Kellen Stepler stories, Page 36
Bidding process underway for demolition of Colfax Elementary School in Springdale
Plans continue for the eventual demolition of Colfax Elementary School in Springdale. The Allegheny Valley School Board on Wednesday authorized district administrators to seek contract bids for the demolition of the Colfax building, which sits along Colfax Street. The building is 99 years old. It closed in 2018 and has...
New Prestley Road intersection updates aimed to calm traffic, improve visibility
An updated intersection at Prestley Road and Charlet and Perret streets in Bridgeville is aimed at improving drivers’ visibility and calming traffic, borough officials say. Bridgeville Manager Joe Kauer said the borough has been working with PennDOT traffic engineers since late last year for a plan to fix the intersection....
Tractor Supply sets opening date for Lower Burrell store
The gears for a Tractor Supply store in Lower Burrell are in motion. Annalee Rivers, a spokeswoman for Tractor Supply, said the company plans to open a store there in November 2025. City Manager Greg Primm identified the location as 108 Greensburg Road. It is a vacant, wooded lot next...
Cheswick appoints 3rd new member to council this year
Nearly half of the people serving on Cheswick Council have less than six months of experience, but that doesn’t concern President Brad Yaksich. The borough council has filled three vacancies this year, appointing Adis Halimic and Frank Stanish in March and Nick Pollino last week. “I’m very confident in Frank,...
Cheswick begins water meter replacement project
A recent door hanger and postcard to Cheswick residents for water meter replacements isn’t a scam. It’s a preview of a two-year project for more than 900 new water meters in the borough. Cheswick contracted with Newman Plumbing of Cranberry to replace every water meter in the borough, said council...
Burrell School District responds to questions on Stewart Elementary’s fate
Burrell School District Superintendent Shannon Wagner used questions submitted by the public to clear the air as questions swirl around a potential closure of Stewart Elementary School. District administration recommends closing Stewart in the 2025-26 school year due to a decline in enrollment, student needs and the condition and age...
Upper Burrell supervisors to hold hearing on proposed rezoning of former Oak Lake Golf Course
Upper Burrell supervisors will consider an apparently controversial industrial rezoning request at the former Oak Lake Golf Course this week. Gary Schoepke is requesting the township rezone about 20 acres at the old golf course, 1151 Oak Lake Road, from residential-agricultural to industrial, and the proposal has drawn ire from...
Rennerdale VFD trying to bring duck pond back to its glory days
Rennerdale Volunteer Fire Department is trying to restore its old duck pond. The fire department in Collier is trying to raise at least $40,000 to rehabilitate the pond, which hasn’t been updated since the late 1990s or early 2000s, said department president Tom Kovach. The pond’s stagnant water is causing...
New Lower Burrell ladder truck gives firefighters ‘dual functionality’ on calls
Chief Brennan Sites of Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 had been eyeing a new fire engine for the past year-and-a-half, but a Father’s Day fire last year on Jefferson Drive had him rethinking what he really needed. While no one was hurt in the fire, Sites knew that...
Allegheny Valley School District is painting a ‘Portrait of a Dynamo’; community’s feedback wanted
Allegheny Valley School District officials want to know what qualities the community thinks district graduates should possess. The district is in the process of establishing what it’s calling “Portrait of a Dynamo,” which aims to represent the district’s vision for 21st century skills, character traits and social-emotional competencies that students...
Students lauded for turning band trailer into mobile command center for Allegheny Valley Regional police
Haydon Lookhart’s first glance at an old high school band trailer had him thinking that converting it into a mobile command center for the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department would be a tall task. It needed a lot of work, the 17-year-old Kiski Area student said. “We had to gut...
Upper Burrell man waiting for 3rd kidney transplant
Joe Baker is a simple guy who enjoys tinkering with old tractors in his garage and spending time with family and friends. “He’s an Average Joe, but he’s my Average Joe,” said his wife, Nancy. “He’s a good man.” Joe, 63, and Nancy, 65, of Upper Burrell are on a...
Used car dealership pitched for Lower Burrell
Two Pittsburgh men are asking the Lower Burrell Zoning Hearing Board to pave the way to allow a used car dealership along Leechburg Road. Mo Fathalla and Sami Abdullah seek a zoning variance for their property at 2844 Leechburg Road. City Manager Greg Primm said Fathalla and Abdullah applied to...
Group working with Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy to revitalize Agan Park
A group of elected officials and residents from Springdale and Cheswick boroughs is working with the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy to develop plans to improve a park in Springdale Township. Although Agan Park is located along the township’s Riddle Run Road, it is jointly managed by Springdale Borough and Cheswick....
Marc Fogel’s mother requests meeting with Trump in effort to free son from Russian prisonVideo
Malphine Fogel said pleas to President Joe Biden to get her son, Oakmont teacher Marc Fogel, released from a Russian prison have gone nowhere. That’s why the Butler County woman says she’s now looking for help from former President Donald Trump, who will be campaigning in Butler this weekend. “As...
Bridgeville considers establishing Shade Tree Commission
After the success of recent tree plantings in Bridgeville, borough officials are considering an idea to establish a shade tree commission in the borough. “After two successful community tree plantings in the past year at both Cook School Park and a lot on Baldwin Street, the planning commission have been...
Bridgeville Police Department at full complement after hiring of patrolman
The hiring of a new officer has Bridgeville’s police force at full complement. Council hired patrolman Tyler Evans in June, and he was sworn-in by Mayor Betty Copeland at the end of June. His starting salary is $63,059. Evans previously worked for the Mt. Pleasant, Smith Township, and Monongahela City...
Springdale residents’ lawyers file brief supporting court decision to pause power plant implosion
An Allegheny County judge was within his scope of powers to grant a preliminary pause of a planned implosion of a boiler house at the former power plant in Springdale, lawyers representing 16 Springdale residents in a court case argued. On Wednesday, attorneys representing the 16 borough residents filed a...
Longtime Lower Burrell employee Nita Serene recognized with 1-day employment offer
Nita Serene can now say she’s worked for every mayor in Lower Burrell history. Serene, who retired in March 2023 after working as the city’s administrative assistant since 1974, was given a one-day employment offer this week, at a compensation of $1, under the administration of Mayor Chris Fabry, who...
S.C. man visiting Pittsburgh for furry convention charged in hotel sword attack
A South Carolina man in Pittsburgh for the Anthrocon convention has been charged with attacking a friend with a sword Thursday inside a Downtown hotel room. Officers were dispatched to the Wyndham Grand Hotel on Commonwealth Place across from Point State Park at 1 a.m. Thursday for reports of a...
Morning Roundup: 3 shot in Canonsburg; Liberty Tunnel crash injures 3
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, July 5: 3 shot in Canonsburg Three people were shot in Canonsburg overnight, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. The shooting happened just before midnight on Blaine Avenue, WTAE reported. Three people were taken to the hospital. Their...
Police: Second man found dead in pool in Pine Township on Thursday has been identified
The second of two men who were found dead in a swimming pool in Pine Township on Thursday afternoon has been identified. Officers were dispatched at 6:18 p.m. Thursday to the 200 block of Whetherburn Drive for a welfare check, according to Allegheny County Police. First responders found two men...
Carlynton School Board passes budget with 6.6% tax increase
A tax increase in Carlynton School District will help fund specialized educational services and future capital projects, district officials say. Directors in June approved the district’s $35.9 million budget, which includes a 6.6% tax increase. “We understand that any tax increase is significant, and we do not take this decision...
McKees Rocks woman charged with mistreating toddlers at McCandless day care
McCandless Police have accused the director of Gloworms Academy of mistreating five toddlers at the day care. Melissa Marie Populo, 38, of McKees Rocks faces five counts of endangering the welfare of children. She is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday. A Gloworms Academy employee contacted McCandless police at 10 p.m....
Morning Roundup: FBI, police investigate hoax threat at Tree of Life
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, July 3: FBI, police investigate hoax threat to Tree of Life synagogue Authorities are investigating a hoax threat made against the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, according to WTAE. Pittsburgh police told WTAE that...
