Valley News Dispatch category, Page 8
Preliminary Cheswick budget calls for no property tax hike but utility rate to increase
Cheswick’s real estate tax rate won’t go up next year, but some utility rates would increase, according to the borough’s preliminary budget. Residents would pay a combined $76 more per year with the utility hikes, $56 for fixed water rates and $20 for refuse rates. Sewage and variable water rates...
The Stroller, Nov. 23, 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. Leechburg Community Thanksgiving service...
‘A great celebration of the community’: Tarentum Brackenridge Christmas parade opens the season
The Rev. John Bailey summed up the 20th annual Tarentum Brackenridge Christmas parade that kick-started the holiday season Saturday: “It was just a great celebration of the community.” Leading off the parade was the Highlands High School Varsity Marching Band. Behind the trumpets, tubas and drums was a long line...
Students’ weather balloon from Michigan lands (probably) in Brackenridge
From live leeches to building model rockets, a lot happens in Joe Graber’s Michigan high school science class. The most recent project is a weather balloon experiment that could lead to a scavenger hunt in the Brackenridge area. According to a Facebook post by Carrie Balk, a weather balloon launched...
The Stroller, Nov. 22, 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. Gift program benefits victims...
Aluminum City Arts could make New Kensington ‘Destination City’
Tony Paletta remembers thinking negatively of New Kensington when he was growing up in the city. He remembers moving away to live on the West Coast for a number of years and returning to New Kensington five years ago. That’s when his perspective changed. “Coming back in 2020, so much...
Wall fire at Lower Burrell supermarket causes evacuation
A fire in a wall Friday afternoon at the Community Supermarket in Lower Burrell caused an evacuation of the store for about a half-hour. Crews responded to the grocery store, at 3220 Leechburg Road, just before 4 p.m. for a smell of something burning, said Brennan Sites, chief of Lower...
Road work to alter traffic on Coxcomb Hill Road for weeks
Drainage improvement work that will shift traffic on Coxcomb Hill Road in Plum is set to begin Monday, Nov. 24. The work will last until mid-December, according to a release from PennDOT. The shift will take place between Hulton and Logans Ferry roads weekdays between from 8 a.m. and 4...
East Deer joins Lower Valley Ambulance Service
The future of emergency medical service in East Deer is no longer up in the air after the township commissioners agreed to use Lower Valley Ambulance Service. According to Commissioner’s Chairman Tony Taliani, East Deer was considering two options for EMS services. The other was the proposed paid EMS authority...
Faces of the Valley: Giuseppe Lopreiato of Brackenridge credits old-school work ethic — and wine — for success
Giuseppe Lopreiato immigrated from Italy in 1960 with nothing but a strong work ethic and a knack for making wine. His wife, Maria, came first, settling with family in Brackenridge. Lopreiato stayed behind in his native Sant’Onofrio, working as a farmer and saving money to eventually follow. “It’s good here,”...
No property tax increase expected for East Deer
East Deer residents are not expected to see a township tax increase in 2026. According to Commissioner’s Chairman Tony Taliani, revenue is projected to be just under $1.7 million and expenditures are expected to fall just over $1.5 million. “We’re very proud there was no tax increase,” Taliani said. “(The...
Springdale releases survey for future of Veterans Memorial Field
Springdale residents can now offer up ideas for the future of Veterans Memorial Field in a brief survey released by the borough. The survey is part of an effort by a committee formed by the borough to determine what’s next for the now-vacant property. While the questionnaire — which asks...
No property tax increase included in Oakmont’s proposed 2026 budget
Oakmont Council has approved a preliminary budget for next year that calls for no increase in property tax. Councilman John Arnold was the lone vote against the budget, which passed 6-1 on Tuesday, Nov. 18. Total revenue is projected to be just over $6 million. The borough is expecting just...
2025 Christmas events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
F Leechburg Lower Burrell • The Christmas parade will begin at 7 p.m. Dec. 20 at the former Stewart School on Leechburg Road. Lineup will be at 6 p.m. The event was postponed due to the weather. To register, contact Rich Lange at RichLang54@yahoo.com. New Kensington Tarentum ith Santa and...
The Stroller, Nov. 21, 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. Festival of Trees raffle...
Construction begins at Oakmont wastewater treatment plant
An improvement project at Oakmont’s wastewater treatment plant on Ann Street is seeing steady progress. Since 2021, borough officials have been overseeing a project to improve and modernize the plant for the first time since 2008. The project is being managed by a consulting agency, Hatch Engineering. The total cost...
O’Hara couple set to open new ‘elevated’ dining experience in Aspinwall’s business district
Two restaurateurs from O’Hara are the husband-and-wife team behind a new, casually chic restaurant and bar opening soon in Aspinwall. Adam and Diana Kucenic are co-owners of Foxhole Tavern, located in the former Tavern in the Wall, known as Sam’s Tavern to locals, at 211 Commercial Ave. Sam’s Tavern operated...
Springdale police move to add police dog to force
Springdale police are eyeing a new member for the department — a police dog. Borough council voted recently to create the Springdale Borough Police Department K-9 Association, a nonprofit which will be used to fund the program. Several departments, including the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office, pay for police dog programs...
Deluzio, other Dems tell troops to refuse illegal orders, Trump labels them ‘traitors’
Six Democratic members of Congress who served in the military or intelligence community, including U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio of Fox Chapel, are telling current servicemembers and intelligence officials they have a right — and obligation — to refuse illegal orders. In response, President Donald Trump described the message from Democrats...
Lower Burrell leaders to come together to improve community risk reduction
Oftentimes, first responders are in reaction mode when they respond to incidents. They typically arrive at a scene and assess what needs to be done. But a couple of classes are bringing together Lower Burrell leaders and officials in an effort to think more proactively when it comes to reducing...
Fawn resident brings ‘Letters to Santa’ event back to Arnold
As Santa’s special helper, Joe Lebert anticipates old Saint Nick will receive more than 1,000 letters from children in the Alle-Kiski Valley and beyond this holiday season. Lebert plans to kick off that effort with an event Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Roy A. Hunt Elementary School gymnasium, 1701 Alcoa...
Allegheny Valley to replace faucets next month after tests show high lead levels
Allegheny Valley will replace more than a dozen faucets at Acmetonia Elementary School over December’s holiday break after several showed unacceptably high lead levels during testing earlier this year. The faucets are part of several classroom hand sinks in the building, all of which have been equipped with signage reading...
Neighbors: Dogs in Tarentum mauling were a concern before the attack
Tyneisha Johnson heard piercing cries coming from somewhere near her Tarentum apartment. Johnson, 37, thought the sounds Tuesday morning might be coming from a television, but that wasn’t the case. The noise, including frantic screams and barking, was from a nearby apartment, where police said a man was severely attacked...
Highlands comes to tentative ‘early bird’ contract with its teachers
The Highlands School Board is moving to ensure labor peace with the district’s teachers union for the rest of the decade. The board has unanimously approved a tentative “early bird” contract with the Highlands Education Association, the district’s teachers union. “We are thrilled that this early bird has an agreement,”...
No tax increase projected for West Leechburg
Not much is expected to change in West Leechburg’s 2026 budget. With expected expenditures and revenue balanced at $560,260, there aren’t any tax changes expected, said borough Secretary Kayla Visnovsky. That leaves the borough’s millage rate at 29 mills. A homeowner with the median assessed property value of $20,000 would...
