Valley News Dispatch category, Page 17
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...
Democratic slate sweeps Republican incumbents on Plum Council
Democrats carried the day in Plum, unseating incumbent Republicans to claim four seats on borough council. Unofficial results show Ryan Delaney as the top voter-getter with 14.5%, followed by James McBride with 13.9%, Raymond Rall with 13.2% and Phoebus Apollo with 12.8%. The Democratic sweep renders incumbents Paul Dern, Steve...
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...
Community Roundtable hopes to help people struggling with SNAP, LIHEAP benefits
Michael Eckert knows the struggle of relying on government assistance to stay warm and fed. The East Deer resident received benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) in previous years. “These programs didn’t just help my wife and I survive,”...
The Stroller, Nov. 5, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Pure Gold to headline...
Leechburg Area School Board retains 2 incumbents, adds two new members
The Leechburg Area School Board will be a mix of new and familiar faces this coming year. According to unofficial results from the election bureaus in Armstrong and Westmoreland counties, Darius Lovelace, 73, Candi Stewart, 68, Danielle Reinke, 44, and Janie Borsh Symons, 66, will be sworn in for four...
Deer Lakes School Board will have familiar, new faces come December
The Deer Lakes School Board will be a mix of familiar and new faces this December. According to Allegheny County Elections Division unofficial election results, incumbents Jeremy Love, 49, and Kristi Minnick, 55, both cross-filed, and Jonathan Majernik, 46, Democrat ballot, will be sworn back in this December. Newcomer Darlene...
Democrats take all 4 Plum School Board seats, defeat incumbent candidates
A slate of Democrats swept aside a Republican majority on Plum School Board, taking all four of the open seats. Unofficial results show Jill Klipa as the top vote-getter with 14.9%, followed by Adam Hill with 14%, Tiffany Hyde with 13.6% and Geter Sloan with 13%. Among the four victors,...
Incumbents hold onto Springdale Council seats as data center debate continues
Springdale voters elected a slate of four mostly incumbent Democrats to council as hearings for the massive proposed data center in the borough carry on. Among the four victors, three are incumbents. But Deborah Piontek — who rallied the most support — will be a new face on council. According...
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...
The Stroller, Nov. 4, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Entries sought for annual...
Victims in fatal Buffalo Township crash identified
Local authorities have identified the two people who died in a Buffalo Township crash on Saturday. Bonnie Grove, 78, died at the scene of the accident at the intersection of South Pike (Route 356) and Younkins roads. Douglas Frosch, 72, died several hours later after being airlifted to UPMC Presbyterian...
Effects of SNAP cuts are wide-reaching
Madison Shtur lined the shelves of her pay-what-you-can thrift store in Jeannette on Thursday, Oct. 30 with the latest shipment of groceries from the Westmoreland Food Bank. It wasn’t enough. A shipment from the food bank typically lasts about three weeks on Shtur’s shelves. But last week’s shipment lasted just...
Deer Lakes Lancer Foundation founders plan next steps in effort to augment funding
Deer Lakes School District has a brand new toddler. At least that’s how school board members Jeremy Love and Eric Bieniek see the new Deer Lakes Lancer Foundation. Love began researching how to start the foundation in March, when the board was holding budget discussions. “We were just trying to...
Road work on Route 28, Route 910 to force restrictions
Travelers along Route 28 will see single-lane restrictions Wednesday and Thursday near O’Hara. PennDOT said crews will be repairing digital signs on northbound lanes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Work will be done near O’Hara and Sharpsburg, weather permitting. On Wednesday, motorists will be affected in the areas from...
The Stroller, Nov. 3, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Sponsors needed for holiday...
Plum students plan to thank vets, educate community with Veterans Day events
At Plum School District’s upcoming Veterans Day celebrations, Kailey Burton hopes not only to thank current and former service members but impart some history to her peers. Burton is the group commander of Plum High School’s Air Force JROTC program. She and dozens of her fellow cadets have been planning...
Washington Township fire department’s auto parts swap meet offers place to find the needed and rare
If you’re looking for a cassette deck for a 1985 El Camino, you can’t just go to Walmart. That’s what Cal Younker’s son, Danny, was hoping to find when they went to the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Company’s fall auto parts swap meet Sunday. It was the first time they...
The Stroller, Nov. 2, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Used paperback books needed...
Grind Hard Conditioning empowers kids to grow on and off the field
When a spontaneous pick-up game of flag football in Brackenridge attracted 80 kids, Julius Johnson and Jonathan Butter were excited to imagine it growing into something more. “We enjoy working with the kids, showing them what hard work can do,” said Johnson, of Brackenridge. “We thought, ‘What more can we...
Concerns over Springdale data center proposal bring protesters out for 2nd time this week
For the second time in a week, residents of Springdale and beyond took to Pittsburgh Street to protest plans for the construction of a data center where a coal-fired power plant once stood. Around two dozen people carried signs and expressed thanks to drivers who honked their horns as they...
2 killed, 2 hurt in 3-vehicle crash on Route 356 in Buffalo Township
Two people died and two others were hurt Saturday afternoon in a three-vehicle crash in Buffalo Township, police Chief Tim Derringer said. The crash at South Pike (Route 356) and Younkins roads was reported about 2:50 p.m. The road was still closed as of 6:30 p.m. and was expected to...
Plum-based Knights of Columbus offers dozens of winter coats to local students
Plum’s local council of the Knights of Columbus has kept up its annual tradition of donating dozens of winter coats to local schools. This year, local K of C Treasurer Len Manganello said the organization offered 48 coats to Plum and Riverview schools as well as Holy Family Catholic School,...
Philips Respironics to lay off nearly 200 workers from Westmoreland locations
Dutch health technology giant Philips Respironics has notified state officials it plans to lay off nearly 200 people at three Westmoreland County locations beginning in early 2026. Philips issued a WARN notice to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, part of a move the company initially announced in June...
The Stroller, Nov. 1, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Nonprofit requesting donations for...
