Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 84
Cooler temps, rain coming as if on schedule for start of autumn
Autumn arrives Wednesday afternoon and, as if on cue, it’s going to feel like it. After a high in the 80s on Sunday and expected again Monday, a high of 74 is forecast for Wednesday, which is right around average, National Weather Service meteorologist Myranda Fullerton said. Autumn will officially...
Police shoot, kill man in Lawrence County stabbing incident
Police shot and killed a man who had been suspected of stabbing three people in Lawrence County Saturday, according to state police. The incident happened shortly before 9 p.m. at the Mahoning Sportsmen’s Association on West Main Street in Mahoning Township. State police said officers from several local departments responded....
New Castle man thrown from SUV, seriously hurt in I-79 crash
A New Castle man was seriously hurt when he was thrown from his SUV in a crash on Interstate 79, state police said. State police said the two-vehicle crash happened shortly after 7:30 p.m. Friday on the interstate in Lancaster Township, Butler County. According to state police, Mark A. Wilhelm,...
New Kensington officer recognized for valor in saving woman from house fire
Kathy Swanger wishes there were more people like Matt Saxman in this world. In August 2020, Saxman, a detective sergeant with the New Kensington Police Department, rescued Swanger’s neighbor, Betty Jean Hilliard, 81, and her five dogs from Hilliard’s burning home on Valley Street. “In today’s world, to have anybody...
New Kensington-Arnold prepares for work on bridges at Valley High School
New Kensington-Arnold School District is preparing to repair or replace the four bridges spanning Little Pucketa Creek in front of Valley High School. The bridges consist of the main entrance bridge, a pair of identical pedestrian bridges and a second vehicle bridge near the football stadium. The district shares that...
Popeyes restaurant proposed for New Kensington’s Giant Eagle plaza
A restaurant that caused a nationwide sensation with its chicken sandwich could be coming to New Kensington soon. A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant would be built in front of the Giant Eagle store along Tarentum Bridge Road, according to documents submitted to the city. The restaurant would be located between...
New Kensington’s Sweet Tillies one of 15 companies to be featured at National Small Business Week summit
A New Kensington business owner will be featured Wednesday at the conclusion of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s three-day National Small Business Week virtual summit. Amy Johnson owns Sweet Tillies, a baklava bakery that is among several new, small businesses that have opened in the city’s downtown. Johnson said her...
New Kensington, Arnold go on camera for filming of streaming series ‘Sprung’
Keith Spruill enjoyed getting a look behind the scenes of the production of a television series Monday as filming for Amazon Studios’ “Sprung” was underway in New Kensington. “This could be the new Hollywood,” he said. “That’s what I’m hoping for, at least.” Spruill is the maintenance supervisor at Valley...
New Kensington-Arnold pays music teacher facing criminal charges for past work
A New Kensington-Arnold music teacher charged in two cases of sending inappropriate text messages to students is being paid for past work at the school district. Sean O’Neil, 34, has been on leave without pay from the district since spring, Assistant Superintendent Jon Banko said. He did not provide a...
New Kensington Wine & Beer Fest returns with new beer tent, full glasses
There’s going to be more beer than wine at the third annual New Kensington Wine and Beer Festival this Saturday, but the alcohol isn’t the only attraction. Returning after being canceled in 2020 because of the covid pandemic, the Alle Kiski Strong Chamber event will also feature food trucks, vendors,...
New Kensington-Arnold, teachers union remain apart early in contract talks, school board says
Contract offers by the New Kensington-Arnold School District and its teachers union are about $1.1 million apart in salary and benefits costs, according to information the school board released Tuesday. The last four-year agreement between the district and the New Kensington-Arnold Education Association was approved in August 2019, but it...
Tarentum pulls off new craft beer festival without problems of the past
Beer events have a troubled history in Tarentum, but a new craft beer festival won’t be adding to that legacy and may forge a new one. The first-of-its-kind event, held Aug. 28 at Dreshar Stadium, went without an issue, police Chief William Vakulick said. “I was surprised,” he said. Problems...
Baby African elephant in ‘guarded condition’ with serious medical issues, Pittsburgh Zoo says
An African elephant born in July at the Pittsburgh Zoo’s International Conservation Center in Somerset County is in “guarded condition,” the zoo announced Wednesday. The female elephant, born July 18, has developed several serious medical conditions, including not gaining enough weight, the zoo said in a statement. Overall, the ailments...
Hearing for demoted Highlands principal called off as sides try to settle
A hearing for a Highlands School District principal challenging her demotion to classroom teacher did not continue Wednesday as planned. After a nearly an hour delay, hearing officer Paul Giuffre said the public proceeding for Samantha Perlik was suspended because the sides would be working toward a possible resolution. They...
Fourth Pittsburgh police ‘blitz’ on abandoned vehicles results in 12 tows
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police completed its fourth “blitz” to remove abandoned vehicles from city streets in the Brookline, Beechview, Elliot and Sheraden neighborhoods, the department announced Wednesday. Motorcycle units and abandoned vehicle officers addressed 43 complaints on Tuesday. Of the 43 vehicles, a dozen were towed away while the...
Wounded man walks into hospital as Pittsburgh police investigate Larimer shooting
A man walked into a Pittsburgh hospital with a gunshot wound Wednesday, police said. According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, police and medics responded to a shooting around 1:40 p.m. at Auburn and Lowell streets in the city’s Larimer neighborhood. Officers found evidence a shooting had happened, but no victims. Police...
Arnold set to award $540K in contracts to resurface 4 streets
Grant money is helping Arnold resurface four streets this year at a combined cost of more than $540,000. The city has told two contractors it plans to award them contracts for the work, according to engineer Mark Gera of Gibson-Thomas Engineering. “We’ll be paving in a couple weeks,” he said....
Dump truck causes 4-vehicle, chain reaction crash on Tarentum Bridge, police say
No one was hurt in a four-vehicle, chain-reaction crash on the New Kensington side of the Tarentum bridge Wednesday morning, said New Kensington police Chief Bob Deringer. The crash was reported shortly after 7:30 a.m. Authorities remained at the scene until about 8:45 a.m. Deringer said the crash happened in...
ATI participating in tree planting to improve Federal Street in Natrona
More than a dozen trees are expected to be planted along Federal Street in Harrison’s Natrona neighborhood this fall, adjacent to an Allegheny Technologies Inc. lot. ATI is participating in the effort that will transform the barren stretch of road, along with the township’s Tree Committee and the Western Pennsylvania...
New Kensington-Arnold addressing fights after football game with Highlands
Discipline will be “administered and enforced swiftly and justly” after two separate fights involving New Kensington-Arnold students broke out after a football game Friday at Valley’s Memorial Stadium, the district announced Tuesday. One fight involved two girls, while another was between two cousins, Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said. Valley had played...
A call to arms: 9/11 served as a call to military service for many Western Pennsylvania residents
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Stepping up: 9/11 served as a call to military service for many Western Pennsylvania residentsVideo
When terrorists attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, shockwaves rippled through the nation and changed the course of history. For those who watched the World Trade Center towers fall 20 years ago and took it as a call to serve in the armed forces, it changed the course...
FirstEnergy locks online accounts, requires new passwords after hack attempt
West Penn Power parent FirstEnergy locked all of its customers online accounts Friday after a large scale attempt to break into them, a spokeswoman for the electric utility said Sunday. There was no evidence that any information was accessed, altered or taken from customer accounts, which number in the millions,...
After covid hiatus in 2020, Labor United returns to Northmoreland ParkVideo
The skies were gray and the ground was a bit muddy on Sunday, but the Labor United Celebration is back. After being canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic, the two-day Labor Day festival got underway Sunday at Northmoreland Park in Allegheny Township. It concludes today. The festival features food,...
Police: Wrong-way crash in Fort Pitt Tunnel critically injures 1
A 36-year-old man was in critical condition after state police said his vehicle was hit head-on by another traveling the wrong way through the Fort Pitt tunnel. State police said Maraye Ann Alexander, 21, was driving a Toyota Camry when she entered eastbound I-376 from an unknown location and began...
