Kellen Stepler stories, Page 3
New Lower Burrell public works contract calls for wage increases
A new five-year contract between Lower Burrell and its public works employees calls for wage increases each year. The agreement, approved by city council Monday, gives employees a 3.5% wage increase this year; a 3% increase in 2027, 2028 and 2029; and a 2.5% increase in 2030, according to City...
Pittsburgh police: Kidnapping in Plum related to Greenfield shooting
Police believe an armed kidnapping in Plum is connected to a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood on Wednesday night. Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Eliza Durham said the department learned of the armed kidnapping reported to Plum police at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday. A family member told Plum police that his brother had...
3 men shot in Arnold gunfight, part of a domestic dispute, officials say
Three men were taken to the hospital after they were shot in Arnold on Wednesday night. Mayor Shannon Santucci said the incident stemmed from a domestic dispute. A report of shots fired came in just after 7 p.m. Wednesday in the 2100 block of Leishman Avenue. Chief Rob Haus said...
Cupples-Wisniowski named Collier commissioner president
Mary Ann Cupples-Wisniowski was named president, and Tim Downey was named vice president of the Collier Board of Commissioners. District Judge Maureen McGraw-Desmet administered the oath of office to incumbent Cupples-Wisniowski, newly elected commissioners Downey and Julie Murphy, and township tax collector Corrine Durisko on Jan. 5. Cupples-Wisniowski, Downey and...
Bridgeville Council reorganizes, selects Cimarolli as president
Bridgeville welcomed back its mayor, four council members and its tax collector when the borough council reorganized Monday, Jan. 5. Mayor Betty Copeland, council members Nicholas Ciesielski, Justine Cimarolli, Joseph Colosimo and Nino Petrocelli Sr., and real estate tax collector Anne Marie Parisi were sworn-in by District Judge Maureen McGraw-Desmet...
Sewage, recycling rates increase in Lower Burrell
Recycling and sewage rates will increase in Lower Burrell, and officials say there wasn’t much, if anything, they could do about it. An average sewage bill in the city will increase by $48, about 5%, this year. Recycling will increase $8, or 12.5%. “We take any fee increase seriously, but...
Burrell School Board seeking new member
Burrell School Board will start the new year with a new board member. Jean Schager submitted her letter of resignation effective Dec. 31, according to Superintendent Shannon Wagner. Schager was elected in 2021 and won reelection last year. Schager said her decision to leave the board came when her employer,...
Newly elected Arnold Council members want to make a difference for the city
Two newly elected Arnold Council members hope to help move the city forward after winning an election race that didn’t garner much attention or competition. Frank Radeshak and Terrilyn Cheatham Prescott will be sworn-in Monday. Two four-year council seats were on the November ballot, but Radeshak was the only candidate...
Burrell physical education teacher channels creative side with wooden ornaments
Rich Thome is an elementary physical education teacher by day and a talented wood carver by night. So talented, in fact, 18 of his wood-crafted Christmas ornaments raised about $760 for the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh through a silent auction among Bon Air Elementary faculty this winter. “I get...
New Huston Middle School class to create radio advertisements for Burrell grads’ local businesses
Burrell graduates who own businesses in the area might be able to get some help with publicity from current students in a new class at Charles A. Huston Middle School. Teacher Brian Querry is seeking local businesses owned by Burrell grads to help with a project for seventh and eighth...
Informational meeting scheduled for Upper Burrell data center
People can learn more about a planned data center in Upper Burrell during a meeting this month. Florida-based data center developer TECfusions will host an informational meeting Jan. 26 at the township building, 3735 Seventh Street Road. “We’re planning to present the project and answer questions,” said Melissa Farney, TECfusions...
Fix unclear for smashed Allegheny Township traffic light
It could be summer by the time the traffic light at the Route 356 and 56 split in Allegheny Township is replaced, officials said. A wreck at the intersection Dec. 20 took down the traffic light, and since then, stop signs have been put up in its place. Allegheny Township...
New Kensington’s Fridays on Fifth adds October date to 2026 lineup
A popular event in downtown New Kensington will run a bit longer this year. Fridays on Fifth, a monthly food truck event, will go from April to October in 2026. Dates are April 24, May 22, June 26, July 24, Aug. 28, Sept. 25 and Oct. 23. The event runs...
Chartiers Valley’s ‘Badges and Baristas’ connects students, police over coffee
What better place to build conversations and camaraderie among Chartiers Valley High School students and area police officers than the school’s Coffee Tree Roasters? Chartiers Valley School Resource Officer Kyle Kelsch and student Sofia Bragano coordinated the second annual Badges and Baristas event Dec. 19 at the coffee shop, where...
Newly elected Allegheny Township supervisors to get 67% pay hike
Annual stipends for newly elected Allegheny Township supervisors will increase from $2,500 to $4,190 following a 2-1 board vote Wednesday morning. Supervisors Jamie Morabito and Jeff Pollick voted at a special meeting Wednesday morning to adjust compensation by $1,690 annually for new supervisors, citing the state’s Act 94, which allows...
Carnegie Mellon’s AI-driven speech reconstruction tool aims to bridge gap for children’s speech disorders
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University hope an AI-driven speech reconstruction tool can bridge the gap between a growing population of children with speech disorders and a significant shortage of speech-language pathologists. The tool combines machine learning with human speech to create audio clips of correct speech that sound like the...
More than 100 academic offerings on PennWest’s chopping block
Pennsylvania Western University could end more than 100 academic programs as the college prepares to adapt to demographic and enrollment declines impacting schools nationally. In a Dec. 12 email to faculty and obtained by TribLive, Interim Provost James Fisher recommends more than 100 academic programs to be placed in moratorium...
Faces of the Valley: Teacher provides special experiences for New Ken-Arnold kindergarten students
Julie Erb remembers one of her kindergarten students years ago telling her all they wanted for Christmas was a blanket. “A lot of kids, we don’t know them. Kids in the past have told me there’s no Christmas tree at home,” said Erb, a kindergarten teacher at Martin Elementary School...
Federal agency recommends 2 safety recommendations in Clairton Coke Works plant
An independent, nonregulatory federal agency investigating a deadly explosion at the U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works plant this fall issued two interim safety recommendations Tuesday. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board recommends U.S. Steel thoroughly evaluates all buildings at the Clairton facility that are currently occupied or could...
Burrell’s Kids for Kids market grows, engages older students in 6th year
Madison McMann and Lyla Twidwell had their business strategy down to a science Tuesday morning at Charles A. Huston Middle School in Lower Burrell. Lyla, 10, had a display of earrings she molded and created together with her aunt, Laura Twidwell. Madison, 10, was selling art pieces she had made....
Stove sparks house fire in Harrison
Crews battled a house fire Tuesday at 54 Chestnut St. in the Natrona section of Harrison. The call came in at around 11:30 a.m. Bob Bolt of Garfield Street said his sister, Shari Bair, was inside the house cleaning her oven when it caught fire. “She came to my house...
Collier-area fire departments to get new turnout gear
New turnout gear for volunteer firefighters will be coming to five Collier-area departments. The Presto Volunteer Fire Department was awarded just more than $330,000 in federal Assistance to Firefighters grant funding. “The award is for a regional (assistance to firefighters) grant to five departments, that our department is the host...
Blawnox Apartments resident accused of pulling gun on employees performing welfare check
A man living in the Blawnox Apartments is behind bars after being accused of pulling a gun on two Allegheny County Housing Authority employees who were performing a welfare check. Mark Wayne McDaniel, 64, faces two aggravated assault charges stemming from the incident that brought a large police presence from...
Lower Burrell police charge woman with DUI in crash from August
A Lower Burrell woman is facing charges in connection with a car crash from four months ago. Grisell Marie Hernandez, 22, faces charges of driving under the influence, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, accident involving injury, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, possession...
Pitt staff union members to get 2.5% wage increase
University of Pittsburgh staff represented by the United Steelworkers will receive 2.5% salary increases, retroactive to Aug. 1, starting with their paychecks in mid-January. That was the agreement reached between Pitt and the union last week. University spokesman Chuck Finder directed a reporter to Pitt’s staff unionization information website for...
