Mike Jones, Patch Staff

After graduating from West Virginia University in 2005, I spent five years writing for newspapers in Charleston, W.Va., Washington, Pa., and Pittsburgh before joining Patch.com. I grew up in Mt. Lebanon and currently reside in the Bridgeville area, so Western Pennsylvania has been home to me for most of my life.

In September 2005, less than a month after beginning my first job as a professional newspaper reporter, the Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail sent me with the West Virginia Air Guard's 130th Airlift Wing to the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast to report on the evacuations and recovery efforts in New Orleans. My series of reports following Hurricane Katrina earned me a West Virginia Press Association award for best-written news stories in the state. While in Charleston, I also covered crime and wrote numerous feature stories.

After moving to the Washington (Pa.) Observer-Reporter in late 2006, I covered municipal government, crime and energy issues, including the construction of a coal-refuse power plant near Imperial, Pa., and a proposed high-voltage power line through Washington and Greene counties.

Last year, I began working as a general assignment freelance reporter for Trib Total Media, covering local government and school board meetings for the second largest print news organization in Western Pennsylvania.

Now, I am excited to continue my journalism career by bringing interesting stories and important news items to residents living in the Chartiers Valley area.

<strong>Local Hot-Button Issues: </strong>Chartiers Valley is made up of four unique municipalities that each offer sprawling neighborhoods, bustling business districts and diverse recreation activities. Bridgeville, Collier Township, Heidelberg and Scott Township are tied together by the Chartiers Creek, which begins in Washington County and terminates at the Ohio River in McKees Rocks, Pa.<b><br></b>