Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 31
Morning Roundup: Firefighter among 3 injured in Washington County house fire
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, May 23: 3 injured in Washington County house fire Three people, including a firefighter, were injured in a fire that destroyed a Washington County house early Thursday morning. The fire broke out around 12:20 a.m. at a house...
Memory of slain police chief sparks project to line Arnold, New Kensington road with flags
When Raymond Laughlin watched the funeral procession for Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire make its way along Freeport Road in New Kensington more than a year ago, it occurred to him that lining the road with American flags would have been a fitting tribute to McIntire. Thus was born the...
Morning Roundup: Severe weather in forecast; Pittsburgh Zoo seeks aid after tornado
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, May 22: Severe weather forecast in Southwestern Pa. Severe weather is possible in Southwestern Pennsylvania this afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service. The region, along with parts of northwest West Virginia and eastern Ohio, is...
Gun thefts from cars surge; police urge owners to secure firearms
The rate of guns being stolen from cars has tripled over the past decade, and in many cases the thieves didn’t have to work very hard to get their hands on another person’s weapon, officials say. Often, they’re swiping firearms from unlocked vehicles parked just outside gun owners’ homes. “Such...
Record Memorial Day travel numbers projected
Nearly 44 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home over the Memorial Day travel period, AAA projects. That’s a 4% increase over last year and close to matching the record set in 2005. The Memorial Day holiday travel period is considered the five-day period from Thursday to...
Morning Roundup: 2 teens shot in Stowe; Man shot in Arnold
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, May 21: 2 teens shot in Stowe Two teens were in critical condition after a shooting late Monday night in Stowe, Allegheny County Police said. The shooting in the 800 block of Seventh Street was reported to Allegheny...
84-year-old woman killed, husband injured in Bolivar house fire
An 84-year-old woman died and her husband was injured in a house fire in Bolivar early Tuesday. Bolivar Fire Chief John Speidel said firefighters extinguished a porch fire and found the two victims inside after a report of possible entrapment. The fire in the 800 block of McKinley Street was...
Police charge driver with being drunk, high in Churchill crash that killed passenger
A Wilkinsburg woman was driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana last year when she lost control of her SUV in Churchill and crashed, killing one of three passengers, according to charges filed Friday. Tiffany L. Reese, 45, surrendered Monday morning to Allegheny County sheriff’s deputies at the Pittsburgh...
Milene Mazeroski, wife of Pirates legend Bill Mazeroski, dies
Milene Mazeroski, wife of legendary Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski, has died. Milene, 85, died early Sunday morning in Lansdale, Pa., according to the Pirates. Milene was born in Braddock. She was married to Bill, 87, for 64 years. They met while she worked in the Pirates front office...
Morning Roundup: Crash snarls inbound Route 28; Pittsburgh man wins Cleveland Marathon
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Monday, May 20: A rollover crash was slowing traffic on inbound Route 28. The crash happened near the 31st Street Bridge shortly before 5 a.m. By 6 a.m., the crash had been cleared but there was a considerable traffic...
Plum foundation honoring junior firefighter awards scholarship
A foundation created to remember a teen from Plum has awarded its first scholarship to a junior firefighter graduating from the borough’s school district. Jennifer Martinez created The Mark Matesic Memorial Foundation shortly after her 16-year-old son died by suicide in March 2022. Fascinated with trucks, especially firetrucks, since he...
Man arrested after he tried to mail cocaine from New Kensington to California, police say
A man was arrested when, police say, he tried to mail about 2 pounds of cocaine to California from the New Kensington post office. Jonathan Ray Booher, 33, was arraigned Friday before New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. on charges filed by the Office of Attorney General of...
Members of Pittsburgh-area Mustang club pay visit to New Kensington career & technology school
The lone “pony” in the stable at the Northern Westmoreland Career & Technology Center had some visitors Friday morning. Members of the Greater Pittsburgh Mustang Club brought about a dozen of their Ford Mustang “pony cars” to put on a car show for students at the New Kensington school. They...
Police arrest New Kensington woman who crashed car while fleeing with child
A woman crashed her car into a house while fleeing from police early Thursday in New Kensington, police said in a criminal complaint. Her young son was in the back seat of the car, which caught fire after the crash. The boy, whose age was not given, suffered a bloody...
Plum set to graduate 309 students
Plum School District’s 2024 commencement ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. May 29 at the athletic stadium at Plum High School. The district has 309 graduates this year. The outstanding senior award recipients are Isabella Surace and Austin J. Kim. Patrick Baughman became high school principal in October. He called...
Plum School Board censures member, calls for resignation
Plum School Board’s president called for fellow board member Ronald Sakolsky’s resignation late Tuesday following a vote to censure him. The resolution to censure Sakolsky, approved in a 7-2 vote, accused him of publicly sharing confidential or false information about the school district and its superintendent. “Time that should have...
Plum recognizes first responders to Rustic Ridge tragedy
What Peter Troxell remembers most about the August day when a house exploded in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood is that it was hot. As a fire police officer with the Holiday Park Volunteer Fire Department, it was Troxell’s job to make sure the first responders who needed to get to...
Phantom Fireworks moving into former New Kensington Rite Aid building
A former Rite Aid in New Kensington is becoming a year-round fireworks store. Phantom Fireworks plans to open its store in the former pharmacy at 700 Stevenson Blvd. by mid-June in time for this year’s Fourth of July season, said Michael Podolsky, deputy general counsel for the Youngstown, Ohio-based company....
GAMA Sports Training working on move into new $2.5M facility in Plum
A sports training facility in Plum is growing again. Joe Fischetti hopes to move his family business, GAMA Sports Training, into a 27,000-square-foot home in September. The new building would be at the end of Sheena Drive, a dead-end road off Davidson Road, where GAMA currently is housed in a...
Suspect in Mount Oliver drug deal shooting arrested in Plum
A Clairton man accused of shooting a person during a drug deal in Mount Oliver in April was arrested Wednesday night in Plum. Plum police arrested Dorian Randell Ingram, 29, after an anonymous woman said she saw him at a residence in the 100 block of Unity Center Road. The...
Plum School District to honor 22 retiring employees with special reception
The Plum School District is preparing to bid farewell to nearly two dozen employees with more than 550 years of combined service to the district. The district plans to honor its 22 retirees with a reception beginning at 6:30 p.m. May 28 at the high school library. It will be...
New Kensington-Arnold includes 1.5% property tax increase in proposed budget
A small property tax increase will help to keep the New Kensington-Arnold School District moving in the right direction, according to board President Tim Beckes. The school board voted 8-0 Tuesday night to approve the district’s $46.2 million proposed final budget for 2024-25. Board member Terry Schrock was absent. It...
Questions about crime, remodeling plans delay New Kensington vote on Valero liquor license
Pepsi Gamble fears alcohol sales at the Valero gas station in New Kensington could lead to trouble. Speaking during a public hearing Monday on a liquor license transfer for the store at Seventh Street and Constitution Boulevard, Gamble cited “the amount of not civil society” she sees in the area...
New Kensington gift shop, Ethical Hope, seeks to make a difference around the world
Each of the items for sale in Meredith Hedeen’s New Kensington gift shop has a story behind it. They come from all over the world: hand-painted ceramics made in home studios in San Juan de Oriente, a town in Nicaragua; hand-sewn goods made by a seamstress at a cooperative workshop...
Helping hands: Donations exceed $875,000 for those affected by Plum house explosion
Rafal Kolankowski and his family have felt the full embrace of the Plum community since August — some of it in the form of bracelets, lemonade and yard signs. The Kolankowskis are among about a dozen families whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged when a nearby house exploded in...
