Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 62

A New Kensington animal shelter is decked out for Halloween and has festivities planned Saturday afternoon and evening. The event, beginning at noon and culminating in an outdoor showing of the horror classic “Night of the Living Dead” is something new for Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley and the first...

A New Kensington volunteer firefighter accustomed to helping others is appreciative that his community is rallying to his aid now that he is in need. Chris Ploski, 59, is a firefighter with the city’s No. 2 engine company in Parnassus. He was diagnosed in late September with stage 4 small...

Renata Diaz calls the living room of her New Kensington home her “bright place.” But Diaz was grateful that she and her four young children — ranging from her newborn daughter to her 10-year-old son — weren’t there Monday morning. On Tuesday, Diaz said that because her 3-year-old daughter wanted...

The New Kensington-Arnold School Board has accepted a $358,000 bid to repair one of four bridges that cross over Little Pucketa Creek at Valley High School. The bid from Caliber Contracting Services of Edgewood was the only one received for work on the main entrance bridge. The bid was opened...

The last of the first Fridays on Fifth is coming this week in New Kensington, and business owners are hoping to keep the city’s momentum going through the winter until the monthly events return next year. Held on the fourth Friday of the month, the first Fridays on Fifth was...

There’s a chance for severe weather in the Pittsburgh area Friday as temperatures fall to seasonal norms, according to the National Weather Service. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop throughout the day as a cold front approaches, and a few storms could become severe in the afternoon and...

Part of Ross Hollow Road in Plum will be closed for four days because of work on a bridge on Stotler Road, Allegheny County Public Works announced Thursday. Ross Hollow is scheduled to be closed between Harris Road and Rustic Ridge Drive at 5 p.m. Oct. 22. The closure is...

No one was hurt in a fire on a houseboat docked at the North Shore on the Allegheny River Thursday morning, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety. According to officials, a river rescue crew member reporting to work saw smoke coming from the boat, docked near Mazeroski Way and PNC Park,...

A New Kensington woman who was reported missing has been found, according to New Kensington police. According to police, Alexis Johnson, 33, was last seen in New Kensington on Oct. 5 or 6. She was reported missing Wednesday. Johnson was located by her family, New Kensington police Detective Sgt. Matt...

A man was found shot to death in Penn Hills Wednesday night, according to Allegheny County Police. Police said Allegheny County 911 was notified of a shooting in the 200 block of Columbia Avenue around 10:45 p.m. The victim was identified as Lamarr Keith Thorne II, 32, of Homewood by...

Arnold Council is getting on board with Export Mayor Joe Zaccagini’s proposal for how Westmoreland County could best allocate $105 million in covid relief funds. Zaccagini recently proposed distributing the money equally among the county’s 65 municipalities. Arnold Councilman George Hawdon said the city also will suggest the county do...

The eastbound lanes of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the New Castle and Cranberry interchanges were closed for several hours overnight Tuesday after a tractor-trailer crashed and caught fire. State police said the crash happened at mile marker 13.2, on the bridge over the Beaver River, in Big Beaver Borough shortly...

Pittsburgh police accused a Harrison woman of setting dumpsters on fire in Uptown and knocking over construction cones and signs in the South Side on Monday. Jennifer Robare, 30, faces a felony count of arson and misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief and giving false identification to law enforcement in connection...

A 10-month-old girl died over the weekend, two weeks after ingesting heroin at a Beaver County home in September. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner said Myla Rushman died Saturday at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. The incident happened in the 1000 block of Rice Avenue in Ambridge on Sept. 25....

State police are looking for the driver of a vehicle after a pursuit in Somerset County last week. State police said they were unable to find Mark Lynn Boden, 27, of Johnstown, after the chase on Thursday that started on Glades Pike and continued for about 5 miles before ending...

The veil of mystery surrounding The Corner will be lifted this week in New Kensington. The Corner, a Penn State program at 701 Fifth Ave., will host an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday. The Corner opened in 2017. “There’s a bit of a mystique about what...

One of Arnold’s two volunteer fire departments is going to try something new for a fundraiser. Arnold Engine Co. No. 2 will host its first “Octoberfest” from 6-10 p.m. Oct. 15 at its social hall, 1702 Fifth Ave. “Now that we’re actually allowed to have in-person fundraisers, we’re going to...

A man was robbed of more than $4,000 at gunpoint Friday when he met someone to buy an ATV in Beaver County, state police said. State police said the victim, a 24-year-old man from Conneautville in Crawford County, arranged to meet the seller in the 400 block of Upper Service...

A Monroeville man died Sunday in Penn Hills in a crash involving a vehicle and an ATV, according to Allegheny County Police. Police said the crash happened around 7:30 p.m. in the 200 block of Universal Road. First responders found Eric Lavrinc, 57, who had been thrown from his ATV....

New Kensington residents aren’t going to pay more for the water coming into their homes next year, but they’ll pay more for it going out. While the Municipal Authority of New Kensington won’t be changing the cost of water in 2022, the Municipal Sanitary Authority of the City of New...

They got to see the fire trucks, hold the hoses and sit in an engine’s driver seat. But there were also important lessons to be learned when New Kensington volunteer firefighters paid a visit to the school housing the community’s youngest children Friday. What to do when there’s a fire,...

Before ’Vette owners put their babies away for the winter, Larry Shaffer hopes they’ll consider bringing them out for one last ride. Shaffer is organizing a judged all-Corvette car show in October at AK Valley Park in New Kensington, proceeds from which will go to the Officer Brian Shaw Foundation....

Frederick Clay says the sooner New Kensington tears down a dilapidated house on his street, the better. “Nature reclaimed the house,” he said of the house at 1211 Leishman Ave., next to his own. “I’ve been cutting this grass for years. It’s a weekly struggle.” Clay said the house has...

Are you good at coming up with names? A mural in New Kensington needs one. Westmoreland Community Action is taking suggestions for a name for the community mural at Ninth Street and Fourth Avenue. It’s on the side of the building housing Ashley’s Kitchen, across from Central City Plaza. The...

New Kensington has three new officers and a second police dog joining its force. While City Council approved hiring three new officers, Mayor Tom Guzzo swore in Max, an 18-month-old Belgian Malinois, at the top of council’s monthly meeting Monday. Council approved hiring Christian Leonarski, Cory Rezak and Salvador Zepeda....