Western PA Local News category, Page 2808
Brownsville ambulance treasurer accused of stealing $132K
A Fayette County man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on allegations that he took $136,000 from the Brownsville Ambulance Service Inc. while working as the organization’s treasurer, according to U.S. Attorney Scott Brady. Edward T. Stevenson, 62, of Newell is accused of mail fraud and theft in...
VFW hall damaged by fire in Armstrong County
A VFW hall in Manor Township, Armstrong County, was damaged by fire early Tuesday, according to emergency dispatchers. The fire at VFW Post 4843 on Bailey Avenue was reported shortly before 4 a.m. Nobody was hurt. Firefighters extinguished the blaze within two hours. The cause of the fire and the...
Hearing to address Elizabeth Forward bus standoff
Elizabeth Forward School District officials hope a court hearing Tuesday afternoon will end the district’s standoff with its transportation provider, but it’s still uncertain whether students will be able to get on a bus when school starts Thursday. If the hearing does not go well, officials may delay the start...
Police: 6-year-old started West Oakland fire that displaced nearly 80 peopleVideo
A 6-year-old boy started a fire in the laundry room of a second-floor apartment Saturday afternoon, causing a blaze that displaced nearly 80 people from a West Oakland apartment building, Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said Monday. The boy, who isn’t being identified or charged by police, told investigators he used...
John Oyler: Revisiting Gettysburg
I am currently revisiting my interest in the battle of Gettysburg because of a project in which my daughter Elizabeth is involved. Her department at the University of Pittsburgh is sponsoring a performance of ‘Gettysburg,” a “poetic expression of the ill-fated friendship between Confederate General Lewis Armistead and Union General...
Man convicted of 1994 rape, murder in Carnegie found dead in prison
A prisoner who killed a Carnegie woman 25 years ago was found dead in his cell Sunday, according to the state Department of Corrections. Prison employees at the State Correctional Institution in Greene County were making their rounds when they found Jake Wesley, 51, unresponsive in his cell around 11:30...
North Hills School District introduce compostable trays, straws, napkins
North Hills students returning to school this week will notice some environmentally friendly improvements in the cafeteria. The district has replaced all Styrofoam trays with compostable ones as part of its ongoing initiative to work toward a greener school environment. The molded fiber trays have five compartments, just like their...
Oakmont Commons flooding solutions still under evaluation
Oakmont officials continue to work with engineers to find solutions to flooding problems in the Oakmont Commons neighborhood. At least 20 borough property owners are still cleaning up after storms late July 21 into July 22. Raising the elevation of the old Plum Creek railroad bed and widening a section...
Norwin cuts ties with Chinese student exchange program
Norwin has cut ties to an educational firm that brought Chinese students and educators to one of its schools last year. The Norwin School District will terminate its August 2018 agreement with the International Foundation Alliance-EDU Chinese Youth Ambassador Program, which was to send a group of Chinese students to...
Fire chief: Cutting tool sparked oil tank fire in Derry Township
Firefighters from Bradenville and Derry quickly doused a tank of home heating oil that caught fire during demolition of a mobile home Monday evening on West Third Street at Hickory Avenue in Derry Township. Fire units were called to the scene after 8:15 p.m. and knocked the flames down within...
Franklin Regional OKs $35 million bond sale for Sloan Elementary projectVideo
The Franklin Regional School Board agreed to issue up to $35 million in bonds to fund the bulk of the Sloan “elementary campus” project, the same week that the district will be in court to face a group opposed to the plan. The project includes construction of a new elementary...
Highlands awards contracts for Tarentum elementary school work
Highlands School Board awarded three contracts for work at the district’s elementary school in Tarentum. Two of the contracts, totaling about $92,100, are for repairs to Highlands Elementary’s deteriorated clock tower. The district will pay Marsa Inc. $60,800 for restoration work on the clock tower’s masonry and BurMac Roofing $31,282...
Ex-Uber driver gets a year in jail for kidnapping, assaulting woman picked up in Downtown Pittsburgh
A former Uber driver convicted of kidnapping and assaulting a woman he picked up while off-duty in Downtown Pittsburgh nearly two years ago will spend another eight months behind bars. Soumana Dao, 32, was sentenced Monday to a year in jail, and he will receive about four months of credit...
Pittsburgh man accused of dealing heroin-fentanyl mix that caused overdose death
A federal grand jury indicted a Pittsburgh man on charges of delivering the heroin and fentanyl mix that resulted in a drug user dying of an overdose last year, prosecutors said Monday. Davonte Dugger, 20, faces narcotics charges stemming from a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into the overdose death and...
Geibel Catholic launching awareness campaign to boost enrollmentVideo
Faced with a drop in enrollment and the challenge of operating a private school in a region with declining demographics, Geibel Catholic Junior-Senior High School officials Monday unveiled a visibility plan for re-branding the school and a social media push to increase awareness of its quality education. “The goal is...
Murrysville’s Sardis precincts boundary lines questioned
Westmoreland County elections officials said Monday they suspect voters who live near the border between Murrysville and Washington Township might be casting ballots in the wrong municipality. Elections Bureau Director Beth Lechman said the county believes for the last two decades it has used outdated maps to determine voting districts...
Got unwanted ink? Elimination Station, laser removal business in Tarentum, aims to fade tattoo woes
Editor’s note: Building the Valley tells stories of businesses big and small and the employees who make them special. If you know of any standout employees, bosses or companies with a great story to tell, contact reporter Madasyn Czebiniak at mczebiniak@tribweb.com Amber Halliwell regrets not eating more the day she...
Monroeville Convention Center to host Just Between Friends Consignment Sale
Families looking to save money on back to school shopping, or possibly make money through consignment, can do both this week at the Monroeville Convention Center. Just Between Friends brings its consignment sale back to 209 Mall Blvd. It’s open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m....
Search warrants in Unity woman’s disappearance to remain sealed
Seventeen search warrants detailing the investigation into last year’s disappearance of a Unity woman will remain under seal, at least for another month, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Monday. Following a closed-door hearing with two county prosecutors and a state police trooper, Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger ordered the...
Allegheny River group concerned it was victim of alleged scam
Boaters who can’t use locks on the upper reaches of the Allegheny River can count themselves among the alleged victims of what state prosecutors say was a scam. The Allegheny River Development Corp. (ARDC), a Kittanning-based nonprofit, canceled the opening of locks 6 through 9 in Armstrong County this past...
Pitt students begin moving in
Students started moving in Monday for the fall semester at the University of Pittsburgh. Pitt spokesman Kevin Zwick said 7,800 students, including 3,800 “first-years,” will be moving into on-campus housing this week. The first day of classes is Aug. 26. The university received 32,000 freshman applications and offered admission to...
Happenings in Oakmont and Plum this week – Aug. 19, 2019
Need to find something to do in Plum and Oakmont this week? Here are some suggestions:Riverview High School band boosters will host their annual Pie Night starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Riverside Park. Pies will be served next to the concession stands at the field. Cost is $3 per...
Rostraver Eat’n Park waiter serves up simple act of kindness to WWII veteran
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. Or so the saying goes. On Saturday evening, Lisa Meilander saw an example of simple kindness that so struck her she decided to post something publicly about it on Facebook. “I don’t normally make my posts public,” she said....
Assault, DUI cases among those recently handled in Judge DeLuca’s Penn Hills court – Aug. 19, 2019
Penn Hills District Judge Anthony L. DeLuca handled the following cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. Charges were filed by Penn Hills police unless otherwise noted. Held for court • Sheldon Pinnock, 33, of Verona on charges of terroristic threats, recklessly endangering...
One person reported injured in Murrysville accident, dispatchers say
One person was reported injured Monday in a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Vincent Hall Road and William Penn Highway in Murrysville, according to Westmoreland County dispatchers. The accident occurred at 4:13 p.m., dispatchers said. The injured person had to be extricated from a vehicle that overturned following the...
