James Engel stories, Page 6
Vandergrift’s Sugared Lace bakery ices custom cookies as shop opening nears
Lacey DePanicis started selling cookies almost two years ago and hasn’t stopped since. The Vandergrift resident’s business — Sugared Lacey Bakeshop — along Washington Avenue near the Casino Theatre is set to open later this year. For now, DePanicis, 36, continues to take custom orders and sell holiday cookie batches...
Faces of the Valley: Buffalo Township teen earns prize in World War II essay contest
Logan Smith, 13, said he didn’t know much about the Battle of Midway in World War II before he began to pen an essay about it earlier this year. But the Buffalo Township teen said he read up on the fight and submitted his text to the American Battle Monuments...
Public welcome at meeting on future of Agan Park, Riddle Run area
The Agan Park Joint Recreation Board and Rachel Carson Trails Conservancy want the public’s thoughts on the future of the Riddle Run woodlands. The two groups plan to hold their first meeting Thursday, Oct. 23, to solicit ideas for potential outdoor recreation opportunities and small-scale development. Riddle Run is small...
Community Supermarket begins final sale as closing looms in Harrison
Friday marked the beginning of the end for Harrison’s sole independent grocer. Shoppers meandered their way through a picked over Community Supermarket as its final sale began — 25% off all items — ahead of the store’s closure later this month. Many of the store’s perishable items, such as meat,...
Plum to honor 5 new distinguished alumni
Plum will honor some of its best this week as it inducts five new members among its distinguished alumni. The inductees will be honored during a ceremony at the Oakmont Country Club on Oct. 16 before heading to the high school to meet students the next morning. One of the...
Repair work begins on South Buffalo bridge after monthslong closure
Crews began working to repair a 115-year-old bridge in South Buffalo this week after it abruptly closed to vehicle traffic in July. The bridge, which carries Clinton Road over a set of railroad tracks, has remained blocked off after an inspection called for “critical repairs” to its structure. The structure...
Springdale Planning Commission delays data center decision again
For a second time, the Springdale Planning Commission opted on Wednesday to postpone its recommendation to borough council to approve or deny a massive data center project. The planning commission will reconvene to try again Oct. 27 at 6:30 p.m. In late September, the three-member commission delayed its decision, opting...
Horseman lassoes loose cow on I-79; heifer’s origin remains unknown
A wrangler on horseback lassoed a roving cow on Interstate 79 early Wednesday morning when the animal backed up traffic for about two miles in Cranberry. State police told TribLive news partner WTAE that callers first reported the loose livestock in the grassy median around 7 a.m. Police and an...
Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School’s lobby renovations to wrap by end of November
The monthslong lobby improvement project at Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School will be nearly complete by the end of next month, according to district Buildings and Grounds Supervisor Jay Zangrille. Construction of larger restrooms in the lobby, as well as a separate one for use by one person at a time,...
Section of Pillow Avenue in Springdale Township to remain closed through October
A small stretch of Pillow Avenue in Springdale Township will remain closed through late October for drainage improvements, according to PennDOT. Traffic will be detoured between Hite and Low Grade roads. Motorists will have to divert their routes through Harmar via Route 28. Crews from A. Liberoni, Inc. will conduct...
For local governments, winter road maintenance is summertime concern
Long before he jumps in his salt truck, Unity Supervisor Mike O’Barto says, the township has to consider winter road maintenance and road salt acquisition. O’Barto is among 21 plowmen, including two other township supervisors, who work to clear the 165 miles of roads in Unity, which is one of...
Springdale Planning Commission to reconvene to continue data center review
After a standing-room-only meeting late last month, Springdale’s Planning Commission will come together again Wednesday to consider a massive proposed data center in the borough. The commission postponed a vote on whether to recommend borough council approve or deny a developer’s application at the previous meeting, opting to further analyze...
Allegheny Valley Regional Police make arrest in international fraudulent banking scam
Police in Springdale Township arrested on Friday a Chinese national believed to be connected with a large-scale scam ring that took one local resident for more than $100,000. Zhudi Chen, 40, of New York is charged with felony theft and financial exploitation. Allegheny Valley Regional Police Chief Michael Naviglia said...
Harmar House to stay in the family, become a boat dealership
After a fire in 2023 gutted much of Futules’ Harmar House, a longtime banquet and events hall, members of the Futules’ clan are working to repurpose the shuttered site — this time as a boat dealership. Tony Futules, 51, said he and his father, William, 76, are working to determine...
Western Pa. hunters face new rules as state tries to manage chronic wasting disease in deer
Chronic wasting disease used to be something that was far away for most Western Pennsylvania deer hunters, centered in the south-central region of the state. No longer. In 2024, parts of southern Armstrong County and eastern Westmoreland County became part of a management area after wild deer in each area...
ESL program offers skills, ‘family’ to English language learners at Allegheny Valley
Though Maria Cosme’s Allegheny Valley students speak more than half a dozen languages from four continents, one tongue unites them: English. Cosme is one of the most recent additions to the district, where she teaches ESL — or English as a Second Language — courses to elementary students through high...
Plum fire chiefs, borough expect stipend program to continue
Plum officials say they’ll likely carry on next year with a program that offers stipends for volunteer firefighters in the borough. The stipends — $15 per hour — were approved by the borough in January and were first distributed in March. Holiday Park VFD Chief Jim Sims said the stipends...
Pa. attorney general charges Pine woman for alleged forged signatures for school board election
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced charges against a Pine woman on Thursday for allegedly forging at least four signatures on primary nomination paperwork for a Pine-Richland School Board candidate. Kayla Van Blargan, 36, is charged with forgery, perjury and several other related offenses. According to the Attorney General’s Office,...
Repairs at Vandergrift’s Casino Theater set for completion by end of year
Another piece of the decades-long repair efforts at Vandergrift’s Casino Theater is set to wrap up by the end of the year, borough engineer Lucien Bove said. He said crews will complete the second phase of a restoration project that will see sections of the building’s masonry repointed, windows replaced...
Community rallies to support Plum family after move-in fire
When Jamin and Bethany Gardner parked a box truck in the driveway of their new Plum home, the couple never imagined they would lose nearly all their possessions before they could even move in. The Gardners, who were preparing to settle into a modest brick house on Garlow Boulevard on...
Buffalo Township man accused of sexually assaulting girl turns himself in
Derrian Alcorn, the Buffalo Township man accused of raping an intoxicated 15-year-old girl last year, turned himself in Wednesday for his preliminary arraignment. Alcorn’s defense attorney, Duke George Jr., said his client is in the process of posting the $100,000 bond set by District Judge Jack D. Ripper. Alcorn is...
Buffalo Township man accused of sexually assaulting drunk 15-year-old girl
A Buffalo Township man is facing charges, accused of raping an intoxicated 15-year-old girl more than a year ago after supplying her with alcohol. Derrian Alcorn, 27, is charged with seven felony sex crimes, including rape by forcible compulsion, rape of an unconscious victim and corruption of a minor. Police...
Everything we know about the proposed Springdale data center
Since developers revealed the initial details of a proposed data center at the former site of the Cheswick Generating Station in Springdale in August, the community has come armed with questions about the project. Now, it seems like a vote on the project is finally set to take place in...
TV shoot delayed to Friday in Vandergrift
Filming has been set back a day in Vandergrift for a new Apple TV+ series, tentatively titled “Parallax.” Crews were originally set to film throughout the borough’s downtown Thursday, but series publicist Shelly Williams said cameras will likely now roll Friday. Williams did not give a reason for the delay,...
Springdale residents remain skeptical of data center plan
Many Springdale residents aren’t sold on a massive proposed data center in their borough. Dozens showed up for a standing-room-only planning commission meeting Wednesday to probe developers and express concerns about the project. By the end of the night, the commission decided to delay its decision on whether Springdale Council...
