Valley News Dispatch category, Page 119

Plum Council has approved filling three vacancies in the borough’s police department and in doing so has offered employment to the department’s second female officer. Council on Monday approved conditional offers of employment to Jason Saunders, Haylee Walak and Luke Skledar. They will replace officers who have retired or resigned,...

How a live firearm round got into Valley High School in New Kensington remains under investigation and “raises quite a few questions,” according to New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent Chris Sefcheck. “These questions are the foundation for a review of our processes and procedures for school safety and security,” he said Wednesday....

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. Happy Valentine’s Day! American Cancer Society seeks volunteer drivers The American...

If Arnold’s new police chief looks familiar to city residents, there are a couple of reasons why. One is that newly hired Chief Josh Stanga worked as a city police officer in the past. The other is that he might be their neighbor. Talking to the crowd of residents at...

Republican Rep. Jill Cooper will have a primary challenger this spring for her Murrysville-based seat in the state House. Cooper, the first-term incumbent, appears to be the lone member of Westmoreland County’s state House delegation to face a primary challenge. Nomination petitions to appear on the April 23 primary ballot...

An Arnold woman arrested on suspicion of assault was stunned several times with a Taser after police said she fought with officers inside a New Kensington holding cell Saturday. Arnold police said they arrested Alexis Shante Owens, 29, after responding to a call in the 400 block of 16th Street,...

An investigation of gunshots Sunday night in New Kensington turned up a “ghost gun,” police say. Officers recovered a 9mm handgun they say Brandon Keith Allen, 27, of New Kensington was carrying and threw away while police chased him along Leishman Avenue, according to a criminal complaint filed against Allen....

A preliminary hearing for a man accused of killing a Lower Burrell restaurant owner in December is scheduled for Wednesday morning. Nathan Salem, 45, of Lower Burrell faces a preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec. He faces first-degree murder and criminal homicide charges in connection with the shooting...

A lockdown of Valley High School in New Kensington was lifted shortly before noon Tuesday after a live firearm round found in a bathroom prompted a police search of the building. Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said the search by police and administrators found no other ammunition nor weapons in the building....

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. Garden center accepting applications for college scholarship Greensburg Garden Center is...

Upper Burrell officials are once again gauging the interest of surrounding municipalities in forming a regional police department. Township supervisors mailed letters to Lower Burrell, New Kensington and Allegheny and Washington townships to gauge their interest in forming a “fact-finding body” to examine the feasibility of a regionalized police force...

When Sandee Vargo lost one of her diamond earrings two years ago, she turned that sinking feeling into an opportunity to try something new. Her remaining one-third carat stud earring was a natural diamond, mined from the ground. But Vargo of North Huntingdon became interested in another option for her...

East Deer stands to generate substantial revenue from a proposed amusement tax that is expected to be approved in March. Commissioners voted last week to advertise the ordinance, which calls for a 5% tax on admission fees to large events hosted in the township. The board is scheduled to vote...

Oakmont police continue to investigate a graffiti incident that occurred last week on a church property in Oakmont. “It contained homophobic images and words,” said Oakmont police Chief Michael Ford. Black paint currently covers a large section of a mural fence on the grounds of Oakmont United Methodist Church at...

Emily Steele told her father that she and her surviving family no longer want to have any relationship with him following his conviction for the first-degree murder of her mother. Steele, 20, sat in the witness chair Monday and directed her father, seated just feet away in a blue prison-issued...

Pitchers and catchers report to the Pittsburgh Pirates training facility in Florida on Feb. 14, and opening day is March 28 in Miami. College baseball teams, both locally and throughout the country, begin their seasons next week. High school baseball preseason practices start March 4 with season openers three weeks...

A New Kensington man is accused of pointing a gun at a man on the street Saturday before handing the weapon to a woman and telling her to shoot the man. Police charged Thomas Lee Burruss, 47, with illegally possessing a firearm and simple assault. Burruss is prohibited from having...

Flood control measures installed to protect Valley High School and its campus, including the New Kensington-Arnold School District’s football stadium, are overdue for needed maintenance. A debris basin at the upper end of the campus is 80% full and “minimally functioning,” said Jim Pillsbury, a hydraulic engineer with the Westmoreland...

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. Mystery dinner to raise funds for Leechburg Public Library A mystery...

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Monday, Feb. 12, to include a statement from Buffalo Township’s solicitor. Lynn Shearer’s opposition wasn’t enough to stop Buffalo Township from approving a Verizon cell tower on his neighbor’s property in December. Now he’s taking the township to court for an alleged failure...

LAS VEGAS — Running back Jerick McKinnon and wide receiver Skyy Moore were active for the Kansas City Chiefs for the first time in nearly two months for their Super Bowl showdown with the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. McKinnon and Moore, who both played a crucial role in the...

The latest alligator rescued from along the Kiski River near Apollo has new digs. Neo, a pet alligator reported missing since September in Kiski Township, was safely captured by cyclists Friday evening along the Roaring Run Trail. Nathan Lysaght, founder and director of Nate’s Reptile Rescue, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that...

Here is a weekly look at recent images captured throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley. From major news events to routine gatherings, the Tribune-Review’s “Scenes from the Valley” photo package brings to life activities and moments happening in your backyard. To have a photo considered as a “Scenes from the Valley” candidate,...

Freeport taxpayers soon will see progress on a project they’ve helped to pay for over the past year — and into the future. The borough will break ground Monday on its $18.6 million sewage treatment plant. “Freeport Borough is finally upgrading its wastewater treatment plant,” said Zachary Filous, borough manager....