Western PA Local News category, Page 734
‘We get the spotlight’: Duquesne fans revel in long-awaited March Madness victory
It’s a good thing for Duquesne University’s basketball team that alum Ed Wirth wore his class ring Thursday at Mike’s Beer Bar on Pittsburgh’s North Side — as did the rest of his table. And that they ordered pork nachos, like they’d done while watching Duquesne muscle its way through...
‘He needs to feel remorse.’ Driver again denied bail in fatal crash that killed Serra Catholic studentVideo
Nenita Kalkbrenner sat in a Pittsburgh courtroom Thursday as the man charged with crashing into a school van and killing her 15-year-old daughter, Samantha, while drag-racing at speeds up to 107 mph, asked to be released from jail. William Soliday II has been held behind bars without bail since his...
Students from Aquinas Academy in Hampton qualify as Shakespeare finalists
Nine students at Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh in Hampton qualified for the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Showcase of Finalists in two scenes. The students performed live at the O’Reilly Theater in February. Fifth graders Theodore Burchill (Cassius), Nicholas Crawford (Messenger), Ethan Mullican (Brutus), John Paul Richthammer (Antony) and Luke Roney (Octavius)...
Family, neighbors, community come together for Jeannette fire victims, survivors
On Thursday morning, Richard John got what he said was the best phone call of his life. “I talked to my grandson,” John said. “He couldn’t talk, but just to see him. I haven’t seen any of them since the fire.” It was the first time John had been able...
Hempfield man pleads guilty to sex assault of teen
A Hempfield man was ordered to serve up to 12 years in prison for the sexual assault of a teenage girl. Michael Flowers, 25, pleaded guilty Thursday to one felony count of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse related a sexual encounter with a then 13-year-old girl in 2017. According to court...
Odyssey of Mind scholarship awarded to Hampton resident
Hampton resident Jeremiah Bennett, a 12th grader at Commonwealth Charter Academy and A.W. Beattie Career Center, was named the recipient of the Western PA Odyssey of the Mind 2024 Paul H. Dunn Jr. Memorial Scholarship. Jeremiah participated in Odyssey of the Mind for five years, and his experience in the...
Terrelle Pryor sells Penn Township home for more than $400K
Former Jeannette High School football and basketball star Terrelle Pryor has sold his home in Penn Township for $412,500, according to filing with the Westmoreland County Recorder of Deeds. Pryor, 34 sold his home at 6001 Augusta Lane in the Blackthorne Estates plan to Kowshik Morishetty and his wife, Sai...
Sheetz seeks to dismiss lawsuit filed by Perryopolis victim’s family for fatal head-on crash
Lawyers for Altoona-based Sheetz Inc. have asked a Westmoreland County judge to dismiss the company from a wrongful death lawsuit related to a 2022 fatal crash on Interstate 70 in South Huntingdon. The family of 25-year-old David Ott of Perryopolis filed a lawsuit months after he was killed in a...
Pine-Richland students named National Merit finalists
Five Pine-Richland High School seniors were named finalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. In September, they were named semifinalists based on earning some of the highest scores nationwide on the PSAT/NMSQT out of more than 2 million test takers. The Pine-Richland students have earned the additional finalist commendation by...
Western Pennsylvania students learn about manufacturing through video contest
Bella Paulone and her eighth-grade classmate Alishba Raja didn’t have much of a frame of reference for what modern manufacturing looks like. “Before this, we’d have thought it was just a bunch of factory workers picking things up, assembling them and putting them down,” said Raja, 13, of Murrysville. Thanks...
Springdale could start cracking down on ‘disorderly houses’
It could be three strikes and you’re out for Springdale residents whose behavior brings police or other first responders to their homes. The borough is considering revising its “disorderly house” ordinance to set the number of complaint calls to three per year before residents or landlords face charges. Common complaints...
Indiana County man accused of sexual assault in Allegheny Township
An Indiana County man is charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Allegheny Township police charged Daniel Travis Kinney, 30, of Washington Township, Indiana County, with four felony counts of aggravated indecent assault against a person under 16, five felony counts of corruption of minors and a misdemeanor count of...
Police charge Etna mom in drowning death of son, 1, in backyard pool
An Etna woman was arrested Thursday in the drowning death last summer of her 1-year-old son. Brittany Garrison, 28, took the boy, Leo, and a sibling to swim in an aboveground pool in her backyard on Sycamore Street around 3 p.m. on July 27, 2023, Allegheny County Police said. Garrison...
Community bands converge on Murrysville for free annual festival
A classic John Philip Sousa march. Variations on the “Scarborough Fair” theme. Music inspired by the “Lord of the Rings” books. Musicians from all over the Pittsburgh area will perform music from all over the map at the 18th annual Three Rivers Community Band Festival, set for April 6 in...
Penn Hills School District kicks off spring musical season with Linton’s ‘Frozen Jr.,’ ice cream social
Penn Hills School District’s middle school and high school are kicking off their musical seasons this week. Linton Middle School, the first to take the stage, will perform “Frozen Jr.”at 7 p.m. March 21 to 23 at Linton’s Auditorium. Three elementary school students are invited to perform and portray younger...
Hampton cooking studio hosts St. Patrick’s Day fundraiser
Lucky bakers and their caregivers learned how to make shepherd’s pie, sourdough muffins and rainbow cupcakes on March 18 in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day at Flour Power Cooking Studio on Route 8 in Hampton. Amy Knight, franchise owner of Flour Power Pittsburgh, provided the free cooking class as part...
March Madness is a new tradition at Monroeville’s Sunrise School
When Sunrise School in Monroeville returned to the classroom after the covid pandemic, middle school support teacher Erica Pavlovic wanted to bring some joy and fun back into the Allegheny Intermediate Unit building. Pavlovic created a March Madness event for students to celebrate the annual NCAA college basketball tournament. “Restrictions...
North Allegheny band marches for 1st time in NYC St. Patrick’s parade
New York City’s famous Saint Patrick’s Day Parade included some local talent for 2024, the North Allegheny High School Marching Band. This is the first year that NA band director Steve Baldanzi marched the band for that occasion or any Big Apple parade, and it was momentous: “very cool marching...
Murrysville council works to refine voluntary conditions for proposed auto-body shop
Murrysville council members continued to work through a list of voluntary conditions for a national auto-body chain looking to build a shop just east of the Manordale Farms neighborhood. Over the past few months, council members have had to strike a balance between the private property rights of Caliber Collision,...
Entrepreneur expands offerings to open Marshall boutique
They say you can’t go home again, but don’t tell that to Nicki Saini. Her places of residence after growing up in McCandless stretched as far as 10,000 miles away, to Melbourne, Australia, the hometown of her husband, Harvey. Now, they live nearby in Franklin Park, with Nicki running a...
Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship hosts conference on MicroSociety model
More than 50 educators from 18 schools are gathering at Penn Hills Charter School of Entrepreneurship this week to talk about MicroSociety, a proprietary model where students take on the roles and responsibilities of the real world. Students run for elected office, start their own businesses and patrol the hallways...
Sheetz seeking 800 employees for Pennsylvania stores
Convenience store chain Sheetz Inc. is competing with other stores, restaurants and businesses that are looking to add to their workforce, only it is hoping to attract about 800 employees for its more than 300 stores across the state, the company said Thursday. Sheetz said it will have a hiring...
Police plan to boost patrols, IUP stresses student safety for non-sanctioned spring event
Officials at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and surrounding communities are bracing for an anticipated influx of people this weekend, with the scheduled return of the annual IUPatty’s spring celebration. The student-organized event is not sanctioned by the university. But a team of 19 state, county and local organizations — including...
Dreshar Stadium promises to be jewel of Tarentum’s riverfront plans
Tarentum officials are promising Dreshar Stadium, or at least the property that houses the 85-year-old venue, will be the jewel of a newly designed borough riverfront. They’re so confident, in fact, the borough is passing on a chance at $250,000 to fix up the aging stadium and sports field. Instead...
2 appointed to Cheswick Council
Cheswick Council has two new faces. Adis Halimic and Frank Stanish were appointed to council seats vacated by Kathy Gillard and William Kuzmirek. The terms expire at the end of next year. Council made the appointments Tuesday. Halimic, 43, has lived in Cheswick for 16 years. He was born in...
