Kellen Stepler stories, Page 5
New Kensington’s Wildflower Bakery to fill another Fifth Avenue storefront
Wildflower Bakery in Downtown New Kensington is celebrating its one-year anniversary with an expansion. The bakery will expand by 1,200 square feet and open a storefront along 940 Fifth Ave., New Kensington, in addition to its existing entrance at 940 Barnes St. Owner Hailey Sabot plans to open the new...
Sexton, Fiorilli, Trainor, Montani win Chartiers Valley board seats
Three current members and a newcomer were elected to the Chartiers Valley School Board. Incumbents Megan Sexton, Lisa Trainor and Mitch Montani, and newcomer Mark Fiorilli won seats to the school board, according to unofficial election results from Allegheny County. Sexton led the way with 6,992 votes, followed by Fiorilli...
2 newcomers, 2 incumbents win positions on Carlynton School Board
Voters in the Carlynton School District elected two newcomers and two incumbents to the school board. Brittany Bova was the leading vote-getter with 2,653 votes, according to unofficial results from the Allegheny County Elections Division. She ran solely as a Democrat. She was followed by Reece Smith with 2,088 votes,...
Weissert wins Allegheny Township Supervisor election
Republican Frank Weissert won election to Allegheny Township’s supervisors board. Weissert, 48, had collected 1,291 votes compared to Democratic challenger Dave Gatty’s 1,037, according to unofficial but complete results from the Westmoreland County Elections Bureau. Supervisor Mike Korns didn’t seek reelection. Supervisors serve six-year terms. Weissert works in sales for...
After more than a dozen years, Lower Burrell consignment shop expands
The idea of Tammy Eshbaugh owning a retail business was somewhat of a joke 13 years ago. The Lower Burrell woman and her husband, Brian, decided to buy a few items at an online auction of a closing country club. “We didn’t realize how much we bought until we picked...
Toney, DiCarolis victors in New Kensington Council election
Democrats Phillip Toney and Nicholas DiCarolis won two seats on New Kensington Council, according to unofficial results from the Westmoreland County Elections Bureau. In the three-candidate race for two seats, Toney had collected 1,800 votes, DiCarolis 1,534. Republican Chase Balla had 1,238. Toney, 70, and DiCarolis, 37, will take the...
Murphy, Cupples-Wisniowski, Downey win Collier commissioner seats
Julie Murphy, Mary Ann Cupples-Wisniowski and Tim Downey Jr. were elected to three seats on Collier’s board of commissioners. They were the top three vote-getters in a six-candidate race Tuesday, Nov. 4, according to unofficial but complete results from the Allegheny County Elections Division. Murphy had 1,828 votes, and Cupples-Wisniowski...
LaSota reelected as Heidelberg mayor; incumbents return to council
Heidelberg voters returned Kenneth LaSota to the mayoral seat for four more years. According to the results of the Nov. 4 election from the Allegheny County Elections Division, LaSota, a Democrat, had 249 votes collected compared to Republican challenger Arnold Falcioni’s 155 votes. LaSota, a geology and Earth sciences professor...
13 trees planted along Baldwin Street, McLaughlin Run Park in Bridgeville
Baldwin Street and McLaughlin Run Park in Bridgeville look a little greener. Volunteers, with the help of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s TreeVitalize program, planted 13 trees along Baldwin Street and at McLaughlin Run Park on Saturday, Nov. 1. TreeVitalize is an application-based, community tree planting program. It is a joint...
91-year-old Bridgeville Mayor Betty Copeland easily wins reelection bid
Betty L. Copeland, 91, won handily in her reelection bid for Bridgeville mayor. Copeland collected 1,061 votes compared to challenger Pasquale DeBlasio’s 525, according to unofficial but complete results posted by the Allegheny County Elections Division. Copeland, a Democrat, has been mayor for the past eight years. DeBlasio, 62, a...
New Kensington hikes skill game license fee 150%
Skill game vendors will pony up some more cash to license their devices in New Kensington. Council gave final approval to increase annual license fees for mechanical skill games to $750, up 150% from its current $300, said Clerk John Zavadak. The new fee becomes effective next year. Zavadak predicts...
State Rep. Anita Kulik to retire at end of term next year
State Rep. Anita Kulik announced she will retire from office at the end of her current legislative term, Nov. 30, 2026. “Being able to serve in the areas where I grew up and spent my life made my terms in office so very special,” said Kulik, a Democrat. “The people...
Water main break in Lower Burrell impacts school district
A water main break in Lower Burrell on Wednesday morning left some without water. Water was restored just before noon. “We have a leak on a 12-inch main line on a right of way in Lower Burrell,” said Ed Saliba Jr., general manager of the New Kensington Municipal Authority. “The...
Bridgeville in need of ‘Snow Angels’
If you can lend a hand — or a shovel — to help clear snow this winter, Bridgeville would like your help. The borough is seeking volunteers to become a “Snow Angel” where they will be paired with a nearby resident in need of snow removal. Bridgeville has had the...
New Kensington sewage rates to rise; Lower Burrell also considers hike
Lower Burrell residents could see an increase as high as 5% in their sewage bills next year because of a rate increase from the Municipal Sanitary Authority of the City of New Kensington. The authority, which serves customers in Lower Burrell, Arnold, New Kensington and parts of Plum, is increasing...
Carnegie Mellon president launches advisory board to review student mental health, well-being
A new advisory board at Carnegie Mellon University will evaluate students’ mental well-being and their academic experience. President Farnam Jahanian announced the university will roll out a President’s Advisory Board on Student Well-Being, Mental Health and the Academic Experience. Jahanian, in a letter to campus, said the board will review...
H.D. Berkey students help their peers, families through ‘Change War’
Generosity — and some friendly competition — led to H.D. Berkey Elementary students in Arnold collecting spare change to help families in need as the holiday season approaches. During the month of October, students raised more than $1,000 toward needy families in a “Change War,” an initiative organized by second...
PennWest review aims to make programs stronger; some existing could ‘sunset’
The goal of an ongoing review of academic programs at Pennsylvania Western University is to ensure offerings meet area workforce demands in a way that’s sustainable to the college, said James Fisher, interim provost and vice president of academic affairs. PennWest, a state-owned university comprising campuses in California, Clarion and...
Lower Burrell manager Greg Primm recognized by international organization
More than 8,000 municipal managers attended the International City/County Management Association this week in Tampa, Fla., but only about a dozen were recognized for longtime service to the profession. One of them was Lower Burrell City Manager Greg Primm, who is coming up on 35 years as a municipal manager...
Pittsburgh homicide suspect arrested in New Kensington
A man accused of an August homicide in Pittsburgh was arrested Wednesday in New Kensington’s Parnassus neighborhood. Terrance George, 36, of Pittsburgh, is charged with criminal homicide, illegal possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm without a license in connection to an Aug. 26 homicide in Pittsburgh’s East Hills...
Enrollment drops at Penn State’s closing branch campuses in Western Pennsylvania
While overall enrollment at Penn State’s main campus remains steady, universitywide enrollment this fall decreased by 1.6% over last year, and dropped 5.7% overall at branch campuses. According to Penn State data released this week, 386 students are enrolled at Penn State New Kensington this fall. That’s a 10.6% decrease...
Off-duty miracle: Arnold police chief, wife save life of Lower Burrell crossing guard
Sometimes it’s just not your time. Such was the case for Dennis “Denny” Soroka on Sept. 20. The 80-year-old from Lower Burrell is alive through a miracle of happenstance: He suffered cardiac arrest at just the right place and time, in a store that had an automated external defibrillator and...
State Attorney General’s Office agents investigate at New Kensington property
Investigators with the state Attorney General’s Office conducted an investigation at a New Kensington home Wednesday evening. Attorney general’s agents were on scene at 918 Baldrick St., which is near the intersection of Stevenson Boulevard and Seventh Street. The agents on scene were unable to comment. New Kensington police Chief...
Chartiers Valley to deploy AI school safety platform
Chartiers Valley School District will work with a Carnegie Mellon University spinout to deploy a threat detection system at district buildings. School directors on Tuesday, Oct. 28 approved a five-year contract with CurvePoint for the Wi-AI Perimeter Threat Detection system. Wi-AI transforms standard Wi-Fi signals into a real-time safety system...
AI chatbot, ‘Skilly,’ to answer prospective Point Park University students’ questions
Prospective Point Park University students may soon be asking admissions questions to an AI chatbot. Skilly, a chatbot developed by SkillyAI of Pittsburgh, will assist Point Park’s admissions office in responding to questions from potential students and their families, said Marlin Collingwood, university vice president of enrollment management. “We’re in...
