Jack Troy stories

South Buffalo voters will decide at the polls Tuesday whether the township should allow expanded alcohol sales. A referendum on the May 20 primary ballot is something of a do-over. A 2021 measure passed, but was ultimately voided by the state Liquor Control Board because it focused solely on the...

A search and rescue mission in Donora ended in sorrow Saturday with the discovery of a 12-year-old boy’s body on the bed of the Monongahela River. The Washington County Coroner’s Office identified the boy as Rontae Lester of Donora. According to the coroner’s report, Lester was swimming with friends Saturday...

A 13-year-old boy is in critical condition after being shot early Sunday morning in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes. Pittsburgh police say they were dispatched just before 2:45 a.m. for a one-round ShotSpotter alert at the intersection of Magdalene and Oporto streets. The ShotSpotter system uses microphones throughout the city to...

If a player so much as drops a baseball in the dirt during certain hours, it becomes game-used memorabilia. But the smudged, worn wooden bat in Tim Thoma’s hand really saw some action. From 1965 to 1968, it belonged to Roberto Clemente. The Pirates legend used the bat to help...

A PennDOT worker cleaning litter from the Parkway North was taken to a hospital Saturday morning after a pickup hit a PennDOT truck, state police said. The collision happened around 7:30 a.m. on the southbound interstate near the Mt. Nebo Road exit. State police said that during the litter cleanup...

It takes Kathy Younkins just a few minutes to walk to her neighborhood Rite Aid. The 67-year-old has picked up her prescriptions at the company’s Harrison location since the 2000s. But now the Philadelphia-based pharmacy empire is crumbling. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month, blaming “the...

It’s a new dawn for the old East Vandergrift Elementary School following its conversion into Morning Sun Senior Lofts. The $17 million, 42-unit affordable housing complex recently welcomed its first tenants. It came after more than five years of planning, design and construction, transforming the historic building from a crumbling...

East Vandergrift officials have long seen potential in Kiskiminetas River Park, a small greenspace tucked in the borough’s eastern corner that for years was plagued by vandals. Discussions about a revival kicked off in 2020. Five years later, that work has paid off. Now, instead of a swingless swingset, there’s...

UPS is shipping out of North Apollo. The borough’s package distribution center is among the three UPS facilities in Pennsylvania and 73 nationwide closing as the company leans into automation and cuts back on Amazon shipments. The facilities are used to receive, store and send packages with delivery drivers. Saturday...

Property owners in the Freeport Area School District may be facing a tax increase for next school year, even though the school board passed a preliminary budget that includes no tax increase. That’s because the preliminary 2025-26 budget shows a $450,000 deficit, and administrators warn more revenue will be needed...

U.S. Steel is among the industrial polluters seeking exemptions to Biden-era requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals. The Pittsburgh-based company, with its Mon Valley Works, is taking up the Trump administration on its offer to request a two-year presidential pass on recently updated provisions of the Clean Air Act....

The former head of the Cambria County Bar Association is accused of stealing more than $300,000 from the organization to lavish herself with trips to Mexico, cosmetic procedures and a timeshare property. Robin Hagins, 56, of Upper Yoder was charged Wednesday with theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, criminal use of...

After more than 30 years in charge, Vandergrift No. 1 Volunteer Fire Department is passing the torch on its annual carnival. Local business owner and self-proclaimed carnival lover Sia Fouse is organizing this year’s festivities, which will include rides, concessions, a children’s talent show, live music, craft vendors and a...

A private investigator claims a blue backpack carried by Cherrie Mahan at the time of her disappearance 40 years ago from a Winfield school bus stop could be key to cracking the case. “I am convinced through some fairly recent testimony and input that Cherrie’s book bag was very likely...

Two of the thousands of pet owners allegedly defrauded by a local funeral director have filed a class action lawsuit in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. They’re seeking financial damages from Patrick Vereb, who ran funeral homes in Pittsburgh and Harrison until being hit with multiple felony charges earlier...

On warm afternoons, James Buchanan likes to turn on the radio, crack a beer and watch the cars go by from his garage where Route 356 and Bear Creek Road meet. The entertainment amps up around rush hour, when shoppers and commuters pour onto the highway cutting through Buffalo Township...

ATI and its employees have reached a six-year labor agreement. The deal was announced Wednesday, about a week after ATI and the United Steelworkers union reached a tentative agreement on wages, working conditions and benefits for nearly 1,000 employees. Many produce specialty alloys at the company’s Harrison, Vandergrift and Latrobe...

Federal regulators approved a deal between Gov. Josh Shapiro and PJM Interconnection to limit some electricity price hikes. PJM is a regional transmission organization, which works to secure generation capacity for utility companies within its 13-state network. It holds annual auctions in which the lowest bidder earns the right —...

Star Henwood admits she likes to take risks. Her thrill-seeking tendencies landed her in trouble — and the hospital — last week when she plunged about 100 feet down a hillside in Harrison Hills Park, leading to a two-hour effort by first responders to hoist her back to safety. She...

Former Vandergrift police Sgt. Anthony “Tony” Depanicis, who is accused of having sex with a minor about 100 times in the early to mid-1990s, waived his charges to court Monday. A criminal complaint filed by state police alleges he invited a 14-year-old girl to his Oklahoma Borough home for sex...

A report from a University of Pittsburgh public health graduate student has found lingering information gaps and distrust surrounding the Army Corps of Engineers’ planned cleanup of the Parks Township nuclear waste dump. “There is a very intense fear around the site, and people have stuck to that,” said Ariana...

Republicans voters in Buffalo Township will have three choices for supervisor in the May 20 primary. Bob Buterbaugh, John Haven and Heath Singer all are vying for a six-year term. No Democrats are on the primary ballot. The winner likely will succeed Albert “Ouch” Roenigk, who is stepping down from...

It’s mid-morning on a Thursday in March, and Kristen Formaini is searching for “effortless.” The soft music, wafts of burning palo santo and three heaters set to a stuffy 85 degrees are all meant to help her and her students find it. “We repeat things all the time in this...

After more than 50 years with Heritage Valley Sewickley, the Valley Ambulance Authority is instead relying on physicians from Allegheny Health Network’s hospital in Wexford for authorization to treat patients in the field. The switch happened March 1, but wasn’t officially announced until April 16. “We saw that Allegheny Health...

The head of Heritage Valley Health System says the network’s Sewickley hospital isn’t going anywhere, despite the upcoming closure of its Kennedy counterpart. “Clearly, there is a need for a hospital in that Sewickley community,” Heritage Valley President and CEO Norm Mitry told TribLive. “We don’t foresee any negative impact...