Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 17
Police pursuit of vehicle stolen from Butler County ends with crash in ShalerVideo
A police pursuit of a vehicle stolen in Butler County continued down Route 8 and ended with a crash in Shaler on Wednesday, according to authorities. Shaler officers were alerted to the crash off Eighth Avenue, near Route 8, shortly before 1 p.m., Shaler police Chief Sean Frank said. Officers...
Shaler Area School District to demonstrate new weapons detection system
Families can learn more about a new weapons detection system that will be in use this fall at Shaler Area’s high school and middle school. A demonstration of the OpenGate system will begin at 6 p.m. April 29 at the high school, 381 Wible Run Road. It’s being held a...
Hampton students, community preparing for annual Talbot Thon benefiting pediatric cancer research
The Hampton School District’s annual Talbot Thon fundraiser will be held from 3:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday at Hampton High School. The high school Student Council partners with the Pitt Dance Marathon to organize the event. This year, they hope to raise $30,000 for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s pediatric...
McCandless Township Sanitary Authority celebrates Earth Day, upgrades to Pine Creek treatment facility
Flushing the potty will never be the same for 7-year-old Aria St. Onge. Aria and her dad, Joseph St. Onge of Richland, were among residents, officials and authority members who celebrated Earth Day on April 22 with a tour of McCandless Township Sanitary Authority’s Pine Creek wastewater treatment facility. “She...
Pine-Richland School Board majority, administration differ on increasing property taxes
A majority of the Pine-Richland School Board does not want to consider increasing the district’s property tax rate, despite administrators’ recommendation that they should. Superintendent Brian Miller said the administration is recommending a 2.1% property tax increase. Administrators also have recommended cutting 9.5 positions, including 3.5 teachers, through attrition, as...
Millvale Community Library asking patrons to participate in expansion plans
The Millvale Community Library is preparing to expand. The library, located at 213 Grant Ave., will extend into a connected building at 211 Grant Ave., which is owned by the library and currently home to Abeille Voyante Tea Co. The library is using funding from a 2024 Allegheny Regional Asset...
Etna, Reserve consider combining police forces
Etna and Reserve are considering creating a regional police force, the borough and township announced Monday, April 21. In their announcement, the municipalities said they are at a very preliminary step in the process, which, if approved, would take several years to complete. A regional police force “may be a...
Submissions sought for coloring book to celebrate Shaler’s 125th anniversary
A community coloring book is being put together to help celebrate Shaler’s 125th anniversary. Township residents of all ages are being asked to design pages for the commemorative book. Submissions are due by April 30. To participate, sketch an image on an 8-by-10-inch piece of white paper, using a black...
In brief: Happenings from the North Allegheny area
Shaffer organizing license plate replacement event State Rep. Jeremy Shaffer, R-Pine, is sponsoring a hard-to-read license plate replacement event from 3 to 5 p.m. April 29 at his district office, 5500 Brooktree Road, Pine. If your license plate is blistered, peeling or discolored, you can fill out the required PennDOT...
Vehicle destroyed by fire on Route 28 in Armstrong County, no one hurt
No one was hurt in a vehicle fire Sunday morning on Route 28 in Armstrong County, according to Freeport Fire-EMS. The fire on northbound Route 28 just north of the Buffalo High Level Bridge in South Buffalo was reported around 9:30 a.m., according to Armstrong County 911. Freeport Fire-EMS was...
7-year-old boy struck by SUV in Arnold
A 7-year-old boy was bleeding from his head after being hit by an SUV in Arnold Sunday night, fire Chief Eric Gartley said. The incident happened around 7:30 p.m. on Kenneth Avenue between Moore and Ewing streets, according to Westmoreland County 911. The boy was hit by an SUV. The...
Planter fire damages exterior of Frankie’s Friends in New Kensington
A fire in a planter caused minor damage Sunday to the exterior of a cat rescue in downtown New Kensington. The fire at Frankie’s Friends in the 700 block of Fifth Avenue was reported about 5:20 p.m., a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said. According to fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr.,...
Authorities searching for pit bull after attack on 2-year-old in Knoxville home
Authorities are searching for a dog that ran from a home in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood after seriously injuring a 2-year-old boy Sunday afternoon. The dog attack in the 200 block of Moore Avenue was reported just after 1:30 p.m. According to police, homeowners called 911 after their dog, a 2-year-old...
19-year-old shot, killed in girlfriend’s Washington County home, coroner says
A 19-year-old man’s death in Washington County on Sunday is being investigated as a homicide, the county coroner’s office said. According to the coroner, Devyon Dennis, of Uniontown, was shot inside his girlfriend’s residence in the Washington Estates mobile home park on Broadmore Drive in Canton. The incident was reported...
Pittsburgh police: 2 men found shot in Perry South
Two men were found shot outside a home in Pittsburgh’s Perry South neighborhood early Saturday morning, according to police. Officers went to the 2600 block of Perrysville Avenue just before 5:30 a.m. in response to an alert of two shots fired. One man had been struck in the arm, while...
Volunteers turn out to get New Ken mansion in order for reopening as restaurant, bed-and-breakfast
Robin Richards has been fascinated by the former Bloser Mansion in New Kensington since she was a little girl. She had always wanted to go inside but wasn’t even allowed on the property. “We were dirty looking little kids,” she said. Richards went inside the mansion for the first time...
New farmers market launches in downtown New Kensington
An oasis in downtown New Kensington’s food desert formed on Saturday. About a dozen vendors participated in the first of the New Ken Downtown Partnership’s new series of farmers markets. They’re scheduled to be held weekly from 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays through Oct. 19 on Fifth Avenue at 10th...
Board hopefuls vying for seats in all 3 regions of Shaler Area School District
Shaler Area School District residents will see contested races across all three of the district’s regions in the May 20 primary. Region 1 In Shaler’s Region 1, four candidates are vying for two seats with four-year terms. Three of the candidates are cross-filed, while one will be on the Democratic...
8 candidates, including 4 incumbents, seek nominations to North Hills School Board
Eight candidates, including four incumbents, are running in the May 20 primary for the North Hills School Board. Seven of the candidates, including all four incumbents, are cross-filed. One will be on the Republican ballot. Anthony Hall Age: 40 Political affiliation: Democrat, cross-filed Education: Perry Traditional Academy; bachelor of arts,...
4 seek reelection to Hampton School Board; 1 challenger vying for seat
Four members of the Hampton School Board are seeking reelection this year, with one challenger making the May 20 primary contested. All of the candidates are cross-filed and will appear on the Democratic and Republican ballots for the four-year seats. Denise Balason Age: 56 Political affiliation: Republican, cross-filed Education: Bachelor’s...
Democrats Kettering, Warden-Rodgers vie for nomination as Ross 6th Ward commissioner
Two Democrats are vying in the May 20 primary for the Ross commissioner seat representing the township’s sixth ward. The candidates are incumbent John W. Kettering and challenger Haley Warden-Rodgers. The Republican candidate, Justin Jeffrey, is unopposed in the primary. Ross has nine commissioners, each from a ward, who are...
Nightly lane closures for milling, paving scheduled for McKnight Road
Nightly lane closures on McKnight Road in Pittsburgh, Ross and McCandless will start Monday, April 21, and continue through April 28, PennDOT announced Wednesday. Beginning Monday night, southbound McKnight Road will be reduced to a single lane between Perrymont Road and the Babcock Boulevard interchange from 8 p.m. to 6...
Shaler Area middle, high schools to get metal detectors after student found with gun on bus
A weapons detection system will be in use at Shaler Area’s middle and high schools this fall. The school board has approved district administration’s recommendation to implement the OpenGate weapons detection system at the schools beginning with the 2025-26 school year. “This decision reflects our district’s ongoing commitment to ensure...
Residents of 2 Pine-Richland regions to see contested primaries for school board
Residents of the Pine-Richland School District will see contested primary contests in two of the district’s three regions at the May 20 primary. In Region 1, Liz DeLosa is cross-filed and uncontested in the primary. Incumbent Lisa Hillman is not seeking reelection. Region 2 In Region 2, six candidates, including...
Shaler Area proposes maximum property tax increase to maintain programs, services
The highest possible property tax increase will allow the Shaler Area School District to balance its budget without cutting any student programs, supports or extracurricular activities while preserving the district’s fund balance, according to a presentation to the school board. The preliminary $102.6 million budget for the 2025-26 school year...
