Western PA Local News category, Page 1227
Leechburg’s new garbage collection set to begin
Leechburg Council advises residents that the borough’s new garbage contractor, Bankosh Sanitation, will begin providing service tomorrow. Council president Tom Foster said Bankosh officials decided to move forward with collections rather than wait until the new year, when its contract begins. He said they felt that, with the last collection...
Could ‘stop, question and frisk’ drive down gun violence in Pittsburgh?
Increased gun violence in Pittsburgh has spurred city officials and residents to look for ways to combat the problem. A Carnegie Mellon University criminologist is recommending an approach that has generated controversy and debate elsewhere. Daniel Nagin, a professor of public policy and statistics at Carnegie Mellon, is calling for...
3 people flown to hospitals from head-on crash in Washington Township
Three people were flown by medical helicopter from a head-on crash late Tuesday night in Washington Township, according to emergency officials. First responders including Murrysville Medic One, four fire companies and state police were called to the intersection of Route 66 and Mamont Road around 10:45 p.m., for a report...
Leechburg looks to the Armstrong County Land Bank to help fight blight
Leechburg Mayor Tony Roppolo thinks joining the Armstrong County Land Bank could help solve the borough’s blight problem. Roppolo argued that position to council last week after checking out the land bank’s mission. Council listened but took no action pending the participation of Leechburg Area School District, which would be...
Ex-Seneca Valley school guard charged with possessing child pornography
A former security guard at the Seneca Valley School District who allegedly sexually assaulted a high school student on school property in August 2021, faces new charges of possessing and distributing child pornography, according to police in Butler County. An arrest warrant has been issued for Matthew A. Cowan, 24,...
Westmoreland’s political focus shifts to county races in 2023
With the books closed on the 2022 election, Westmoreland County political leaders are ready to focus on local races heading into 2023 with control of most key courthouse offices at stake. Republicans will attempt to continue the party’s stranglehold on local politics as the calendar flips with races for county...
John Rooney, son of Steelers founder, dies at 83
John Rooney, son of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Arthur J. Rooney Sr., has died. The brother of former Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney, and a minority shareholder in the team, John Rooney was one of five children of Art, who founded the team in 1933. John Rooney was 83. Late Wednesday morning,...
Natural gas service disrupted in Hempfield
About two dozen homes in the Penn High Park section of Hempfield remained without natural gas service Tuesday, after the service lines were flooded on Christmas Day by a crew fixing a water line break, a Columbia Gas Co. of Pennsylvania spokesman said. The time frame for when residents will...
Jeannette man killed in Derry Township crash
A 26-year-old Jeannette man died Tuesday night in a one-car crash along Route 981 in Derry Township, state police at Kiski Valley said. Jacob Scott Mayer was pronounced dead at the scene, Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said. Police said Mayer was traveling northbound on Route 981 at a high...
Flooding not expected as Allegheny River ice thaws
Flooding is not anticipated along the Allegheny River as ice that formed during the recent record-setting cold snap begins to melt, a National Weather Service meteorologist said Tuesday. After setting a record low of 5 degrees below zero Friday, the high Wednesday is forecast to rise into the 40s, meteorologist...
TribLIVE’s top 50 photos of 2022
From the gun violence that continues to plague Pittsburgh to the collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge to the midterm elections to Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, the past year proved to be an eventful year for Western Pennsylvania. Here are the top 50 photos from 2022 from the TribLIVE’s visual journalists....
The Stroller, Dec. 28, 2022: 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. Pa. Litter Hawk Youth Award accepting entries Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is...
Annual Christmas Bird Count set for area surrounding Bushy Run Battlefield
When members of the Westmoreland Bird and Nature Club conduct the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, many of them will have their eyes peeled for a specific avian arrival. That’s because a Northern shrike, affectionately known by nature lovers as “the butcher bird,” has been sighted in...
Jeannette man dies in Route 981 crash
A 26-year-old Jeannette man died Tuesday night in a one-car crash along Route 981 in Derry Township when his Jeep hit two utility poles and a fire hydrant before he was ejected from the overturned vehicle, state police at Kiski Valley said. Jacob Scott Mayer, was pronounced dead at the...
Man dies after falling down embankment while checking animal traps on Unity property
A Unity man died Tuesday night after falling down an embankment on his property while checking animal traps, the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office said. The coroner’s office identified the man as Paul Berger, 63. “It was icy and he fell down the side of the hill. It was a very...
Franco Harris’ family asks fans to donate to charities to honor the Steelers legend
In advance of Tuesday’s public visitation for Steelers legend Franco Harris at Acrisure Stadium, Harris’ family asked fans to make memorial donations to two charities — the Pittsburgh Promise and the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor — instead of sending flowers. Those who wish to donate can visit the charities’...
Hundreds turn out for public viewing for Steelers legend Franco Harris
Hundreds of fans of Pittsburgh Steelers legend Franco Harris braved the cold Tuesday afternoon to pay their respects to the Hall of Famer, who died last week. The Steelers hosted a viewing at Acrisure Stadium, where any member of the public could view Harris’ closed casket. The viewing inside the...
‘Maybe I will cry’: Southwest travelers in Pittsburgh frustrated by cancellations, delays
Barbara Gray and her husband, Ken, stood at the back of a long, winding line of frustrated passengers Tuesday morning waiting to get to the Southwest Airlines ticket counter at Pittsburgh International Airport. Like many others in line, their flight had been canceled — one of at least 35 Southwest...
Sewickley woman dies in Sewickley Heights crash
A 20-year-old woman has died as a result of injuries suffered in a crash Christmas Eve in Sewickley Heights. Camden Kiggins of Sewickley died about 4 p.m. Christmas Day, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Kiggins was a passenger in a rollover crash in the 500 block of...
Electrify Your Symphony returns to Bethel Park High School
Considering that the Beatles disbanded more than half a century ago, today’s teenagers couldn’t be blamed for considering their music to be ancient history. Yet the George Harrison composition “Here Comes the Sun” is one of the songs in the repertoire for the upcoming Electrify Your Symphony performance at Bethel...
Tour-Ed leaders envision adding natural energy center at former Fawn mine
Administrators of Tour-Ed Mine & Museum in Fawn already tout the site as “one of the coal-est” attractions in the region. Director Bob Black wants to add to the lure of the 170-year-old facility by building a natural energy center. “We give good tours here,” said Black of Plum, who...
Overturned tractor-trailer that tied up Parkway West traffic cleared
An overturned tractor-trailer that was causing traffic headaches on the Parkway West for much of the day Tuesday has been cleared. PennDOT traffic cameras about 4:30 p.m. showed outbound traffic flowing through all lanes near the Campbells Run Road exit. The truck overturned near the border of Robinson and Collier...
Harrison eyes reconstruction of eroded Harbison Street
A Harrison street that has eroded because of a lack of storm sewers is expected to be reconstructed in 2023. The township commissioners have applied for a nearly $500,000 state grant to rebuild Harbison Street, which is marked with craters because of water runoff. “This is to remedy a long-standing...
Drop-off recycling programs turn live Christmas trees into mulch
Once the gifts have been unwrapped and the ornaments have been packed away, households that celebrated Christmas with a live tree have options for disposing of their used evergreen in an environmentally friendly way. Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling has partnered with several local communities, organizations and businesses to offer its...
Westmoreland among counties with most drug delivery resulting in death prosecutions
More drug dealers implicated in fatal overdoses are being prosecuted in Westmoreland County than in any other county is Southwestern Pennsylvania. Statistics released in December by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts revealed that 6.2% of all drug delivery resulting in death cases brought by state prosecutors since 2017 were...
