Michael DiVittorio stories, Page 40
Aspinwall to raise taxes about 22% next year
Aspinwall property owners should expect to pay about 22% more in real estate taxes next year. Council unanimously voted Nov. 8 to advertise its 2024 preliminary budget, which includes a 1.5-mill tax hike. Next year’s millage rate would go from 6.86 mills to 8.36 mills, should the spending plan be...
Quaker Valley area contested race winners
Several incumbents retained their seats while others were dethroned in contested Quaker Valley area races Nov. 7. Here are the winners, according to complete but unofficial returns from the Allegheny County Elections Division. Edgeworth council Republican incumbent Elizabeth Genter was the top vote getter in a four-candidate race for three...
Rosselli elected to replace longtime magistrate Ford on Leetsdale area bench
Democrat Giuseppe Rosselli has been elected as the new Leetsdale area magistrate, according to complete but unofficial returns from the Allegheny County Elections Division. Rosselli earned 5,737 votes and Republican challenger Joseph Bellissimo received 5,253 votes in a two-candidate race for the six-year judicial seat. There were eight write-in votes....
1 Indiana Township supervisor race tied, the other too close to call
Only two votes separate the winner and loser in one Indiana Township supervisor’s race, and another race ended in a tie, according to complete but unofficial returns from the Allegheny County Elections Division for the Nov. 7 General Election. The District 1 race for a four-year seat ended with Republican...
Aspinwall Council to have 2 incumbents replaced by political newcomers; 1 incumbent retains seat
A political newcomer was the top vote-getter and a council president was dethroned in Aspinwall, according to complete but unofficial returns for the Nov. 7 general election from the Allegheny County Elections Division. Louis Curcio Jr., a registered Democrat who did not succeed in earning his party’s nomination in the...
Edgeworth Council has 4 candidates seeking 3 seats
Editor’s note: The Sewickley Herald is featuring candidate interviews in contested municipal and school board races only. Four candidates seek three four-year seats on Edgeworth council, according to the Allegheny County Office of Elections unofficial candidate list. Republican incumbent and current council Vice President David Aloe and fellow Republican incumbents...
Volunteer search party being formed Sunday to find missing Springdale man
A search party is being formed to help locate a Springdale man who has been missing since Monday. Volunteers are wanted at 10 a.m. Sunday at Pittsburgh Syria Shrine Center at 1877 Shriners Way in Harmar. The goal is to locate Sean Dugan, who was reported missing by Springdale police...
Outgoing Quaker Valley School Board members honored for their years of service
Pennsylvania School Boards Association officials recently honored two Quaker Valley school directors for their years of service. Board vice president Marna Blackmer and board treasurer Jeffrey Watters were given certificates adding them to the PSBA Honor Roll of School Board Service on Oct. 30. Blackmer has served on the board...
Leet Civil Service commissioners uphold termination of former police chief, deny appeal
Former Leet Police Chief Michael Molinaro was rightfully fired for falsifying documents, insubordination and other actions, according to the township civil service commission. The three-person panel unanimously voted Nov. 1 to deny Molinaro’s termination appeal. None of the nearly 30 people in the audience spoke during the two public comment...
Pittsburgh Police seek public assistance in locating missing, at-risk teen
Pittsburgh police are seeking the public’s help in finding a missing teenager who they say is at risk. Twyla Hamilton, 17, was last seen Oct. 29 along Fleury Street in the city’s Homewood neighborhood, Public Safety spokeswoman Emily Bourne reported Wednesday. She stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 220...
Sharpsburg preliminary budget has no tax hike
Sharpsburg residents should not expect to pay more in taxes as part of next year’s budget. The borough’s preliminary spending plan for 2024 contains no tax hike or cuts to services. Borough sewer rates are also expected to remain stagnant. The property tax rate for the 2023 tax year spiked...
Quaker Valley School District holds public hearing for proposed $105 million high school project
A proposed Quaker Valley High School project has moved one step closer to fruition. School district officials hosted an Act 34 hearing at the current school, 625 Beaver St. on Oct. 26. The hearing is a state requirement on any major construction plans such as new buildings or significant renovations....
Search for Springdale man missing to continue
A search for a missing Springdale man is expected to resume Wednesday morning after an extensive search Tuesday was unsuccessful. Sean Dugan, 58, was reported missing by borough police Monday. He is described as a white man with short hair and a goatee. Harmar police Chief Jason Domaratz said Dugan’s...
New playground equipment installed in Aspinwall park
Imagination will get a workout at Fireman’s Memorial Park in Aspinwall now that the borough has installed new playground equipment there. Kids can race to an imaginary fire or play house using two new pieces. Other new equipment includes two spring-based rocking rides and a three-bay swing. Borough Manager Melissa...
Quaker Valley Middle School students prepare to bring ‘Annie Jr.’ to the stage
Quaker Valley seventh grader Skylar Egbert bets her bottom dollar that the middle school’s upcoming performance of “Annie Jr.” will be a memorable one. “We have a live dog and have a lot of amazing people in our cast, really focused people, kind people as well,” said Skylar, who plays...
Quaker Valley School Board approves new 5-year deal with assistant superintendent
Quaker Valley School Board members approved a five-year deal with the district’s assistant superintendent. Andrew Surloff rose through the ranks from a teaching internship to the second highest administrator of the schools serving Sewickley, Leetsdale and surrounding communities. School directors unanimously voted Oct. 30 to keep Surloff around into the...
Gateway School District schools placed on lockdown as police nab Clairton man
Several Gateway School District schools were placed on lockdown Monday morning as Monroeville police chased down a wanted man. Police Chief Doug Cole said officers responded to a domestic incident around 10:25 a.m. at the Cambridge Square Apartments. Officers identified Leonard Robinson III, 22, of Clairton, as part of the...
Aspinwall man has a real gourd time giving back to Pittsburgh area charity
An Aspinwall man who started raising funds for a local charity using a giant pumpkin display years ago still has a gourd time giving back more than a decade later. Joel Keefer, 72, is in his 11th season collecting for WTAE’s Project Bundle-Up. The program is a partnership with the...
Woman warned about trespassing along railroad bridge over the Allegheny River in Harmar
A Brookville woman caused a bit of a commotion Friday evening when she was found hiking along a railroad bridge spanning the Allegheny River in Harmar. Township police Lt. Otto Gaal said officers received a call shortly after 5:30 p.m. from a motorist along the Turnpike about a person making...
Trick-or-treaters get early start on candy collection at the Verona Farmers Market
Dozens of families from multiple communities flocked to Verona for its third annual Trunk-or-Treat event. The Halloween-themed activity was part of the Verona Farmers Market at Railroad Park Oct. 26. Borough police and fire departments, along with local organizations such as the Lower Valley Athletic Foundation participated. There were multiple...
Volunteers needed to help with environmental efforts during Sewickley’s Light Up Night
Volunteers are needed to make Sewickley’s Light Up Night celebration environmentally friendly. The holiday event is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1. Festivities are planned for 5-9 p.m. along Broad, Beaver and Walnut streets. More than 10,000 people attended last year’s Light Up Night. Such a crowd can produce a lot...
Quaker Valley School District officials, teachers continue contract negotiations
The Quaker Valley teachers’ union and school district officials are inching closer toward a new contract. The previous four-year deal with the 165-member Quaker Valley Education Association union expired June 30. The negotiations teams met Oct. 25. It was unclear how talks progressed. However, officials from both sides of the...
Fire that destroyed Eiler’s Hardware in Verona, displacing 5 people is not suspicious, fire marshal says
Five people are displaced and a longstanding Verona business was destroyed as a result of a fire Wednesday evening. Smoke and flames began to billow from the basement of the Masonic Building, a three-story structure along the 300 block of Center Avenue around 6:15 p.m., according to Verona fire Chief...
Fox Chapel Police Department, Foxwall EMS host pumpkin-themed events at stations
Fox Chapel Police Department and Foxwall EMS each hosted pumpkin-themed events. Police officers transformed their station at 401 Fox Chapel Road into a pumpkin patch with about 90 children painting pumpkins on Oct. 21. There were other crafts and a costume contest. Children received glow sticks and glowing wrist bands...
Police: Man shot in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood
A man was hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in Pittsburgh’s Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood Tuesday. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said officers were dispatched to the intersection of Geyer and Shadeland avenues for two ShotSpotter alerts. Eight rounds reportedly were fired. Police found a man in the area of Schimmer...
