on taxes despite $1M cut in spending
Tarentum Council is considering a $9.6 million preliminary budget for next year that maintains the current tax rate despite a nearly $1 million reduction in spending. Council reviewed the preliminary budget Tuesday and plans to vote on it Thursday. The final budget is scheduled to be adopted on Thursday, Dec....
Postal worker charged with stealing $60 in gift cards from mail
A Plum woman who was a postal worker is accused of stealing gift cards from the mail. Dorothy Petrick, 56, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh this week on a charge of theft of mail by a postal employee, prosecutors said. Prosecutors say that last December, Petrick...
Veterans’ stories featured at Tarentum Pearl Harbor program
Excerpts from the Pearl Harbor edition of “Duty, Courage, Honor: Southwestern Pennsylvania Goes to War” will be shown at the Allegheny-Kiski Valley Historical Museum in Tarentum on Saturday. Saturday — Dec. 7 — is the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 that propelled the United...
Chase expansion includes New Kensington ATM
A new ATM in New Kensington is part of JPMorgan Chase’s expansion in the Pittsburgh area. The standalone machine in Riverview Plaza along Tarentum Bridge Road, next to Donut Connection, is scheduled to be operating before the end of the year, said Ashlei Bobo, vice president of regional communications for...
Brick & Barrel to replace Andora restaurant in Indiana Township
A popular restaurant in the Fox Chapel area is closing and will reopen as Brick & Barrel, a new wood-fired pizza and bourbon-themed casual eatery. Andora Restaurant, located in the former Cross Keys Inn at 599 Dorseyville Road, will remain open until the end of December after seven years in...
Repair cost of Highlands Elementary clock tower up $5K
The projected cost to repair the clock tower at Highlands Elementary School in Tarentum has gone up. The school board has approved paying the masonry contractor, Marsa, about $5,150 more on top of the district’s original $60,800 contract. Marsa was hired in August to restore the masonry of the tower,...
Family, police searching for missing Plum man
The family of a man who has been missing since mid-November has taken to social media and law enforcement to find out if he is safe. David Ellefson, 37, was last seen Nov. 14, said his wife, Heidi Ellefson. She said he had met their children and his grandmother at...
