Leechburg opts for no-kill shelter in annual animal control contract
Effectively ending a decades-long practice, Leechburg Council approved an animal control contract with Indiana County’s Whiskey Acres Rescue and Sanctuary, replacing Salem Township-based Hoffman Kennels. While he couldn’t name a specific length of time, Councilman Chuck Pascal said the borough has been signing an annual contract with Hoffman’s for as...
Leechburg Council looking for new auditor after 1 was elected to borough council
Leechburg is in the market for an auditor. Usually operating with three auditors, the Nov. 4 election left the borough one short after Dina Blake was elected to council. Borough leadership is accepting letters of interest until Jan. 2. They are hoping to appoint someone to a two-year term at...
Oakmont changes requirements for potential police officer hires
Oakmont Council approved changes to regulations that will make the hiring process quicker and more accessible for prospective borough police officers. The changes in the borough’s hiring process and officer testing requirements were approved in a 5-2 vote during council’s meeting Tuesday. Council members Isaiah Wilson and Jennifer Paris voted...
Oakmont residents to see no tax increase for 2026
Oakmont Council has passed a 2026 budget with no tax increases. After a unanimous vote, the borough’s real estate tax rate will remain at 4.95 mills. A homeowner with a median assessed property value of $155,000 would pay around $767. Total revenue for the budget is set just over $6...
Incumbent retains East Deer commissioner seat
Incumbent Ed Kissel will keep his East Deer commissioner seat for the 21st year. The Nov. 4 race for the township’s 2nd Ward seat ended in a tie between Kissel, 75, and newcomer Alexander Gigler, 34. Each got 131 (49.8%) votes. After the results were certified by the Allegheny County...
Pittsburgh Brewing, Iron City Distilling host holiday tours
‘Tis the season for community, and Iron City Distilling is inviting just that. The distillery will temporarily open its doors for complimentary holiday tours. On Dec. 22 and 23, attendees will have access to the full benefits of a standard distillery tour for free. Features include two drink samples, a...
Frigid temperatures hamper Buffalo Township fire response
It was 4 degrees Tuesday morning when Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief Matt Cypher and his crew were called to a house fire. Crews responded to the 600 block of Sarver Road in Buffalo Township at 1:30 a.m. When they got there, Cypher said, the five people living in...
Oakmont welcomes new Dollar General location
Oakmont residents will have a new place to shop in 2026. The site of the former Rite Aid on Allegheny River Boulevard will be reopened as a Dollar General next year. According to a Dec. 5 Instagram post by Bennett Williams Commercial Real Estate agent Adam Hagerman, the building was...
Iron City Distilling pays tribute to, makes history with whiskey release
Amid the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, Iron City Distilling is hitting a major milestone. On Friday, the East Deer distillery will be hosting a limited single-barrel release of its Bessemer Rye whiskey, marking the first drink produced completely in the distillery. “We distilled this about 21⁄2 years...
Use of food delivery apps remains strong despite rising costs
James Duty used food delivery apps pretty regularly until about a year ago, when the costs began hitting his wallet a little too hard. “Food delivery was always a very luxury item,” said Duty, 24, of East Liberty. “As prices everywhere rise, this is a natural first cut for a...
House that was home to East Deer family for 3 generations destroyed by fire
No injuries were reported when a fire tore through the home of an East Deer firefighter Friday afternoon. The blaze at the Bertolini home in the 200 block of Baileys Run Road was reported shortly after 1 p.m., according to Allegheny County 911. Firefighters at the scene said their efforts...
Hampton woman accused of stealing $130K from Deer Lakes School District
A Hampton woman is facing multiple felony charges after being accused of stealing nearly $130,000 in student activity fees while serving as the Deer Lakes School District’s accounts receivable/payable clerk. Rachel Rominski, 53, is charged with theft by unlawful taking, misapplication of entrusted funds and receiving stolen property. Rominski was...
West Deer residents introduce objectives for recently formed nonprofit
Some residents of West Deer have big dreams for the township and surrounding communities. The members of Deer Lakes Regional Revitalization Corp. say those dreams can now be followed. An idea born in 2024, the nonprofit was officially founded in March 2025 by Leonard Verdetto, a West Deer resident and...
Poppin’ Tags Free Store owner extends mission with funds, new business
Sonya Dembowski remembers the moment she decided to begin her Poppin’ Tags Free Store in West Deer. She was driving through Coraopolis in the height of the pandemic shutdown. She remembers seeing piles of donations left outside a closed store. Dembowski later saw on the news that, because the donations...
Riverview life skills students raise more than $2,000 for unified bocce
Riverview’s life skills class is the home of craftsmen. Specializing in woodwork, accessories and T-shirt making, students put their skills to the test when they sold their wares at the recent Pittsburgh’s Handmade Arcade event. “We do a lot of career development stuff and financial literacy through selling different things,”...
Penn Hills entrepreneur expands to college market with beauty business
Taylor Shealey wants everyone to feel beautiful — and like a boss. The 22-year-old from Penn Hills has dedicated her life to the mission through one of her businesses, Boss Girl Collection, an LLC that umbrellas Shealey’s clothing, skin care, accessory and beauty companies. Her latest endeavor has been a...
Penn Hills, Pittsburgh leaders unveil newly paved East Hills Drive in ‘2 birds, 1 stone’ collaboration
Petra International Ministries’ Elder Jim Balthrop has been working with the church for 30 years. For those 30 years, Balthrop has listened to the worries and complaints of his parishioners about the state of East Hills Drive, a road that connects Penn Hills to Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood. Since 1995,...
MicroSociety builds confidence, challenges students at Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship
Mini-city Soarmania is celebrating its fifth anniversary. Not a place found on the map, Soarmania was meticulously created and carried on by students of Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship. For one period each day, PHCSE transforms into the MicroSociety Soarmania, where students apply academics to real-life experiences. Running from...
Verona, Oakmont open student councilperson applications for Riverview students
Riverview students can have a seat at the table. Oakmont and Verona councils have opened applications for student representatives to join the conversation. The programs allow selected Riverview students to attend monthly council voting and workshop meetings, budget sessions and community events. Both boroughs encourage the student representatives to participate...
Former Leechburg police chief sees latest felony charge dropped
Former Leechburg police chief Michael Diebold’s most recent felony charge, claiming he had not reported all of the internet sites and apps he had been using, has been dismissed. After pleading guilty in December 2018 to soliciting sex online from a state trooper who was posing as a 14-year-old girl,...
Oakmont considers new requirements for police officer hires
Oakmont is considering changes to regulations that would make the hiring process quicker and more accessible for prospective borough police officers. During Tuesday night’s council meeting, David Decker of the borough’s civil service commission proposed changes to the borough’s regulations for officer hires. “We want to look at the rules...
Leechburg Bridge remains dark, work progressing
Drivers are still being kept in the dark on Leechburg Veterans Memorial Bridge. Leechburg Mayor Doreen Smeal said borough leadership has been working with PennDOT for more than a year to try to get lights on the bridge working again. “They didn’t all go out at once,” Smeal said. There...
Verona proposed budget shows 9% tax increase
Verona property owners would be looking at a 9% tax increase if the borough’s proposed 2026 budget is passed. Jason Dailey, the borough’s interim manager, presented a budget Nov. 25 that includes a 1-mill tax hike. Revenues are predicted to fall a little over $2.5 million. Expenditures are projected to...
No tax increase for property owners in Leechburg; skills game tax climbs for operators
Leechburg’s 2026 budget calls for no real estate tax increase. The budget includes more than $1.46 million in expenditures with just over $1.34 million in revenue. The gap will be filled by using a portion of a $145,000 surplus from this year’s budget. Councilman and finance chair D.J. Zelczak said...
Alleged burglary in Freeport ends in ICE taking 3 men into custody
Three men were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday morning after they were caught in a vacant apartment in Freeport, police said. Chris Fabec, chief of Southern Armstrong Regional Police Department, said police were called about 4:30 a.m. to a Lane Court townhouse in the...
