Kellen Stepler stories, Page 57
Embattled Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer could go to sheriff’s sale
The Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer could go to sheriff’s sale this fall. According to court filings, a notice of sheriff’s sale for real estate that includes the mall property will be held at 9 a.m. Oct. 2 in the Allegheny County Courthouse. Filings indicate Pitt Galleria Reality LLC, Pitt...
Freeport chalk festival to challenge artists, promote the borough
Freeport has a storied past, a rejuvenated present and an up-and-coming future. Local business owners are encouraging artists to depict that on borough sidewalks during a chalk festival this weekend. The second annual Freeport Chalk Art Celebration will take place Friday, July 28 and Saturday, July 29 along Fifth Street....
West Deer residents challenge Leto well pad approval
A West Deer community advocacy group and nine residents have formally filed a land use appeal against the township and its board of supervisors over an approved well pad in Bairdford. The filing, submitted Wednesday in Allegheny County Court, alleges that the project’s applicant, Olympus Energy of Canonsburg, failed to...
Car slams into building in downtown New Kensington
A car struck a building in downtown New Kensington on Friday afternoon, leaving the vehicle totaled and some damage to the building. Crews responded to the corner of 11th and Barnes streets in New Kensington for the crash at around 4:45 p.m. Assistant Fire Chief B.J. Kersey said the car...
Old Leechburg Road slide repair work continues for another week in Plum
Work along a section of Old Leechburg Road in Plum will continue for another week. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said guiderail installation work will continue through Friday, July 28, on a portion of Old Leechburg Road between Sardis and Old Mine roads. The roadway will remain closed until the work...
East Deer plans Baileys Run Road waterline improvements
A problematic water line in East Deer is being addressed by township officials. Commissioners recently approved a nearly $500,000 loan from PennVEST — the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority — to complete the project to fix a waterline on Baileys Run Road. “This is a section of waterline that has the...
Upper Burrell planners recommend approval for building addition at Alcoa
Upper Burrell planners are recommending approval for a proposed building addition at the Alcoa Technical Center. The township’s planning commission issued the recommendation at its meeting Tuesday. According to township documents, Alcoa Technical Center intends to add the approximately 5,100-square-foot building for equipment storage at the research complex at 859...
Springdale takes 1st step on zoning overlay; power plant owner threatens legal action
Despite opposition — and even a threat of legal action — from the property owner, Springdale officials took the first step in creating a zoning overlay district around the former power generating station property. Council members unanimously decided to refer an ordinance providing for various zoning amendments and changes within...
Lower Burrell subdivides former Blockbuster property in hopes for a future sale
It’s yet to be seen what will become of the former Blockbuster store at Burrell Plaza, but officials believe they have made it easier for the landowner to sell the land to prospective buyers. The Lower Burrell Zoning Hearing Board on Monday granted a variance to Widewaters of Syracuse, N.Y.,...
Par Mar convenience sets opening date in East Deer
After a nearly three-year hiatus, a convenience store/gas station is returning to East Deer. A Par Mar convenience store will take over where Sheetz once was, at 899 Freeport Road and the Crawford Run Road intersection, in the township’s Creighton neighborhood. The store plans to open at 6 a.m. Friday,...
Lower Burrell recognizes firefighters, police, resident for heroism during June house fire
The heroic and self-sacrificing actions of Lower Burrell firefighters, police officers and residents during a June house fire in the city were recognized by city council. On June 18, crews across the Alle-Kiski Valley were dispatched to the 170 block of Jefferson Drive in Lower Burrell for a house fire...
Officer Brian Shaw concert series to rock Lower Burrell for 5th year
Nine live bands and more than 130 auction items are in store when the Officer Brian Shaw Foundation Concert Series returns to Lower Burrell on Saturday. The event runs from 2 p.m until midnight at Mogie’s Irish Pub in Lower Burrell. Admission is $10. “The community just really likes to...
East Deer looks to revise billboard regulations; request on 4 signs still pending
East Deer officials saw the sign. When the township commissioners met Thursday, they voted to advertise an ordinance that would revise the township’s zoning code to update its billboard regulations. The move follows a zoning hearing board meeting in June where Butler-based America First Enterprises, which does business as Oliver...
‘Will lighten the community up’: Tarentum billboard raised Friday morning
The sky in Tarentum is going to get a little brighter. On Friday morning, an electronic billboard was raised on Fourth Avenue in Tarentum, next to the Tarentum Bridge. The two-sided billboard is about 90 feet tall, with its face about 14 feet high and 48 feet wide. The billboard,...
Eagle Scout project beautifies veterans area at Lower Burrell City Hall
When Camden Seidel was younger, he would go to his mother’s office in Lower Burrell City Hall, play outside with friends and notice the nearby veterans memorial. “We would see this memorial, and it was just a monument on top of a white pile of rocks,” said Seidel, 18, of...
New Kensington Bridge underpass in East Deer to close Monday
The underpass under the New Kensington Bridge in East Deer will close Monday, according to PennDOT. Northbound Freeport Road under the New Kensington Bridge will close at 7 a.m. and remain closed through late September. Travelers headed north on Freeport Road, toward Tarentum, will use the ramp up to the...
Penn Hills construction worker’s death in fall through Pine-Richland High School roof ruled accidental
A construction worker from Penn Hills died after falling through the roof at Pine-Richland High School, the school district confirmed Thursday. Joseph Gazzo, 44, died at a hospital Thursday morning after falling, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The medical examiner’s office announced late Friday that death was...
Trib Total Media named best newspaper in Pa. by Society of Professional Journalists
Trib Total Media was named the best overall newspaper in Pennsylvania by the Keystone Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. It is the fourth time in the last five years that the Trib has been honored with the prestigious award. “We are thrilled to be recognized with this award,”...
Route 910 bridge replacement in Indiana Township, near Rawlins Run, begins Monday
Route 910 in Indiana Township, near Rawlins Run, will be closed beginning Monday as crews work to replace a bridge. Beginning at 7 a.m., bridge replacement work will start on Route 910 between Indianola Road and Bayer Drive. Route 910 will close at the bridge through Tuesday, Aug. 8, according...
Verona man arrested after being on the run nearly a year
Police arrested a Verona man Wednesday after he had been on the run for nearly a year. Jaheed Aziz, 32, had been a fugitive since August 2022 when he didn’t appear for status hearings on four different cases, according to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office. Judge Beth A. Lazzara issued...
Vehicle and bus with 5 students collide in Springdale; no injuries reported
No injuries were reported Wednesday afternoon when a small school bus carrying five students and a vehicle collided in Springdale. Springdale police Chief Derek Dayoub said officers were dispatched at 12:04 p.m. to the intersection of Pittsburgh and Butler streets to respond to the crash. It’s unclear what led to...
New amphitheater will bring entertainment to West Deer in summer 2024
By this time next year, entrepreneur Charlie Vrabel says, there will be a new entertainment outlet in West Deer. The township supervisors approved plans last month to build an amphitheater at his business, No Offseason Sports, at 940 and 982 Little Deer Creek Valley Road in the township’s Russellton neighborhood....
Fawn woman strikes it big with $1 million lottery winning ticket
As is routine, Kimberley Adamik stops in Willy’s Beer & Beverage in Harmar every Thursday as she works her garbage truck route. She plays some scratch-off games and goes on her way. But the “$1 Million? Seriously” game she played June 22 stopped her in her tracks. “I went over...
Lower Burrell appoints Greg Primm as manager; Ron Welker picked for council vacancy
It takes Greg Primm 21 minutes to drive from his Kiski Township home to Lower Burrell City Hall. He’ll be getting used to that commute come September. Lower Burrell Council on Monday unanimously voted to hire Primm, currently Allegheny Township’s manager, as the city’s manager. “I’m looking so forward to...
Faces of the Valley: Harrison woman marks 50 years working for ‘the Hut’
When Peggy Morrow began working for Pizza Hut, a small pepperoni pizza at the restaurant cost $1.25. And the minimum wage wasn’t much more than that, said Morrow, who has been working for the company for 50 years. Morrow, 69, of the Natrona Heights section of Harrison, is the general...

