Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 118

St. Joseph High School is honoring seven people this year with its Spirit of St. Joseph Award. Those being recognized are the Rev. Paul G. Henne; Thomas Octave; John W. Regoli Jr; Jane Thimons; and the Scott sisters, Eileen, Jeanne and Rosaleen. Three of the seven — Henne, Regoli and...

Allegheny River Boulevard reopened to traffic around 8 a.m. Tuesday following a crash that caused it to be closed in both directions between Nadine Road and Washington Boulevard, an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher confirmed Tuesday morning. The single-vehicle crash was reported around 5:30 a.m. A utility pole and wires were...

A state police fire marshal has ruled that a Tuesday morning fire that destroyed an Indiana County church was deliberately set. Firefighters responded to the fire at Harmony Grove Lutheran Church on Five Points Road in Washington Township shortly after 4 a.m. Flames were reportedly through the roof. Officials told...

A man who allegedly drove into a South Side Slopes house told police he’d snorted Xanax prior to the crash, and he wasn’t sure where he was or how he got there, according to charges filed against him. The crash happened about 12:45 a.m. when Douglas Dietz, 32, of Baldwin...

Power outages caused by Sunday’s high winds continued into Tuesday. As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, Duquesne Light was reporting just under 11,000 customers without electricity. West Penn Power was reporting a little more than 9,800 customers affected in Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties. Duquesne Light was reporting the...

Positive use of social media, job and college preparation, and relationships are among the subjects that will be covered during an eight-week series of workshops that Allegheny Family Network will host at its recently opened north office in Harrison. The free sessions will start the week of March 4, with...

A man who allegedly stole a vehicle after escaping from police custody at an Armstrong County hospital Monday morning has been found, state police said. According to state police, Alan-Michael Taylor, 23, of Vandergrift was taken into custody in Vandergrift. Taylor allegedly violated a protection from abuse order around 4...

Flames destroyed a home in Duquesne early Monday morning, authorities said. The house on Priscilla Avenue might have been abandoned, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV Authorities called the fire suspicious, according to the TV station. UPDATE: home on Priscilla Ave now under control @WPXI pic.twitter.com/LUayaS6THn— Liz Kilmer (@LizKilmerWPXI) February...

Gas prices in Pittsburgh have gone up 4.6 cents per gallon in the past week to an average of $2.62, according to GasBuddy. The national average has also gone up, by 6.1 cents per gallon, to $2.39. “Gasoline prices saw their biggest weekly jump of 2019 with the national average...

Tens of thousands of Western Pennsylvania households who lost power during Sunday’s wind storms could be waiting until Wednesday night for their electricity to be restored. Nearly 30,000 Duquesne Light customers and more than 28,000 West Penn Power customers in the region remained dark Monday night, the utility companies reported....

Strong winds forecast for Sunday could bring down trees, limbs and power lines, leading to scattered power outages. A high wind watch will start Sunday morning and run until Monday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Redmond said Friday. Sustained winds of 15-to-30 mph are expected, with gusts up to...

Rayne Plance has seen first-hand the impact of a heroin overdose — she’s had several siblings struggle with addiction. It’s part of why Plance, a family support partner with Allegheny Family Network, wanted to bring a training session on how to prevent, recognize and respond to an overdose to Harrison,...

Calling all trucks: Harrison’s recreation board is going to be hosting another hands-on event in the township this year. The second annual Touch-A-Truck is scheduled for May 18 at Highlands High School. The Highlands School Board recently approved the recreation board’s request to use the high school grounds and parking...

Pittsburgh police seized more than 4,000 packets of heroin and two illegal guns while serving a search warrant Thursday in Northview Heights. Police arrested Keith Fearbry, 37, after executing the search warrant around 1 p.m. at a residence in the 300 block of Penfort Street. Officers allegedly found 4,300 packets...

Harrison commissioners will be considering how to rebuild the township’s zoning and ordinance office after accepting the resignations of two of its three officials. Commissioners voted 3-0 Thursday to accept the resignations of office supervisor Lindsay Fraser and department coordinator Jody Lamison. Both will be effective March 1. Commissioners William...

Highlands School Board has renewed a long-term agreement with Allegheny County for air quality monitoring. The county’s Health Department has been monitoring air quality in Harrison since the 1980s, department spokesman Ryan Scarpino said. The new three-year agreement for placement of an air monitoring station at Highlands High School runs...

A power outage that had been planned in part of East Deer on Wednesday has been rescheduled due to the weather, West Penn Power spokesman Todd Meyers said. The outage is now set for between about 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday, he said. The utility will be upgrading facilities...

The Highlands School District will not be going forward with hiring a new security firm as the school board had approved on Monday, a district spokeswoman said Wednesday. The school board approved a contract between the district and Olympia Security Group, of Chartiers Township, Washington County, after voting to terminate...

Two officials in Harrison’s zoning and ordinance office have submitted their resignations, and one is already gone. Office Supervisor Lindsay Fraser and department Coordinator Jody Lamison announced in an email to township officials on Friday their intention to resign effective March 1, according to township Commissioner Charles Dizard. Despite that...

Someone’s ill-advised attempt to improve the honor roll memorial in Brackenridge Memorial Park will speed up its proper restoration. Borough officials are considering going ahead with a full restoration of the 54-year-old memorial’s bronze and stone, including removing unwanted silver paint that was recently applied to it. The memorial, featuring...

The Highlands School Board has fired one employee and placed another on unpaid leave. At its meeting Monday, the school board dismissed Iesha Griffin, a payroll and benefits secretary. In a separate action, it approved a statement of charges against another, unidentified employee and placed that person on unpaid leave...

The Highlands School Board has approved the construction of a rain garden on district property and the planting of trees on its grounds in Harrison this spring. The rain garden that will be built at Highlands Middle School is part of a $125,000 project funded by a grant from The...

The Highlands School District is simply keeping its options open as it begins work on the 2019-20 spending plan, the district’s business manager told residents at a school board meeting Monday night. Although the district intends to seek permission from the state to increase taxes by more than its limit...

The Highlands School District will not be conducting a search for a new superintendent and will be offering the job to its current substitute superintendent, Monique Mawhinney, school board President Debbie Beale announced Monday. Mawhinney, who started as assistant superintendent in April 2018, has been serving as substitute superintendent in...

State police said they used a Taser gun to subdue a man suspected of burglarizing a Fawn home last week. Justin Donald Ohler, 31, of Natrona Heights, faces charges of trespassing, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct following the incident around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. State police said troopers went to a...