Western PA Local News category, Page 1167
Plum cop charged with DUI after found sleeping in running pickup, police say
A Plum patrolman was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after another Plum officer found him asleep behind the wheel of a running vehicle, police said. Ryan E. Schneiderlochner, 51, of Plum is scheduled for a preliminary hearing April 26 on the charge filed Jan. 24, according to...
Westmoreland happenings: Lenten fish fries, spaghetti dinner fundraiser, elder law seminar
Submissions from nonprofit organizations for Briefly Speaking can be emailed to Carol Pinto-Smith at cpinto-smith@triblive.com or mailed to Briefly Speaking, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, PA 15084. Include a complete address and daytime phone number. Submissions are due at least two weeks before the event. Each announcement is printed once; there...
Morning Roundup: Teen charged with gun violations
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2023: Teen charged with gun violations A teenager is being charged after giving a gun to a 15-year-old who was later shot and killed in the city’s Allentown neighborhood in early February, according to Tribune-Review news...
Arona man pleads guilty to fatal drunken-driving crash in Hempfield
An Arona man pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in a fatal crash nearly two years ago in Hempfield that killed a woman and injured her husband in a two-vehicle collision. Ronald A. Jaffre, 55, was charged last year with vehicular homicide and other offenses in connection with the April...
Upper Burrell floats police merger with neighboring towns
Upper Burrell is looking to consolidate its police department with its neighbors. Township officials are asking Lower Burrell, New Kensington and Allegheny and Washington townships to take a survey gauging the feasibility of forming a regional police force. When Ross Walker, chairman of the Upper Burrell supervisors, was first elected...
Police and psychics step up efforts to find who took Cherrie Mahan 38 years agoVideo
Law enforcement and Butler’s psychic sisters are frustrated by a 38-year search for a suspect in the abduction of Cherrie Mahan from a rural bus stop in Winfield Township. But they are trying harder and upping their efforts to find answers around the anniversary of the 8-year-old’s disappearance Feb. 22,...
The Stroller, Feb. 22, 2023: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Magic and comedy show planned in Harrison Natrona Heights Veterans of...
Westmoreland seeks housing options for juveniles charged with adult crimes
Westmoreland County court officials scrambled this week to find proper housing for juveniles who must remain incarcerated as they await trial on charges of serious adult offenses. As many as eight teens charged in Westmoreland County cases were being held in the youthful offenders pod in Allegheny County Jail, but...
Summer interns sought for Forbes State Forest conservation tasks
College students ages 18-22 who are interested in a nature-focused summer gig might consider applying for a spot in the Youth Conservation Corps program at Forbes State Forest, based in Laughlintown. The YCC program is sponsored by the Loyalhanna Watershed Association and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources...
Pittsburgh man charged with homicide in connection with January slaying in Elliot
A Pittsburgh man is facing homicide charges in connection with a fatal shooting last month in the city’s Elliot neighborhood. Public Safety spokeswoman Amanda Mueller announced the arrest of Le’Juane Powell, 29, on Tuesday. He is charged with criminal homicide, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and someone...
Hempfield school board votes to consolidate 3 middle schools into 2
Despite pleas from parents and a petition that purportedly garnered more than 800 signatures, the plan to consolidate Hempfield’s three middle schools into two was approved Tuesday night. Only one school board director voted against consolidation, which will move all sixth, seventh and eighth grade students into Wendover and West...
5 people injured in house fire in Pittsburgh’s Windgap neighborhood
Five people, including two police officers, were hospitalized Tuesday after a house fire in Pittsburgh’s Windgap neighborhood. An elderly woman trapped inside the home in the 1700 block of Oberon Street was rescued and hospitalized. Two other victims were transported to the hospital. According to police, they were all in...
Plum house a total loss after suspected electrical fire
No one was hurt in a fire Tuesday that destroyed a house in Plum. The fire at 435 Millers Lane was reported at 4:40 p.m., according to an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher. Tim Townsend and his fiancee, Christine Biros, own the one-story home and live there with his adult son,...
Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher won’t seek reelection
Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher announced Tuesday she will not seek reelection. “After careful consideration, I have decided to not run for a third term as county commissioner,” Thrasher said in a news release issued Tuesday night. “I truly enjoyed my time as county commissioner, it afforded me the...
Husband, wife identified in Monroeville after apparent murder-suicide
A husband and wife are dead from an apparent murder-suicide in Monroeville on Tuesday, according to police. Allegheny County Police homicide detectives are investigating the shooting incident after Monroeville and Pitcairn police officers responded to a call for gunfire in the 400 block of Ashbury Court in Monroeville. First responders...
Pittsburgh officials considering more extensive repairs on Swindell Bridge
Pittsburgh’s Swindell Bridge, closed briefly for repairs last summer, is scheduled to undergo a more significant rehabilitation. Legislation before Pittsburgh City Council would award a $1.2 million contract to Pittsburgh-based HDR Engineering to handle preliminary engineering design work, said Emily Bourne, a spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Mobility and...
Trump, Brockovich to visit East Palestine as Pa. officials plan derailment hearing in Beaver County
Former President Donald Trump and environmental activist Erin Brockovich plan to visit East Palestine, Ohio, this week as the community continues looking for answers after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed Feb. 3 and released toxic chemicals. Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he...
Swissvale homicide victim ‘wanted to give Lyla the best,’ friend says
Tyleda Worou pulled the car over on the Parkway East when she got the call about her friends. Megan Campbell and her 7-year-old daughter, Lyla, had been shot dead in Swissvale. “‘Megan and Lyla are dead,’” Campbell’s brother told Worou, an entrepreneur who lives in Penn Hills. “I couldn’t believe...
Section of GAP hiking and cycling trail closed for 2 months
A remote section of the Great Allegheny Passage between Ohiopyle and Confluence is closed for the next two months while construction crews replace an aging culvert. The section between mile markers 68 and 69 was closed earlier this month in Ohiopyle State Park and construction vehicle traffic is heavy in...
North Allegheny assistant football coach charged in club basketball game fight
An assistant North Allegheny Senior High School football coach, is accused of strangling a basketball coach and striking a spectator during a fight that broke out last week at a kids’ club basketball game in Washington County. Scott McMullen, 46, of Coraopolis, was charged Feb. 16 with simple assault, harassment,...
Pop-up dining to open in former Superior Motors space
Dining in the vacant Superior Motors restaurant building in Braddock is coming back, at least temporarily. Two Braddock businesses are collaborating to offer a pop-up dining experience at the restaurant space, which closed during the onset of the pandemic in 2020. The restaurant helmed by chef Kevin Sousa — located...
Fox Chapel Council approves new public works contract, updates police hiring practices
Fox Chapel officials have approved a new three-year deal with their public works department. The agreement, unanimously approved by council on Feb. 20, impacts nine full-time workers. It does not impact part-time seasonal help. “I think it’s a fair deal,” said Betsy Monroe, councilwoman and chair of the borough’s negotiating...
Twitter and alcohol top list of things given up for Lent
The Lenten season is upon us, which means many Christians are fasting and abstaining from things they enjoy or even from what they consider to be bad habits for the next 40 days. How did this tradition originate? By the fourth century, the 40-day fast was common enough to be...
I-79 changes — speed limit, express lane shutdown — target work zone safety improvements
PennDOT announced it has made changes to an Interstate 79 construction zone to improve safety. The I-79 southbound express lane has been closed and a 45 mph speed limit was enacted in the southbound lanes while engineers work through safety changes. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said the speed limit was...
Rescued from atop New Kensington home, Roofus the cat waits to be claimed
A tabby cat rescued from atop a Fourth Avenue home in New Kensington is garnering some social media attention while fire crews search for its family. Named Roofus by the emergency crew that saved him, the cat was taken to Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley in Parnassus and is waiting...
