Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 49
New Kensington, Arnold leaders offer encouragement to Valley High football players
Three leaders of the New Kensington and Arnold communities have put themselves at the service of players on the Valley High School football team. New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo, Arnold Mayor Joe Bia II and District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. spoke to members of the Vikings team on the...
$6M to help Western Pa. makerspaces bolster tech resources for smaller manufacturers
“Makerspaces” at four area colleges and universities are expanding their resources and/or programs to give regional small manufacturers increased access to equipment and the knowledge on how to use it. “The makerspaces will provide manufacturers and entrepreneurs throughout the Southwestern Pennsylvania region with easy access to equipment and services that...
Matt Sobecki, longtime New Kensington volunteer firefighter, dies from cancer
Matthew S. Sobecki, a life member of the New Kensington Fire Department with nearly 50 years of service, has died. The New Kensington Bureau of Fire announced Tuesday that Sobecki, 64, died from cancer at 1:25 a.m. He died at UPMC Shadyside hospital. Sobecki served in many line and administrative...
Sheetz announces contest with free gas for life as grand prize
If you’re going to grin and bear it while filling up the gas tank, you might as well get a chance at free gas while doing it. Altoona-based Sheetz announced a contest Monday in which one customer can win a grand prize of free gas for life, while six others...
Allegheny Valley School Board primary features 7 candidates for 5 seats, with 1 seat open to write in
A total of six seats on the nine-member Allegheny Valley School Board are up for election this year. Seven people are vying in the May 16 primary for ballot spots for five seats. Those seats are for four-year terms. There are no candidates on the ballot for the sixth seat,...
Torch sparks fire that damaged New Kensington house
A person doing plumbing work sparked a fire that damaged a New Kensington home Friday afternoon, fire Chief Ed Saliba Jr. said. The fire in the 400 block of Pershing Drive in the city’s Mount Vernon neighborhood was reported shortly after 2 p.m. Saliba said volunteer firefighters from New Kensington,...
Police say missing Murrysville man back home
Murrysville police reported that a missing man last seen in the New Kensington area was back home on Friday morning. Michael Styslinger, 37, of Murrysville had not been seen or heard from since Monday, when someone gave him a ride to New Kensington, Murrysville police Sgt. Dan Cox said Thursday....
New Kensington-Arnold elementary students create robot pets, learn coding at Digital Foundry
New Kensington-Arnold elementary students turned cardboard boxes into robotic animals over the course of an eight-week program at the Digital Foundry. A giraffe, a chameleon, a dragon and a capybara were among the animals a group of fourth and fifth grade students from Roy A. Hunt Elementary in Arnold created...
PennDOT announces Saturday traffic restrictions on New Kensington bridge
Traffic will be restricted on the New Kensington bridge on Saturdays beginning this weekend and lasting through early June, PennDOT announced Thursday. Traffic on the two-lane bridge will be limited to a single, alternating lane from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday as part of a $24.6 million preservation...
Rising supplies expected to increase downward pressure on gas prices, analyst says
The drop in gas prices has sped up, with oil prices coming under more selling pressure alongside wholesale gasoline prices, giving retailers room to pass on the lower prices, an industry analyst said. “With refinery maintenance wrapping up, we should see supplies start to build in the weeks ahead, just...
$81M investment to create 300 jobs in New Kensington, Arnold industrial park
A new manufacturing operation will create 300 full-time jobs over the next three years in the New Kensington Advanced Manufacturing Park, local and state leaders announced Monday. Re:Build Manufacturing’s facility will comprise parts of five existing buildings previously used by Siemens and will total 175,000 square feet once complete. The...
Main Squeeze Juice food truck owner now serving healthy options from Tarentum storefront
While most 16-year-olds are eager to get their driver’s license and first cars, Shelby Brown was dreaming of food trucks. “I think I saw one and I thought, ‘How cool is that? It’s a kitchen on wheels,’ ” said Brown, 31, of Harrison. “That would be so cool, just the...
Arnold mayor, challenger lead competing Democratic slates in primary
The Democratic Party primary in Arnold could decide this year’s election for mayor and council. Two slates of Democrats are vying to fill the office of mayor and two council seats in the May 16 primary. No Republicans are on the ballot for any Arnold offices up for election this...
Flowers featured in New Kensington Camera Club’s spring exhibit at Pittsburgh Mills mall
Dozens of pictures and other art of flowers are featured in “Art in Bloom,” the New Kensington Camera Club’s annual spring floral photography and art show. The exhibition has prizes for both the artists and the public who will decide the winners. Club President Joel Varga said the show features...
3 Democrats vying for 2 New Kensington Council seats in primary
New Kensington Democrats will have three candidates to choose from to fill two ballot spots for city council. Incumbents Dante Cicconi and Tim DiMaio are seeking to remain on the five-member council. Newcomer Laurie Scheid is looking to take one of those seats. There are no Republican candidates on the...
Survivor of New Kensington gun battle charged
The survivor of a gunfight Sunday in New Kensington that left a 16-year-old dead is charged with firearms violations but not homicide. That’s because, according to the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office, video of the fight shows Dylan James Walmsley, 19, was not the aggressor when he shot Divine Warner,...
Arnold 16-year-old identified as person killed in New Kensington shootout
A 16-year-old from Arnold died in an exchange of gunfire Sunday in New Kensington, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli’s office revealed Monday. Divine Warner died at a nearby hospital. According to Ziccarelli’s office, Warner was shot outside, near Valley Royal Court, in an exchange of gunfire with Dylan Walmsley,...
Odds of gasoline hitting $4 per gallon decreasing, analyst says
Odds are increasing that the national average price of gasoline won’t reach $4 this summer, an industry analyst said. “For the first time in several weeks, the national average price of gasoline has seen a decline, and while the fall was quite small, the bigger news may be that we...
Lack of candidates marks primary for New Kensington-Arnold School Board
While voters in other communities have an overabundance of candidates from which to choose to fill school board seats, those in New Kensington and Arnold will find mostly blank ballots for the May primary. Examples of many include Plum, where 13 are vying for five seats; Highlands, where 11 are...
Arnold couple opening The Feisty Goblin Gamehouse, a tabletop gaming store, in New Kensington
Jim and Christine Radeshak are hoping to roll a natural crit when they open their tabletop gaming store in downtown New Kensington. The Arnold couple will take advantage of the crowds drawn to the city’s popular Fridays on Fifth to launch The Feisty Goblin Gamehouse. They are planning a soft...
New Kensington’s Fridays on Fifth returns for 3rd season with 6 dates
Fridays on Fifth, the food truck event that has lured throngs of people to downtown New Kensington, will launch its third season this month. Returning favorites including Del Vecchio’s Sausage will be among a dozen food trucks expected for the opener April 28. Among the newcomers is Cilantro & Ajo,...
U.S. marshals arrest New Kensington bank robbery suspect in Central Pa.
A Tarentum man accused of robbing a New Kensington bank in December has been arrested, the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday. The U.S. Marshals Task Force arrested Anthony Burda, 37. He was taken into custody in the Central Pennsylvania region of Cambria and Blair counties, said Melanie Jones,...
New Kensington seeking bids for road resurfacing
New Kensington is planning to resurface parts of five roads this year. The city is seeking sealed bids for the work until 10 a.m. May 3, when they will be opened and read in the meeting room at city hall. The contract calls for milling and paving about 7,630 square...
Arnold man sought on abuse of corpse charge arrested in New Kensington
An Arnold man police were looking for in connection with a body found in Scott Township last year was arrested Thursday morning in New Kensington, Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin M. Kraus said. Sheriff’s detectives and New Kensington police found Bradley Smith, 33, at a home on Sixth Street. He was...
Suspended Arnold officer not guilty of illegally killing deer, still faces 2 hearings
An Arnold police officer has been found not guilty of unlawfully killing a deer. Jacob A. Pollick, 29, of Murrysville remains on unpaid leave from the city’s police force, however, while he still faces hearings on misdemeanor charges of intimidating a witness and tampering with evidence. The state Game Commission...
