Valley News Dispatch category, Page 442
Vandergrift wraps up holiday festival with vendors and bands
Vandergrift wrapped up its three-day holiday festival Sunday, capping off a weekend that organizers said saw thousands of people pour into the small town. “This has been a great community event, it’s great just getting the community together,” said Lisa Schrader, a member of the Vandergrift Back When committee. The...
New Ken-Arnold bringing back community holiday dinner, canned food drive
Families in the New Kensington-Arnold School District are being invited to gather to share a holiday meal, while helping those in need. After not being held last year because of the covid pandemic, the district’s free community holiday dinner will be held Wednesday, Dec. 15, in the cafeteria at Valley...
Buffalo Township officials to raise real estate taxes 9% for next year’s budget, purchase new police car and seal more roads
Buffalo Township officials plan to raise taxes by about 9% to help keep up with rising expenses. Supervisors have proposed hiking the tax rate from 5.5 mills to 6 mills to balance their 2022 budget. The 0.5-mill increase is projected to generate $30,000 for the township and cost the average...
The Stroller, Dec. 5, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your club meetings, community events 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. Winter clothing collection ongoing at Knead Community Cafe Knead Community Café, 1011 Barnes St., New Kensington, is collecting new winter hats,...
Veterans recall Pearl Harbor through video memoirs at Alle-Kiski Valley Heritage Museum
When the late Mike Sopko enlisted in the Navy in 1943, he forged his dad’s signature. The 17-year-old’s draft letter arrived in the mail at his Arnold home and his parents made him a deal — get your diploma and you can enlist. “I (got early release) and left school...
Former supervisors ask Upper Burrell to add 2 more seats; ties to Marcellus shale raised
Two former supervisors asked Upper Burrell supervisors to consider a resolution for a referendum to add two more members to the current three-member board. Former supervisors Dan Myers and Allen Uhler approached the board Wednesday asking for the council to vote on a resolution to put the question on the...
Tabernacle among cherished artifacts rescued from burning St. Vladimir in ArnoldVideo
Even as fire tore through an Arnold church Saturday evening, sending flames through the roof and into the sky, dozens of cherished artifacts made it out safely. The fire at Saint Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church on Kenneth Avenue was reported around 7:30 p.m., authorities said. Dozens of trucks from Arnold...
Lower Burrell volunteer fire company’s EMS squeezed, asks the city for help
A red hot labor market and inadequate insurance reimbursements are squeezing Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3’s EMS and they are asking the city for help. City council has not agreed to anything but has been meeting with EMS and fire company officials to try to find a solution,...
New Kensington holiday parade brings community together once againVideo
Hundreds of people packed the sunshine-lit streets of downtown New Kensington on Saturday for the return of the city’s holiday parade. It was a bigger turnout than pre-pandemic years, according to Carol Grunden. “I think people are just tired of being confined,” she said. The covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation...
Drive-thru bingo set for under the bridge in Tarentum
It’s not your grandmother’s bingo. Tarentum’s recreation board is hosting an open-air, drive-thru event at the borough’s marina for a festive hour of bingo, raffles and socializing. It’s calling the event Scratch Off Bingo and it’s set for 1 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 9. The rain date is the following...
Park upgrades and safer sidewalks coming to Aspinwall, Etna thanks to state grant
Safe sidewalks and park amenities in Aspinwall and Etna will be supported by a state grant, officials announced recently. The boroughs will share a nearly $515,000 grant through the Commonwealth Financing Authority. Friends of the Riverfront also will receive money to improve accessibility along the Three Rivers Water Trail. “The...
The Stroller, Dec. 4, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your club meetings, community events 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...
Freeport VFD plans to replace aging engine with new Pierce apparatus, financing uncertain
Freeport firefighters plan to replace an aging truck with a new custom model. The volunteer fire department’s 1987 Mack Grumman fire engine failed a pump test this year. Fire Marshal Michael Greiser said maintenance of the 33-year-old truck has become taxing, with parts becoming harder to find. Its open cab...
Kiski Area welding students show their skills at Weld Off competition
Two Kiski Area High School seniors were among the competitors in the 40th annual Weld Off on Friday, sponsored by the American Welding Society. Phillip Miller and Nathaniel Potanko, fourth-year students in the welding program at Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in New Kensington, welded for several hours at...
Student busing in Plum School District no longer guaranteed
A shortage of bus drivers has prompted Plum School District officials to warn parents that transportation for their children can no longer be guaranteed. The district sent out an alert about their transportation issues Friday. District chief financial officer Ryan Manzer said they had tried to offset the driver shortage...
Thiel College fraternity’s walk to help UPMC Children’s Hospital Free Care Fund stops in Freeport
A Thiel College fraternity on a 100-mile walk benefiting the Free Care Fund at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh made an overnight stop at a Freeport church Friday. About 30 members of Phi Theta Phi made it more than 50 miles on foot from the Greenville college and through several...
Santa stopping for Sunday breakfast in Fawn
The pancakes at Fawn No. 1 volunteer fire department must be pretty tasty. Santa is scheduled to travel there on Sunday for breakfast. Local children are invited to join him from 10 a.m. to noon for pancakes, sausage and scrambled eggs. The event is a joint project between Fawn No....
New Kensington mayor’s community dinner ushers in holiday seasonVideo
A New Kensington holiday tradition has returned. The fire station along Fourth Avenue opened its doors Friday night for Mayor Tom Guzzo’s 11th annual community dinner. It wasn’t held last year because of covid. Festivities kicked off shortly before 5:30 p.m. with Christmas carols by the city tree at Ninth...
Lower Burrell police accuse man of endangering his kids by driving drunk with them in vehicle
Lower Burrell police charged a man with two felony counts of endangering the welfare of children after police said he was driving drunk with his two daughters in the vehicle early Friday morning. After being taken into custody, the man’s school-age children were turned over to the Westmoreland County Children’s...
Harrison man accused of having backpack full of drugs in car after traffic stop
Arnold City police arrested a man on felony drug charges after officers searched his vehicle following a traffic stop and found a backpack filled with prescription narcotics, marijuana and other drugs. Jason John Sciubba Jr., 22, of Vine Street in Harrison was charged with four felony counts of the manufacture,...
Fired Harrison man highlights tension over vaccine exemption requests
The battle over covid-19 vaccine mandates has pulled religion into the spotlight as experts say more people than ever claim vaccines conflict with their religious beliefs, an assertion employers must try to evaluate amid a deep vaccination divide. Shane Chesher, 34, of Harrison’s Natrona neighborhood, was among a number of...
Leader of Community Library of Allegheny Valley retiring after 3 decades
Kathy Firestone has worked as a librarian for three decades and yet rarely has time to pick up a book. That might change soon. Firestone, of Allegheny Township, is retiring Saturday from her post as executive director at Community Library of Allegheny Valley in Harrison. “I have no plans,” she...
Butler-Freeport Trail lands $280K grant to pave 1 mile of trail for disabled, elderly
The Butler-Freeport Community Trail landed a state grant for about $280,000 to lay 1 mile of an asphalt trail over a section of the existing trail in Winfield Township for elderly and disabled trail users. The mile-long section will start at the Cabot trailhead in Winfield, near the intersection of...
Christmas tree project returns in West Deer with 4 trees to benefit local organizations
A West Deer preschool teacher is continuing her tradition of bringing a Hallmark-like holiday setting to town with her Christmas tree program. Caylin Zaremski leads the “Our Trees of Light” project that aims to give back to the community by setting up township Christmas trees. The idea was birthed from...
Police say Indiana County man tried to meet with teen girl in Arnold for sex
An Indiana County man was charged with two felonies Wednesday that accuse him of trying to meet up with a 15-year-old girl in Arnold for sex. Authorities say he thought he was communicating with her on social media and by telephone for two weeks. But instead of meeting the girl...
