Valley News Dispatch category, Page 519
Take a spring lantern walk to benefit Fox Chapel Parks Conservancy
The public is encouraged to put on their hiking boots and hit the trail at Riding Meadow Park in Fox Chapel for a good cause. The Fox Chapel Parks Conservancy is hosting a spring lantern forest walk at sundown on March 20, the first day of spring. Lanterns will illuminate...
Program seeks to help Westmoreland seniors who lack technology get coronavirus vaccine appointment
Senior citizens in Westmoreland County who don’t have access to technology to find and schedule coronavirus vaccine appointments are getting some help. The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania is partnering with Excela Health and others to coordinate and schedule appointments for Westmoreland County’s vulnerable residents 65 and older, said Alyssa...
Springdale teacher-turned-cookie-maker offers online class in cookie decorating
Springdale’s Amanda Monnich is uniquely qualified to provide online classes teaching people how to decorate freshly baked sugar cookies. Formerly a teacher with cyber-school experience, Monnich, 31, became inspired to run her cookie business full-time after taking a cookie-decorating class in 2019. “It was just a fun hobby, and now,...
The Stroller, March 10, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Valley News Dispatch will publish a list of community Easter egg hunts and activities. To have an event listed online and in the print edition, send the information as soon as possible to The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Fourth Ave., Tarentum PA 15084 or email Carol Pinto-Smith; email...
Buffalo Township man with dementia found after search died of hypothermia
A Buffalo Township man who was found by searchers late Tuesday after going missing earlier in the evening died of of hypothermia, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Dennis Fester, 74, who suffered from dementia, went missing Tuesday. His wife, Sally Fester, said her husband went for a...
Police say Pittsburgh man restrained and assaulted New Kensington friend, fought with officer
Police say a Pittsburgh man who was taken into the home of a New Kensington friend because he had no place to stay assaulted the friend repeatedly and kept him from escaping his own home. Police say Darius Delaine Smalls, 29, then fought with police when they answered the distress...
People invited to participate in ‘Waves of Gratitude’ public art exhibit at Aspinwall Riverfront Park
Following an unprecedented year of isolation and hardship, Aspinwall Riverfront Park wants to know what you are grateful for. Be it your job, your family or your pet guinea pig — an answer which four people have already submitted — park directors will include your attitude of gratitude in a...
Fox Chapel Area teachers to be vaccinated as early as this week; school board approves full-time return to class
Fox Chapel Area teachers will be scheduled for a covid-19 vaccination as early as this week, school officials announced Monday. At the same time, the school board voted to return middle school and high school students to full-time, in-person education beginning March 15. “Personnel may begin to receive invitations (for...
Survey: 80% of Highlands parents want kids back in school 4 days a week
An overwhelming majority of parents surveyed by Highlands School District want their children to return to in-person classes four days a week. Of nearly 1,600 responses to an online survey, 80% of parents and caregivers favored the switch to mostly in-person classes as covid rates decline in the community, according...
The Stroller, March 9, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Valley News Dispatch will publish a list of community Easter egg hunts and activities. To have an event listed online and in the print edition, send the information as soon as possible to The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Fourth Ave., Tarentum PA 15084 or email Carol Pinto-Smith; email...
$2.2M in improvements planned at Northmoreland Park in Allegheny Township
Westmoreland County is planning $2.2 million in improvements at Allegheny Township’s Northmoreland Park this summer. Brandon Simpson, the county’s parks and recreation director, said the work will include adding a large playground, a walking trail and a handicapped-accessible kayak and canoe launch. Soccer complex No. 2, used by the Kiski...
Westmoreland officials press state to improve vaccine distributionVideo
Westmoreland elected officials on Monday said they remain concerned over a lack of response to calls to improve the state’s vaccine distribution effort and to correct a shortage of doses allocated to the county. During a news conference conducted after county commissioners met privately for about 90 minutes with members...
Plum Community Library reopens to the public with some limitations
Plum Community Library reopened March 8 to patrons after months of being closed due to the covid-19 pandemic with a few differences. “We are excited to see our users, who we haven’t seen in a while, and welcome them back to the library,” Director Pam Calfo said. The library closed...
Police: Man in custody after standoff in Oakmont
An Oakmont man was taken into custody Monday morning in connection with an overnight standoff with borough police and Allegheny County SWAT. Officers were dispatched to the 600 block of Allegheny River Boulevard shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday for a welfare check on a man threatening to harm himself. Police...
Aspinwall council to consider more than $2 million in traffic upgrades
Aspinwall council will consider more than $2 million in traffic upgrades along Freeport Road that include increased parking, safer crosswalks and a directional change along Eastern Avenue. Council heard from consultants, TranSystems, during its March agenda meeting about a plan to improve safety for pedestrians and bikers, as well as...
The Stroller, March 8, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Valley News Dispatch will publish a list of community Easter egg hunts and activities. To have an event listed online and in the print edition, send the information as soon as possible to The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Fourth Ave., Tarentum PA 15084 or email Carol Pinto-Smith; email...
Homeschooling parents unite in Vandergrift for program where kids can socialize — without computers
Yoga, painting, gardening and storytime await home-schooled youngsters at a new program in Vandergrift. The Homeschool Co-op class meets every Friday in the lower level hall at The Center on Franklin Avenue in Vandergrift. It’s two hours of creative and nontechnology focused activities for children who are home-schooled. It’s taught...
Freeport Area High School cheerleaders spreading cheer through Easter eggs
The Easter Bunny will be getting some help from Freeport Area High School’s cheerleaders this year. The cheer squad is hosting a fundraising event to spread joy — and Easter eggs — to families within the school district. Families can order eggs and provide information about their kids’ ages, genders...
The show must go on in Freeport Area School District, where 3 spring musicals are planned
In Freeport Area School District, the show must go on — even if a global pandemic presents new obstacles. The district is staging three musicals this spring: • Buffalo Elementary is performing “Lion King Kids” on April 22 through 24. • The middle school is presenting “Matilda Junior” on April...
Want to see 80,000 snow geese? No problem for Harrison photographer at Middle CreekVideo
A Harrison couple recently witnessed one of the state’s most dramatic natural spectacles — tens of thousands of migrating snow geese at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster and Lebanon counties. The Pennsylvania Game Commission, which manages Middle Creek, reports large crowds visiting to see the massive migration of...
After grant rejections, Lower Burrell fire company secures $100,000-plus for special breathing equipment
After failed attempts to secure grant money, Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 secured $108,000 from a state insurance fund to pay for firefighters’ special breathing equipment. The fire company recently received 18 self-contained breathing apparatus as well as portable air supplies. Firefighters wear the breathing equipment when entering...
PennDOT to begin Tarentum Bridge repairs, no traffic disruptions — yet
PennDOT will begin preservation work on the Tarentum Bridge from March 15 to mid-April. Crews will replace deteriorating concrete in the structure underneath the bridge, said Yasmeen Manyisha, PennDOT spokeswoman. No traffic disruptions are planned. However, some traffic restrictions are expected later this year when PennDOT works on other bridge...
Kiski Area Upper Elementary sixth-grader brightens Fridays with his dance movesVideo
An autistic pre-teen with a big heart and even bigger dance moves is causing a stir at school. Cash Malobicky, a sixth-grader at Kiski Area Upper Elementary School, is a featured dancer each week during the schoolwide video announcements broadcast. “My parents named me after the singer Johnny Cash,” said...
The Stroller, March 7, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
The Valley News Dispatch will publish a list of community Easter egg hunts and activities. To have an event listed online and in the print edition, send the information as soon as possible to The Stroller, Valley News Dispatch, 210 Fourth Ave., Tarentum PA 15084 or email Carol Pinto-Smith; email...
St. Irenaeus in Oakmont offering more than some fish fries during the pandemic
Fish fry organizers at St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Oakmont credit their volunteers for being able to offer a pre-covid menu and streamlined operations during the pandemic Lenten season. “We’re able to do this due to the time and dedication of the volunteers,” said event co-chair Caryn Cebulak. “People taking...
