Brian C. Rittmeyer stories, Page 85
Indiana County man’s body found in Kiski woods
A report of a suspicious vehicle at a Kiski car wash lead to the discovery of a man’s body Thursday afternoon, according to township police. Police said they got a call shortly after 7:30 a.m. about a vehicle left at the Apollo Car Wash on Route 56 just outside of...
Man found dead after standoff with police in Moon
A 37-year-old Moon Township man was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound following a standoff with police Thursday night, according to township police. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the man as John Geisler. Police said the incident began around 6:15 p.m. when a woman reported a domestic...
National Weather Service monitoring chance of severe weather
The National Weather Service is monitoring the chance for severe weather Friday night into Saturday. After a couple cool, dry days, temperatures and humidity levels are expected to begin rising Friday, meteorologist Mike Kennedy said. Showers and storms could be seen Friday afternoon, but the most severe weather will be...
Exact cause of fire at Unity business still under investigation, but ‘not suspicious’, fire chief says
No injuries were reported in a fire at a Unity business early Thursday morning. The fire at Specialty Seal Group at 1001 Lloyd Ave., off of Route 981 and near Saint Vincent College, was reported around 4:40 a.m. and was quickly doused, according to Lloydsville Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brian...
Crash closes Brownsville Road, knocks out power in South Park
A crash has closed part of Brownsville Road in South Park Township and knocked out electric service to hundreds early Thursday morning. The single-vehicle crash was reported around 2:45 a.m., an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said. The vehicle hit a utility pole and lines were down. No injuries were reported....
9 vehicles involved in chain reaction crash on Route 28 at 31st Street Bridge
Nine vehicles were involved in a chain reaction crash on Route 28 at the 31st Street Bridge Wednesday, according to Pittsburgh police. Police, firefighters and medics responded to the crash around 5:40 p.m. Police said first responders found that there had been three collisions involving a total of nine vehicles....
Tarentum Democrat wins Republican nomination for mayor; 3rd Ward seat also to be contested
Tarentum voters will have a choice for borough mayor in November. Former borough police Officer Robert Lang, who lost the Democratic primary in May to current Councilwoman Carrie Fox, won the Republican nomination as a write-in. Lang, a registered Democrat, said he will accept the Republican nomination but otherwise declined...
Tarentum Bridge closure chokes ambulance traffic
The closure of the Tarentum Bridge has made things difficult for ambulances trying to get patients from the New Kensington side of the bridge to Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. Emergency traffic has had to follow detours like all other vehicles, said Addie Birch, emergency medical services director with the...
New Kensington woman charged with leaving 3 children with convicted sex offender
A New Kensington woman faces child endangerment charges after police say she left three children alone with her husband, a convicted sex offender. Police charged Jaymi Lyn Kenney, 41, on Friday. Police say she left three children, ages 5, 7 and 16, in the care of Earl Eugene Kenney, 40,...
New Kensington woman charged with stabbing ex-boyfriend during argument
A man told New Kensington police his ex-girlfriend stabbed him on Sunday. Police charged Ebony Hooper, 33, of New Kensington with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and simple assault. Police said an officer responded to the reported stabbing in the 500 block of Industrial Boulevard about 12:45 a.m. Sunday,...
19-year-old found shot in Swissvale will survive, police say
A 19-year-old man was in fair condition after being shot in the leg in Swissvale early Wednesday morning, according to Allegheny County Police. Swissvale police responded to a call for a man shot inside an apartment building in the 2700 block of Hawthorne Avenue at 12:30 a.m. The victim was...
PennDOT plans long-term closure of ramp from Route 28 North to Highland Park Bridge
The ramp from northbound Route 28 to the Highland Park Bridge in Sharpsburg will be closed for nearly three months beginning Monday, the state Department of Transportation announced. The ramp to the bridge and Aspinwall, Exit 6, is scheduled to close about 3 a.m. Monday, weather permitting. It is expected...
Mercer County man accused of strangling wife to death
State police have charged a Mercer County man with homicide in the death of his wife. According to state police, Eric Raymond George, 44, of Coolspring Township called 911 himself shortly before 11 p.m. Monday to ask for emergency services and said he had just strangled Serena Schoeder, 41, to...
2 shot, 1 fatally in fight outside Sheraden bar
Two men were shot, one fatally, outside a bar in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood early Wednesday morning, according to Pittsburgh police. Police said a fight outside Craig’s Bar at 3122 Chartiers Ave. was reported to 911 before 1:50 a.m. As officers were heading there, they were told that shots had been...
Duquesne Light, West Penn Power work to restore electric service
Crews with Duquesne Light and West Penn Power are continuing to work to restore electric service to customers affected by storms that came through the Pittsburgh area on Sunday and Monday. As of about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, Duquesne Light was reporting about 2,300 customers without power. By 6 a.m., the...
Teen dies after being found shot on Brookline sidewalk
A boy died after being found shot in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood late Monday night, police said. Officers responded to reports of multiple shots fired in the 1100 block of Creedmoor Avenue around 11 p.m. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the victim as Christian Redinger, 15. Police said he was...
Pittsburgh police seek SUV driver that fled after hitting person in Shadyside
A man was critically hurt after being hit by an SUV in Shadyside early Tuesday morning, according to Pittsburgh police. Officers responded to the report at South Aiken Avenue and Walnut Street just before 12:30 a.m. Police said first responders found the man unresponsive and bleeding from the head. He...
Mercer County shooting victim expected to survive
State police charged a Mercer County man with attempted homicide and aggravated assault after a shooting early Sunday morning. The shooting on Chestnut Street in Jamestown happened between 1 a.m. and 1:20 a.m. According to state police, a 31-year-old man from Greenville was shot once in the head and neck...
As Principal Tom Rocchi retires, Hunt Elementary staff praise his impact and leadership
Even after 60 years in education, Thomas Rocchi sometimes wonders if he made a difference. The answer came in hugs at the door of Roy A. Hunt Elementary School in Arnold on Monday, where Rocchi, the school’s principal, welcomed back members of Valley High School’s graduating Class of 2021. Dressed...
Freeport Area bus driver honored for 50 years behind the wheel
Terry Bergbigler doesn’t like meetings, but the one he was summoned to Tuesday morning will probably go down as one of his favorites. Bergbigler’s colleagues at W.L. Roenigk successfully surprised him with an event to commemorate his 50 years as a school bus driver with the company. With the drivers...
Tarentum Book Club gives archives to Allegheny-Kiski Valley Historical Society’s museum
More than a century’s worth of history has been given to the Allegheny-Kiski Valley Historical Society’s Heritage Museum in Tarentum. The Tarentum Book Club has given four boxes to the museum containing minutes, scrapbooks and programs dating to the club’s founding in 1901. The archives previously had been kept in...
Butler Logan Road in Frazer to close for 2 weeks
A nearly one-mile stretch of Butler Logan Road north of the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer will be closed for two weeks, PennDOT announced Friday. The road is scheduled to close at about noon Monday between Clarks Pike and Log Cabin roads, weather permitting. Through traffic will be prohibited around-the-clock...
ATI, Steelworkers unable to find agreement on health care as strike drags on
Allegheny Technologies Inc. and the United Steelworkers continue to levy accusations at each other as they remain unable to agree on the key issue of health benefits and a strike drags on. Negotiators for ATI and the USW met Wednesday with the help of a federal mediator. No further talks...
Victim of fatal New Kensington apartment building fire identifiedVideo
The cause of a fire that claimed the life of a New Kensington woman Wednesday evening remained undetermined Thursday, a state police fire marshal said. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office on Thursday identified the woman as Deborah Kapalka, 63. “She was a sweet girl. She’s always been a sweet girl,”...
Coxcomb Hill Road reopens in Plum
Drivers in the Alle-Kiski Valley area have one less detour to deal with. Coxcomb Hill Road in Plum reopened Thursday afternoon, PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said. That is a day earlier than had been expected earlier in the week. Coxcomb Hill had been closed to traffic between Logans Ferry and...

