Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 119

The fee for a Brackenridge church to hold its annual Easter egg hunt on Highlands School District property has been slashed by more than half. The school district initially was going to charge Generations House of Worship $4,700 under its recently updated use-of-facilities policy. The fee included a $2,750 facility...

Gas prices have risen to their highest level in nearly two months, mainly following higher oil prices, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Gasoline demand remains seasonally weak, but last week’s report from the Energy Information Administration showed refinery utilization plunging, meaning less gasoline is flowing out...

There will be a planned power outage in Lower Burrell next week. According to the city, First Energy-West Penn Power will interrupt service in the area of Michigan Avenue between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21 to upgrade facilities. In case of inclement weather, the outage will...

Tarentum is considering regulations that would govern the installation and use of solar panels in the borough. The proposed ordinance includes proposed fees and technical requirements for what are broadly referred to as “customer-owned generation of electricity,” which could include things besides solar panels, such as windmills. Tarentum operates its...

A Harrison commissioner wants to publicize the names of residents who are behind on their garbage bills, hoping it spurs at least some of the residents to pay up and alleviates a problem with illegal dumping. More than 500 residential garbage accounts are delinquent in Harrison, and Commissioner Charles Dizard...

The extent of the damage caused to a Tarentum home when a tree fell on it Wednesday was more apparent Friday after the tree had been removed. The buckeye tree that fell on Frank Lee’s house at 400 Allegheny St. was removed Thursday afternoon, Lee said. Lee was back in...

The threat of publicly shaming delinquent taxpayers in Tarentum hasn’t produced the desired results as far as the borough is concerned. As of Thursday, just one person had come forward to pay $1,500 in delinquent property taxes. A week before, Tarentum Council approved a proposal to post the names of...

More than a thousand young women came of age and had courtships in the building that once housed the Allegheny Valley Hospital School of Nursing in Harrison. Reba Weltner Blackburn was one of them. The women not only studied there, they also lived in the brick building along Carlisle Street....

Having a brother with autism showed Cameron Babinsack the kinds of issues and troubles faced by those who don’t fit into societal norms. “The world would be a better place if people would accept the differences in others instead of pointing them out,” said Babinsack, 17, a Highlands High School...

It will start at the beginning and conclude at the end. Tarentum’s water treatment plant and the Upper Allegheny Joint Sanitary Authority’s treatment plant in East Deer, in that order, will be the subject of public tours on Saturday, March 9. There’s no cost, and anyone can go to see...

A Tarentum homeowner is feeling lucky to be alive after a large tree fell onto his house Wednesday morning, causing severe damage to the roof and leaving a hole in the ceiling directly over his bed. Fortunately, Frank Lee already was downstairs and watching television when the tree fell onto...

About 140,000 Pennsylvania residents have pre-verified for REAL ID, PennDOT announced Tuesday. Pre-verification will allow state residents to apply for REAL ID online once they are available in March, and get their REAL ID driver’s license or photo identification card in the mail. A REAL ID is optional for state...

There’s apparently no reason to recreate the “Save the clock tower!” scene from the movie “Back to the Future” in Tarentum. Highlands School District is moving forward with repairing the landmark tower atop Highlands Elementary School, formerly known as Grandview, school board President Debbie Beale said. The district also will...

It’s going to cost a Brackenridge church a lot more to use Highlands School District facilities for its annual Easter egg hunt, but not as much as church members first thought. Generations House of Worship, which is planning its third egg hunt at the district’s middle school, initially thought it...

Facing the proposed closing of a school and the possibility of a property tax increase, frustrated Highlands School District residents are demanding greater transparency and more information from the district’s elected leaders and administrators. At a public hearing Monday, Susan Bajack of Harrison said residents were pleading for greater transparency...

Pittsburgh gasoline prices are unchanged in the past week, while the national average increased less than a penny. “The national average price of gasoline barely nudged higher last week, driven primarily by stations hiking prices notably in the Great Lakes early last week, pushing the national average to $2.30 per...

The Highlands School District has changed the location for a public hearing and school board meeting on Monday. The hearing and meeting, previously set to be held in the library at Highlands High School in Harrison, will instead be held in the high school auditorium, according to a notice on...

Tarentum officials are hoping they won’t have to publish the names of property owners delinquent on paying their taxes — but they’re prepared to do it. Council approved a resolution, under which the names of those owing property taxes to the borough will be made publicly available. Property taxes are...

Filling an empty seat on Tarentum Council turned out to be more difficult than its remaining members anticipated. It was not for a lack of candidates, but because of the quality of the candidates they had to choose from. It was only after much mulling by Councilman Scott Dadowski, the...

A Tarentum police sergeant will be paid just over $17,000 under a separation agreement and general release that borough council approved Thursday. Sgt. Ryan Hanford’s retirement was effective Thursday. Hanford, 44, has been a police officer for 25 years, including 22 with Tarentum. He had been on administrative leave for...

Students in the Deer Lakes School District are losing three of their spring break days to make up for days lost to the recent bitterly cold weather. Deer Lakes was among the numerous districts that cancelled classes on Jan. 30, 31 and Feb. 1 because of the cold and icy...

Parking at the Mon Wharf will be restricted Thursday, and the parking area will be closed Friday because of a flood advisory that has been issued for the Ohio River at Pittsburgh. No parking will be allowed along the lower wall of the Mon Wharf on Thursday. All vehicles must...

Warning to Tarentum tax deadbeats: your tax debt soon could become public knowledge. Borough council is considering using the threat of public embarrassment to get delinquent property taxpayers to pay up. As tentatively discussed, if those who owe delinquent property taxes don’t pay by April 30, their names would become...

It could soon cost money to get, and to keep, a handicapped parking space in Tarentum. A proposal being considered by borough council would set the initial cost at $75. A permit would be good for two years, and renewing it would cost $50. The initial fee is intended “to...