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Valley News Dispatch category, Page 29

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Freeport high school renovations could cost up to $55M, raise taxes for years to come
Proposed renovations at Freeport Area High School would cost between $20 million and $55 million and result in tax increases for years to come, officials said. The $20 million proposal would include upgrades to roofing, lighting, windows and heating and cooling, while the $55 million plan would also include sewage...
Freeport’s new sewage treatment plant to cost $134K more than expected
A new West Penn Power policy will force Freeport to spend an additional $80,000 on electrical work for its new sewage treatment facility. Crews must lay power lines between the perimeter fence and control room underground instead of overhead, leading to the change order requested by Robert Horvat of KLH...
Arnold loses its community development director and controller
Arnold is beginning the new year with two vacant offices at city hall. Council has accepted the resignations of longtime employee Rick Rayburg, currently the city’s community development director, and city Controller Toni Montemurro. Neither attended Tuesday’s council meeting, when their resignations were accepted. While Mayor Shannon Santucci and council...
Burrell rejects bids for boiler repairs; architects to present construction proposals next month
Burrell School District officials think bidding their boiler projects a different way will result in lower costs. The school board on Tuesday rejected bids for a boiler replacement at Burrell High School and a rebuild at Bon Air Elementary School. It authorized administrators to rebid the project. Superintendent Shannon Wagner...
O’Hara resident settles into leadership at Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services
A third-generation volunteer firefighter is continuing a family legacy of public service in Sharpsburg and Aspinwall. Shaler native Mike Daniher is the inaugural chief of Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services, or SAVES. The communities of Sharpsburg and Aspinwall merged their fire departments into a new company in 2023 in an...
Highlands community mourns No. 1 fan Eddie Teorsky
He was known as The Mayor, Mr. P.R. and Highlands’ No. 1 fan. Harrison native Eddie Teorsky was best known as a supporter of the Highlands community — but it was just as much of a fan of him. “He was at every practice and on every sideline of every...
The Stroller, Jan. 17, 2025: 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. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Apollo police officer to...
New Valley High School lab equipment gives students hands-on learning for in-demand future jobs 
Valley High School biology teacher Kathy Jo Sagwitz learned how to do more with less for her students. “Before this year, I didn’t have a science room at all,” she said. “I was in a regular classroom with no lab area, no sink, no nothing. I was very limited in...
Casino revenues boost long-delayed projects in Alle-Kiski Valley communities
Oklahoma Borough, with a population of 788, doesn’t have hundreds of thousands of local tax dollars laying around to overhaul its community park, let alone pave the parking lot there. “(Officials) have talked about it in the past, and that project was just put on the back burner because of...
Springdale boiler house to be demolished conventionally instead of imploded, property owner says
The boiler house at Springdale’s former power plant will be torn down conventionally instead of imploded as the property owner originally planned. Scott Reschly, vice president of operations for Charah Solutions, said crews intend to demolish the boiler house at the former Cheswick Generating Station between mid-February and early March....
Riverview School Board discusses opening district to nonresident students
The Riverview School Board is considering welcoming tuition students to the district for the first time in more than 20 years. While the idea remains in its infancy, the discussion began when board members started the review of a board policy that covers the eligibility of nonresident students. The current...
Shrinking council could be an option for Freeport amid retention issues
Two members of Freeport’s depleted council have expressed interest in shrinking the body from seven to five members. Council President Rick Fennell and Councilwoman Kimberly Barr mulled the idea during an informal feedback session Tuesday night. “It’s a conversation worth having, is all I’m saying,” Barr said. A voting meeting...
Man escapes injury in Route 28 vehicle rollover
A 25-year-old Tarentum man escaped injury during a one-vehicle crash along Route 28 late Wednesday, authorities said. Marquis Velez crashed his Ford Fusion just before 10:25 p.m. near the Tarentum exit ramp. State police said Velez was traveling south when he jerked the steering wheel and caused the vehicle to...
Aspinwall parking study report under review, findings to be released in February
A study designed to find ways to help elevate Aspinwall residents’ and visitors’ parking woes will soon be released. The 140-page report crafted by Walker Consultants was submitted to the borough late last year and is currently under review by borough council. Councilman Mark Chimel, chairman of the planning and...
Plum School District preparing for $4.3M in work at middle school this summer
Renovation work is proposed to begin this summer at Plum Middle School. The school board is expected to vote Jan. 28 to approve paying The Hayes Design Group-Architects $170,600 for design and engineering services toward work totaling $4.3 million. The district is beginning renovations at its middle school while working...
New look for O’Hara police vehicles helps mark start of Blawnox combined service
The O’Hara Police Department unveiled the new look of its patrol vehicles as the township force begins its first month serving Blawnox. Borough officers became township employees at the start of this year via an intergovernmental agreement to boost manpower and coverage. The department’s five marked vehicles were modified by...
The Stroller, Jan. 16, 2025: 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. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Valentine Snowball planned for...
As wind chills plummet below zero, officials undeterred: ‘It’s winter’ in Western Pa.
Burrell Superintendent Shannon Wagner makes a flurry of decisions before 5:30 each morning, especially this time of year. On Monday, when temperatures are expected to nosedive below zero for the first time since 2022, Wagner will be up at 4:45 a.m. to review road conditions with Upper Burrell and Lower...
Man arrested for gift card scheme at Frazer Walmart sentenced to 1 1/2 to 3 years
A Chinese national’s gift card scheme that ended after Frazer police busted him in May has landed him in jail for at least 11/2 years, according to the state Attorney General’s Office. Zhixiang Chen, 20, pleaded guilty in Lawrence County Court to corrupt organizations and organized retail crime. As part...
New Kensington-Arnold School Board agrees to limit possible tax increase
Any property tax increase in the New Kensington- Arnold School District will not be higher than its state- imposed limit. At a special meeting Tuesday, the school board voted unanimously to tell the state it will not seek to raise its property tax rate by more than 6% for the 2025-26 school...
Burrell schools mull new schedules for reconfigured buildings
Burrell School District parents and staff are taking a close look at schedules at Bon Air Elementary and Huston Middle schools as both buildings prepare to accommodate an extra grade next year. With the closure of Stewart Elementary, fourth graders will attend Bon Air and fifth graders will be sent...
The Stroller, Jan. 15, 2025: 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. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Sponsorships available at Champion’s...
Plum Council approves volunteer firefighter stipend program
Some Plum volunteer firefighters soon could be pulling down a paycheck for their services. Borough council this week approved an agreement with the Plum Fire Chiefs Association to test a stipend program. The fire chiefs, from the Holiday Park, Logans Ferry Heights, Renton and Unity departments, still need to sign...
Problem traffic light off Route 28 in Harmar corrected, officials say
A traffic light in Harmar, blamed over the weekend for traffic snarls on Route 28, has been fixed, township and PennDOT officials say. The light, at the end of the Route 28 southbound exit ramp to Harmar, was the focus of motorists’ ire because its cycle was only allowing a...
Civil lawsuits from families of former nurse Heather Pressdee’s victims continue to work through courts
Eight months after Heather Pressdee pleaded guilty to murdering at least three patients in nursing centers where she worked, wrongful death lawsuits against many of those centers continue to wind their way through the courts. Pressdee, 42, is serving three consecutive life terms without parole, plus an additional 380 to...


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