Joyce Hanz stories, Page 54

Joyce Hanz
Joyce Hanz
Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
$2.2M in improvements planned at Northmoreland Park in Allegheny Township
Westmoreland County is planning $2.2 million in improvements at Allegheny Township’s Northmoreland Park this summer. Brandon Simpson, the county’s parks and recreation director, said the work will include adding a large playground, a walking trail and a handicapped-accessible kayak and canoe launch. Soccer complex No. 2, used by the Kiski...
Homeschooling parents unite in Vandergrift for program where kids can socialize — without computers
Yoga, painting, gardening and storytime await home-schooled youngsters at a new program in Vandergrift. The Homeschool Co-op class meets every Friday in the lower level hall at The Center on Franklin Avenue in Vandergrift. It’s two hours of creative and nontechnology focused activities for children who are home-schooled. It’s taught...
Kiski Area Upper Elementary sixth-grader brightens Fridays with his dance moves 
An autistic pre-teen with a big heart and even bigger dance moves is causing a stir at school. Cash Malobicky, a sixth-grader at Kiski Area Upper Elementary School, is a featured dancer each week during the schoolwide video announcements broadcast. “My parents named me after the singer Johnny Cash,” said...
Washington Township man in his 80s homeless after fire destroys mobile home
A Washington Township man in his 80s was displaced Thursday morning when fire destroyed the George Drive mobile home in which he lived alone. Washington Township Volunteer Fire Company Chief Clayton Murphy said the fire in the 300 block of rural George Drive started around 10:30 a.m. The occupant of...
In the Kiski Area School District, students tutoring students benefits both 
There was fraction action happening Tuesday at Kiski Area Upper Elementary School. Fifth-grader Kolton McKain met with Kiski Area High School 10th-grader Kayla Mull after school for one-on-one math tutoring — part of a new After School Mentorship tutoring program. “I couldn’t imagine trying to learn fifth-grade math online —...
Police: Gilpin man reports own dog as stray, asks officer to remove it
A Gilpin man is accused of lying to police last month when they said he reported a stray dog had been barking all night outside his residence and asked for the dog to be removed. Police said they learned that the dog belonged to the man, identified in court documents...
Vandergrift website remains dark, officials mum on details
Vandergrift residents still don’t have a functioning borough website, and some residents are seeking answers from council. The website went offline more than a week ago. The outage was brought up by Councilwoman Karen McClarnon during Monday’s virtual council meeting. Visitors to the disabled website encounter an oversized message stating...
Leechburg man charged with assaulting juvenile
Police have charged an 18-year-old Leechburg man with sexually assaulting a juvenile runaway under the age of 13. Pennsylvania State Police in Kittanning filed charges against Ethan James Cogley last Thursday in connection with the alleged incidents. Cogley was arraigned Thursday and faces five felony charges including indecent assault of...
Exchange student from Italy adjusts to life in A-K Valley during pandemic 
Beatrice Latina will take back to Rome a memorable souvenir from her experience living in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Her covid recovery story. Latina, nicknamed “Bi Bi” by her friends, is from Italy and the sole foreign exchange student at Highlands High School in Harrison. She tested positive for covid-19 about...
Dollar General to open location in Parks Township
Parks Township is getting its first Dollar General discount store. Kelly Shotts, project manager with Harchuck Construction in Washington Township said the new store, located at 1014 East 2nd Street, is expected to open the first week in May. Washington Township-based Harchuck is developing the site on behalf of Dollar...
Kiski Area’s musical will be streamed on YouTube 
It’s still lights, camera, action for Kiski Area Musical students this spring. After sweeping cancellations of high school spring musical productions in 2020 due to covid conditions, directors had to adjust their musical productions. Kiski Musical director Robert Capanna found a creative and covid-19 friendly performance option. The cast is...
Kiski police seek woman accused of passing fake $100 bill
Kiski Township Police are looking for a woman they said passed counterfeit money at a grocery store on Thursday. In a post made on Friday to the Kiski Township Police Department Facebook page, police said the woman passed the counterfeit money on Feb. 25 at Held’s Shop & Save, 307...
Kiski Township police: Men charged after showing up at station drunk to discuss earlier incident
Police in Kiski Township say two men were drunk and upset when they showed up at the police station Sunday morning to discuss an earlier incident involving them in which police had not filed charges. Charges were filed against both men, however, in connection with the visit to the police...
Kiski Township man charged with strangulation, assault
A Kiski Township man is charged with assaulting a woman in her bed. Joshua Reilly, 36, faces a felony strangulation charge and misdemeanor charges of simple assault and reckless endangerment stemming from an incident Sunday evening. In court papers, Kiski Township Officer Daniel Clark Jr. said he responded to a...
People turned away from Leechburg food distribution because delivery truck a no-show
More than 50 people who lined up Saturday to receive free food in Leechburg went home empty-handed. A drive-thru food distribution, sponsored by Kiski Valley Community Church in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box program and the nonprofit Convoy of Hope, was canceled this...
Freezing then warming temps blamed for Pittsburgh-area water main breaks
More than 700 PWSA customers in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood were expected to be without water or have low water pressure Sunday night because of a water main break, and other breaks were reported in Homestead and West Mifflin. Officials with Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and Pennsylvania American Water...
Police: Mercer County man wanted in abduction case shot himself after shootout with police in Arkansas
A Mercer County man is dead after a Saturday night shootout with state police in a McDonald’s parking lot in Arkansas, authorities said. William Ice, 38, of Jackson Center, had been wanted for the Feb. 11 kidnapping Savannah Childress, 14, in Davidson County, N.C. Multiple police agencies including the FBI,...
Police: Homewood woman charged in child sex case involving Rankin man
A 25-year-old woman from Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood was arrested Friday on charges she conspired with a Rankin man to commit sex crimes against children. Sidney Brooks was taken into custody by Pittsburgh police. Allegheny County police have charged Brooks with 38 felony counts for conspiring with Devaughante Law Sr. of...
Leechburg Area School District’s covid-19 cases continue to decline
Active covid-19 cases continue to decrease in the Leechburg Area School District. Superintendent Tiffany Nix said there have been no active cases reported since Feb. 12. The district added a covid tracker to its website earlier this month that displays the latest, year-to-date and inactive positive covid-19 cases for the...
Need eggs? New delivery service caters to Leechburg-area residents 
A new local egg delivery service is available for Leechburg area residents. Kira Karpinski, 38, of Gilpin recently started a subscription egg home delivery service. She said she has a surplus of eggs from more than 20 varieties of hens on her farm and she was inspired to offer the...
Leechburg students learn about their emotions and how to handle them 
It’s been an emotional six weeks for some students at David Leech Elementary School in Leechburg. And that’s a good thing, said Erin Hettrich, elementary art teacher and co-organizer of Color Monster, a new collaborative student program spotlighting emotional and mental health. “This has been a difficult school year full...
Kiski Township man charged with stealing ATVs, other off-road vehicles from several locations
A Kiski Township man is charged with stealing multiple all-terrain and recreational vehicles and a truck from his former employer. Dominic Albert Hayward, 24, was arraigned Friday on felony charges including burglary, theft, and receiving stolen property in Kiski Township as well as on Butler, Westmoreland and Armstrong counties and...
Leechburg awards $216K contract for wall reconstruction project
A partial wall reconstruction project in Leechburg is progressing. Portions of the 260-foot-long wall along the borough’s Third Street are collapsing. Plans call for about 150 feet of the wall to be replaced in a project that is expected to cost more than $216,000. Council on Wednesday awarded a contract...
Leechburg church uses Ash Wednesday stickers to tweak its ‘Ashes to Go’ ministry
Even Ash Wednesday isn’t immune to a pandemic, but even a pandemic can’t stop Ash Wednesday. One Leechburg church didn’t let covid-19 restrictions stop its annual “Ashes to Go” ministry Wednesday. The Revs. Gary and Lisa Lyon, co-pastors at Cross Roads Community Presbyterian Church, started “Ashes to Go” in 2016,...
Apollo man accused of sending inappropriate messages to 2 young teen girls
A 33-year-old Apollo man is accused of sending inappropriate messages to at least two young teenage girls and, in one case, of trying to seduce a girl while his girlfriend and daughter also were in the house. Police in Apollo and Kiski Township filed charges against Nicholas Owen McMunn in...


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