Valley News Dispatch category, Page 439
New Kensington police charge man with sexual misconduct with 3 young girls during summer visits
New Kensington police have charged a man with engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior with three sisters ages 11, 13 and 14 during a five-month period. Lawrence William Barber, 66, of Parkview Drive in New Kensington was charged with five felonies — three counts of endangering the welfare of children and...
Buffalo Township BP station hopes to expand, sell beer, wine after approval of liquor license transfer
A Buffalo Township gas station/convenience store moved a step closer toward expansion with the approval of a liquor license transfer by township supervisors. Par-Mor Oil Co. plans to expand the BP station it operates at 698 Ekastown Road, but company officials have said the project depends upon the township supervisors’...
The Stroller, Dec. 13, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your holiday events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Burtner House Restoration Society Christmas ornaments available Burtner House Restoration Society is selling handcrafted Christmas tree ornaments to celebrate the 200th...
State police: Fire at Arnold Manor public high-rise ruled accidental
A fire at an Arnold high-rise that displaced more than two dozen residents last week was ruled an accident, state police said. According to a state police report, the cause of the fire that erupted Thursday in apartment 411 of Arnold Manor public housing was electrical. Police said the apartment...
Freeport resident opens candle business in Saxonburg, sells local vendors products
A Freeport resident was able to turn a fun bonding activity with her daughters into a family-owned candle business in Saxonburg. In August 2019, Miranda Virone had the random idea to make candles with her daughters, Maggie and Abbie Watson, as a fun way to disconnect from the digital world....
Kiski Area makes safety a top priority with new position
Kiski Area School District has created a new position with a focus on student safety. John Tedorski is the new director of Student Information, Transportation, Safety and Security Services. Raised in Arnold and still a resident there, Tedorski has been employed by the district for 29 years. In his early...
Leechburg schools return to optional, but recommended, masking
Leechburg Area School District will return to its former health and safety plan, making masks optional in schools. The message was conveyed in a letter sent to district families on Friday. This follows the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Dec. 10 decision, which affirmed a lower court ruling that the state’s acting...
Brackenridge church hosts open mic event for musicians on autism spectrum
Christmas carols and other music filled the social hall Sunday at United Methodist Church in Brackenridge. All of the performers — about 20 in total — are on the autism spectrum. The event, hosted by Band Together Pittsburgh and the Autism Society of Pittsburgh, aims to build community through music,...
Fox Chapel Winter Lantern Walk aims to connect people with nature
Salamander Park in Fox Chapel will transform into an illuminated wonderland for a winter walk on the longest night of the year. The Winter Solstice Lantern Walk, hosted by the Fox Chapel Parks Conservancy, will wrap up a year’s worth of fundraisers aimed at protecting the borough’s green spaces. “Well...
Freeport Area School Board has new leadership, 2 new members
The Freeport Area School Board has a new president, vice president and a couple new members. Former vice president Adam Toncini was appointed as board president, and Greg Selinger was named vice president at Thursday night’s reorganization meeting. Newcomers Melanie Zembrzuski and Gary Risch Jr., along with incumbents John Haven...
Washington Township has $370,000 in covid relief money it’s afraid to spend because federal rules keep changing
Rich Hill tried to end his time as Washington Township supervisor with a bang, but federal regulations defused his plan. Hill, who did not run for reelection, attended his final supervisors meeting Thursday. As a final act at the meeting’s end, he moved to allocate federal covid-19 assistance funds to...
Kiski Area School District stuffs a bus with toys for local kids in effort to spread holiday cheer
The Kiski Area School District hosted its ninth annual Stuff-a-Bus Toy Drive at Kiski Area High School on Saturday to ensure children in the community will wake up to presents Christmas morning. New toys for any age range were donated to Toys for Alle-Kiski Kids, a local group that aims...
The Stroller, Dec. 12, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your holiday events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Free Christmas dinner planned Saturday Harvest Church in Natrona Heights, Harrison, will serve a free Christmas dinner from noon to 4...
A-K Valley residents pay wide range of prices for water pulled from the same source
That tall glass of water can carry a vastly different price tag depending on where you live, according to a Tribune-Review analysis of water prices throughout the region. The examination of prices charged by 24 water providers in the Alle-Kiski Valley and across the region revealed customers paying quarterly rates...
Resident proposes grander plan for new park in downtown New Kensington
As New Kensington moves ahead in developing a downtown park, one resident thinks the plan could be grander. Melvyn Smith is pitching a plan to council that would expand the park into an “L” shape that would cut off Barnes Street and tie into an existing city parklet at Fifth...
Kiski Area School District moving to mask-optional policy Monday
Students at Kiski Area School District will be able to choose whether to mask up or not when they go to school Monday. The district announced it will institute a mask-optional policy, effective Monday, after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday affirmed a lower court ruling that Acting Secretary of...
Cookies with Santa in Lower Burrell; Santa rides again in Kinloch
Santa Claus will be in Lower Burrell for Cookies With Santa on Saturday at the city’s Volunteer Fire Company No. 3. But first, he will be traveling through the streets in the city’s Kinloch section Wednesday. For more than 50 years, the city’s Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 has driven...
Historic Penn Salt Co. houses in Natrona being torn down; museum planned to preserve history
Work began this month on Federal Street in Harrison’s Natrona neighborhood to tear down two historic Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing houses from the 1850s. Harrison Commissioner Chuck Dizard said the houses were falling in under their own weight. “They were in terrible condition and unsafe for the neighborhood,” he said. The...
The Stroller, Dec. 11, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your holiday events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Food bank accepting donations for prepared baskets Allegheny Valley Association of Churches Food Bank will give out specially prepared food baskets...
Leechburg Area students collect thousands of canned goods for borough food bank
Leechburg Area School District elementary students have once again done their part to make sure people don’t go hungry this holiday season. The young learners collected more than 1,400 canned goods for the Leechburg Food Bank. Food was collected in each homeroom at David Leech Elementary from Nov. 8-19. Students...
Pivik Elementary students, staff rally around Plum student who recently completed chemotherapyVideo
Pivik Elementary third grader Joey Byrnes is a superhero to his family, classmates and teachers. It’s not because he has super strength or heat vision or leaps tall buildings in a single bound. He has the power of positivity and a strong will. The Plum student recently completed his last...
2 dozen Arnold Manor residents displaced by fire expected to return to high-rise Tuesday
Residents displaced by a fire Thursday at Arnold Manor public housing in Arnold are expected to return to their apartments next week. The 76-unit high-rise complex, built in the 1970s, was evacuated about 2 p.m. Thursday when a fire erupted in apartment No. 411. The American Red Cross and a...
Vandergrift man accused of strangling girlfriend when she caught him using dating app
Vandergrift police say a man beat and strangled his girlfriend after she discovered him using the Tinder dating app, authorities say. Steven Joseph Trenga, 26, of Wallace Street in Vandergrift was charged with a felony count of strangulation and a lesser charge of simple assault in connection with a Dec....
Police say Lower Burrell man driving with toddler in car had heroin, other narcotics
A man has been charged with three felony drug counts and a dozen other offenses, including endangering the welfare of a child, after an Arnold patrol officer said he saw him toss a bag of suspected narcotics out of his vehicle. Joseph Christopher Marzullo, 34, of Michigan Avenue, Lower Burrell,...
Harrison man charged with assaulting officer arresting him in domestic dispute
Harrison police charged a man with aggravated assault after officials say an officer was kneed in the head while trying to take him into custody during a domestic dispute. Altamese Thompson, 28, of Park Avenue, was charged with a felony count of aggravated assault, along with two counts of making...
