Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 33

Superintendent Brendan Hyland is leaving the Plum School District better than he found it, according to the district’s school board president. The board is expected to accept Hyland’s resignation, effective June 30, at its meeting Tuesday night, a day after North Allegheny board members voted 6-3 to hire him as...

Arnold Council may vote Tuesday to decertify one of the city’s two volunteer fire departments. A vote to decertify the No. 1 fire department will be on the council’s agenda, said Councilman George Hawdon, who is in charge of public safety. Hawdon declined to discuss details of the matter ahead...

An Arnold woman is accused of shooting and killing her dog on Sunday. Arnold police charged Susan Mullenax, 49, of Alcoa Drive with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals. She was arraigned Sunday and released from the Westmoreland County jail after a professional bondsman posted her $25,000 bail,...

One year ago today, drivers in Pennsylvania were paying about $1.42 per gallon more for gas than they are now. On June 12, 2022, Pennsylvania recorded what remains its highest average price for regular unleaded gasoline — $5.07 per gallon, according to AAA. Today, the statewide average is $3.65, about...

Two organizations will not move forward with plans for a community park and garden along 10th Street in New Kensington. Westmoreland Community Action and Wesley Family Services had proposed building them on vacant city-owned lots on either side of Third Avenue. The city’s planning commission in February had recommended approval of...

An Arnold police officer has been cleared of all charges related to an allegation that he unlawfully killed an antlered deer. Brackenridge District Judge Carolyn S. Bengel dismissed the third and final charge against Jacob A. Pollick, 30, of Murrysville after a hearing Wednesday, according to court records. The Pennsylvania...

Property owners in New Kensington and Arnold will see a 1.6% increase in their school district property tax bills. The New Kensington-Arnold School Board approved the district’s $50.42 million budget for the 2023-24 school year Tuesday, along with the tax increase. The property tax rate was increased by 1.5 mills,...

A New Kensington business owner wants to build housing for college students and others on Fifth Avenue. Jake Lydick, owner of Eye-bot Aerial Solutions and Patriot Technology Holdings, has a plan to build residential units in existing buildings at 713, 715 and 717 Fifth Ave. The addresses are among nine...

When Jamie Parker took her home-based bakery into a storefront, small felt right. Two years later, with Sweet Alchemy Bake Shop moved into larger quarters in New Kensington and its offerings expanding, Parker looks back and wonders why she didn’t go big from the start. How has she succeeded? “I...

Jackee Harris said her son was kind and generous toward the older teen she claims killed her son in an exchange of gunfire in New Kensington. Harris said she was watching from a car nearby when her son, Divine Warner, 16, confronted Dylan Walmsley, 19, along Fourth Avenue on April...

The May primary has filled in some, but not all, of the empty ballot spots for the New Kensington-Arnold School Board. Six of the nine board seats are up for election this year — two in each of the district’s three voting regions. But only three people were on the...

The national average price of gasoline is likely to spend much of the summer in the range of $3.35 to $3.85 per gallon, an industry analyst said. But Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said it could go higher “if unexpected refinery outages flare up or we...

Americans are wanting to travel this summer, lured by lower gas prices, but remain cautious, price-tracking service GasBuddy says. GasBuddy projects that the national average price of gasoline this Memorial Day weekend will be $3.53 per gallon. That’s $1.10 less than it was in 2022. According to GasBuddy’s 2023 summer...

The Plum School Board will discuss how to pay for work at two of the district’s schools during a meeting in June. The board also will address priorities at Plum Middle and O’Block Elementary schools, separating needs from wants, board President Michael Devine said. “I can tell you off the...

Property owners in the New Kensington-Arnold School District may be facing a property tax increase after all. While the school board approved a $48.9 million preliminary 2023-24 budget in May that carried no increase, the board’s finance committee now is recommending a 1.5-mill hike. That would increase the district’s tax...

Vendors are being sought for the Monday Market in Plum. The market will operate from 3 to 6 p.m. Mondays beginning June 5 through Sept. 25. It will be closed Sept. 4 for Labor Day. This year, it will start at Plum Creek Park on New Texas Road, across from...

The Plum School District and its teachers union announced Thursday they have reached a tentative agreement on a new six-year contract. The agreement was described as an “early bird,” meaning it was reached before the expiration of the existing agreement. The current six-year contract between the district and its teachers,...

Work to upgrade a natural gas facility along Coxcomb Hill Road in Plum is expected to be finished by early summer, according to a spokesperson for its owner. The facility is a metering and regulation station, which “takes interstate pipeline pressure and regulates it down to distribution line pressure so...

Tuesday’s primary cleared up a crowded field for Plum School Board, narrowing a field of 14 down to 10 — five from each party, to vie for five seats in November. Although all 14 candidates were cross-filed, none of the candidates advanced on both ballots, according to unofficial election results....

Two incumbent New Kensington councilmen survived a challenge in Tuesday’s Democratic primary to keep their seats, according to unofficial election results. With 100% of precincts reporting, Councilman Tim DiMaio claimed the most votes, 709, or about 38% of the 1,886 votes cast. By 43 votes, Councilman Dante Cicconi edged out...

Shannon Santucci, winner of Tuesday’s Democratic primary for mayor of Arnold, says she will change the leadership of the city’s police department should she continue through to claim the office following the general election in November. Santucci led a slate with council candidates Phil McKinley, an incumbent, and newcomer Aaron...

The primary contest between District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec and challenger Leslie Uncapher Zellers appeared to be moving on to the November general election. With 100% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Peck Yakopec was leading for the Democratic nomination, with 60% of the vote, according to unofficial results. Zellers claimed...

Democrat Melanie Pallone and Republican Mike Doyle emerged from a field of five candidates in Tuesday’s primary to earn a spot in November’s general election to claim the vacant district judge’s office serving Plum and Oakmont, according to unofficial election results. With 100% of precincts reporting, Pallone, an attorney from...

Stocking the trout certainly helped, but they didn’t seem to be needed for some fifth graders from Roy A. Hunt Elementary School to enjoy a morning of fishing in Little Pucketa Creek outside Valley High School. Some students were as happy catching the numerous itty bitty fish in the creek...