Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 26
Firefighters begin bringing equipment, gear donations to New Kensington to be driven to North Carolina
When firefighters need help, they turn to what they call “mutual aid” from nearby surrounding communities. The reach of that mutual aid is expanding on a national scale, as fire departments from Western Pennsylvania and beyond are rallying to support their counterparts in flood-ravaged North Carolina. Crews from Kittanning, Buffalo...
New Kensington-Arnold increases police presence at high school, homecoming events
There was an increased police presence planned at Valley High School when students returned Thursday after the New Kensington school was closed following a shooting in the city involving high school-age juveniles. In a letter to families, New Kensington-Arnold Superintendent Chris Sefcheck said he decided to close the high school...
Harrison home damaged by bathroom fire
No one was hurt in a fire that damaged a Harrison home Monday afternoon. The fire in a single family house at 2209 Adams St. was reported shortly before 4:30 p.m. According to Citizens Hose Assistant Fire Chief Sean O’Connor, a woman went to the half bathroom on the first...
Shots fired incident in New Kensington prompts shutdown of Valley High School
A shots fired incident in New Kensington on Tuesday afternoon has prompted the New Kensington-Arnold School District to close Valley High School on Wednesday. The district announced the cancellation of high school classes only Tuesday night. There was no public discussion and it had not been mentioned at a school...
Western Pa. firefighters organizing relief effort for counterparts devastated by North Carolina flooding
Firefighters from Western Pennsylvania and beyond are rallying to help their counterparts in flood-ravaged North Carolina. A donated 53-foot trailer is expected to be set up in New Kensington this week to accept donations from fire departments that will go to a staging area outside Asheville, a city in western...
Woman suffers ‘significant’ facial injuries in attack at New Kensington park, police say
A woman suffered significant injuries to her face after another woman hit her with a liquor bottle in a New Kensington park, according to city police. New Kensington police charged Rita Marie Woody, 33, of New Kensington with a single first-degree felony count of aggravated assault for the attack they...
Washington Township district judge to handle Arnold police chief’s hearing
Arnold’s suspended police chief will have to wait another month for a hearing on charges against him stemming from a state sting operation. New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. is recusing himself from the case against Josh Stanga, 41, of Arnold, who authorities say failed a test of...
Faces of the Valley: Plum boy organizes effort, rallies support to display U.S. flags in Plum
Some Plum residents see the businesses along Route 22 in Murrysville and wonder why they can’t have some of them in the borough. When 11-year-old Ethan Nesbit saw the “Flags over Murrysville” display, he didn’t just have the same question, he did something about it. Calling his idea “Patriotic in...
Arnold’s suspended police chief loses pay while facing charges in sting operation
Arnold’s suspended police chief will no longer be paid as he faces theft and other charges stemming from a sting against him staged by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and state police. City council decided unanimously to change Josh Stanga’s leave from paid to unpaid, Mayor Shannon Santucci said Friday....
New Kensington’s ongoing alley art project comes from the heart, organizers say
At a spot in New Kensington’s Ivy Alley, there are three little birds standing on a shelf, holding umbrellas and wearing brightly colored galoshes. While Karenda Wilson has her own artwork on display, she said the birds are one of the “quirky things” she likes about the city’s Art in...
New Kensington officer sidelined 3 days after being injured during man’s arrest
A New Kensington police officer suffered a severe wrist sprain causing him to miss three days of work after he and two other officers ended up in fights with an Oklahoma man they had been called to check on. According to court records, a sergeant and an officer went to...
Preparations underway for Better Block event in New Kensington
The roads outside the YMCA in New Kensington got a lot more colorful on Wednesday. Sarah Snider, a member of the Valley Points Family YMCA board, and Draven Pointer, a Better Block architectural designer from Dallas, were among volunteers and members of Dallas-based Better Block Foundation who began painting the...
Task force probing Trump Butler rally shooting seeks connections to Florida shooting attempt
A congressional task force investigating the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a Butler County rally in July wants to be briefed on the thwarted apparent attempt Sunday at a golf course in Florida. In a letter dated Tuesday, the Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald...
New Italian restaurant planned for Tarentum moves to Arnold
An Italian restaurant has said “Arrivederci!” to Tarentum. More specifically, Al Colelli said he decided to move his new restaurant, Totaro’s, from Tarentum to Arnold before it ever opened. Originally, Colelli was planning to open his restaurant in a space on East Sixth Avenue. Colelli now plans to open Totaro’s...
Skimming device at Golden Dawn is only one found recently in New Kensington, police say
A skimming device found at a New Kensington grocery store this week is the only one the city’s police are aware of, a detective said Friday. Golden Dawn owners Gene Tommasi and Jim Faccenda said Thursday a skimming device was found Wednesday attached to the pinpad in one of their...
Fox Chapel residents put on alert after burglary of home
Fox Chapel police are urging residents to be vigilant after a home was burglarized this week. A house on South Drive was burglarized around 8 p.m. Wednesday, police Chief Michael Stevens said Friday. According to a notice to residents, two burglars forced their way into an unoccupied home. Stevens deferred...
Party to help generate ideas for use of vacant New Kensington lot
Blighted buildings, poor lighting at night and a history of crime make an area of New Kensington near Valley Points Family YMCA unpleasant to visit. Unkempt sidewalks, problems with traffic and unclear crosswalks make walking there challenging, a survey of residents conducted this summer found. And yet, residents say they...
Plum graduate’s internship takes her to the United Nations
A Plum School District graduate’s internship has taken her to the United Nations. Charlotte Jones, a member of the Class of 2021, is studying political science and international relations and diplomacy at Long Island University Honors College in Brooklyn. She plans to pursue a doctorate and is considering a career...
Skimming device found in checkout lane at New Kensington Golden Dawn
A skimming device was found in a checkout lane at the Golden Dawn grocery store in New Kensington on Wednesday, the store’s owners confirmed Thursday. The store has five checkout lanes. The skimmer was found on register 2, co-owner Gene Tommasi said. They believe the device — which can capture...
Plum municipal authority will color code fire hydrants to delineate flow rates
Firefighters in Plum soon will know how much water a hydrant can provide just by looking at it. At the request of the borough and its volunteer fire departments, the Plum Borough Municipal Authority will color code the roughly 600 fire hydrants in the borough. That work is tentatively expected...
Plum School District gets $1.9M grant, eyes borrowing for work at 2 schools
As grant money comes in to help offset some of the cost, the Plum School Board will vote this month to authorize borrowing nearly $10 million toward an anticipated $30 million building project. If approved by the board at its Sept. 24 meeting, the district’s financial advisors would have the...
Road work on tap, fire station roofs to be replaced in New Kensington
State and federal grants are paying for more improvements in New Kensington. New Kensington City Council on Monday awarded a contract of just under $96,900 to Derry Construction to resurface Fifth Avenue between Seventh and 11th streets. The company had submitted the lowest of seven bids, city engineer Tony Males...
Death of Arnold 6-month-old under investigation
Authorities are investigating after a 6-month-old girl died early Tuesday in Arnold. Mayor Shannon Santucci confirmed that police responded to a report of a nonresponsive child shortly after 3:30 a.m. at a home in the 2000 block of Kenneth Avenue. Rob Haus, the officer-in-charge of the Arnold police department, could...
Improvements at 2 Plum intersections will take money from another project
Covering the cost of improvements to two Plum intersections will require the borough to take money from another road project. Plum received a $307,000 state grant for the work at Hulton and Coxcomb Hill roads, near a Sheetz and across from Oakmont Country Club, and on Coxcomb Hill at Rampart...
Unfounded bomb threat prompted New Kensington-Arnold delay
A bomb threat prompted the New Kensington-Arnold School District to delay the start of classes Friday morning, according to information provided by the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office. The unfounded threat targeted Valley High School, spokeswoman Melanie Jones said. The district sent a message to families shortly before 10 p.m....
