Kellen Stepler stories, Page 24
Abandoned North Side church catches fire
Pittsburgh fire crews put out a fire at a long-shuttered North Side church Saturday afternoon. Crews were dispatched at around 3 p.m. Saturday to St. Wenceslaus Church, located in the 800 block of Progress Street, for reports of smoke and fire coming from the building, said Emily Bourne, a public...
Worker at Allegheny Township assisted living facility accused of stealing nearly $60K from resident
A woman working at an Allegheny Township assisted living facility is accused of stealing nearly $60,000 from a resident and permitting him to stay in the facility without paying rent, according to police. Allegheny Township police filed 19 charges against Tanya Lynn Palmer, 50, of Apollo that include theft, theft...
Allegheny River ice raises concerns over safety and flooding
No matter how tempting, people should not walk or play on the area’s frozen-over rivers. Especially because things will be warming up soon. Meteorologists at the National Weather Service expect temperatures to be above freezing Thursday through Sunday, said Alicia Miller, a hydrologist with the weather service. “That, in addition...
Snow Angels volunteer program coming to Springdale
Elderly Springdale residents might be getting some help shoveling their sidewalks after snowstorms. Councilwoman Toni Robbins presented an idea for the borough to begin a program that would partner volunteers with seniors and disabled residents who need assistance shoveling their sidewalks and walkways. Robbins would also like to carry the...
Three Rivers Arts Festival finds temporary home in the Strip District
The abridged version of this year’s Three Rivers Arts Festival will take place in the Strip District, officials announced Monday. The festival will be take place at the riverfront lots at the 15th Street Plaza along Waterfront Place, said Derek Scalzott, a spokesman for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Festival dates...
Students, faculty nervous for future of Penn State branch campuses
Gabrielle Green is in it for the long haul at Penn State New Kensington. The 18-year-old from Altavista, Va., is a second-semester freshman at the Upper Burrell campus. She is studying biobehavioral health and plans to obtain a four-year bachelor’s degree at the school. So conversations among university leadership this...
Teen charged in connection with shooting into New Kensington home in 2022
Police filed charges Friday against a teenager accused of firing shots into a New Kensington home in November 2022. The teen, now 19, was 16 years old when police responded to a shots-fired incident at 12:30 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2022, in the 1200 block of Taylor Avenue. “The investigation...
Some Cheswick residents could experience low water pressure in upcoming nights
Some Cheswick residents in the upper part of the borough could experience low water pressure in the overnight hours beginning Friday and lasting up to a few nights. On Friday, one of the borough’s booster pumps will be taken out of service for necessary repairs, borough officials said. The booster...
Frost responders: Citizen observers aid National Weather Service’s ground game
Steve Fazekas’ citizen weather observer station in Winfield recorded a temperature of minus-15 degrees just after 5 a.m. Wednesday. Fazekas’ reading came in well below the Pittsburgh region’s lowest temperature on record for Wednesday’s date — minus-4 degrees Jan. 22, 1936 — but it won’t go in the record books....
New alert system coming to Allegheny Valley School District
Allegheny Valley School District officials hope a new alert system can provide a more effective way to respond to incidents. The school board approved purchasing badges to be worn by district staff members for the Centegix silent crisis alert system. “They are badges the staff can use in the event...
Bridgeville-South Fayette Rotary takes on comfort bag project
Police officers often meet people on the worst day of their life, and the Bridgeville-South Fayette Rotary club is trying to ease the pain for families in some of those situations. The Rotary is putting together comfort bags, with necessities, for Bridgeville and South Fayette police officers to give to...
Chartiers Valley thespians recognized for fall show
Bringing the magic to a Chartiers Valley High School play paid off for its cast and crew. The school’s fall show, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” received three wins and nine nominations from the High School Drama Awards, sponsored by Prime Stage Theatre. “There was so much love and...
Burrell rejects bids for boiler repairs; architects to present construction proposals next month
Burrell School District officials think bidding their boiler projects a different way will result in lower costs. The school board on Tuesday rejected bids for a boiler replacement at Burrell High School and a rebuild at Bon Air Elementary School. It authorized administrators to rebid the project. Superintendent Shannon Wagner...
Springdale boiler house to be demolished conventionally instead of imploded, property owner says
The boiler house at Springdale’s former power plant will be torn down conventionally instead of imploded as the property owner originally planned. Scott Reschly, vice president of operations for Charah Solutions, said crews intend to demolish the boiler house at the former Cheswick Generating Station between mid-February and early March....
Man arrested for gift card scheme at Frazer Walmart sentenced to 1 1/2 to 3 years
A Chinese national’s gift card scheme that ended after Frazer police busted him in May has landed him in jail for at least 11/2 years, according to the state Attorney General’s Office. Zhixiang Chen, 20, pleaded guilty in Lawrence County Court to corrupt organizations and organized retail crime. As part...
Burrell schools mull new schedules for reconfigured buildings
Burrell School District parents and staff are taking a close look at schedules at Bon Air Elementary and Huston Middle schools as both buildings prepare to accommodate an extra grade next year. With the closure of Stewart Elementary, fourth graders will attend Bon Air and fifth graders will be sent...
Bridgeville searching for new police chief
Bridgeville hopes to have a new police chief by early spring after the Jan. 3 retirement of Chad King. The borough posted the position in mid-January, said Manager Joe Kauer. Applications are being accepted through the end of February, and Kauer anticipates having a candidate identified by early spring. Sgt....
Problem traffic light off Route 28 in Harmar corrected, officials say
A traffic light in Harmar, blamed over the weekend for traffic snarls on Route 28, has been fixed, township and PennDOT officials say. The light, at the end of the Route 28 southbound exit ramp to Harmar, was the focus of motorists’ ire because its cycle was only allowing a...
Burrell finalizes Huston Middle School plan that separates grade levels
The Burrell School District will move forward with a teacher-proposed reconfiguration of Charles A. Huston Middle School as it prepares to welcome fifth graders next school year. The reconfiguration, which garnered approval this week from a task force set up to plan the reconfiguration, places two fifth-grade classrooms on the...
Chartiers Valley holds special pep rally before Steelers playoff game
The Pittsburgh Steelers got some support from Chartiers Valley High School students during a pep rally the day before their Jan. 11 NFL wild card-round playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens. With Charlie Batch and Steely McBeam on hand on Jan. 10, students received terrible towels, hats and signs. Winter...
Morning Roundup: Man shot in Pitcairn; fire breaks out at Beaver County restaurant
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Jan. 10: Man shot in Pitcairn A man was shot in Pitcairn early Friday morning, according to Allegheny County Police. Officers responded at 3:44 a.m. to the 300 block of Kenney Avenue for a report of a shooting....
Frigid temperatures continue, snow forecast for evening
Western Pennsylvanians woke to frigid temperatures Friday morning, and could see some snow showers this evening. In a month that has not risen above freezing since New Year’s Day, the Pittsburgh region saw a new monthly low temperature — 6 degrees — according to the National Weather Service. Some school...
Police: Pitcairn man initiated confrontation that led to stabbing
A 65-year-old Pitcairn man confessed to police that he stabbed another man over a dispute about money that was earmarked to buy marijuana, according to a criminal complaint. Allegheny County Police on Thursday filed charges against Barry Bishop, 65, in connection to a stabbing that sent both Bishop and another...
Mitch McConnell blasts Biden decision to block U.S. Steel-Nippon deal
By blocking the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, President Joe Biden sold out American industry, workers and national security to “Big Labor,” writes U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Wednesday. McConnell’s piece, titled “Nippon Steel Isn’t the Enemy,” criticizes Biden’s decision to...
Burrell’s Huston Middle School delays classes after equipment failure leads to smoke
Charles A. Huston Middle School in Lower Burrell operated on a two-hour delay Thursday morning after an air-handling unit malfunctioned. “We had an air handler failure on the roof of the kitchen,” Superintendent Shannon Wagner said. “The fire department responded to the situation and identified it was an equipment failure...
