Joyce Hanz stories, Page 59
Exchange student from Italy adjusts to life in A-K Valley during pandemicVideo
Beatrice Latina will take back to Rome a memorable souvenir from her experience living in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Her covid recovery story. Latina, nicknamed “Bi Bi” by her friends, is from Italy and the sole foreign exchange student at Highlands High School in Harrison. She tested positive for covid-19 about...
Dollar General to open location in Parks Township
Parks Township is getting its first Dollar General discount store. Kelly Shotts, project manager with Harchuck Construction in Washington Township said the new store, located at 1014 East 2nd Street, is expected to open the first week in May. Washington Township-based Harchuck is developing the site on behalf of Dollar...
Kiski Area’s musical will be streamed on YouTubeVideo
It’s still lights, camera, action for Kiski Area Musical students this spring. After sweeping cancellations of high school spring musical productions in 2020 due to covid conditions, directors had to adjust their musical productions. Kiski Musical director Robert Capanna found a creative and covid-19 friendly performance option. The cast is...
Kiski police seek woman accused of passing fake $100 bill
Kiski Township Police are looking for a woman they said passed counterfeit money at a grocery store on Thursday. In a post made on Friday to the Kiski Township Police Department Facebook page, police said the woman passed the counterfeit money on Feb. 25 at Held’s Shop & Save, 307...
Kiski Township police: Men charged after showing up at station drunk to discuss earlier incident
Police in Kiski Township say two men were drunk and upset when they showed up at the police station Sunday morning to discuss an earlier incident involving them in which police had not filed charges. Charges were filed against both men, however, in connection with the visit to the police...
Kiski Township man charged with strangulation, assault
A Kiski Township man is charged with assaulting a woman in her bed. Joshua Reilly, 36, faces a felony strangulation charge and misdemeanor charges of simple assault and reckless endangerment stemming from an incident Sunday evening. In court papers, Kiski Township Officer Daniel Clark Jr. said he responded to a...
People turned away from Leechburg food distribution because delivery truck a no-show
More than 50 people who lined up Saturday to receive free food in Leechburg went home empty-handed. A drive-thru food distribution, sponsored by Kiski Valley Community Church in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families Food Box program and the nonprofit Convoy of Hope, was canceled this...
Freezing then warming temps blamed for Pittsburgh-area water main breaks
More than 700 PWSA customers in Pittsburgh’s Troy Hill neighborhood were expected to be without water or have low water pressure Sunday night because of a water main break, and other breaks were reported in Homestead and West Mifflin. Officials with Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and Pennsylvania American Water...
Police: Mercer County man wanted in abduction case shot himself after shootout with police in Arkansas
A Mercer County man is dead after a Saturday night shootout with state police in a McDonald’s parking lot in Arkansas, authorities said. William Ice, 38, of Jackson Center, had been wanted for the Feb. 11 kidnapping Savannah Childress, 14, in Davidson County, N.C. Multiple police agencies including the FBI,...
Police: Homewood woman charged in child sex case involving Rankin man
A 25-year-old woman from Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood was arrested Friday on charges she conspired with a Rankin man to commit sex crimes against children. Sidney Brooks was taken into custody by Pittsburgh police. Allegheny County police have charged Brooks with 38 felony counts for conspiring with Devaughante Law Sr. of...
Leechburg Area School District’s covid-19 cases continue to decline
Active covid-19 cases continue to decrease in the Leechburg Area School District. Superintendent Tiffany Nix said there have been no active cases reported since Feb. 12. The district added a covid tracker to its website earlier this month that displays the latest, year-to-date and inactive positive covid-19 cases for the...
Need eggs? New delivery service caters to Leechburg-area residentsVideo
A new local egg delivery service is available for Leechburg area residents. Kira Karpinski, 38, of Gilpin recently started a subscription egg home delivery service. She said she has a surplus of eggs from more than 20 varieties of hens on her farm and she was inspired to offer the...
Leechburg students learn about their emotions and how to handle themVideo
It’s been an emotional six weeks for some students at David Leech Elementary School in Leechburg. And that’s a good thing, said Erin Hettrich, elementary art teacher and co-organizer of Color Monster, a new collaborative student program spotlighting emotional and mental health. “This has been a difficult school year full...
Kiski Township man charged with stealing ATVs, other off-road vehicles from several locations
A Kiski Township man is charged with stealing multiple all-terrain and recreational vehicles and a truck from his former employer. Dominic Albert Hayward, 24, was arraigned Friday on felony charges including burglary, theft, and receiving stolen property in Kiski Township as well as on Butler, Westmoreland and Armstrong counties and...
Leechburg awards $216K contract for wall reconstruction project
A partial wall reconstruction project in Leechburg is progressing. Portions of the 260-foot-long wall along the borough’s Third Street are collapsing. Plans call for about 150 feet of the wall to be replaced in a project that is expected to cost more than $216,000. Council on Wednesday awarded a contract...
Leechburg church uses Ash Wednesday stickers to tweak its ‘Ashes to Go’ ministry
Even Ash Wednesday isn’t immune to a pandemic, but even a pandemic can’t stop Ash Wednesday. One Leechburg church didn’t let covid-19 restrictions stop its annual “Ashes to Go” ministry Wednesday. The Revs. Gary and Lisa Lyon, co-pastors at Cross Roads Community Presbyterian Church, started “Ashes to Go” in 2016,...
Apollo man accused of sending inappropriate messages to 2 young teen girls
A 33-year-old Apollo man is accused of sending inappropriate messages to at least two young teenage girls and, in one case, of trying to seduce a girl while his girlfriend and daughter also were in the house. Police in Apollo and Kiski Township filed charges against Nicholas Owen McMunn in...
Help wanted: West Leechburg seeks new part-time borough secretary; no takers so far
West Leechburg Borough is seeking a new part-time secretary and treasurer. Pat Grantz, who held the position for 43 years, died earlier this month, leaving what Mayor Jim Gallucci said are “big shoes to fill.” Councilwoman Marcia Cole has volunteered her time to serve as interim secretary until the position...
Well, La Dee Dah! Vintage jewelry store in Leechburg celebrates 10th anniversaryVideo
Judy Provias has always loved antiques. “My grandmother lived in a 200-plus-year-old house that George Washington actually slept in. Everything in her house was antique,” Provias said. “I loved it.” Provias, of Leechburg, owns and operates La Dee Dah Antiques, located at 161 Market St. in her hometown. La Dee...
Leechburg Area reports covid-19 cases dropping, in-person musical rehearsals underway
The number of active covid-19 cases in the Leechburg Area School District has decreased. Superintendent Tiffany Nix reported one active case campuswide during Monday’s board meeting, which was a decrease from two active cases the week before. Friday’s covid case tracker reported a further decrease to zero active cases, and...
Gilpin seeks donations for care of township’s police dog
Gilpin’s police dog now has a fund designated for his expenses. Township supervisors Monday approved a Gilpin Township K-9 Fund, an account specifically for donations that go toward the dog’s needs. Rudy is a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois certified police dog that specializes in detecting drugs such as heroin, cocaine, marijuana...
2 Leechburg sisters spread kindness, love to strangers for Valentine’s DayVideo
Two Leechburg sisters are making Cupid proud. Sisters Madison and Olivia Chiusano, aka The Kindness Girls, delivered Valentine’s Day-themed treats to the public Friday. Madison is 5, and Olivia is 3. Dressed in coordinated red outfits and bouncing up and down — a lot — the duo doled out what...
West Leechburg mourns the loss of longtime borough Secretary Pat Grantz
The community of West Leechburg is mourning the loss of a longtime, steadfast borough employee. Patricia Ann Grantz of West Leechburg died Feb. 7. She was 82. Grantz served as borough secretary and treasurer for 43 years. “She was the rock that kept everything together,” West Leechburg Mayor Jim Gallucci...
BBQ, pizza business grows from West Leechburg man’s passion
Call Joe and Brenda Sperski a smoking-hot couple, and they won’t be offended. The West Leechburg couple opened Smokey Joe’s House of Q in 2018, offering takeout barbecue and pizza from a mobile trailer at various locations in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Joe Sperski smokes the meats and does all the...
Procedures change for Leechburg food distribution following last weekend’s intense demand
An overwhelming response to a free food giveaway in Leechburg last Saturday has prompted the church that sponsored it to change how this coming Saturday’s distribution will be handled. People lined up in their cars hours before the event’s noon start time last Saturday, and all of the food boxes...
