Kellen Stepler stories, Page 2

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...

Obianuju Anyaogu can remember times in her life when she chose to turn obstacles into steppingstones 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 single...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Lead water service lines soon will be replaced in New Kensington and Arnold in a project that will affect 100 residential customers in the two cities. “This will replace all lead service lines. We will not have any lead lines in the New Kensington water system,” said James Matta, manager...

Last year, Duquesne Light Co.’s network service peak load was nearly 2,700 megawatts. And a hyperscale data center commonly ranges from 60 megawatts to several hundred megawatts, according to C. James Davis, director of rates, energy procurement and federal affairs at Duquesne Light. “A single data center could account for...

Business growth and development are priorities identified for Lower Burrell by all three candidates seeking two seats on city council. Incumbent Councilman David Stoltz and newcomers Lance Anthony and Carley Logan are running for council on the Republican ballot. No Democrats filed as candidates for the primary, so it’s likely...

Leeanna Ryba would often tease her husband, Rich, that he was off to Peter Pan’s “Never Never Land” when he’d go to Skyview Radio Society to partake in the amateur, or ham, radio activities. “He’d play with the boys. He enjoyed his time there,” Leeanna said of the society’s Upper...

Editor’s Note: The Signal Item is only spotlighting contested races in the primary election. Both candidates seeking the Democratic nod for Carnegie mayor say they’re running to bolster growth and development in the borough. Sam Bigham, 23, and Dave Klug, 59, are the Democratic nominees seeking their party’s candidacy in...

Another rally supporting Penn State New Kensington is planned this week as a decision on the Upper Burrell campus’s fate is anticipated to be made in less than a month. The “Too Fast, Too Final” rally will be at Penn State New Kensington’s main parking lot in Upper Burrell, 3550...

The Arnold Zoning Hearing Board on Tuesday gave the green light to a future private school and an administrative regional fire office. Matt DeHart of Harrison sought to return the 1704 Fourth Ave. building to its original use as a school for his Teach from DeHart Academy, a private school...

An Arnold grandmother, her daughter and 15-year-old grandson are facing criminal charges after a drug bust last week that, police say, turned up $13,000 worth of crack cocaine and suspected fentanyl. Desdrene Smith, 64, and Brittany Shelton, 34, each are charged with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver...

Lower Burrell officials expect to save a few thousand dollars annually by using artificial intelligence software to determine the quality of city roads. Council on April 14 approved a five-year agreement with Vialytics of New Jersey at a cost of $11,520 annually plus a setup fee of $2,875. “By implementing...

Four current or former Penn State University trustees, including late football Coach Joe Paterno’s son, are urging the university administration not to close any of the school’s branch campuses. “The easy decision is to close campuses because it requires the least thought and inflicts pain elsewhere,” said the op-ed, published...

Lower Burrell is asking PennDOT to weigh public safety against peace and quiet on a stretch of Route 56. Council last week requested PennDOT complete a “brake retarder study,” in the section of Route 56 between Hill Crest Country Club and its intersection with Puckety Church and Leechburg roads. Mayor...

Upper Burrell Supervisor Ross G. Walker III hopes no news is good news. The longtime township supervisor said that, since learning of the potential closure of his township’s Penn State New Kensington campus, he has not heard anything from Penn State administration regarding the school’s future. “It could make you...

Regardless of which option Burrell School Board chooses when it comes to renovating Bon Air Elementary School, it has the support of Lower Burrell’s planning commission. The commission recommended approval of plans that add cafeteria and kitchen space to Bon Air, or additional cafeteria space and six additional classrooms at...

A familiar, if not attractive, sight to motorists on the New Kensington Bridge soon will be gone. Red brick buildings, known for decades for being empty and having smashed windows, are among six at the New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park to be demolished over the summer as remediation efforts at...

A proposed renovation project at Carnegie Elementary School is being reevaluated due to costs exceeding expectations, according to Carlynton School District officials. Carlynton had planned to move forward with the renovations this summer, but the bids were higher than anticipated, according to a district statement. The base bid was about...

When Niko Ameredes was 2 years old, his father, TJ, would take him out to the golf course with an iPad and snacks. “(Niko) would get out and putt,” said his mom, Samantha. “As time went on, he’d do a little more than putting. He’d play two holes, and that...

Duquesne Light officials plan for infrastructure improvements for electrical service in a problematic section of Collier to be complete by the fall. Company spokeswoman Alyssa Battaglia said Duquesne Light sent letters to customers in the Rennerdale section of Collier to update them to increased reliability in the area. Those area...