Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 44
Hot water tank a focus of investigation into Plum house explosion; victims’ remains released to families
The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office confirmed it is investigating the possibility that complications with a hot water tank contributed to a house explosion in Plum over the weekend. That was the first public confirmation from officials about a possible origin of the blast Saturday morning that killed five people,...
2 Plum officials among house explosion deaths, all 5 now identified
Plum Borough Manager Michael Thomas and Community Development Director Heather Oravitz were among the five people killed in a house explosion Saturday, Mayor Harry Schlegel confirmed Monday. Thomas was 57. Oravitz was 51. The other victims, all identified through their families, were Casey Clontz, 38, and his son, Keegan, 12,...
Plum family recalls neighbor’s cry for help after blast
Beth Napoleon felt the force of the blast that obliterated her neighbor’s home directly across the street from hers in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood on Saturday. Worse, she heard her neighbor’s cry for help. “I was in-between things. I was just relaxing on the couch with one of my dogs...
Rustic Ridge explosion sends different kind of shock wave through Plum’s Holiday Park section
A lot on Hialeah Drive in Plum’s Holiday Park neighborhood where a house exploded and burned in April 2022 is just a grassy space between two other homes today. Since the Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s office released the scene, it’s been cleaned up and sold, with a new house expected...
Cause of Plum house explosion could take months or years to find, authorities say
Five people, four adults and one child, died in a massive house explosion in Plum on Saturday, borough police Chief Lanny Conley said at a news conference Sunday. None of the victims from the incident that destroyed three houses and damaged scores of others on Rustic Ridge Drive have yet...
Building the Valley: New Kensington couple offer elevated dining experiences at Jillian’s Restaurant
Philip Call and Jillian Ludwiczak are happy to have diners spend quality time enjoying meals at their New Kensington restaurant. They’re not in any hurry to turn tables over. And now, servers won’t have to waste any of that time explaining the restaurant’s name to customers, which was, thanks to...
New Kensington landlord accused of choking tenant who said she was buying a home
Editor’s note: The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office decided not to proceed with the case, according to court documents. A New Kensington property owner is accused of choking and hitting a tenant after the woman told him she was buying a house and moving out. New Kensington police charged Terrance...
Tornado, flood warnings issued across Southwestern Pa. as storms roll through
Warnings for severe thunderstorms and flash flooding and watches and warnings for tornadoes were coming rapidly from the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh on Saturday night as storms rolled through the region. At least one tornado was confirmed by radar in Washington County, the weather service said. On social media,...
Plum has history of house explosions
There have been at least two previous house explosions in Plum since 2008, both in the Holiday Park neighborhood. The most recent was April 22, 2022, at 5021 Hialeah Drive. A couple and their three sons who lived there survived. As of September, the cause of the explosion had not...
Arnold approves plan for use of public safety building after fire company shutdown
Arnold Council has approved a proposal for the use of the city’s public safety building. The plan, prepared by Arnold Volunteer Engine Company No. 2 Fire Chief Eric Gartley, comes after council’s vote in June to decertify Arnold No. 1, which was based out of the Johnson Peltz Public Safety...
Dog abandoned by owner at Pittsburgh airport expected to move into foster home
A dog abandoned last week at Pittsburgh International Airport is expected to be moved into a foster home while Humane Society police officers and Allegheny County Police are investigating the case, according to Animal Friends. The dog, a male French bulldog, was found in a stroller in the airport’s short-term...
Export man arrested in fatal Plum hit-and-run with motorcyclist
A 30-year-old man from Export was arrested in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash in June in Plum, Allegheny County police announced Thursday. County police charged Towner William Henretty II with a felony count of accidents involving death or personal injury and summary traffic offenses, including failing to stop and...
New Kensington-Arnold teacher advances to principal of H.D. Berkey Elementary
A New Kensington-Arnold elementary teacher has been advanced to principal. Brian Heidenreich is the new principal of H.D. Berkey Elementary, the district’s first and second grade school in Arnold. He replaces Nicole Roberts, who retired. Heidenreich was hired at a prorated salary of $84,356. He was chosen from six candidates,...
New Kensington police charge woman with indecent exposure, drug counts
New Kensington police charged a woman with indecent exposure after, they say, she urinated in a parking lot after being pulled over and accused of driving too slowly. In addition to indecent exposure, police charged Joanne Lynn Stone, 56, of Moon Township on Friday with driving under the influence, drug...
Respite from gas price increases may be brief on Saudi production cut, hurricane season
The pace of gasoline price increases appears to have peaked over the weekend and is beginning to gently fall, an industry analyst said Monday. “Average gasoline prices continued to move up last week thanks to a continued rise in oil and continued pressure from hot weather that impacted refineries,” said...
New Kensington man, woman facing charges after police say they stabbed each other
A New Kensington man and woman are facing charges after police say they stabbed each other during a fight. New Kensington police and Westmoreland County detectives filed charges Thursday against Franz N. Wade, 61, and Tamara Lynn Ambrosi, 56. They each were charged with aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a...
Dog abandoned by owner who left on flight from Pittsburgh airport, police say
A person abandoned their dog at Pittsburgh International Airport early Friday after being told it had to be in a crate to fly, Allegheny County Police said. The dog’s owner, who has not been identified, is expected to be charged with animal abandonment, county police said. According to county police,...
New Kensington-Arnold approves hiring, personnel moves ahead of new school year
The New Kensington-Arnold School District hired several teachers and other personnel ahead of the start of the 2023-24 school year. Nicholas DeFrancesco was hired as a DECA teacher at Valley Junior-Senior High School, with a starting salary of $53,368. DECA, short for Distributive Education Clubs of America, prepares students for...
Plum homeowner said to be making progress on fixing home borough sought to demolish
A Plum resident has been making “good progress” toward repairing his home that borough officials previously declared dangerous and sought to tear down, according to the borough manager. Council is scheduled to hold a follow-up hearing on the property at 247 Francis Road at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 14 at the...
8-year-old girl ejected from SUV during Arnold police pursuit
An 8-year-old girl was ejected from the window of an SUV that Arnold police were chasing Saturday. The vehicle was driven by a woman who didn’t have a license because of a DUI suspension, police said. An officer arrested Amanda Nicole Shaw, 30, of Arnold at gunpoint after she drove...
Gas prices soar amid heat-related refinery outages, analyst says
The Pittsburgh area’s brief stint of hot weather may be over, but drivers are still feeling the heat at the gas pump. Gas prices in the region and across the nation have soared over the past week because of heat-related outages impacting some of the country’s largest refineries, said Patrick...
Building the Valley: Ash Taphouse fires up service at former Beermuda in New Kensington
Jenn Toney takes pizza seriously. The New Kensington businesswoman attended a three-day “boot camp” in Chicago to learn how to make dough for wood-fired pizzas. She went to Las Vegas for a class on her rectangular, thick-cut “grandma” style, similar to Sicilian. And she bought a large, Italian wood-fired oven...
Arnold hosting 130th annual Western Pennsylvania Firemen’s Association convention
Firefighters from across Western Pennsylvania will gather next week in Arnold for their annual convention. The Western Pennsylvania Firemen’s Association’s 130th annual convention is scheduled to run from Thursday night to Monday morning. Public events will include a golf outing Friday morning in Kiski Township; the Battle of the Barrel...
2 hurt in Harrison crash
Two people were hurt when a pickup and an SUV collided on Freeport Road in Harrison Friday. According to Harrison police, the crash happened around 11:20 a.m. at Freeport Road and Dallas Avenue. Police said a 57-year-old man was driving a red Toyota pickup on Dallas Avenue toward Freeport Road....
4th Plum road to close for slide repair
Another road in Plum is closing for slide repair. PennDOT announced Thursday that Milltown Road between Shearer and Barnes roads will close at 7 a.m. Monday and remain closed through late September. Crews from A. Liberoni will be fixing three separate slides within the roughly mile stretch of Milltown, said...
