Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 34
Repairs to fire truck could cost Plum’s Unity Volunteer Fire Department $60,000
Repairs to one of the five vehicles at Plum’s Unity Volunteer Fire Department will wipe out the department’s budget for repairs this year, its chief says. Fixing the 25-year-old Freightliner could also eat up most, if not all, of what’s left of the $35,000 the borough budgeted for repairs for...
Pittsburgh police report 13-year-old girl safe after missing from Perry South
A 13-year-old Pittsburgh girl who had been missing for several days was located and safely reunited with her family, city police said Sunday. Rayona “Ray” Johnson, 13, went missing from the Perry South neighborhood on March 5, police said....
Warming trend expected through coming week after snowy, blustery Sunday
Pittsburgh area residents looking forward to spring as they turned their clocks ahead for daylight savings time this weekend might feel like Mother Nature turned hers back to winter. But the bursts of snow and cold winds across the region on Sunday won’t be around for long. Snow squalls and...
State police accuse Jeannette man of breaking into vehicles at Seven Springs
A Jeannette man is accused of breaking into vehicles and stealing an SUV at Seven Springs Mountain Resort on Saturday. State police charged Michael Lee Curtis, 32, with felony counts of theft and receiving stolen property. He is also charged with driving under the influence, unauthorized use of a motor...
Building the Valley: New Kensington transmission shop owner keeps ‘dying art’ alive
When the transmission on a 16-year-old vehicle breaks, many people might take that as a sign it’s time to buy a new car. Carmen Jones isn’t one of those people. When the Arnold man’s 2008 Lincoln MKX broke down and needed its transmission replaced, he knew where to take it....
Bass Pro Shops plans to open Pittsburgh-area store in early 2026
Bass Pro Shops plans to open its first store in Western Pennsylvania in early 2026. The 100,000-square-foot, two-level “Outdoor World” super store will be part of Newbury Market off of Interstate 79’s Bridgeville exit in South Fayette, Allegheny County, the company announced this week. The store is expected to employ...
Highlands musical workshop aims to inspire a love for performing arts
For Mason Neal, going to school on a Saturday was good. “Actually, it was great,” said Mason, 9, a fourth grader in Highlands School District. “It was really fun.” Mason was among about 80 Highlands elementary and middle school students who participated in a workshop with the high school cast...
State police charge Washington County man with homicide
A Washington County man was jailed Saturday morning, accused of killing a man earlier this week at a mobile home park in Nottingham Township. The incident happened Wednesday morning at Mingo Park Estates, state police said. According to state police, William Jeremiah Slider, 34, hit the victim, Richard W. Morse,...
Plum Rotary gives $2K to support Plum EMS car seat, crib program
The Plum Rotary Club is supporting an effort to get car seats and cribs to families in need. The club recently gave $2,000 to Plum Emergency Medical Services to support its child safety program, said Brian Maloney, director of operations for Plum EMS. Plum EMS started its child safety program...
Plum firefighters expecting to use old borough building for training before demolition
Plum’s old borough building will serve one last purpose for the community before it’s torn down. Council is expected to vote Monday on allowing volunteer firefighters with the borough’s four departments to use the New Texas Road building for training. Council appears receptive to the idea. When Holiday Park Fire...
Stella’s Beer Barn reopening in New Kensington with new owner, no limits
Customers will be making fewer trips to and from their cars when Stella’s Beer Barn reopens Sunday in New Kensington. Stella’s will be operating with a distributor license, which removes quantity limits that had been in place when it operated under a restaurant license that had been shared with the...
1 dead after exchange of gunfire in McKees Rocks
A man is dead Monday evening after an exchange of gunfire in McKees Rocks, according to Allegheny County Police. The shooting in the area of 3rd and Boquet streets was reported to Allegheny County 911 around 5:15 p.m. There, first responders found a 19-year-old who had been shot multiple times....
Trucks detoured, traffic restricted as work continues on New Kensington Bridge
Traffic restrictions and a detour for trucks are scheduled to start Tuesday morning as work continues on the New Kensington Bridge. A long-term traffic shift will start at about 7 a.m. Tuesday, PennDOT announced Monday. The shift is needed to allow for painting, fence replacement and sidewalk repairs. Two 10-foot-wide...
Burglarized New Kensington gun store moves to new, secured location
A New Kensington gun store burglarized in January has moved to a new location its owners have fortified against break-ins. RC Firearms moved about two miles within the city from the rear of 404 Freeport St. to 2391 Seventh Street Road, said Roy Berg, who opened RC Firearms with his...
New Kensington Giant Eagle red tagged after failing price accuracy test
Shoppers at Giant Eagle in New Kensington might want to double check their receipts. The store’s price scanning system failed an annual inspection Monday, resulting in red “rejected” tags being placed at all of the Tarentum Bridge Road store’s registers to alert consumers. The inspection by the Westmoreland County Bureau...
Federal grand jury indicts 2 men authorities say had 22 pounds of cocaine in New Kensington house
A federal grand jury has indicted two men authorities say had 22 pounds of cocaine in a New Kensington house. Marcos Francisco-Tomas, 33, and Andres Flores-Cedeno, 27, were indicted on charges of violating federal narcotics laws, U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced Tuesday. Each is being held in the Allegheny...
New Kensington-Arnold increases high school security measures after live round found in bathroom
New Kensington-Arnold School District officials have not figured out how a live firearm round got inside Valley High School two weeks ago, Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said Monday. The district has not changed any policies in response to the Feb. 13 incident, which caused a lockdown of the school that morning,...
New Kensington gun store burglary suspects enter not guilty pleas
A federal grand jury returned indictments against two men accused of burglarizing a New Kensington gun store in January. Michael Guin, 26, of Harrison and Steyn Sarduy, 18, no address available, each are charged with conspiracy and theft of a firearm from a licensed firearms dealer. Guin also is charged...
‘2nd chance at life’: Nurse performs CPR, saves Plum teen who collapsed on run
Today, Giustino Racchini is a freshman at Penn State University studying journalism, with plans to be a play-by-play announcer or a sportswriter. On a cold Monday in December, the 19-year-old lay dead on Old Frankstown Road in his hometown of Plum. He wasn’t breathing. He had no pulse. His heart...
‘Quiet’ New Kensington neighborhood unsettled by cocaine seizure, arrests
Holly Knapp knows there are places illicit drugs are bought and sold in New Kensington. She didn’t think her neighborhood was one of them. Knapp has lived for 25 years on Beamer Avenue, a short distance from where police Saturday descended on a house at the corner of Seventh Street,...
New Kensington’s Pioneer Apartments adds solar energy system
Maya Horton’s favorite thing about her home in Wesley Family Service’s Pioneer Apartments is peace. “It’s very peaceful. I have my peace,” she said. “That’s what I like about living here in this building. I go home to a peaceful environment, and I feel safe in my home.” Horton was...
Feds say they confiscated 22 pounds of cocaine from a house near New Kensington school; 2 arrested
Federal authorities charged two men with dealing large amounts of cocaine from a house they lived in near Martin Elementary School in New Kensington. Marcos Francisco-Tomas and Andres Flores-Cedeno were arrested Saturday, according to an affidavit that a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent filed in federal court in Pittsburgh....
Natural gas leak forces evacuation of Riverview Jr.-Sr. High School
A natural gas leak was discovered in Riverview Jr.-Sr. High School on Monday, a day during which no students or staff were inside the building. A handful of people who were in the Oakmont school in the morning, including custodians and a group conducting an architectural walkthrough, evacuated shortly before...
Gas prices expected to continue ticking upward, analyst says
Average gas prices in the Pittsburgh area have gone up 12 cents in the past week to an average of $3.63 per gallon, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. Pittsburgh-area drivers are paying, on average, 19 cents more per gallon for gas than they did a month ago but about 14...
New Kensington raid turns up 4 grams of crack cocaine, 78-year-old charged
A raid of a New Kensington home Thursday morning turned up just 4 grams of crack cocaine, but city police said they suspect other illegal drugs were flushed down a toilet before authorities discovered them. One of three people found inside the home, 78-year-old Leon Cash, faces drug charges in...
