Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 65
Ohio man found dead in Butler County
State police are investigating an Ohio man’s death in Butler County as a homicide. State police said the body of Frederick Orr, 32, of Columbus, was found around 3:30 a.m. Saturday along Kelly Road in Muddy Creek Township. Police said they were awaiting autopsy results and an investigation is ongoing....
New Kensington-Arnold approves joining blight-fighting program, sets stage for Arnold
A new blight-fighting program is set to come to New Kensington and Arnold now that the cities’ school district has gotten on board. The New Kensington-Arnold School Board voted Tuesday to join the Westmoreland County Land Bank. Its approval was needed for either city to join. Westmoreland County established the...
Authorities ‘actively investigating’ homicide of New Kensington 9-year-old Azuree Charles
Authorities are still investigating the now-more-than-month-old homicide of a 9-year-old New Kensington boy, according to a statement Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli released Thursday. Azuree Charles was found dead May 4 outside his East Ken Manor home on Haser Drive. Authorities have not disclosed how Charles died, and no...
New Kensington shootout suspect faces hearing in July
A preliminary hearing for a man charged with attempted murder in a May shootout on Fifth Avenue in New Kensington has been scheduled for July. Deontae Delshaw Boyd Jr., 21, of Rankin will have a hearing July 7 before New Kensington District Judge Frank J. Pallone Jr. Boyd was scheduled...
Car leaves New Kensington Wendy’s parking lot, hits car on Tarentum Bridge Road
No serious injuries were reported Thursday after a car went through a guardrail in the parking lot of a New Kensington restaurant and hit another car on Tarentum Bridge Road. A bystander reported the crash at Wendy’s to 911 about 2:40 p.m., a Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher said. New Kensington...
Gas hits $5 national average for first time, GasBuddy reports
The national average price of gasoline reached $5 per gallon Thursday for the first time, according to price-tracking service GasBuddy.com. The milestone comes after months of gas price increases across the country accelerated by the rise in seasonal demand during supply constraints brought on by the covid pandemic, according to...
$250K grant to support New Kensington Salvation Army program for at-risk youths
The New Kensington Salvation Army will use a $250,000 grant to support a youth program aimed at young people who have committed first-time, nonviolent offenses. The Salvation Army announced Wednesday it will use the grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation for its Bridging the Gap program. “We are grateful...
New Kensington-Arnold School Board approves budget with 5% property tax hike
A property tax increase is either long overdue or too much at the wrong time, according to members of the New Kensington-Arnold School Board. The school board voted, 6-2, Tuesday to approve the district’s $48.9 million budget for the 2022-23 school year. It carries a 5% property tax increase, the...
Resignations, retirement leave New Kensington police short-staffed
A pair of resignations and the retirement of a longtime officer have left New Kensington’s police force short-staffed. City Council on Monday approved the retirement of Detective Sgt. Dino DiGiacobbe and the resignations of patrol Officers Jose Pantoja and Christian Leonarski. A 1982 graduate of Freeport Area High School, DiGiacobbe,...
PBS series ‘Start Up’ to highlight New Kensington revitalization effort
New Kensington will be featured in the 10th season of a PBS series highlighting small businesses across the nation. Gary Bredow, host of “Start Up,” and a small crew were in the city Monday filming an episode focused on Olde Towne Overhaul and its efforts to revitalize downtown New Kensington...
Southwestern Pennsylvania counties to reach $5-per-gallon gas price within week or 2, analyst says
Average gasoline prices in several southeast and northeast Pennsylvania counties already have exceeded $5 per gallon, and the rest of the state isn’t far behind, according to industry analysts. The state’s average price of a gallon of gas Monday was $4.95, AAA reported. That’s up 19 cents from last week,...
Dignitaries celebrate opening of Digital Foundry in New Kensington
Dignitaries gathered on Fifth Avenue in New Kensington on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of a facility officials hope will serve as a regional hub for innovation, creative thinking, problem-solving, learning and collaboration. With its energetic orange color and a sawtooth roof evoking the city’s industrial heritage, the key thing...
‘Rockin’ Roosevelt’ to bring 11 bands to Arnold park
Jim Varhola spent a lot of his youth in playgrounds around his home in Springdale. “That’s what we did — we played soccer, softball, football. I don’t know what I would have done without the parks we had,” said Varhola, of Upper Burrell. “It’s important to have those things available...
‘Forget me not’: Lower Burrell niece, Dutchman honor New Kensington World War II serviceman neither knewVideo
Christine Siess has never forgotten the uncle she never knew. Thousands of miles and an ocean away, Aldwin van der Velden also remembers Siess’ uncle. Norman Frank Kajut, a New Kensington native, is among the thousands of American World War II service members van der Velden and his fellow Dutch...
New Kensington police charge Rankin man with attempted murder in shootout near city hall
New Kensington police charged a Rankin man with attempted murder after an exchange of gunfire within earshot of City Hall on Monday afternoon. According to a criminal complaint, Deontae Delshaw Boyd Jr., 21, and another person returned fire after being shot at from a vehicle in the 1100 block of...
Police investigating after shots fired near WCCC in New Kensington
New Kensington police were investigating a report of shots fired Monday afternoon near the entrance to the Westmoreland County Community College campus in New Kensington. New Kensington police Detective Sgt. Matt Saxman said no one appeared to be hit or injured in the incident that happened about 4:30 p.m. in...
New Kensington Digital Foundry, in the works for years, to become reality next month
With its bright orange cladding, the Digital Foundry at New Kensington stands out in downtown New Kensington. But as it gets up and running, officials hope it will be better known for helping students and residents acquire the skills employers are looking for and giving manufacturers access to technologies they...
Events set to remember life, celebrate work of longtime New Kensington-Arnold art teacher
Two upcoming events will honor the life and celebrate the work of a former New Kensington-Arnold art teacher while helping to create opportunities for future artists. The New Kensington Art Center, 950 Fifth Ave., will host the Andrea Dorwart Memorial Art Show from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday. The...
Pittsburgh gas prices continue climb as $5 per gallon looms in some spots
Average gasoline prices in the Pittsburgh area rose more than 17 cents per gallon in the last week, with the most expensive just a penny shy of the $5 mark, according to price tracking service GasBuddy. GasBuddy reported Pittsburgh’s average at $4.69 per gallon on Monday, up 17.4 cents in...
Faces of the Valley: For her 1st novel, Sarah Snider draws inspiration from her life, New Kensington
Sarah Snider didn’t put her own name on her first book, “The Metamorphosis of Becca.” “Because I was chicken,” said Snider, 61, of Allegheny Township. “It’s a very vulnerable thing to put a book out into the world.” Friends and colleagues who read the book before its February publication had...
Teen charged in drive-by shooting death of Washington woman
Police have charged a 15-year-old boy with homicide and are looking for two others in the drive-by shooting of a 58-year-old woman in Washington earlier this month. Tyriq Xavier Moss of Washington was arraigned Thursday on multiple charges, including criminal homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, reckless endangerment and...
5 injured in fiery crash between Port Authority bus, car in Downtown Pittsburgh
Five people were injured Thursday when a car and a Port Authority bus crashed in Downtown Pittsburgh on Thursday night, according to Pittsburgh police. The crash, which resulted in the car becoming engulfed in flames, happened around 11:30 p.m. at Fifth Avenue and Grant Street. Police said three officers who...
3 injured — 1 critically — in Homewood stabbing
Three people were injured in a stabbing early Thursday in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, according to Pittsburgh police. Police said officers went to an apartment in the 7700 block of Frankstown Avenue around 3:30 a.m. Officers said they found a woman there with multiple stab wounds. She was taken to a...
Hot weather expected next 2 days, new record possible Saturday
The Pittsburgh region is set to get its first taste of 90-degree weather this year, but the heatwave is going to be brief. The high temperature is expected to get to near 90 on Friday and into the lower 90s for Saturday, National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Modzelewski said. The...
Abandoned Braddock row house collapses during fire
It took firefighters nearly four hours to get a blaze at an abandoned row house under control early Thursday in Braddock. The fire in the 200 block of Oliver Street was reported around 1:30 a.m., an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said. Firefighters got it under control by 5:15 a.m. Firefighters...
