Dillon Carr stories, Page 9

Jojo Burgess has spent the past month or so reaching out to Black voters across Southwestern Pennsylvania. A common sentiment, according to Burgess, is: “Why vote? No one cares about us.” While a record 137.5 million Americans voted in the 2016 presidential election, Black voter turnout decreased by about 765,000...

Election day is Nov. 3. The Allegheny County Elections Division said all 1,323 polling locations will be open that day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Anyone in line at 8 p.m. will still be allowed the vote, according to the county’s website. The county website states poll workers will...

Elementary students in Gateway couldn’t visit local pumpkin patches this year because of pandemic restrictions, so teachers and Family Teacher Organization members brought the fall-favorite activity to them. Stephanie Forga, a kindergarten teacher at Evergreen Elementary School, hatched the idea for Evergreen when she realized traditional plans to visit a...

Here is a list of the voting locations in Penn Hills, broken down by ward and district: Ward 1 District 1: Hilltop Community Alliance Church, 104 Vine St. District 2 and 3: Victory Temple Dining Room, 2824 Graham Blvd. District 4 and 5: Penn Hills Multi Purpose Center, 2025 Lincoln...

Election day is Nov. 3. The Allegheny County Elections Division said all 1,323 polling locations will be open that day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Anyone in line at 8 p.m. will still be allowed the vote, according to the county’s website. The county website states poll workers will...

Here is a list of the voting locations in Monroeville, broken down by ward and district: Ward 1 District 1: Monroeville Volunteer Fire Department #3, 2601 Third St. District 2: New Covenant Church, 2225 Grandview Ave. District 3 and 4: Dr. Cleveland Steward Elementary School, 5000 Gateway Campus Blvd. Ward...

A 2017 graduate of Gateway High School who now attends Indiana University of Pennsylvania has been placed on the school’s 2020 Homecoming Crimson Court. Sydney Hicks of Monroeville gained enough votes from the student body to serve on IUP’s Crimson Court, which highlights students in good academic and judicial standing....

The municipality is offering curbside leaf pickup dates beginning min November. Starting Nov. 2, Penn Hills Public Works will pick up paper bags left at the curb every Monday. The last date is Dec. 7. According to the municipality’s rules, the paper bags must not weigh more than 30 pounds,...

Food trucks are now allowed to operate in Penn Hills. Council on Oct. 19 unanimously approved an ordinance that establishes rules for how a food truck should operate within the municipality. The ordinance allows food trucks to operate on property, with permission from the owner, for 30 days after applying...

Two buildings at Quaker Valley School District have closed until Nov. 2 after officials discovered an outbreak of covid-19 last week. As of Oct. 21, the district reported 10 cases at Quaker Valley High School and five at Quaker Valley Middle School. The district has not said whether positive cases...

Penn Hills council on Monday awarded approximately $940,000 in construction contracts that will, when finished, fix a problem that has caused sewage leaks at the Plum Creek Sewage Treatment Plant. The project involves fixing the plant’s equipment that treats sewage and monitors flow as well as upgrading its disinfection system....

All South Fayette police officers will now wear body cameras when on duty, said the department’s chief. The 20 police officers have been wearing the cameras since Oct. 14, according to police Chief John Phoennik. The $38,000 move will increase accountability between police and citizens, he said. “The footage doesn’t...

The Wilkins Elks Lodge will host a Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Oct. 24 at its location at 718 Beulah Road in Turtle Creek. People will be able to dispose of old prescription medication in a Drug Enforcement Agency approved Take Back Box. Pills...

Monroeville Council is faced with a $3.1 million shortfall in the municipality’s 2021 spending plan. The upcoming year’s budget stands at $36.5 million, which represents a 1.2% increase from 2020. Manager Tim Little said most communities across the country will experience losses in revenue because of the pandemic. “The good...

The Monroeville Public Library’s board of directors has asked council to reinstate 10 part-time employees to help the full-time employees keep up with a new, covid-19 workload. Board president Dave English and former board president Debbie Iszauk addressed council during its Oct. 13 meeting. They said the new guidelines the...

Allegheny Land Trust announced Wednesday it received a $1 million boost from the state toward its effort to preserve the now-vacant 148 acres at the defunct Churchill Valley Country Club. The grant is coming from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “This is an enormous boost for the...

First-time Democratic state Rep. Brandon Markosek has a challenger going into the general election in November. John Ritter, 66, a Republican from Monroeville who is a Gateway School Board member, has plans to fill the historically Democratic seat that represents a large chunk of Pittsburgh’s east suburbs. Markosek, 27, cruised...

Saheed Gayle was at work at the Monroeville Mall on Oct. 7 when he was shot and killed. The 20-year-old had last spoken to his mother, Theresa Kallon of Laurel, Md., on the phone the evening before he died. He had called her to get ideas for what to buy...

Federal and local police are searching for a person who they say stole three guns out of Dunham’s Sports in Monroeville in August. The Philadelphia division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a $5,000 reward to whoever leads police to an arrest. Police say a...

Collier commissioners need to find a way to fill a $300,000 hole in the township’s spending plan for 2021. The township projects $8.9 million in revenue for next year, which reflects a 2% decrease from 2020. The township’s expenses for 2021 so far add up to $9.2 million, but that...

Allegheny County Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of a man believed to have shot and killed a 20-year-old at the Monroeville Mall. Lawrence Mark Murphy, who police believe is from the Braddock area, is believed to have shot Saheed Gayle, 20, in the torso just outside the...

Athletic directors have had it rough this year. Planners at heart, many of those plans have been scrapped, reworked, canceled and reworked again, said Josh Shoop, the Athletic Director at Plum Borough School District. “It’s been very, very hard,” Shoop said. “I think I’ve lost a couple years during these...

A volunteer fire department in Jefferson Hills is hosting a blood drive Oct. 10 in honor of a police officer who died in June. The Gill Hall Volunteer Fire Company will provide a free lunch and sell T-shirts to participants during the 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. blood drive through...