Kellen Stepler stories, Page 42
50 animals seized from Butler County home after cruelty investigation
A Connoquenessing Township man faces felony animal cruelty charges after authorities found two dead German Shepherds that belonged to him, and seized 50 animals from his home. Paul Joseph Frederick, 53, was arrested Saturday after state police in Butler searched his home in Butler Township and removed 50 animals —...
2 teens charged in connection with police chase, car break-ins in Ross, Bellevue
An 18- and 17-year old have been charged in connection to vehicle break-ins in Ross Township and Bellevue, and a police chase early Saturday morning, according to Allegheny County Police. Charges against Zymon Campbell, 18, of Pittsburgh include simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and carrying a firearm without a...
Woman dies after being hit by car in Carrick
A pedestrian died after she was hit by a car Saturday morning in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood, according to city police. Just before 6 a.m., first responders were dispatched to the 1000 block of Brownsville Road in Carrick for reports of a car hitting a pedestrian, according to Emily Bourne, city...
Police: Man stabbed in Downtown Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh police are investigating after a man was reportedly stabbed in downtown Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. City police responded to the 300 block of Third Avenue just after 1 p.m. for a man reporting he had been stabbed, city police spokeswoman Emily Bourne said. Upon arrival, officers found the man,...
Police release details about Penn Hills man’s arrest following police pursuit, crash in Mount Lebanon
A Penn Hills man wanted on several warrants was arrested by Allegheny County sheriff’s deputies Saturday morning after, authorities say, he led police on a chase through Mount Lebanon. Curtis Norvell Davis Jr., 24, was taken into custody Saturday morning after he led police on a chase that started in...
After heavy rain during the week, anglers still have fun at 1st day of trout season
Eight-year-old Ava Martini was excited when a fish hooked onto her line cast in Deer Lakes Park on Saturday. With the help of her grandfather, Bill Martini of West Deer, she was able to reel in the trout and display it proudly to Bill and her father, Will Martini of...
Kiski Township looking to establish rules for solar farms
Kiski Township isn’t sure how it wants to approach possible solar farms. But officials know they want to do something. The township’s planning commission is scheduled to continue a discussion on possibly amending the township’s zoning ordinance, or even creating a new solar ordinance, to add definitions and verbiage regarding...
Chartiers Valley counselors present 3-year plan, a ‘snapshot of what we do’
Chartiers Valley School District counselors have updated school directors with a three-year district plan for career and technical education. Nicolette Churilla, K-12 counseling head and counselor at the Intermediate School, and Lesley Kunkel, a high school counselor, presented the school’s three-year guidance plan at a school board meeting in March....
Carnegie eyes parks, police technology improvements
Carnegie Borough is hoping to upgrade its parks as well as its technology in the police department. The borough recently was awarded a $178,786 police technology and wellness grant from the state’s Commission on Crime and Delinquency. With it, the borough has or will purchase more record management system licenses,...
Burrell students say yes to the dress at free prom event
The first prom dress Violet Gamble picked out from Burrell High School’s Bucco Boutique turned out to be the perfect one. “Whenever I pulled this off the rack, it looked nice,” she said of the white, spring-like floral dress. Gamble, 17 and a senior at Burrell High School, selected the...
1st draft of Burrell School District budget proposes 4% tax increase
Burrell School District’s draft budget for next school year has a 4% real estate tax increase for property owners. The draft budget totals close to $36.7 million, which is a 1.35% increase from this school year’s budget, said Jennifer Callahan, the district’s business manager. There is a deficit of about...
Collier Eat’n Park demolished, set to be rebuilt and reopen by end of year
When the Eat’n Park on Washington Pike in Collier reopens later this year, the renovated restaurant will have a new pickup window, a salad bar and 100 more seats. The building was demolished Tuesday, April 2 to make way for the upgrades. West Deer-based Allison Park Contractors performed the demolition....
Gregg Avenue steps slated for rehab in Bridgeville
Bridgeville will be replacing steps near Gregg Street that are currently in poor condition. The borough was awarded $248,780 from the state’s multimodal transportation fund to pay for the project. The grants are awarded through the Commonwealth Financing Authority. Bridgeville’s project was announced by state Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville and...
Frazer officials name acting police chief following the death of Terry Kuhns
Frazer police Sgt. Aaron Scott will be the township’s acting police chief following the death of police Chief Terry Kuhns. The township supervisors made the appointment Tuesday. Kuhns, Frazer’s police chief since 2013, died Monday. He was 67. Scott has been a sergeant in Frazer for about five years, officials...
Police: 2 charged with animal cruelty after pets are left behind in a Harmar hotel room
Two people are accused of animal neglect after, police say, they abandoned a dog and a cat in a hotel room in Harmar. Harmar police charged Timothy E. McAtee, 39, and Casandra Lynn Lang, 32, both of Harmar, with two counts of animal cruelty and three counts of animal negligence...
Leechburg man charged with burglary, trespassing after overnight police chase
A Leechburg man faces numerous criminal charges after a police pursuit early Monday that spanned from Lower Burrell to Leechburg. Lower Burrell police charged Robert James Yakovich Jr., 43, with felony charges of burglary, criminal trespassing, evading arrest and eluding an officer; two misdemeanor DUI charges; and four summary traffic...
Burrell Community Connections event aims to strengthen school, city bonds
Burrell High School student involvement is at an all-time high in Lower Burrell, officials say, and an event in April aims to keep that uptick going. The Burrell Community Connections event, scheduled for April 11 at Charles A. Huston Middle School, will bring together organizations, local businesses, city government and...
Police: Fawn woman faces assault charge after argument with teenager over phone
A Fawn woman faces felony charges after police accused her of hitting a teenager during an argument over a phone. Dione Wright, 31, is charged with one felony count each of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children, and a summary offense of harassment, in connection to an altercation...
Appeals could push demolition of Springdale boiler house into 2025
The boiler house at the former power plant in Springdale likely won’t be demolished this year. The Pennsylvania Superior Court on Thursday gave property owner Charah Solutions, and demolition contractors Grant Mackay Co. and Controlled Demolition, Inc., a May 7 deadline to file their briefs in an appeal of a...
Easter Sunday could see a few light showers, but most of day to be dry
Aside from possible light showers in the early morning and late evening, Easter Sunday looks like it will be dry with cloudy skies, according to WTAE Meteorologist Mike Harvey. “It will be cloudy on Easter, but we could have a few sprinkles or a few light showers very early on...
Morning Roundup: 2 men shot in Knoxville; woman arrested after shots fired in Beltzhoover
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, March 29: 2 men shot in Knoxville Two men were shot Thursday night in an apartment building in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood, according to city police. At 8:45 p.m., Pittsburgh police, fire and EMS responded to the 100 block...
Man killed in crash near UPMC MercyVideo
A Pittsburgh man died early Friday morning in a vehicle crash near UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh’s Bluff neighborhood. James Pendelton, 40, a passenger in the vehicle, died after the car he was in was struck by another vehicle, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The crash happened near...
Lower Burrell child predator sting by citizens raises safety, legal issues
The premise is quite simple. An adult creates an online account, posing as a child on dating and social media apps. They make their “age” known throughout online conversations that often turn sexual, then meet their target at an agreed-upon location. When the meeting occurs, the person operating the account...
Lower Burrell to fix Dorothy Street storm sewer by January
Lower Burrell officials knew there was an issue with a storm sewer on Dorothy Street during a routine maintenance inspection a while ago. The storm sewer, according to Mayor Chris Fabry, is an older, corrugated metal pipe that is beginning to have joint failures and invert corrosion. The pipe runs...
Morning Roundup: Duquesne home catches fire; police investigate West Mifflin toddler’s death
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, March 28: No injuries in Duquesne house fire A house along Wool Street in Duquesne caught fire at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. There were no reported injuries. The fire’s cause is under...

