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>
You better bundle up this week as bitterly cold temperatures are expected to move into Pittsburgh. There is also a chance of snow Monday and Tuesday in the South Hills.
Garbage pick-up will not be affected this week by the Martin Luther King holiday.
Check out these five homes in Scott, Mt. Lebanon, South Fayette and North Fayette that will have open houses on Sunday, Jan. 20.
Saturday is your last chance to sign up your son or daughter for baseball and softball in Bridgeville. Any child who signs up will receive a complimentary TPX bat bag!
Scott Township set its new tax millage rate last month, but could decrease it more in a few months when more accurate assessment numbers come in.
The former Ford dealership along Route 19 in McMurray is finally being demolished to make way for Giant Eagle Express store.
The former dealership along Route 19 in Peters Township is finally coming down.
Find out how to register your child for kindergarten at Chartiers Valley next year.
Collier Township has agreed to provide “school resource officers” for the Chartiers Valley middle/high school and primary campuses. Find out when they could being walking the halls of the schools.
Noblestown Road in Collier Township is closed after a tractor-trailer trying to make a sharp turn at the "horseshoe bend" crashed and became lodged on a guardrail.
Heidelberg lowered its tax millage rate from 8.5 mills to 6.95 mills, although that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be paying less taxes in 2013.
Five people facing a range of drug charges during separate arrests, including possession with intent to deliver, are heading to trial on the charges. Read about that and other preliminary hearing decisions this past week.
Some lottery retailers are unsure of what the future holds, while Democratic State Sen. Matt Smith calls the decision to hire a British-based company to run the Pennsylvania Lottery a “risky scheme.”
Some lottery retailers are unsure of what the future holds, while Democratic State Sen. Matt Smith calls the decision to hire a British-based company to run the Pennsylvania Lottery a “risky scheme.”
The first-term Democratic state senator called the decision to hire a British-based company to run the Pennsylvania Lottery a 'risky scheme' and questioned the motivation of Gov. Tom Corbett.
Meteorologists are tracking a small snowstorm coming into western Pennsylvania that will bring about an inch of snow to the South Hills by Wednesday morning.
A 67-year-old woman faces drunken driving charges after police said she crashed into a parked car in Bridgeville and then left the scene. Read about that and other crime news in the weekly Bridgeville police blotter.
See what you’ll pay in township property taxes this year after the Allegheny County reassessment.
The first-term Democratic state senator called the decision to hire a British-based company to run the Pennsylvania Lottery a “risky scheme” and questioned the motivation of Gov. Tom Corbett.
The first-term Democratic state senator called the decision to hire a British-based company to run the Pennsylvania Lottery a “risky scheme” and questioned the motivation of Gov. Tom Corbett.