Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 73
Northern Regional Police department promotes first woman to rank of sergeant
It was on one of their first calls together when Northern Regional Police Chief John Sicilia knew he had a keeper in Jennifer Abbondanza. Sicilia was a sergeant at the time, and Abbondanza was new on the job, the last officer he trained before becoming captain. They were looking for...
New Kensington-Arnold teachers accept new contract
New Kensington-Arnold School District’s teachers ratified a new contract Wednesday, a representative of the Pennsylvania State Education Association said. The teachers union and the school district reached a tentative five-year agreement Friday night, averting a strike that the teachers had announced would begin Monday. According to a joint statement from...
Arnold Council approves plan for Freeport Road gas station, convenience store
Arnold Council has approved plans for a gas station and convenience store on Freeport Road. Following a public hearing Tuesday, council voted unanimously in favor of a conditional use that Mike Thakkar, owner of Yashvi Oil, needs to turn the former auto repair shop at 1610 Freeport Road into a...
Army Reserve engineers gather in New Kensington for deployment to Middle East
An Army Reserve company that specializes in building things left New Kensington on Monday for a deployment based in Kuwait. Police and firefighters from across the Alle-Kiski Valley helped with their sendoff as the roughly 150 members of the 340th Engineer Company left on tour buses from the New Kensington...
Analyst: Average gas price likely to fall under $4 nationally this week, Pa. may take longer
The national average price for a gallon of gasoline is likely to fall under $4 this week, an industry analyst said Monday. “Gas prices have continued to move in the right direction — down — saving Americans approximately $100 million every day compared to when prices peaked about a month...
New Kensington natives return to hometown, make former church their home
After the last two of their combined six children graduated from college, Melissa Palumbo imagined she and her husband, Jim, would downsize their home. He found her a castle instead. “We walked through with a Realtor,” Melissa said. “I said, ‘Nope.’ ” But when the price came down on the...
Personal tragedy leads to new life, career for Animal Protectors’ shelter manager Mike Post
Coping with the grief that followed the death of his father took Mike Post’s life straight to the dogs. Post, 42, of Lower Burrell is the shelter manager at Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley in New Kensington. It’s not where he thought life would lead him after graduating from Burrell...
New Kensington Council awards 1st contract for new downtown playground
New Kensington Council has awarded the first of three contracts that will see a parking lot transformed into a new downtown playground. Council approved paying Derry Construction $32,175 to resurface the parking lot behind Peoples Library, along Barnes Street at Eighth Street. The city is paying for the development with...
New Kensington-Arnold School District has sway over its cities joining county blight-fight program
New Kensington and Arnold both are interested in joining a Westmoreland County blight-fighting program, but the school district the cities share will have the deciding vote. New Kensington Council has unanimously approved joining the Westmoreland County Land Bank, which is an extension of the county Redevelopment Authority that buys tax-delinquent...
Aldi confirms relocation of Lower Burrell store to New Kensington
Aldi confirmed Friday that the discount grocer will close its Lower Burrell store in favor of a new building nearby in New Kensington. New Kensington earlier this year approved plans for a grocery store identified as Aldi and a ModWash car wash to be built in Riverview Plaza along Tarentum...
Tentative contract agreement averts teachers strike at New Kensington-Arnold
Teachers in the New Kensington-Arnold School District will get an average 3.5% pay increase in each year of a proposed five-year contract, according to a joint statement issued Sunday by the school district and its teachers union. The district and the New Kensington-Arnold Education Association reached a tentative agreement on...
Kiski Township police seek help identifying man who fled after nearly hitting police car
Kiski Township police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man involved in a chase Friday. According to police, the unidentified man was driving an older, white Mitsubishi Outlander when he nearly hit a marked Kiski Township police vehicle at an intersection on Garvers Ferry Road. The incident...
New Kensington-Arnold, teachers union bracing for strike; no talks scheduled
No further talks are scheduled between negotiators for the New Kensington-Arnold School District and its teachers union ahead of a strike the union says will begin Monday, union and district representatives said Friday. However, the district has not yet canceled classes for Monday. “We want to provide ample time for...
Students can learn about careers in STEM through free New Kensington summer program
Space is limited but still available in a new program that will be held in New Kensington this summer for high school students interested in careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Applications for “BELONG in STEM” are being accepted through April 10. It is being offered free with support...
New Kensington-Arnold teachers set to strike beginning Monday
Teachers in the New Kensington-Arnold School District will walk off the job Monday if they and the district can’t agree on a new contract by then. The New Kensington-Arnold Education Association sent a formal strike notice to district Superintendent Chris Sefcheck after talks Wednesday night failed to produce a settlement,...
New Kensington honors first responders for recent efforts to save lives
New Kensington Council bestowed commendations on several first responders and a marina employee who all, successfully and unsuccessfully, tried to save lives in recent tragic incidents in the city. Police officers Christian Leonarski and Jerry Hobeck and Assistant Fire Chief B.J. Kersey were honored for efforts to try to save...
Tom Hanks visits Arnold as filming for ‘A Man Called Otto’ continues in Pittsburgh region
Most days, Robert Simpson is president of a reinforcing bar fabricator in Arnold. On Tuesday, the president of Simpson Reinforcing was filming movie scenes with Tom Hanks. “It’s pretty cool,” Simpson said at the end of a lunch break that came after filming the same scene over and over again...
The Corner hosting events for business owners, entrepreneurs in New Kensington
Several free programs for those who own or are interested in starting a business will be offered this week at The Corner in New Kensington, including the introduction of a four-week “boot camp” open to business owners and entrepreneurs in New Kensington or Arnold. The events, beginning Tuesday night and...
Lower oil prices reflected in falling gas prices, analysts say
The release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is causing oil prices to pull back and bringing down gasoline prices, according to AAA. The national average for a gallon of gas is now $4.19, down 6 cents from last week, AAA reported. That’s still 35 cents higher than a...
’80s-themed fundraiser to support arts projects in downtown New Kensington
An upcoming fundraiser that promises to be “totally tubular” will support art in downtown New Kensington. The event, ’80s for the Arts, will be Saturday, April 16 at Voodoo Brewery New Kensington. It is being sponsored by Voodoo Brewery, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, New Kensington Art Center and the...
South Carolina educator buys building in hopes of housing private school in Arnold
An elementary school teacher from South Carolina is planning to open a private, nonprofit middle school in Arnold starting in the fall of 2025. Matt DeHart, 26, a fifth grade teacher in Greenville County, S.C., founded the nonprofit Teach from DeHart Foundation in January 2021. He and his wife, New...
Arnold building demolitions could create room for new development
The demolition of 10 buildings this spring could lead to new developments in Arnold. The city is seeking bids to tear down the buildings. Most are located on Third and Fourth avenues, with one on Leishman Avenue and another on Victoria Avenue. All are vacant residential buildings except for 1905...
4 men arrested after search of Arnold recording studio, residence
Four men were arrested after federal, state and Westmoreland County authorities say they found drugs worth more than $8,000 and a gun Thursday morning while searching a recording studio and residence in Arnold. Agents of the state Attorney General Bureau of Narcotics Investigation, working with the Westmoreland County Drug Task...
Braeburn Alloy files for bankruptcy, proposes sale to new owner
Braeburn Alloy Steel filed for bankruptcy with the intent of being acquired by an affiliate of its largest customer and keeping the 125-year-old Lower Burrell business in operation. CCX, which acquired Braeburn in 1944 and operates under its name, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware on Sunday. Chapter 11...
Pine family works to carry on legacy of son lost to cancer
After their first-born son was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Chris and Danielle Cochran sat down with him and told him how sorry they were it had happened to him. They were upset. Christian was not. “He said he would rather it be himself than anyone else,” Chris Cochran said. “He...
