Valley News Dispatch category, Page 3
Blawnox Community Park mural highlights nature, spring colors
A pair of Pittsburgh area artists have brought some nature and seasonal colors to Blawnox Community Park as part of a mural project commissioned by a borough nonprofit. Monica Cervone McElwain of Glenshaw and Lynn Ratkovich of Brighton Heights spent several weeks this summer putting brush to the wall of...
Heat, stored ammunition complicate Vandergrift fire response
About a dozen departments responded to a fire that tore through the upper floors of a Vandergrift home Friday morning. No one was injured in the blaze at 404 Emerson St., according to Vandergrift No. 1 VFD Chief Randy Dunmire. He said the numerous crews on site did a great...
The Stroller, July 25, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Fundraiser to benefit back-to-school...
Australian contingent soaking up the fun on, off baseball fields during Freeport International
Kobi Dodd said he felt excited about coming back to the Freeport International Baseball Invitational with the chance to tell some of his Aussie Drop Bears teammates new to the tournament about what to expect. “I know what needed to be done with preparing for the games,” he said. “I...
2 taken to hospital after truck slams into downtown New Kensington bank
Two people were taken to hospitals Thursday after a vehicle crashed into a bank building in downtown New Kensington. Crews were dispatched at 2:13 p.m. for reports of a Ford Ranger pickup truck that slammed into the First National Bank, 2 Kensington Square. “The gentleman jumped the sidewalk and drove...
Tarentum man arrested after standoff with police
A 28-year-old Tarentum man is accused of firing a gun in his backyard after an argument with his roommate. When police responded to reports about the gunshots about 2:20 p.m. Thursday, it started a standoff that lasted about three hours until Matthew Jones was arrested. Jones was charged with obstruction,...
Workers clear asbestos from Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School as renovation work continues
Workers finished clearing out asbestos from the lobby area of Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School this week ahead of further renovations set to begin next month, according to Allegheny Valley Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Jay Zangrille. The asbestos, original to the 65-year-old building, was encapsulated behind tiles in the lobby and...
Another grocer eyed to replace Community Supermarket in Harrison Heights plaza, owner says
Another grocery store is being sought to replace Community Supermarket in the Harrison Heights plaza, a spokesman for the owner of the plaza told TribLive. Benbrooke Development asset manager Richard Lubkin said his company will seek a grocery tenant to fill Community Supermarket’s location in the plaza. It’s the latest...
Efforts underway to restore Massy Harbison cabin in New Kensington
New Kensington-area historians and officials are hoping to turn an often-overlooked cabin on Stevenson Boulevard into a more visible educational site. The Daughters of the American Revolution Massy Harbison-Fort Hand chapter and the city of New Kensington are working to restore the cabin and Massy Harbison Park, at Oates Boulevard...
Circus coming to Vandergrift
It’s not often a circus comes to town. That’s why Carl Ward, owner of All Visions Media, was surprised when he came across an ad for the Zerbini Family Circus. Ward thought traveling circuses faded away decades ago. Intrigued, he became involved with the production company that is bringing Zerbini’s...
Indiana Township paving project to begin soon
Paving will soon be underway in Indiana Township. Supervisors recently awarded this year’s road repair project to Bakerstown-based Shields Asphalt Paving. They were the lowest of six bidders seeking to repave 12 streets in the township’s Indianola neighborhood. Public works crews were doing asphalt prep work along multiple roads this...
New mobile app could help save honeybee hives, protect $20 billion in agriculture
Honeybee colonies in the United States are projected to decline by up to 70% this year, entomologists say. And that could spell economic disaster. According to the American Beekeeping Federation, honeybees contribute about $20 billion to the value of crop production in the country. But master beekeeper Joe Zgurzynski of...
Lawmakers introduce legislation regulating pet cremation after local scandal
Pennsylvania legislators introduced identical bills in the state House and Senate that would regulate animal cremation services after a scandal involving a local funeral director. Patrick Vereb, 70, of Hazelwood was charged in April by the state Attorney General’s Office with taking money for pet cremations but instead disposing of...
The Stroller, July 24, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Firemen’s festival set Saturday...
Embroiderers at Glenshaw Public Library document Pa.’s history for ‘America’s Tapestry’ project
Local embroiderers are spending their Thursday evenings for the next year at the Glenshaw Public Library, stitching the Pennsylvania panel for the “America’s Tapestry” exhibition, which is scheduled to be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence’s signing. Raven Fagelson, state co-director of the Pennsylvania...
Close call! Passing train scuffs side view mirror of tractor-trailer rig parked next to tracks
A tragedy was barely averted Wednesday when a passing train scuffed the side-view mirror of a truck parked next to the train tracks in Natrona. Harrison police responded to the Vine Street railroad crossing after receiving a report that a train had clipped the side of a tractor-trailer. Police found...
Fraud case dismissed against Leechburg contractor
A judge on Wednesday dismissed the criminal case against a Leechburg contractor charged with defrauding a Unity couple in connection with a $59,000 home improvement project they claimed was never completed. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger ruled prosecutors had insufficient evidence to prove that Dawayne W. Redmond,...
Community Supermarket in Harrison set to close
Harrison is losing one of its longest-standing grocery stores. Community Supermarket in Heights Plaza is set to close this fall. Richard Lubkin, asset manager of Heights Plaza Shopping Center, called the store a mainstay appreciated by thousands. “We are deeply disappointed that Giant Eagle affiliate, Community Market, has opted to...
Buffalo Township man dead after ATV accident in Armstrong County
A Buffalo Township man was pronounced dead by the Armstrong County coroner on Monday after a fatal ATV accident. Michael McGuire, 60, was last seen on Friday, July 18. The coroner said the ATV he was operating went over an embankment and rolled into a ditch near McGuire’s camp in...
The Stroller, July 23, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Annual Artfest to honor...
Plum mayor, neighbors hope Rustic Ridge lawsuits will bring answers
After families of six people killed in a 2023 house explosion in Plum sued multiple companies for alleged negligence and wrongful death Tuesday, the borough’s mayor and neighbors in the Rustic Ridge housing plan say they hope the suits will offer some answers nearly two years later. Filed in Allegheny...
Back-to-School Bash spaghetti dinner offers ‘great meal, greater cause’
A plate of pasta will go a long way at the first annual Back-to-School Bash spaghetti fundraiser in Brackenridge. Hosted by Highlands School Board member Elijah Majocha, the festival-themed event will serve up food, music, baked goods and more than 60 raffle baskets — all to benefit students and teachers...
‘It’s hard not to break’: Daughter of Plum house explosion victims continues to grieve without closure
Wherever Taylor Oravitz goes, her childhood home goes with her. The Plum native had her Rustic Ridge Drive home’s GPS coordinates tattooed on her forearm, though not for nostalgia’s sake. Rather, it’s a kind of memorial in ink and flesh. On Aug. 12, 2023, a massive explosion at her family’s...
‘Series of failures’: Lawsuit blames fatal Plum house explosion on pipeline leak, water heater
Families of the six people killed in a 2023 house explosion in Plum’s Rustic Ridge subdivision have sued multiple companies for negligence and wrongful death, blaming them for the catastrophe and pinpointing the cause as a pipeline leak that filled the basement of Heather and Paul Oravitz’s home with flammable...
Councilman voted new chief of Springdale Volunteer Fire Department
After the resignation of longtime Chief Kevin Wilhelm this month, the Springdale Volunteer Fire Department selected borough Councilman Dan Copeland as its new man in charge. Copeland, who also serves as Springdale’s water committee chair, has been an officer at the department for 17 years, including 13 years as captain....
