Valley News Dispatch category, Page 673
Store owner burned out of New Kensington relaunches in Tarentum
Tim Brown’s convenience store in Tarentum was going to be his second. It’s now his only one, after his first in downtown New Kensington was destroyed in the massive Ninth Street fire in September. He’s still planning on opening more. “I would like to start a little chain of convenience...
Both lanes of Freeport Road in East Deer reopen after yearlong bridge project
A yearlong bridge project in East Deer that caused Freeport Road to be reduced to one lane is completed. The road reopened to traffic Monday, according to a news release by Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners. The project to replace the bridge over Baileys Run began last summer. The bridge, located...
Rain garden begins to take shape by Highlands Middle School in HarrisonVideo
They wore gloves, knee pads and boots as they worked in the mud and the rain. Volunteers, numbering between 15 and 20, turned out Monday morning to help populate Harrison’s new rain garden, built on the grounds of Highlands Middle School at Broadview Boulevard and California Avenue. “Everyone here loves...
Soccer club eyes upgrades to Middle Road fields in Indiana Township
Hampered by soggy field conditions, Fox Chapel Area Youth Soccer is launching a plan to upgrade the Middle Road complex that accommodates more than 700 athletes each season. “The soaking rains over the years have made field conditions difficult to maintain,” club President Jake Williams said. The fields sit on...
Vandergrift man uses family knowledge to connect with Kiski Area youthsVideo
Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series that features Alle-Kiski Valley residents and the notable things that they do. Joshua Westurn of Vandergrift is following in his father’s footsteps by helping local youths. He credits his upbringing with being able to lead the Kiski Area Youth Network the...
Springdale public works employees get annual 2% raises in new pact
Wages for Springdale Borough’s public works employees will increase by about 2% per year over five years under a new labor agreement. The wage increase is part of the five-year contract approved Tuesday by council and the five-man public works crew, members of Utility Workers Union Local 509. Public works...
Police searching for man suspected of robbing Lower Burrell pharmacy
Lower Burrell police are looking for a man they say robbed a local pharmacy store on Friday afternoon. The robbery occurred just before 3:45 p.m. at the Walgreens at 108 Greensburg Road, according to a post on the police department’s Facebook page. Police said the man was armed, but did...
Gilpin looks for ways to reduce police costs
A Gilpin committee is looking for ways to reduce police costs, with options including sharing services or hiring a neighboring department to patrol the township. “This is very, very early. A baby step,” said Gilpin Supervisors President Charlie Stull, who is on the exploratory with township Supervisor Susan Brown. He...
At Gino’s Petit Dejeuner in Harmar, a not so little breakfast with a French infusionVideo
An international trifecta of culinary flavors unite at Gino’s Petit Dejeuner in Harmar. The cozy French-inspired bistro, located in Harmar Shopping Plaza, blends American and Turkish influences on an extensive breakfast and lunch menu. In French, “petit dejeuner” translates literally as “little lunch” but means “breakfast” — which is the...
Tarentum skateboard shop that likens itself to community center celebrates 1st yearVideo
Skateboarding is for everyone. That’s the message Dry Bones skateboard shop in Tarentum, which celebrated its one-year anniversary with a block party Saturday, is trying to convey. “There’s no gender. There’s no age limit,” said Brian Snyder, who owns the shop with his wife, Wendy Thimons. “Grab a skateboard and...
Alle-Kiski Valley folks finds ways to beat the heat, humidity
Sylvan Park Pool in Harrison seemed the perfect spot for folks looking to beat the scorching summer heat that overtook the Alle-Kiski Valley this weekend. About 200 people attended Friday’s night family swim — which normally sees an average of 75 to 150 people — due to the soaring temperatures,...
Apollo celebrates moon landing 50 years ago with town party
Apollo was moonstruck Saturday — in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing. Braving brutally hot temperatures under clear skies Saturday, hundreds gathered at Owens Grove and the surrounding grounds to eat, play, learn and reminisce about the day two American astronauts stepped onto the...
50 years after moon landing, Western Pennsylvania sets sight on return to space
Like many American baby boomers, Randa Relich Milliron has vivid memories of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. The Belle Vernon native was in her early teens as she sat glued to a television set throughout the day and well into the night that culminated in the...
Springdale Township officials satisfied with fledgling police merger
Like their neighbors in Cheswick, Springdale Township officials are happy with the early weeks of the merger of their police departments. On July 1, Cheswick and Springdale Township consolidated police services into the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department. A steering committee made up of representatives from both municipalities manages the...
Alle-Kiski Valley businesses ready for onslaught of folks trying to beat the heat
Stanford Home Center in Allegheny Township ran out of air conditioners early Friday, but only momentarily, as other stores stocked up on water and beverages and braced for the rush as residents cope with uncharacteristic searing temperatures. “We’ve been selling air conditioners like crazy,” said Stewart Claypool, one of the...
Police: Armstrong County man seeking drugs killed in Arnold robberyVideo
A Braddock man is accused of killing an Armstrong County man seeking drugs in a deadly robbery in Arnold, according to court paperwork unsealed Friday. Allen Duwayne Herring, 32, faces charges of homicide, robbery, conspiracy and illegal gun possession in connection with the June 28 slaying of Gregory Ray Wynkoop,...
Lawsuit: Sheetz charged sales tax for bottled water
A Natrona Heights woman is accusing Sheetz of enriching itself by improperly charging a sales tax on bottled water. Jennifer Montgomery filed a class-action complaint against Sheetz in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, alleging she was illegally charged a sales tax on nonflavored mineral water that she bought from two...
Murrysville farmer gears up for annual themed corn maze
Herb Gearhard of Murrysville may use a drone nowadays to get a top-down look at his annual corn maze, but in nearly all other aspects, he’s old-school. “We don’t use GPS,” he said, pulling out a large sheet of taped-together graph paper. “We start with a sheet of paper and...
Calligan Pharmacy owner remembered for treating everyone warmly
The kind, hardworking approach of a Harrison man will live on through his children and family. Richard “Dick” Calligan, a pharmacist, owned and operated Calligan Pharmacy on Corbet Street in Tarentum until 2007, when it was sold to Blackburn’s Physician Pharmacy. He died Wednesday. He was 88. “What I learned...
Apollo readies for moon landing celebration Saturday
The 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing will be celebrated Saturday in the borough of Apollo with a flurry of activities from a traditional ice cream eating contest to a virtual jet engine display from the Air Force. Most events will be held at Owens Grove along Apollo’s North...
Residents of New Kensington’s Parnassus Manor complain of roach infestation
Roaches crawling up and down the walls. Roaches on the ceiling light fixtures. Dead roaches in the hallway. These are just a few of the problems residents of Westmoreland Public Housing Authority’s Parnassus Manor in New Kensington have encountered over the past few months as roaches have infested their apartments....
O’Hara bridge scheduled to reopen with new name after 5-month reconstruction
The Brownshill Road Bridge in O’Hara is scheduled to reopen next week with a new look and a new name. The span, closed for five months during reconstruction, will be called the Judith B. Spray Bridge in honor of a late township employee. A dedication ceremony will be hosted at...
AHN names new head nurses at hospitals in Harrison, Monroeville
Allegheny Health Network has appointed two new chief nursing officers at its hospitals in Harrison and Monroeville. Marcia Cook will serve as chief nursing officer at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison, while Lynn C. Kosar will assume the same role at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville. “We are thrilled to welcome...
Cub Scout egg drop in Gilpin-Leechburg Park highlight of 4-day summer camp
They came festooned in tiny parachutes and swaddled in bubble wrap. So protected were the 90-some raw eggs that most were expected to remain unbroken and pristine after a 60-foot drop from a fire ladder truck. The egg drop has been a tradition for at least 25 years for the...
Highlands sets due date for Fawn property bids
Bids to buy Highlands School District’s former elementary school in Fawn are due by noon July 29, according to an announcement from the district. The district is selling the Highlands Support Center, which the school board voted in May to permanently close. It had previously been a primary center and...
