Western PA Local News category, Page 1725
Charleroi couple accused of hiding infant’s death now charged with homicide
A Charleroi couple charged last month with hiding their dead infant’s body in the wall of their home now face homicide charges, according to the Washington County District Attorney’s Office. Kylie Wilt, 25, and Alan Hollis, 27, are both now charged with homicide and aggravated assault along with conspiracy, concealing...
Leechburg Area School Board retains president and vice president, welcomes newly elected members
Leechburg Area School Board’s top leaders will retain their positions next year, and the newly elected members were sworn in Wednesday night. Neill Brady and Anthony Shea were unanimously retained as president and vice president, respectively. Brady has been on the board for about 18 years. He enters his fourth...
Art, crafts, music draw visitors to Lincoln Highway museum’s holiday open house
Ed Behen had long wanted to visit the transportation-themed Lincoln Highway Experience museum along Route 30 in Unity Township. “My history teacher always talked about the Lincoln Highway when I was in high school in 1975,” said Behen, who moved to the township two decades later. He seized on the...
Bill Callahan Sr. was best known for Buffalo Bill’s Roadhouse in New Kensington and his charity work
Comparatively few get to live out their dream of owning their own business. But New Kensington’s Bill Callahan Sr. got to do it for 27 years. Callahan, popular owner of Buffalo Bill’s Roadhouse on Freeport Road in the Valley Heights section of New Kensington, died Saturday at 79. After finishing...
Allegheny County health director: ‘I don’t expect the situation to improve soon’
The covid-19 situation in Allegheny County remains grim, health director Dr. Debra Bogen said Wednesday, as the county closes in on nearly 2,500 dead from the virus. Since June, nearly 500 people in the county have died from covid-19, Bogen said. “Most tragic is that nearly all of these deaths...
Duquesne police chief accused of witness intimidation against father of alleged sex assault victim
Duquesne police Chief Thomas Dunlevy was arrested Wednesday, accused of interfering in an alleged sexual assault case against his friend, including intimidating the accuser’s father. The man accused in the alleged August sexual assault case, Nathan Beck, 20, was a volunteer firefighter in Duquesne and a friend of Dunlevy’s, according...
Vandergrift man sentenced for break-in
A Vandergrift man will serve up to five years in prison for an incident in which police said he threatened to kill himself. Justin Danjou, 23, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one felony count of criminal trespassing and a misdemeanor offense of unlawful restraint after police said he broke into a...
Wecht testifies fentanyl caused Export man’s death in trial of coworker accused of supplying drug
Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday morning in the trial of an Export man accused of selling the drugs used in the 2018 fatal overdose of a coworker. Westmoreland County prosecutors contend Kelly Ryan Frank sold the drugs that killed 29-year-old Keith Robert Alexander, who was found dead by...
Former Steelers great Dick Hoak gets surprise birthday party in Hempfield
Turning 82 isn’t exactly a milestone birthday. But for the friends of former Steelers and Penn State great and Jeannette native Dick Hoak, any excuse to give him a party is a good one. Fans of Hoak know him as a former Pro Bowl running back and the longest tenured...
Ambridge woman charged with killing children set to plead guilty
An Ambridge woman accused of killing her two children in February will plead guilty next week, according to the Beaver County District Attorney’s Office. Krisinda Bright, 49, will plead guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in a Dec. 14 plea hearing, District Attorney David Lozier said in a statement....
Popular Schramm farm market closing in Harrison City
Schramm Farms & Orchards in Harrison City — with its popular pumpkin patch, maze and fruits and vegetables for sale in its market — is closing at the end of the month after 40 years in business, the owner said Wednesday. “Everybody gets to retire. I’ve been working 8½ days...
Pittsburgh’s Homewood in line to get a GetGo Cafe + Market
A GetGo Cafe + Market with a gas station is likely coming to Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, officials said Wednesday. “There hasn’t been anything like this in the community since I was a little boy,” said Councilman Ricky Burgess, whose district includes Homewood. Burgess said discussions about developing a GetGo location...
Penn-Trafford plans send-off for Warriors on way to championship football matchup
In a series of unprecedented wins over the past two weeks, the Penn-Trafford football team made history after securing its first WPIAL title and defeating a District 3 champion. That success advanced the Warriors to their first state championship game against Imhotep Charter at Hersheypark Stadium this Friday at 7...
Army Corps to update public on $500M-plus nuke cleanup in Parks Township
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will update residents on the status of the $500 million-plus cleanup of the nuclear dump in Parks Township in a virtual meeting Thursday evening. Excavation for the cleanup will start in 2024 at the 44-acre dump off Route 66. It is formally known as...
Jeannette looks to lease dash and body cameras for police department
Jeannette police could be getting another measure of protection — dash and body cameras. Police Chief Donald Johnston Jr. said having video evidence of arrests or incidents could help bolster criminal cases as well as deter potentially violent encounters with the public. “When you’re not able to provide that footage,...
Jeannette to use some federal American Rescue Plan money to buy new radios for firefighters
Jeannette firefighters are getting an upgrade to their radio systems with the help of American Rescue Plan funding. Fire Chief Bill Frye said he plans to purchase 23 new portable radios, a mobile radio for in a fire truck and a new radio repeater as well as upgrade the fire...
Jeannette officials debate how to spend $900K allocation from American Rescue Plan
A measure that would create a process for Jeannette businesses to apply for a portion of the city’s American Rescue Plan funding could be voted on during council’s Thursday meeting. Councilwoman Robin Mozley requested the item be placed on the agenda after officials heard from a business owner inquiring about...
Lower Burrell has unsold property in county repository; councilman buys tiny parcel
When Lower Burrell Councilman Chris Fabry was buying a new home on Aloha Drive, the city treasurer told him about an unclaimed sliver of neighboring land. City Treasurer Brian Eshbaugh alerted Fabry and some other residents about small properties adjacent to their own in an effort to get them onto...
Brackenridge Council votes to hold steady on 2022 property taxes
Brackenridge residents will pay the same amount in property taxes next year after council approved the borough’s $1.1 million budget. Council voted Dec. 2 to maintain the real estate tax rate of 6.2 mills — the same as it has been since 2018. “It’s a tight budget,” Borough Secretary Denise...
Pittsburgh City Council again revises proposal to amend city’s parking code
Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday again revised a proposed change to the city’s parking code. The proposed legislation, introduced by Councilman Bobby Wilson in October, would create hybrid residential parking permit areas where drivers without a permit could pay to park for a limited time. It also would create non-resident...
Former priest secretly filmed teen boy in Target bathroom in Pittsburgh, police say
A former priest named in the 2018 Catholic Church abuse report was arrested Tuesday after police said he filmed a teenage boy in the bathroom of an East Liberty Target store, according to court records. Paul G. Spisak, 77, of East Carnegie, is charged with sexual abuse of a minor,...
Export officials: Sewage surcharge to remain in place for now
An $8 surcharge on Export sewage customers was only supposed to be in place for a year. Yet, when it came up for a vote in May, council members voted to keep it in place. With bills totaling more than $50,000 coming in related to its ongoing long-term flood control...
New Kensington police issue warning about leaving cars running after rash of thefts
New Kensington police are warning people not to leave their vehicles running while unoccupied after a number of thefts were reported. City police posted the notice on social media Wednesday morning noting that a specific area of concern is the Sheetz in the 300 block of Freeport Street, where several...
Woman accused of dealing drugs after cop finds half-ounce of suspected meth during traffic stop
Washington Township police accused a woman of selling drugs after finding more than half an ounce of suspected methamphetamine when she was pulled over for speeding. Deborah Jane Babyak, 60, of Carnahan Road in Bell Township was charged with a felony count of manufacture, delivery or possession with the intent...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court hears arguments over school mask mandate
As Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration has defended its school mask mandate in court over the past three months, it has relied on a portion of the state health code that allows for the “surveillance of disease.” On Wednesday before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Senior Deputy Attorney General Sean Kirkpatrick presented...
