Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 104
Police: North Apollo man hit other man with chain, threatened to kill him
A North Apollo man is accused of threatening to kill another man as he hit him numerous times in the head and torso with a chain, according to Kiski Township police. Police charged Randy Lee Hollis, 58, with two felony counts of aggravated assault as well as lesser charges including...
Brighton Heights road reopened after bomb squad identifies suspicious object in mailbox
A suspicious object in a mailbox in Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood was found to be a mail scanner, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety. Police said a resident called 911 around 6:20 a.m. Tuesday after hearing beeping coming from the mailbox at Brighton Road and Benton Avenue. Officers confirmed the suspicious...
Columbus statue, Black Lives Matter mural vandalized in Pittsburgh
A Christopher Columbus statue in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood and a Black Lives Matter mural in Downtown Pittsburgh were both recently vandalized. It was at least the second time in the last two months that vandals hit the Columbus statue in Schenley Park, the Trib’s news partner, WPXI-TV, reported. Words including...
Remote learning, cyber school part of New Kensington-Arnold’s plan for 2020-21 school year
New Kensington-Arnold School District’s plan for the coming school year includes remote learning for students who don’t want to go back to the district’s buildings because of coronavirus. The district also will be providing a cyber program, the district announced. The district’s reopening plan will be presented to the school...
Juvenile in critical condition after being shot in Turtle Creek
A young person was in critical condition after being shot multiple times in Turtle Creek on Monday night, according to Allegheny County Police. The shooting in the 1200 block of Maple Avenue was reported to 911 shortly after 9:30 p.m. First responders found the victim suffering from multiple gunshot wounds...
New Kensington Salvation Army’s new leadership to develop new home, eventually more programs
In two years with the Salvation Army in New Kensington, Capt. Phillip and Lt. Angelys Davies guided the organization to realizing a goal decades in the making. Then, they accomplished in months another task their superiors thought would take years. The couple last week oversaw moving the New Kensington Worship...
What Pittsburgh doctors say about link between blood type and coronavirus
People should not believe they are more protected, or at greater risk, for contracting covid-19 or suffering worse effects from the coronavirus because of their blood type, a doctor with Allegheny Health Network says. “We already know with covid patients there are a multitude of other factors that will predispose...
Increase in covid-19 cases not sharp enough to push gas prices lower, analyst says
The average price of gasoline fell slightly in the Pittsburgh area in the past week, while rising nationally, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said the tracking service’s data show that demand for gasoline “continues to struggle as of late, hitting some...
Blessed Trinity Parish churches, buildings closed after employee tests positive for covid-19
An employee of Blessed Trinity Parish in the South Hills tested positive for covid-19, the Diocese of Pittsburgh announced Sunday. The church building involved is St. Albert the Great in Baldwin. As a precaution, churches and other buildings in the parish will be closed for extra cleaning and sanitizing, the...
Deadline extended to submit name corrections for Harrison World War II memorial
Delays in the restoration of Harrison’s World War II Honor Roll memorial brought on by the covid-19 pandemic are allowing more time to make sure its names are spelled correctly. “Since there has been a delay, we have extended the time period where residents can check the accuracy of the...
Tarentum updating law that assesses $50 fee for ‘excessive’ police calls
Tarentum residents who make excessive calls to police could find themselves paying for them. Council is considering updating a 14-year-old ordinance that imposes a $50 charge for each police response in excess of three every 30 days to the same location. Although the ordinance already exists, Borough Manager Michael Nestico...
Tarentum to have all full-time police force after promoting 2 part-timers
Tarentum Council has promoted two part-time borough police officers to full-time status. Officers Jordan Schrecengost and Jeremy Belusar will go full-time on Aug. 1. They have been with the department for about a year each. Belusar started on July 12, 2019; Schrecengost on Aug. 30, 2019, according to borough Manager...
Bridge work to restrict traffic on Route 28 in Harmar
Two lanes of northbound Route 28 in Harmar will be closed from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, PennDOT announced. The lanes are scheduled to be closed in the area of the Hite Road bridge over Route 28 from 7 p.m. Wednesday to 10 a.m. Thursday while crews work on the...
Tarentum to resume utility shutoffs Aug. 1
Tarentum will resume shutting off water and electric services for customers who aren’t paying their bills on Aug. 1. Council on Tuesday approved a resolution stating it will no longer voluntarily comply with a March 13 emergency order from the state Public Utility Commission prohibiting utilities from being shut off...
Strip District Meats closes after employee tests positive for covid-19
A Strip District butcher shop announced Tuesday it is temporarily closing after an employee tested positive for covid-19. Strip District Meats, at 2123 Penn Ave., made the announcement on its Facebook page. “Despite our strong efforts to avoid it, an employee of ours has unfortunately tested positive for covid-19,” the...
Rising gas prices hit a wall as surging covid-19 cases cause drop in demand, analyst says
After nine straight weeks of increases, gasoline prices may stop rising due to a drop in demand caused by covid-19 cases surging in some states, an industry analyst said. “So far this summer, both holidays have seen the lowest prices since 2004, and its possible that if things don’t improve...
Diabetes education program in Tarentum canceled due to covid-19 surge
A Tarentum nurse has canceled a series of talks on diabetes because of the recent increase in covid-19 cases. The talks with Denise Kissell, a registered nurse and certified diabetes care and education specialist, were scheduled to begin today in Riverview Memorial Park in Tarentum and be held each Tuesday...
Donation from family’s lemonade stand helps fund free spaghetti dinner in New Kensington
Elderly people and children in New Kensington will be able to enjoy a free spaghetti dinner Friday, thanks in part to a family’s lemonade stand. Antwon Knuckles, owner of Claudette’s Catering, said he will have 350 to 400 meals to give to residents at Central Tower on Fourth Avenue and...
Tarentum nurse hosting free diabetes program for 3rd straight year
For a third straight year, a registered nurse is hosting a series of talks on diabetes in Tarentum. Denise Kissell, a certified diabetes care and education specialist, will hold the hourlong programs beginning at 5 p.m. every Tuesday in July under the pavilion at Riverview Memorial Park. The sessions, focusing...
Proceeds from sale of shirts featuring Allegheny Ludlum stainless steel cars to fight child hunger
Heartbroken and angry over Allegheny Technologies’ decision to auction three stainless steel cars made by Allegheny Ludlum and Ford, Todd Barbiaux was determined to have something good come from it. Barbiaux, president of United Steelworkers Local 1196 in Brackenridge, had shirts made featuring the 1936 Ford sedan, 1960 Thunderbird and...
New Kensington-Arnold to lay off 28 teachers, projects up to 600 students won’t return to school in fall
New Kensington-Arnold School Board voted Tuesday to lay off 28 teachers because the district said research projects up to 600 students won’t be returning to its schools in the fall. Even with the layoffs and a 3-mill tax increase, also approved Tuesday, the district plans to spend $1.1 million more...
Police: $205K seized from Arnold home where 3 ran drug enterprise
Arnold police and the state Attorney General’s Office said they seized more than $205,000 in cash and other valuables upon arresting two men and a woman who they said were dealing crack cocaine in the city. Police said Matthew Avans McCloud, 30, Steven Charles Boykin, 29, and Darrian Wilford, 24,...
Highlands School Board approves $48.5M budget with no tax increase
Highlands School Board has approved a $48.5 million budget for the 2020-21 school year that leaves the district’s property tax rate unchanged. The district’s property tax rate remains 24.88 mills. The annual school tax bill on a home assessed at $100,000 would stay at $2,488. Administrators whittled down the budget...
Open houses planned for renovated ‘Murphy Building’ in TarentumVideo
Part of a Tarentum building that once housed a G.C. Murphy store and later was home to doctors’ offices has been renovated and is ready to be occupied again. Building owner David Rankin envisions the people working in the retail or office space at what he is calling The Murphy...
Rising demand continues to push gas prices higher, analyst says
Gas prices in the Pittsburgh area jumped by nearly 8 cents a gallon in the past week, according to the price-tracking service GasBuddy. The average is now $2.42 a gallon, up 7.9 cents in the past week, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations. That’s 11 cents a gallon more...
