Haley Daugherty stories, Page 20
New Leechburg Boy Scout troop welcomes girls, a sign of new interest in Scouting
Jessica Cummings doesn’t have much experience as a Scout leader, but she’s ready for the challenge as she starts Troop 6553 in Leechburg, a Boy Scout troop that welcomes girls. Cummings began the troop for her daughter, Lydia, 10, and her daughter’s best friend, Ivy McCullough, 10. Both girls have...
Community rallies around Lower Burrell family displaced by house fire
Community members are banding together to support a Lower Burrell family after they were left homeless when a fire destroyed their Michigan Avenue home last week. Less than 24 hours after the Wednesday blaze, Patrick Elston, co-owner of Gus Franco’s Pizza shop in Lower Burrell, began arranging a way to...
Building the Valley: Producer’s event stage in Tarentum offers ‘infinite-seat theater’
Jeff Revilla, a New Kensington man with more than 10 years of experience producing shows, wants to reach an infinite audience. His podcast studio, Poduty Live in Tarentum, has the capacity to do just that. The event stage on Corbet Street can house up to 40 audience members during a...
Leechburg prepares for 13th annual Pink Day fundraiser
Leechburg is preparing for its 13th annual Pink Day, a celebration and fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation established in 2011 by Gary and Vicki Peterman of Gilpin. The event is an all-day affair that shuts down Market Street from First to Third streets. This year’s event will start...
31 ears and counting: Kiski Township cornstalk vies for Guinness world record
For most of the summer, Julie Gerano didn’t think much of the cornstalk growing in the flower bed of her backyard garden in Kiski Township. Now, however, Gerano, 51, is looking at a potential world record with her stalk sporting 31 ears of corn. She filled out an application to...
Fire destroys Lower Burrell home, family left homeless
A Lower Burrell family was left homeless after fire gutted their home Wednesday. Scott Gloer, deputy chief of Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3, said most of the family was out of the house at 235 Michigan Ave. when the fire started. He said there was one child still...
Road reopened after crash in Fawn
Bull Creek Road has reopened after emergency services cleared a two car crash. Fawn Police Sgt. Kerry Myers said the two-vehicle crash happened occurred just before 4:30 p.m. on Bull Creek Road near Ross Welding Supplies in Fawn. He said one driver was taken to an nearby hospital, and another...
Woman accused of bilking Burrell cheerleaders once was treasurer for the Officer Brian Shaw Memorial Ride
The woman charged with stealing money from a cheerleading booster group while she served as its treasurer once acted as treasurer for another well-known local charity. Ashley Freiberg of Upper Burrell is accused of taking nearly $19,000 from the Burrell Cheer Booster club. In 2021, she was the treasurer for...
Leechburg Area School Board considers one meeting night per month
Leechburg Area School Board could be holding fewer public meetings if a test run over the next few months works out. Instead of holding the agenda-setting and voting meetings on different days, the board will experiment with holding both on the same night. “We talked to (Superintendent David) Keibler before...
Leechburg Area School Board decides against lawsuit against Westmoreland County
The Leechburg Area School Board will not be following through with a promised lawsuit against Westmoreland County after being presented with a possible solution to tax rate issues by Westmoreland County assessors. “The board is still considering all of its legal options,” said Ashley Coudriet, school board president. “Currently, Westmoreland...
Sustainability plan could bring a ‘greener’ Oakmont
Oakmont could be going “green” in the next decade. Borough council is expected to consider a sustainability plan that suggests ways to improve borough efficiency while reducing emissions and cutting costs to taxpayers. This is the first sustainability plan to come before council, and it was developed by an intern...
North Versailles man faces felony charge for gun in Verona park
A North Versailles man is facing a felony gun charge after, police say, he was caught trespassing during a Verona officer’s routine patrol on Saturday night. While an officer was securing Riverbank Park, a Verona park that closes at sundown, he came across two men, Rikquan Fulmore, 19, and another...
As volunteer fire departments see membership dwindle, Oakmont’s welcomes its 31st member — with more to come
Oakmont Mayor Sophia Facaros swore in yet another volunteer fireman at the borough’s Aug. 19 council meeting. Eben Ulrich, 17, started his junior year at Riverview High School on Thursday, Aug. 22, and began his stint with the Oakmont Volunteer Fire Department as its 31st active member. He will be...
Leechburg adopts policies for body, in-car cameras for police
The adoption of two new policies governing the use of police body cams and in-car cameras will allow Leechburg police to begin using the technology. The two policies were approved by the Fraternal Order of Police in regard to its more than 373,000 members in more than 2,200 lodges, said...
Penn Hills School District calls Pittsburgh Regional Transit for student transportation ‘done deal’
Penn Hills officials and parents are voicing their concerns about the school district’s use of Pittsburgh Regional Transit, previously Port Authority of Allegheny County, for students attending charter schools in the Pittsburgh area. The decision originally was made and announced in June. The Penn Hills School Board passed the measure...
More communities join Leechburg, Parks Township officials in police regionalization discussions
Correction: The original posting of this story did not say that Kiski Township was among those municipalities joining police regionalization talks. This update also clarifies when public input will be sought. Leechburg and Parks Township are including more communities in their discussions about police regionalization. According to D.J. Zelczak, a...
Verona increases police pay rate in effort to attract new officers
As part of a continuing retention and recruitment effort, police officers in Verona soon will be making more money than ever before. Verona Council voted Tuesday, Aug. 13 to raise the pay rate by 15% for all of the department’s current and future police officers. The borough is looking to...
Penn Hills prepares for students’ return; parent forum set
Big changes are coming to the Penn Hills School District as students head back to the classroom Aug. 20. Teachers and staff already have been in the buildings preparing for students since Aug. 13. In the days leading up to students’ return, there will be multiple events hosted for students,...
Questions raised after Kamala Harris campaign accused of altering headlines in Google ads
News outlets have noticed the headlines of their published articles on Google search do not match the ones written on their websites. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is reportedly modifying headlines on news articles within sponsored search advertisements on Google to appear as if those outlets are seemingly partial toward...
Faces of the Valley: Harmar man uses nature, film to promote waterway conservation
Ian Smith is a go-with-the-flow type of guy. Whether it’s the flow of an ocean or a river, he’s there. Smith fell in love with surfing after taking lessons on the East Coast and decided to bring the activity home with him. “I loved the sport and wanted to bring...
Riverview School District readies for student return
Riverview School District will be welcoming students back to school on Thursday, Aug. 22. The district has welcomed multiple new hires for the year, including special education director, Jamie Desrochers; full-time teachers Mary Evankovich and Lindsay Pica; and six paraprofessionals that will be placed throughout district schools. In the days...
Calling all Penn Hills grads: All-years class reunion picnic encourages community, good times
Lee Adams graduated from Penn Hills in 1975 alongside more than 1,300 students. Four years ago, when it came time to host another reunion, there already were so many people that he and his former classmate, Cindy Fazio-Merola, thought, “Why not just include everybody?” “It’s been really interesting how it’s...
Morning roundup: Pittsburgh police raid homeless encampment; bridge closes in Forward Township
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Aug. 9: Pittsburgh police serve search warrants for encampment policy violations Police said detectives seized quantities of crack cocaine and lorazepam pills believed to be intended for sale from two tents located on Grant Street between First Avenue...
Man’s 19th birthday ends with woman shot dead in Monroeville and a confession
Joselyn Thomas screamed her last words, police said. “A.J., stop, A.J. stop.” It was Wednesday afternoon, and Thomas, 18, of North Versailles, had been arguing with Albert Williams III, a witness told police. Investigators said the witness heard three gunshots inside the bedroom of unit G in the Cambridge Square...
Morning Roundup: TSA detection dog retires; popular kids group to stop in Pittsburgh
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Aug. 8: TSA explosive detection dog hangs up leash Baro, a Transportation Security Administration explosives detection canine, will be retiring Thurday after seven years of service at Pittsburgh International Airport. The 9-year-old German Wirehaired Pointer has been in...
