Kellen Stepler stories, Page 6

Many of Tim Rote’s neighbors along the 2200 block of Greensburg Road in Upper Burrell have a “horror story” about what they say is a lack of safety on the road. Bill Smith recalls getting rear-ended while pulling into his driveway about 15 years ago with his son in the...

With numerous capital projects in the works, Allegheny Valley School District has retained its director of finance and business operations. Board members Wednesday approved a new contract for Hamsini Rajgopal. The contract becomes effective July 1, 2025, and expires June 30, 2030, but board President Nino Pollino said there was...

An argument at a Frazer auto salvage yard led to a shot fired and a West Deer man arrested, according to Allegheny County Police. Jonathan Nealer, 40, is charged with felony aggravated assault in connection with the shooting of a man in his leg last week at Hloznik Auto Salvage...

Is there a reason why the Allegheny Valley School District isn’t restricting students’ access to their cellphones during instructional time in the classroom? That’s the question school board directors asked administrators Wednesday to look into. Board member Larry Pollick suggested the district implement a policy restricting cellphone use in the...

Plans continue for the eventual demolition of Colfax Elementary School in Springdale. The Allegheny Valley School Board on Wednesday authorized district administrators to seek contract bids for the demolition of the Colfax building, which sits along Colfax Street. The building is 99 years old. It closed in 2018 and has...

An updated intersection at Prestley Road and Charlet and Perret streets in Bridgeville is aimed at improving drivers’ visibility and calming traffic, borough officials say. Bridgeville Manager Joe Kauer said the borough has been working with PennDOT traffic engineers since late last year for a plan to fix the intersection....

The gears for a Tractor Supply store in Lower Burrell are in motion. Annalee Rivers, a spokeswoman for Tractor Supply, said the company plans to open a store there in November 2025. City Manager Greg Primm identified the location as 108 Greensburg Road. It is a vacant, wooded lot next...

Nearly half of the people serving on Cheswick Council have less than six months of experience, but that doesn’t concern President Brad Yaksich. The borough council has filled three vacancies this year, appointing Adis Halimic and Frank Stanish in March and Nick Pollino last week. “I’m very confident in Frank,...

A recent door hanger and postcard to Cheswick residents for water meter replacements isn’t a scam. It’s a preview of a two-year project for more than 900 new water meters in the borough. Cheswick contracted with Newman Plumbing of Cranberry to replace every water meter in the borough, said council...

Burrell School District Superintendent Shannon Wagner used questions submitted by the public to clear the air as questions swirl around a potential closure of Stewart Elementary School. District administration recommends closing Stewart in the 2025-26 school year due to a decline in enrollment, student needs and the condition and age...

Upper Burrell supervisors will consider an apparently controversial industrial rezoning request at the former Oak Lake Golf Course this week. Gary Schoepke is requesting the township rezone about 20 acres at the old golf course, 1151 Oak Lake Road, from residential-agricultural to industrial, and the proposal has drawn ire from...

Rennerdale Volunteer Fire Department is trying to restore its old duck pond. The fire department in Collier is trying to raise at least $40,000 to rehabilitate the pond, which hasn’t been updated since the late 1990s or early 2000s, said department president Tom Kovach. The pond’s stagnant water is causing...

Chief Brennan Sites of Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 had been eyeing a new fire engine for the past year-and-a-half, but a Father’s Day fire last year on Jefferson Drive had him rethinking what he really needed. While no one was hurt in the fire, Sites knew that...

Allegheny Valley School District officials want to know what qualities the community thinks district graduates should possess. The district is in the process of establishing what it’s calling “Portrait of a Dynamo,” which aims to represent the district’s vision for 21st century skills, character traits and social-emotional competencies that students...

Haydon Lookhart’s first glance at an old high school band trailer had him thinking that converting it into a mobile command center for the Allegheny Valley Regional Police Department would be a tall task. It needed a lot of work, the 17-year-old Kiski Area student said. “We had to gut...

Joe Baker is a simple guy who enjoys tinkering with old tractors in his garage and spending time with family and friends. “He’s an Average Joe, but he’s my Average Joe,” said his wife, Nancy. “He’s a good man.” Joe, 63, and Nancy, 65, of Upper Burrell are on a...

Two Pittsburgh men are asking the Lower Burrell Zoning Hearing Board to pave the way to allow a used car dealership along Leechburg Road. Mo Fathalla and Sami Abdullah seek a zoning variance for their property at 2844 Leechburg Road. City Manager Greg Primm said Fathalla and Abdullah applied to...

A group of elected officials and residents from Springdale and Cheswick boroughs is working with the Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy to develop plans to improve a park in Springdale Township. Although Agan Park is located along the township’s Riddle Run Road, it is jointly managed by Springdale Borough and Cheswick....

After the success of recent tree plantings in Bridgeville, borough officials are considering an idea to establish a shade tree commission in the borough. “After two successful community tree plantings in the past year at both Cook School Park and a lot on Baldwin Street, the planning commission have been...

The hiring of a new officer has Bridgeville’s police force at full complement. Council hired patrolman Tyler Evans in June, and he was sworn-in by Mayor Betty Copeland at the end of June. His starting salary is $63,059. Evans previously worked for the Mt. Pleasant, Smith Township, and Monongahela City...

An Allegheny County judge was within his scope of powers to grant a preliminary pause of a planned implosion of a boiler house at the former power plant in Springdale, lawyers representing 16 Springdale residents in a court case argued. On Wednesday, attorneys representing the 16 borough residents filed a...

Nita Serene can now say she’s worked for every mayor in Lower Burrell history. Serene, who retired in March 2023 after working as the city’s administrative assistant since 1974, was given a one-day employment offer this week, at a compensation of $1, under the administration of Mayor Chris Fabry, who...

A South Carolina man in Pittsburgh for the Anthrocon convention has been charged with attacking a friend with a sword Thursday inside a Downtown hotel room. Officers were dispatched to the Wyndham Grand Hotel on Commonwealth Place across from Point State Park at 1 a.m. Thursday for reports of a...

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, July 5: 3 shot in Canonsburg Three people were shot in Canonsburg overnight, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. The shooting happened just before midnight on Blaine Avenue, WTAE reported. Three people were taken to the hospital. Their...