Valley News Dispatch category, Page 664
Apollo mayor appoints new acting officer in charge
Apollo Mayor Cindee Virostek appointed borough police Officer Dave Romagnoli this week as acting officer in charge. Apollo police Chief Jarred Kier submitted his resignation last month effective Aug. 15 to take a full-time patrolman’s job in Washington Township. Apollo is in need of more police officers. There are only...
Highlands approves contract for custodians, maintenance workers
Custodians and maintenance workers in Highlands School District have an early-retirement offer along with a new contract. The new three-year agreement between the district and workers with Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ is retroactive to June 30 and runs until June 30, 2022. The contract covers about 30 employees....
5 things to do in Westmoreland this weekend: Aug. 23-25Video
TGIF! After a steamy start to the week, it’s time for a cool and comfortable weekend. Sweet celebration In addition to football, Arnold Palmer and Mr. Rogers, Latrobe has another claim to fame — the banana split. The Great American Banana Split Celebration is set Aug. 23-25 is all about...
New Kensington-Arnold OKs teachers contract just in time for start of school
After more than two years of negotiations, teachers in the New Kensington-Arnold School District have a new contract. The contract runs through June 30, 2021, and is retroactive to Sept. 1, 2017. Teachers will report for Monday as scheduled; students return Wednesday. Under the terms of the contract: • The...
Construction rolls on at Logans Ferry Road bridge at Lower Burrell-Plum borderVideo
A construction crew will soon be pouring concrete for the deck for the Logans Ferry Road bridge on the side heading toward New Kensington. Soon after, a crew from Plum Contracting will prepare to build the lanes in the other direction. That will happen starting next month, according to Plum...
Tarentum concert canceled over weather concerns
The threat of thunderstorms canceled a band’s performance in Tarentum for a second time. The performance by “Classic Brew,” a classic rock cover band, that was scheduled for 7 p.m. today at the Carl J. Magnetta Jr. Amphitheater in Riverview Memorial Park has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday,...
4 Allegheny River locks in Armstrong County to open for Labor Day weekend
After recent weekend closures, the Allegheny River Development Corp. (ARDC) can pay to open four locks on the Allegheny River in Armstrong County on Labor Day weekend, plus two additional days later in September. The four locks are in South Buffalo (Clinton lock, No. 6), West Kittanning (No. 7), Boggs...
Springdale water system renovation 80% complete, but discolored water will stay awhile
The Springdale water system renovation project is about 80% complete, borough officials say. Kevin Szakelyhidi of Bankson Engineers, the project engineer, said Tuesday that is about where it now stands, based on the payouts to contractors working on the $7 million renovation. He told borough council that two contracts with...
Woman found dead in duct-taped room in New Kensington is identified
The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office identified a woman whose body was found Aug. 8 inside a New Kensington residence. Marcia Smock, 68, was discovered inside a Victoria Avenue home in a room that had the windows and door duct-taped shut, Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha Jr. said. The woman had...
Woman injured when car crashes into Washington Township hobby shop
A Washington Township hobby shop was heavily damaged when a car crashed into the building Thursday morning. Two cars crashed near the corner of Route 66 and Route 356 shortly before 5 a.m., sending one of the cars into Tailspin Hobbies, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. BREAKING: Hobby store...
New Kensington man freed after murder sentence to serve 2 years for heroin
A New Kensington man, paroled earlier this year after serving more than two decades in prison for murder, pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug charges that stemmed from his arrest in May. Charles Edward Jones, 40, pleaded guilty to one felony count of drug possession with an intent to deliver and...
Body of 24-year-old homeless man found in Bull Creek in Tarentum
Emergency crews removed a man’s body that was found floating in Bull Creek on Wednesday afternoon in Tarentum. Allegheny County police said the victim is a 24-year-old homeless man reported missing by a friend Aug. 19. His name has not yet been released. According to police at the scene, the...
Longtime Blawnox police chief George Bucha retires at 81
Blawnox police Chief George Bucha signed off for the final time with his 2501 code on July 31. But the lifelong borough resident guaranteed he’ll still be a familiar sight in the community. “I consider everyone in town family,” said Bucha, 81. “That’s what’s nice about a small town. You...
Photos: Final touches put on Kerr Elementary
Palumbo Construction is making the final upgrades to the new Kerr Elementary School on Kittanning Pike in O’Hara. Students will be welcomed Aug. 22 for the start of the school year at Fox Chapel Area School District. The $21 million building includes all new designs with a SMALLab learning space...
Committee to present plan to save decaying Harrison World War II memorialVideo
A memorial to Harrison’s greatest generation is in such bad condition it may not survive the winter unless action is taken to save it. A volunteer committee has come up with an $80,000 plan to restore the 74-year-old Honor Roll memorial at Freeport and Springhill roads and will present it...
Petland moving out of Pittsburgh Mills mall
A lack of foot traffic and business is driving Petland out of the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer. Store owner Alan Caplan said they will be leaving the mall by the end of August. The last day for business will be Monday. “Unfortunately, we’d love to stay with the mall,...
Cause of Harrison house fire ‘undetermined,’ fire marshal says
The cause of a fire that destroyed an empty house on Spruce Street in Harrison’s Natrona neighborhood last week remains undetermined, according to the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office. The fire at 51 Spruce St. was reported around 1 a.m. Aug. 16. No one was hurt, and firefighters prevented it...
Parents, teachers from shuttered Evangel Heights still waiting for reimbursements
The closing of Evangel Heights Christian Academy in Buffalo Township has parents and teachers wondering when — or whether — they will get back money owed to them by the school. Most of the academy’s staff of about 15 still are awaiting paychecks, and staff and parents alike have complained...
Arnold moves closer to finalizing use of grant money
Arnold is another step closer to telling the state how it would like to spend nearly $300,000 in grant money. City council held a second public hearing Tuesday to get comments and suggestions from citizens on how it should spend the federal Community Development Block Grant money it will receive...
Police: Penn Hills man dead in Plum swimming pool car crash
A Penn Hills man died Wednesday morning after his car smashed through a fence and plunged into a backyard swimming pool in Plum. The Allegheny County medical examiner identified the man as William Gibson, 49. Police said they pulled Gibson from inside the Chevrolet Cobalt in the deep end of...
Deer Lakes taps VanderSchaaff for acting East Union Intermediate principal
Deer Lakes School District has a new acting principal at East Union Intermediate Center. Jodi VanderSchaaff, a 1999 Deer Lakes graduate, takes over for Jamie Schweinberg, who is taking a school board-approved medical leave. VanderSchaaff holds degrees from Slippery Rock University and California University of Pennsylvania and has taught at...
Wife of Plum boater missing in Lake Erie waits for search crews ‘to bring him home’
Ray Burns relished the chance to unwind by fishing ever since learning to cast a rod as a young child alongside his brother and dad. “He always just loved to be able to throw out a rod and relax and wait for a bite,” recalled Marcy Burns, his wife of...
Lawmakers step in to keep Allegheny River locks open next summer in Armstrong County
A state lawmaker from Armstrong County said Tuesday that $160,000 in grant money has been secured to help a Kittanning nonprofit pay to keep locks open next year in the county’s portion of the Allegheny River. The announcement from state Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Ford City, came a day after the...
Cheswick, Harmar, Springdale Township team up for Low Grade Road improvements
Officials from Harmar, Cheswick and Springdale Township are teaming up to apply for grant money to improve a road that goes through the three municipalities. Officials are applying for a nearly $550,000 Gaming and Economic Development Fund grant to pave the entire length of Low Grade Road. Harmar Engineer Matt...
Highlands School Board approves new hires, resignations
Highlands School Board has approved several personnel moves ahead of the start of the new school year. The board hired three people: • Drew Karpen has been approved as the district’s new athletic and transportation director, retroactive to July 22. His salary was set at $65,000. • Theresa Bargh was...
