Western PA Local News category, Page 718
Jefferson County man to serve up to 20 years for sexual assault of Vandergrift boy
A Jefferson County man was sentenced Friday to serve up to 20 years in prison for the sexual assault of a 6-year-old boy. Joshua Michael Irvine, 26, pleaded guilty to felony counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and aggravated indecent assault for the molestation of a child in Vandergrift over...
Judge: New Florence woman competent to stand trial in mother’s killing
A New Florence woman charged along with two men in connection with her mother’s homicide last year is competent to stand trial, a judge ruled. Police say Melissa Fox-Beacom, 50, enlisted two 18-year-old men, including her daughter’s boyfriend, to kill her mother on Dec. 11. According to police, 71-year-old Alice...
Former Westmoreland prison guard will serve time for role in inmate assault
A former Westmoreland County Prison guard was ordered to serve time in the facility where he once worked. Brian Joseph Prinkey, 27, of Connellsville was sentenced Friday to serve 10 days to 23 months behind bars at the county lockup for his role in the assault of an inmate there...
‘Meaningful, beautiful and significant’: Community honors victims of Jeannette fire at memorial service
Dozens of people shuffled past bright floral arrangements and poster boards adorned with family photos at Word of Life Church in Hempfield Friday. Couples squeezed each other’s hands, and parents held their children tightly next to them as they waited to share condolences and hugs with members of the Miranda...
New fire captain, just 22, committed to continuing legacy of service in Oakmont
When Joey Flanick was a teenager, people in Oakmont nicknamed him “The Mayor.” “I just talk to everyone,” said Flanick, now 22 and an Oakmont Volunteer Fire Department captain. “The mayor title is like a joke, but it stuck. I’m a very social person, and I can build relationships with...
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...
Franklin Regional set to host public health, wellness fair
The Franklin Regional School District has a health services department. But when district officials began discussing ideas for a health and wellness fair, they decided to expand beyond the student body. The district’s April 29 community health fair will be open to the public, bringing more than 40 local health...
Fuel leak, slick road suspected in 3-car crash on Route 910 in Harmar
Harmar police are investigating a diesel fuel spill that appears to have resulted in slick road conditions that led to a chain-reaction crash during the Friday morning commute along Route 910. No injuries were reported from the crash, which occurred at about 7 a.m., according to Harmar police Sgt. John...
Pittsburgh floodwaters crest at highest levels since 2005, 10th Street Bypass reopens
As rain drenched Southwestern Pennsylvania this week, Pittsburgh’s rivers reached their highest levels in nearly two decades. The Pittsburgh area saw 72 hours of heavy precipitation, which dropped more rain over three days than the region had seen in all of March, Lee Hendricks, a meteorologist with the National Weather...
Meteorologists project some cloud cover, possible rain during Monday’s eclipse
Viewing Monday’s solar eclipse may be a nebulous proposition in western Pennsylvania if a weather forecast that includes cloud cover is correct. “We are expecting partly to mostly cloudy skies on Monday during the eclipse,” said Brian Hutton Jr., meteorologist at TribLive news partner WTAE. “There are still some questions...
New Kensington-Arnold to dismiss students early because of solar eclipse
The New Kensington-Arnold School District has changed its plans for Monday because of the solar eclipse. The district will dismiss students early on Monday, Superintendent Chris Sefcheck announced. Previously, the district said it was going to hold classes as regularly scheduled. Many Pittsburgh area school districts are releasing students early,...
Pittsburgh Pirates home opener: Feels like Steelers weatherVideo
The Pirates were hot. The weather was not. Chilly temperatures and snow flurries on the North Shore made Friday feel more like a wintry Steelers tailgate than a celebration for the boys of summer. Still, fans were ready to welcome the 2024 home opener in Pittsburgh against the Baltimore Orioles....
Suspects in Easter killing of Wilkinsburg teen in jail
A woman sought in the fatal Easter Sunday shooting of a 16-year-old boy in Wilkinsburg is now in jail. Alicia Johnson turned herself in Wednesday night at Pittsburgh’s Zone 5 police station in Highland Park, police confirmed Friday. Johnson and Kira Jackson, both 23 and from Pittsburgh, are each charged...
Take the TribLive weekly news quiz: April 5
Here’s a new feature from TribLive: A weekly news quiz: 1. This week, the Pittsburgh region got a heavy dose of rain. A lot of rain. According to the National Weather Service, the area got approximately 4.07 inches this week. That accumulation marks the second highest three-day precipitation total in...
Morning Roundup: Wigle Whiskey opens site at PNC Park; landslide limits road access in Ross
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, April 5: Wigle Whiskey opens site at PNC Park Wigle Whiskey food and spirits will be available at PNC Park this season, the Pittsburgh-based craft distillery announced on its website. The distillery’s North Shore menu will be available...
Man dies more than 4 months after being shot in Lincoln-Lemington
A man who was shot more than four months ago in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar neighborhood died just after midnight Thursday. Jamair Coachman, 18, of Penn Hills was shot in the back on Everton Street on Nov. 23, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner told TribLive news partner WTAE. No arrests have been...
The Stroller, April 5, 2024: 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. Concordia speakers bureau offers presentations The Concordia Lutheran Ministries Speakers Bureau...
High waters cast doubt on trout season opener
It’s called “fishing” not “catching.” And that’s what anglers heading out for the state’s trout season opening day Saturday might be facing. Eager anglers likely will encounter muddy, fast-moving streams swollen from the massive rainfall that began late Monday and lingered into Thursday. The National Weather Service office in Moon...
90-home development slated for portion of industrial park in South Buffalo
A residential housing development is coming to the RIDC Armstrong Innovation Park in South Buffalo. The 90-home development will feature 45 single-family homes and 45 townhouses on 23 acres owned by the nonprofit Armstrong County Industrial Development Council. The residences will be sold beginning in the $300,000 range. The development,...
Former East Huntingdon plant workers left with $40K in medical bills despite judge’s order
Former workers of a shuttered East Huntingdon metalworking company are waiting for the firm’s owner to pay about $40,000 in overdue medical bills incurred after they found out they were without insurance. U.S. Judge Robert Colville ordered Robert H. Kendi, president of the Ken-Co Fabricating Co. Inc., to “immediately pay”...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: April 5 – 7
There’s a healthy mix of indoor and outdoor family-friendly activities this weekend in Westmoreland County. Win For Kids’ Cash Bash Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region will host its annual cash bash fundraiser Saturday night at Uniontown Volunteer Fire Department Social Hall, 58 Dunbar St. With doors opening...
3rd generation Norvelt native will present town’s New Deal history
When word began circulating in the early 1930s that the government was creating a 250-lot New Deal community in Westmoreland County, some politicians and members of the region’s upper crust couldn’t understand it. “They didn’t see why the government was doing this for these coal miners, who they didn’t think...
Following heavy rain, Conemaugh River Lake crest gates opened for 1st time since 2010
The recent rainfall that has caused flooding across the Pittsburgh region filled the Conemaugh River Lake to 74% of its capacity. To bring the lake’s level down, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started opening the dam’s crest gates Thursday, said Megan Gottlieb, water management lead engineer. It’s the first...
Too familiar: Residents near creeks, streams begin flood cleanup
Pamela Courie reached her breaking point Thursday when it began raining again. She and her husband spent hours tearing apart and throwing away flood-damaged pieces of their Lowber home after Sewickley Creek overflowed its banks Wednesday and came rushing in. “I want to move. I’m too sick to do this....
Court weighs if 15-year-old charged with homicide should be tried as adult
By the time he was 13, Nigel Thompson had been hospitalized twice at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital. Medical records showed he had suicidal thoughts and threatened to kill his family. He stole a gun, they said, and took it to school in his backpack. A juvenile court found that he...
