Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 144
Community cleanups planned in Brackenridge, Harrison, Tarentum
Residents in Brackenridge, Harrison and Tarentum will be taking to their communities’ streets in coming weeks to clean up trash. Earth Day events are planned for Saturday, April 27, in Brackenridge and Harrison, and on the following weekend, Saturday, May 4, in Tarentum. All three are registered with the Great...
Allegheny Family Network hosting free mental health conference
Navigating child service systems will be the focus of an upcoming mental health conference in Pittsburgh. Allegheny Family Network is presenting “Parents Moving Forward Together” from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 10 at the Pittsburgh Marriott City Center, 112 Washington Place, Downtown. The conference is open to any family...
Get pumped about Mondays – it’s the cheapest day to fill up
Monday might not be fun day, but it’s the best day of the week in most states to save money at the gas pump. Drivers may be looking to save any way they can. Average gasoline prices are up 50 cents per gallon since January, with many metro areas across...
Plans for 2 Harrison stormwater projects to be covered at meeting Wednesday
Harrison residents can learn more about a rain garden being built soon at Highlands Middle School and plans for a future, larger project on Burtner Road at a public meeting next week. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Merritt Chase, a landscape architecture firm, will display plans and designs for the...
Highlands weighs 2 proposals for student busing
Highlands School District, previously chastised by state officials for not seeking bids for busing, is weighing two proposals for transportation services. The district has proposals from its current and longtime provider, WL Roenigk, and ABC Transit, district business Manager Lori Byron said. Byron would not provide costs put forward in...
Highlands considers summer program to combat ‘summer slide’
Highlands elementary students who aren’t up to speed in reading and math may be invited to take part in a summer school program. If approved by the school board, the district would be able to take up to 120 students in kindergarten through fourth grade, district curriculum coordinator Cathy Russo...
Tarentum police charge man they say had knife at Praha Hotel
Tarentum police arrested a man Sunday who is accused of pulling a knife on another customer at the Praha Hotel who, police said, responded by drawing a gun. The incident happened shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday at the bar at Corbet Street and East Fourth Avenue. In a criminal complaint,...
Little good news at the pump as gas prices continue to rise, analyst says
Gasoline prices are continuing to rise in Pittsburgh and across the nation. “The national average gas price has now risen for two months straight, tacking on a total of 50 cents per gallon in the last 90 days, which will cost Americans nearly $200 million more at the pump today...
2 men hurt in 1-car crash in West Deer, power restored to more than 300 customers
Two men were hurt Sunday in a one-vehicle crash on Little Deer Creek Road in West Deer that knocked out power in the area. Power had been restored to the more than 300 affected customers in West Deer, Frazer and Fawn, according to West Penn Power. According to West Deer...
Motorcycle driver dies in Unity crash
A man driving a motorcycle died in a single-vehicle crash in Unity on Saturday afternoon. The crash in the area of 240 St. Vincent Drive, near Saint Vincent College, was reported shortly after 4:30 p.m., according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. The person who reported the crash saw it...
Volunteers turn out to get Tarentum’s community garden ready for spring
A Boy Scout pointed out a big worm in the freshly placed compost, and Widgie Carson picked it up. “They’re not like a snake,” she said to a few Scouts she was giving tiny red beets to plant. “They won’t hurt you.” The Scouts, members of Troop 180, and Carson,...
3 hurt when Duquesne police car chasing speeder crashes into Port Authority bus
A Duquesne police officer crashed his marked patrol car into a Port Authority bus while chasing a speeder Saturday afternoon, the department said. The crash happened shortly before 12:30 p.m. at Duquesne Boulevard and Grant Avenue. The officer involved, who was not identified, was not hurt but was taken to...
Trib appeals Highlands’ refusal to identify high school teacher placed on unpaid leave
Highlands School District is refusing to identify a teacher placed on unpaid leave in February or disclose the charges approved against the employee. The Tribune-Review filed a Right to Know request for the employee’s name, job title or position, length of employment and salary with Lori Byron, the school district’s...
Tarentum bar, ‘Barley,’ celebrating 5th anniversary Saturday
Cheryl Stover says her Tarentum bar, Barley, is kind of like the fictional Boston bar in the sitcom “Cheers.” “It’s just great. Everybody is so nice,” she said Wednesday. “I know everybody that walks in there.” Stover is celebrating the fifth anniversary of her bar at 319 E. 6th Ave....
Tarentum expected to hire contractor for building demolitions
Tarentum isn’t giving up on the idea of getting into the building demolition business — but it won’t be this year, according to Borough Manager Michael Nestico. Council President Erika Josefoski in March suggested the borough use part of the money budgeted for demolitions this year to buy equipment, such...
Tarentum considers bids for West 8th Avenue waterline replacement
Tarentum is gearing up for a major waterline project on West Eighth Avenue this year. The borough got six bids to replace the waterline along almost all of the road, borough Manager Michael Nestico said. One block was not included because of cost. Ron Gillette Inc. of Harrison submitted the...
Tarentum considering hiring summer help to resume cutting grass on private lots
Tarentum officials are considering a policy reversal and resuming cutting grass on vacant private properties. Last year, council agreed with its then-new borough manager, Michael Nestico, that the borough should not be cutting grass on vacant properties it doesn’t own. That position was a break with the borough’s long-running practice...
Highlands posts names of delinquent property taxpayers
As warned, the Highlands School District released the names of those delinquent in their school district property taxes. The lists for the four communities within the school district — Brackenridge, Fawn, Harrison and Tarentum — were posted to the district’s website on Tuesday. That was one day later than expected....
Traffic restrictions start Tuesday on Butler Logan bridge over Route 28
Traffic restrictions will start Tuesday morning on the bridge carrying Butler Logan Road over Route 28 in Frazer, PennDOT announced Monday. Traffic will be reduced to a single, alternating lane controlled by temporary traffic signals. The restriction is expected to start at 7 a.m. Tuesday and be in place through...
Tarentum man faces child endangerment charge after pool accident
A Tarentum man whose 2-year-old daughter was found unresponsive in a home swimming pool last month faces a felony child endangerment charge. William Richard Nulph, 35, told police he left the toddler unattended on a side deck where she had been playing March 14 so he could take his 8-month-old...
Harrison to start flushing hydrants April 8
The Harrison Township Water Authority will start flushing hydrants on Monday, April 8, the authority announced Monday. The project is expected to take several weeks, the authority said. Residents may get discolored water while flushing is being done. The authority suggests customers test the water before washing clothes or using...
Highlands senior seeking donations to brighten Easter for needy children
A Highlands High School student who started an effort to collect toys for needy children at Christmas is undertaking a similar project for Easter. Marissa Callender, a senior, is seeking donations for “Easter Holiday 365” to make the holiday brighter for young children in need within the Highlands community. Callender...
Local, national gas prices continue to rise in spring run-up
After a week of no change, gas prices are on the rise again in the Pittsburgh area. Pittsburgh gas prices have risen 1.3 cents per gallon in the past week to an average of $2.78 per gallon, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations. Prices are 10.7 cents per gallon...
Dredging work expected to end soon at Harrison lock on Allegheny River
A West Virginia company was performing maintenance dredging downstream of the Allegheny River lock chamber in Harrison this week. The work was needed to maintain the 9-foot navigation depth for commercial vessels, said David Heidish, a project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Pittsburgh. The work is...
Harrison road work costs exceed budget
Harrison awarded two contracts for road work this year, but may not be able to afford to do all of the work. The two contracts total $481,500, which is nearly $80,000 more than the township wanted to spend, according to township Engineer Raymond Antonelli Jr., vice president of NIRA Consulting...
