Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 37

The 2023-24 school year will start earlier for students and teachers in the New Kensington-Arnold School District under a new calendar that includes other significant changes. Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said students were at the “very center” of the calendar’s development. “The only thing budgets and grant money cannot buy is...

The New Kensington-­Arnold School District will spend nearly $1.3 million on projects at the high school and two of the district’s three elementary schools. The lion’s share — a little more than $1 million — will pay for renovations at the pool and auditorium at Valley High School. About $671,000 is...

Former state representative and lieutenant governor candidate Carrie Lewis DelRosso says she is “very happy” to be returning to her work in public relations. Plum Council recently approved a proposal for marketing and public relations consulting with DelRosso, who operates her own firm. She has also accepted a position handling...

Members of Leechburg’s drama club are getting all jazzed up for this year’s spring musical. The club will stage performances of the teen edition of “Chicago,” the longest-running American musical in Broadway history, the weekend of March 31. “When I heard what our options were, I got so excited for...

New Kensington planners will consider a proposal for another new car wash off Tarentum Bridge Road. The city’s planning commission will review final site development and subdivision plans for a ModWash car wash in Riverview Plaza when it meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, city Engineer Tony Males said....

A paralyzed cat led to retired veterinarian Dr. Betsy Kennon changing the way she sees her purpose in life. In 2008, Kennon was presented with a kitten suffering from a spinal cord injury and unable to use its hind legs. Her professional judgment told her to put the ownerless cat...

Discarded rags were behind the cause of a fire that led to severe damage to a Plum house two weeks ago. Allegheny County Chief Fire Marshal Matt Brown said the Feb. 21 fire at 435 Millers Lane was accidental “due to spontaneous heating of discarded rags used for oil base...

A Kiski Township supervisor who has accused other supervisors of discriminating against her because of her gender has submitted her resignation. Township supervisors were expected to vote on Sherry Tamski’s resignation during their meeting Wednesday night, according to an agenda for the meeting. The motion also authorizes advertising to fill...

Two women died in a crash Monday in Plumcreek Township, according to Armstrong County Coroner Brian K. Myers. State police on Tuesday identified the women as Lacy L. Gohn, 41, and Marasco Sonza, 70. Where they lived was not disclosed. The crash happened around noon on State Route 210 just...

The average gasoline price in the Pittsburgh area came down slightly in the past week while the national average increased as the transition to summer gas has started across the entire country, an industry analyst said Monday. Pittsburgh’s average was $3.72 per gallon, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy and its...

An Allegheny Township man who took over a Lower Burrell pie business will be opening a storefront in New Kensington in time for the city’s second annual “Restaurant Ramble” this month. Jim Rennick, owner of Farm House Fresh, said a mini cheesecake will be his contribution to the small bites...

The former chief of Arnold’s No. 1 fire department is facing a civil claim against him by the department and is the subject of a criminal investigation. In a civil complaint filed with New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr., the department says Brian Gouza owes $1,525 for advance...

Debbie Schreckengost hasn’t been inside one of New Kensington-Arnold’s schools since retiring from her maintenance job with the district eight years ago. An invitation to read to students during Read Across America Week brought her and other retirees to Roy A. Hunt Elementary in Arnold on Wednesday. An initiative of...

Aldi’s new store in New Kensington is slated to open March 23, a spokesperson for the company said Wednesday. The opening of the newly built store in Riverview Plaza on Tarentum Bridge Road will be preceded by the closing of the nearby store in Lower Burrell, scheduled for two days...

Traffic will be shifted on Greensburg Road near Lincoln Beach Drive in Plum for work to replace a bridge over Pucketa Creek, the Allegheny County Department of Public works announced Tuesday. The lane shifts will start at 9 a.m. March 13 and are expected to end in December, the department...

Pennsylvania is among a majority of states that saw gas prices decline over the past week, an industry analyst said. “The national average has resumed its decline after a pause last week as oil and wholesale gasoline prices fell on worrisome inflation figures showing the Fed likely to ramp up...

An Arnold man who is not allowed to possess a firearm because of his criminal history was found to have a loaded handgun when police pulled him over for running a stop sign, according to court paperwork. Arnold police charged Nathan Nateef Harper, 32, Wednesday with two felony gun offenses...

Consol Energy is preparing to build a nearly 4-mile pipeline to carry treated water from the former Renton Mine through Plum to the Allegheny River. According to Consol, the Renton Mine water treatment facility on Old Mine Road has been in operation for more than 30 years. It prevents an...

A more than yearlong investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office and the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force has disrupted a large-scale fentanyl trafficking organization in the Alle-Kiski Valley. In court paperwork filed Friday, agents said they made controlled buys of fentanyl between January and March 2022 in Arnold, New...

A woman is in the Allegheny County Jail after being involved in a police chase that ended in a crash Thursday morning on the New Kensington Bridge. On Friday, state police said troopers tried to stop Jasmine Christine Jackson, 34, of Arnold on Freeport Road in East Deer. Jackson was...

New Kensington police say a Wilkins Township man admitted to stealing a Jeep from a used car dealership in the city because he was bored. In court paperwork, police say David Eugene George II, 18, admitted breaking into Wheel Deal Auto Sales on Industrial Boulevard on Feb. 3. They say...

A proposal to build a community park and garden in downtown New Kensington will go to city council for consideration. Westmoreland Community Action and Wesley Family Services have proposed building the park and garden on vacant lots along 10th Street, with Third Avenue running between them. The city owns the...

February isn’t over yet, but it’s already made weather history for Southwestern Pennsylvania. The high temperature reached a record-tying 70 degrees at Pittsburgh International Airport in Moon Township on Thursday, National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Frazier said. It was the third time this month that the high has reached 70...

A Plum patrolman was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after another Plum officer found him asleep behind the wheel of a running vehicle, police said. Ryan E. Schneiderlochner, 51, of Plum is scheduled for a preliminary hearing April 26 on the charge filed Jan. 24, according to...

No one was hurt in a fire Tuesday that destroyed a house in Plum. The fire at 435 Millers Lane was reported at 4:40 p.m., according to an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher. Tim Townsend and his fiancee, Christine Biros, own the one-story home and live there with his adult son,...