Kellen Stepler stories, Page 18
35-year police veteran takes reins as Bridgeville police chief
Bridgeville officials didn’t have to look far to find the borough’s next police chief. Council on Monday, May 12 appointed Sgt. Gary James, a 35-year veteran of the borough’s police department, as chief. “It’s a great honor to be able to represent this community as chief of police,” said James,...
Faces of the Valley: Lower Burrell welder, 90, has ‘never worked a day in his life’
If it’s broken, Dale Wolfe tries to fix it. That’s been the 90-year-old’s motto since 1952, when he started welding in the Lower Burrell and New Kensington areas. “I’ve had a great life,” said Wolfe, who now works for his son Kevin at Wolfe Metal Fab Inc. in Braeburn Heights....
3 Democrats vying for 2 New Kensington Council seats in primary
Three men seeking two Democratic Party nods in the New Kensington Council primary say they want to continue the business growth and development in the city. Nicholas DiCarolis, Randi Shank and Phillip Toney are the Democratic candidates in the May 20 primary. The top two vote-getters will face off against...
Report details Penn State New Kensington, Fayette’s plights as campuses recommended for closure
Penn State New Kensington has “struggled to maintain relevance and scale” in the Pittsburgh region’s competitive higher education environment. And Penn State Fayette has enrollment, demographic and operational challenges that make it unsustainable. That’s the reasoning behind the Penn State administration’s recommendation to close those two campuses — and seven...
Lower Burrell Fire Co. 3 excited for future with new rescue-engine
A custom-made rescue engine for Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3, once deployed in 2028, will lower the number of vehicles in the company’s fleet but increase efficiency of emergency responses, its fire chief says. Company leaders last week signed a contract with Ohio-based Sutphen Co. to build a...
Penn State trustees to meet Thursday, but no vote on campus closures expected
Penn State’s trustees will meet Thursday morning, but a decision on branch campus closures will not be made then, according to a university spokesman. The board of trustees tentatively scheduled a public meeting Thursday to discuss President Neeli Bendapudi’s recommendation regarding the possible campus closures. University administrators in February announced...
New Kensington’s Re:Build to boost U.S. production capacity for renewable hydrogen
A new partnership at New Kensington’s Advanced Manufacturing Park will put the city in the heart of the country’s growing hydrogen economy, area business leaders say. New York-based Ecolectro, a hydrogen production manufacturer, announced last week it has partnered with Re:Build Manufacturing to build next-generation electrolyzers. Ecolectro Chief Commercial Officer...
Bethesda Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lower Burrell celebrating 175 years
Nancy Sweetland believes Bethesda Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lower Burrell has made it to 175 years because of the “spirit of the church.” “It’s been through so many different stages,” said Sweetland, who has played the organ on and off for a total of 50 years at Bethesda and has...
History group investigating old pioneer cabin in Upper Burrell — if it even existed there
To Millie Pipman, the key to a missing piece of area history lies within a pioneer cabin in Upper Burrell. If it was even there in the first place. Pipman, a member of the Massy Harbison-Fort Hand Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, is working with the Tri-City...
Last plea? PSNK professors ask for moratorium, task force on campus closures
In what might be its final plea, some Penn State New Kensington professors are asking the university’s board of trustees to temporarily pause any decisions to shutter branch campuses and to establish a task force to try to resolve any demographic and financial issues at the satellite colleges. “We urge...
H.D. Berkey students get bike-riding lesson: ‘It’s a fundamental life skill’
Seven-year-old Kai’ere King has a need for speed. “I like riding bikes that are fast,” said Kai’ere, a student at H.D. Berkey School in Arnold. “I like fast bikes. “It’s like the speed of light.” Kai’ere and his first and second grade peers at H.D. Berkey spent the past week...
Carlynton students ‘make something beautiful’ with park mural
In 11-year-old Michaela Champion’s eyes, Carnegie is a small community with loads of talent. That talent will be exhibited, as Champion and 23 of her peers in the Carlynton School District spent two days this month painting a mural in Irishtown Tot Park with the guidance from California artist Amanda...
Their brother left New Kensington to serve in Korea and never returned. 75 years later, they have closure
Marjorie Ann “Marjie” Mahar called her brother, Paul Bowser, one afternoon in March and told him to sit down. “I just got a call from Fort Knox,” she told him. On March 24, three hours before she was set to deliver a speech before the Tennessee House of Representatives about...
Vacant warehouse building near New Kensington Bridge to be renovated
What’s currently an old, vacant building with broken windows near the New Kensington Bridge will eventually be a renovated, 100,000-square-foot space to accommodate a large industrial tenant, RIDC officials say. “It’s a great building for a lot of the demand we’re seeing from industrial users,” said Don Smith, RIDC president....
Kavan Markwood takes 1st steps since PNC Park fall, family reports
Kavan Markwood, the man who fell over the right field wall at PNC Park last week, took his first steps on Monday, according to an online fundraiser update posted by his girlfriend’s mother, Jennifer Phillips. The update, posted at 4:45 p.m. Monday by Phillips, said Markwood being up and moving...
New Kensington City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti to retire after 38-year career
New Kensington City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti — referred to as the city’s “go-to guy” by councilman Tim DiMaio — will retire this month after 38 years as the city’s top administrator. Council on Monday accepted Scarpiniti’s retirement letter, which is effective May 30. “I can’t help but feel grateful for...
As deadline looms for Penn State’s future, former PSNK chancellors share thoughts
Robert Arbuckle has myriad suggestions for what Penn State could do to combat declining enrollment and financial issues at its branch campuses. None of them include closing campuses. “You have to use your imagination and be creative,” said Arbuckle, who was the Upper Burrell college’s CEO from 1977 to 1992....
Lower Burrell native’s curiosity leads to groundbreaking Mars research
Even at a young age, Benjamin Tutolo was interested in the cosmos. It’s a curiosity that never waned. In fact, it led to the 36-year-old taking a deep dive into all things Mars for the past three years. Tutolo, a Lower Burrell native, was a participating scientist studying NASA’s Curiosity...
New Kensington woman’s self-love journey channels into children’s affirmations book
Obianuju Anyaogu can remember times in her life when she chose to turn obstacles into stepping stones rather than allowing them to become setbacks. When she was in college at Slippery Rock University, she overcame deep depression and suicidal thoughts. She’s raising her son, Nehemiah Chidrebere Anyaogu, 10, as a...
New Kensington Giant Eagle layout changes include Starbucks kiosk revamp
The Giant Eagle supermarket in New Kensington is undergoing some changes to its layout. A renovation of the store’s Starbucks is connected to a change in Giant Eagle’s overall layout, said store spokeswoman Jannah Drexler. The beer and wine department is being relocated to the middle of the store, and...
Clearer waters expected at Burrell Lake following last year’s algal bloom
Lower Burrell Councilman Mike Stanoski looks forward to taking his three grandsons fishing at Burrell Lake Park this summer — without harmful algae in the water. “Everything is good down at the lake,” Stanoski said. “People are using it, the weather’s breaking, everybody’s happy to get outside and head to...
Upper Burrell data center to use natural gas for more than 2 gigawatts of power generation
A data center planned at the former Alcoa Research Center in Upper Burrell plans to produce much of its own electricity via natural gas wells on the property, a company spokeswoman confirmed Monday. “Our goal is to not heavily pull from the grid, it’s to provide our own,” said Melissa...
Northern Westmoreland welding program grows, highlighting industry demand
Brandon Stankiewicz will be paying extra-close attention when he sees a semitruck on the road. After all, he and his peers in the welding program at Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center may have made the truck’s battery box. Students there partnered with a Shelocta-based trucking company to weld 15...
Faces of the Valley: Burrell teen to represent Team USA in Junior Roller Derby World Cup
From birth, Pippa Meyer was pretty much destined to thrive in the sport of roller derby. “Raygun is my middle name, and my derby nickname,” said Meyer, 18, of Lower Burrell, who goes by Pippa Raygun in roller derby circles. “My mom gave me a derby name at birth.” It...
Arnold man sentenced to 7 to 14 years for drug, stolen firearm charges
An Arnold man was sentenced to seven to 14 years in prison in connection with a New Kensington traffic stop a year ago that turned up a stolen handgun and drugs. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears handed down that sentence to Jacquet Rusher Woods, 47, on Friday. Woods...
