Western PA Local News category, Page 1701
Commissioners award demolition contracts for abandoned structures in Harrison
Harrison will keep a township contractor busy not only with demolishing structures but doing some building work, as well. Township commissioners awarded two contracts to Ron Gillette Inc. and expanded another. The commissioners approved a contract for Gillette to tear down a number of abandoned, blighted structures in the Natrona...
Gas prices falling after setting new Christmas Day record
Average gasoline prices are coming down in the Pittsburgh area and across the nation but remain significantly higher than they were a year ago, according to price tracking service GasBuddy. According to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations in Pittsburgh, gas prices fell 2.1 cents per gallon in the past week...
Tarentum woman charged with lying on application to buy gun
A Tarentum woman was charged with a felony after police say she intentionally provided false information about her past when filling out an application to buy a gun at a sporting goods store. Robin A. Ratz, 66, of Heuser Way was charged by Harrison Township police with a felony count...
Westmoreland economic development marketing director retires after one last deal
Joe Sisley’s fingerprints are all over economic development in Westmoreland County. “Joe has sold or leased every property in Westmoreland County’s industrial park system,” said Jason Rigone, executive director of the county’s Industrial Development Corp. There are more than 170 companies occupying 1,200 acres of land and — until the...
East Vandergrift man accused of stealing $42K from nursing home patient
An East Vandergrift man is accused of stealing nearly $43,000 from a man who gave him access to his bank and credit card accounts when he went into a nursing home. John William Ebner, 33, of McKinley Avenue, was charged by Vandergrift police with theft, receiving stolen property, access device...
Diversity, inclusivity topics in Westmoreland Community Action survey
A survey open through Feb. 22 will help Westmoreland Community Action determine how the agency can help with issues related to diversity and inclusiveness. Welcoming Westmoreland is a project the Greensburg-based agency and other groups are undertaking in an effort to foster growth and development through diverse cultures that exist...
Belle Vernon man accused of attempted Christmas burglary in Rostraver
A Belle Vernon man is behind bars after police said he attempted to break into a home in Rostraver on Christmas with his young child in tow, according to court papers. Scott Michael Shetter, 29, is charged with attempted burglary, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, resisting arrest and criminal mischief. He...
Shed gifted to Tarentum community garden found destroyed
A much-appreciated storage shed given to Tarentum’s community garden was found Thursday to have been destroyed, said the Rev. Phil Beck, an organizer of the group that oversees the garden. Beck of First United Presbyterian Church in Tarentum said he believes the shed at the Greg Blythe Friendship Garden on...
The Stroller, Dec. 28, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Knead Community Café welcomes donations Knead Community Café, New Kensington, is accepting donations to help the daily operation of the café, 1011...
New coffee shop in Freeport creates cozy gathering place for cup of joe
Virginia Lindsay didn’t set out to open a coffee and tea shop in Freeport when she and business partner Karen Heilman started looking for a new venture in which to get involved. But they knew they wanted to put their creativity and energy into something that was in the heart...
Gilpin decides on projects for $80,000 of federal covid relief funds
The Gilpin supervisors intend to allocate $80,000 of the township’s federal covid relief money. The money is part of $125,400 received from the federal fund designed to help communities come back from a broad range of issues they faced in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. Township supervisors Chairman Charles...
Building the Valley: Cameroonian immigrant lays roots for business in New Kensington
Odilon Wafo came to the United States from the African country of Cameroon in 2010 looking for better opportunities for himself and his children. He would find himself owning a business in New Kensington, a city that itself was striving for better. “When I got here, I saw the city...
Parents charged with endangerment in Penn Hills case where their 5-year-old son was fatally shot
The parents of a teen accused of fatally shooting his brother in Penn Hills have been charged with felony child endangerment, according to court documents. Five-year-old Connor Wolfe was found shot inside his family’s home along Prescott Drive on Nov. 22. His brother, 13-year-old Keegan McGivern, is facing homicide and...
Police: Penn Hills man accused of trying to set a home on fire with his children inside
A Penn Hills man is accused of attempting to burn down a home with his children in it on Sunday, according to court documents. Quenton Hughes, 39, is charged with endangering persons, causing or risking a catastrophe, possession of instruments of a crime, possession of explosive or incendiary materials or...
No injuries reported in 3-alarm fire in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood
No injuries were reported after two homes caught on fire Monday night in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood, officials said. Firefighters responded to the 5200 block of Lytle Street around 10 p.m. for reports of the two alarm house fire, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety Spokesman Maurice Matthews. First responders said they...
Greensburg resident publishes children’s book ‘We Are Different but a Lot Alike’
Linda Guest-Peters was driving home from her job in Youngwood one day when a thought kept popping into her head. “An assortment of flowers makes a better flower garden. May all your friendships blossom like a flower garden,” served as inspiration for her new children’s book, “We Are Different but...
Where’s winter? Warm, wet weather here to stay
Southwestern Pennsylvania has had an unusually warm late fall and early winter without much snow, and that is not expected to change anytime soon, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Moon Township said. The Pittsburgh region officially has had all of 0.2 inches of snow in December — far less...
Driver hospitalized after crashing into pole in Penn Hills
A North Huntingdon man has been charged with driving under the influence and number traffic violations after crashing into a pole in Penn Hills. Emergency responders were dispatched shortly before 1 a.m. Monday for a single vehicle crash along the 10000 block of Frankstown Road. Police Chief Howard Burton said...
Handling covid exposure around holidays depends on vaccination status, experts say
Attempting to return to normal life has come with a price during the pandemic. While many people opted to forgo large family get-togethers during the holidays last year as cases surged and the United States was still without an approved vaccine, many families seemed determined to gather this year. Inevitably,...
Concerns about possible covid exposure draw people to mobile testing site in Tarentum
Scores of people lined up in the rain outside a church in Tarentum on Monday for free tests to determine if they have been infected by the coronavirus. A number of the people who went for tests at First United Presbyterian Church on Lock Street said they did so because...
Strain of pandemic drives Americans to drink more
The strain of the coronavirus pandemic, now almost two years old, has contributed to a national uptick in alcohol consumption, experts say. People might not feel as isolated as they did during the height of the pandemic, when in-person activities were limited or shut down at many workplaces, schools and...
Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Semper Gratus. honored as 1 of 50 Disney’s Magic Makers
When Ian Coyle, founder and president of Semper Gratus., found out he was selected as one of Disney’s Magic Makers, he wanted to pay it forward by giving someone else his free trip to Walt Disney World. The act is just one of the qualities the Leechburg native and Shaler...
Delmont police settling into new, expanded station
When Delmont police used to interview a victim or a witness, the cramped quarters in their previous department made it difficult. “You’d be talking to someone, and if we’d arrested a suspect, the suspect would be right there, basically able to hear everything,” Chief T.J. Klobucar said. “It wasn’t ideal.”...
Coroner: 2 Pittsburgh residents killed in Route 28 crash
The Armstrong County Coroner’s Office has identified two people killed in a multi-vehicle crash that shut down both lanes of northbound Route 28 for a time on Monday morning. The road was shut down shortly after 9 a.m. between Exit 18 PA 128 — Slate Lick/Northpointe and Exit 19 US...
Making the cut: Pittsburgh Dave opens barbershop in Ross
Barber school students learn to use a straight razor by cutting a balloon covered in shaving cream. “You learn quickly how to shave someone’s face after the balloon breaks just one time,” said Dave Peters, known as Pittsburgh Dave, who recently opened Steel City Barber Lounge in the My Salon...
