DORMONT (KDKA) — Greg Cherico says he’s not sure what to do next to get the water back on in his Dormont bridal shop.
Eight days ago was the last time he had running water.
Cherico says after he called Pennsylvania American Water Company, crews told him they’d need to bring a welder in to fix the issue.
He was told it would be done that day, but no one’s been back since and dozens of calls later, Cherico says he can’t get the issue fixed.
“Things happen and I totally understand that but when you’re calling you water company and every phone call from every person is a different story,” Cherico said. “Eight days without running water. I could see if there was a hurricane or if we had a major disaster, but what’s the problem?”
Cherico even paid a plumber to come in, but was told only the water company could fix the frozen pipes because they’re outside of the building. It’s created quite an issue, not only for brides, but also for Anne Gregory’s staff who’ve been using bottled water to wash their hands and going across the street to use the bathroom.
“We are a couture bridal salon and when you have to send your client away because they can’t wash their hands or flush a toilet it’s embarrassing, it’s frustrating,” Cherico said.
Pennsylvania American Water Company said that the number of service calls skyrocketed during last week’s deep freeze and that “non-emergency” issues got pushed to the bottom of the list.
A spokeswomen from Pennsylvania American Water Company says that once the shop reopens, they’ll fix the problem.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – An Arlington man and his girlfriend are accused of beating a mentally handicapped man, when they were supposed to be his caretakers.
The 25-year-old man says he never felt safe in his own home.
He was the victim of years of abuse, including fractures to the skull, arms and wrists, as well as cuts and bruises.
And it all allegedly happened at the hands of his grandfather – Jimmie Peterson and his girlfriend Michelle Thompson.
One person, who did not want to be identified, had concerns and ultimately called police.
“This has been for years and I’ve been here six years now,” the person said. “How long have they been abusing this boy? But it had to be a long time.”
The couple admitted pushing the young man down the basement steps, taping him to a chair and beating him with baseball bats a couple of times a month.
They also forced him out of the house and withheld food as punishment.
“I also seen him eating out of the garbage, neighbors would feed him and give him water,” the person said.
“Never eating – sometimes I would see him and he would look … see him and look like he really needs help,” they added.
It was early December when the young man was pushed out of a moving car and decided not to return home. He was picked up by police, who took him to the hospital and he has since been moved to a group home.
“They didn’t hit him in areas of his body where he would sustain life threatening injuries and we attribute that to the fact that they were cashing his social security checks,” said Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala. “So if the kid dies, you know you don’t get any more checks.”
The young man has since been moved to a group home.
Peterson and Thompson face multiple charges, including reckless endangerment, aggravated assault and neglect of a dependent person.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – For the next few months, a young man from Pittsburgh will be taking a long, long walk.
Ian Cummins has just started it – setting out from Virginia Beach, Virginia, headed west. He doesn’t intend to stop walking until he reaches San Francisco.
What could drive someone to undertake such a monumental journey? For Ian, 22, it’s a profound sense of loss combined with a profound desire to help others.
Before he set off on his mission, we spoke at his home in Dormont as he was making sure he had everything he might need for the coast-to-coast hike.
“I could probably spend another year preparing for something like this,” Ian says. “But I would just drive myself crazy.”
He expects the walk will take five to eight months – leaving the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in March, arriving on the shores of the Pacific sometime between August and October.
He’s taken long practice hikes – breaking in his hiking shoes, getting comfortable with his backpack and getting mentally set. It’s clear he’s given the mission lots of careful consideration.
For starters, “I bought myself a pair of waterproof pants,” he says, looking over the gear arrayed on his dining room table. Plus “an aluminum cookware set… a water filtration unit… nutrition bars… rain jacket, umbrella”… not to mention a first-aid kid (complete with a snakebite kit and EpiPens) and a solar-powered battery charger for his phone and tablet.
And he’s paying especially close attention to his footwear, packing a generous supply of socks and foot care products.
“That was the number one thing people were telling me,” he says. “You’ve got to take care of your feet”
And he knows that not everyone – and everything – he encounters along the route will be friendly. That’s why he’ll be packing bear spray.
“If it works against a bear, if somebody does have sinister intentions – which I’m really hoping that they don’t – this’ll be what I use,” Ian says.
He plans to walk from Virginia to Kansas with a 43-pound pack on his back – camping where he can, splurging on the occasional motel. In Kansas, he plans to trade the pack for a cart. He’ll load it up with enough drinking water to make it through the mountains and the desert.
The prepping turned into a full time job. But until a few months ago, Ian was working as an ICU nurse at UPMC Mercy Hospital.
“Being in the ICU for about a year has taught me so much about what I need to do to survive,” he says.
Ian left that job to give this mission his all. And it’s given him what he so badly needed: a purpose.
“I felt, what’s the point of living, what’s the point of staying here on earth when he’s gone?”
It was last November when Ian lost his younger brother – his only sibling – Ryan, 20, to suicide.
Ryan Cummins had been a brilliant kid. At 14, he built a computer from scratch. But in his high school years he began describing feelings of anxiety and gloom. He’d eventually be diagnosed with depression and ADD; one doctor said he might have bipolar disorder.
Medication and therapy help many patients. But Ian says for whatever reason, Ryan didn’t get better.
“We tried with what we had and it failed,” says Ian. “Why did it fail? It’s because we don’t know enough about it. We have a lot of research, we have a lot of ways to treat mental illness, but I don’t think we have enough.”
Ian will walk to change that.
On his website, he says he’s out to spark discussion and minimize fear, so that “those who suffer will not feel ashamed of their struggle, but be able to relate with how Ryan felt and come forward to share their feelings so we may better understand the reality of mental illness, what causes it, and how we can treat it.”
He says, “I want to use Ryan’s story, I want to use how Ryan was feeling to hopefully bring the people who are still here – who are still struggling – out into the open.”
With whatever attention his walk receives Ian hopes to advance his cause: opening up lines of communication about mental illness, ending any stigma surrounding it. And he hopes to tell others – as he wishes he could again tell his brother – you’re not a burden. There is support. There is understanding. And there is love.
Says Ian, “My dad always says, Ryan, you weren’t a burden when you were here. We knew that you were struggling. The burden is now. The burden is that you’re gone and there’s nothing that we could have done.
“If he’s listening right now, I’m not angry. I just wish – I hope – that down the road, people who are struggling like you can get the treatment that they need. The right treatment. The treatment that’s going to help them.”
Ian plans to chronicle his journey at IanWalksAmerica.com. And if you click the “donate” tab, your gift will go to NAMI – the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Southwestern Pennsylvania chapter.
KDKA-TV News will keep you updated on Ian’s journey.
DORMONT (KDKA) – Two firefighters were injured while battling a four-alarm fire in Dormont Thursday morning.
According to officials at the scene, the fire started around 10:15 a.m. in the 2800-block of Crosby Avenue.
There was a significant fire inside the three-story home when firefighters arrived.
Two Mount Lebanon firefighters were injured when they fell through the second floor onto the first floor. The pair managed to grab onto floor joists as they were falling.
“One appears to be minor, but from what I understand, I was told there might be some rib injuries on the other fireman,” said Dormont Mayor Phil Ross.
Both are expected to be okay.
All firefighters were evacuated after that and heads counted. The floors were so spongy, one firefighter told KDKA he could feel them bouncing under his feet in the attic.
“When we saw the roof was sagging, we didn’t want to send any other crews interior, so we backed out,” said Assistant Chief Bryan Taylor, of the Dormont Fire Department.
There were no other reports of injuries.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
The owners, Bill and Melissa Michaels, put more than three years of sweat equity into remodeling their home. They were just about done when it was all was going up in smoke.
“It’s horrible,” said Leigh Fiumara, a witness. “You feel for these people, you really do. My heart just breaks for them.”
It took 13 fire companies and three hours before the fire was under control.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – It’s been three months since a young man from Dormont set off – from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia – on a hike. A hike so long he gave it a name: Ian Walks America.
Ian Cummins is walking coast to coast to memorialize his brother and raise awareness of mental health issues. This past week he reached a milestone — the halfway point.
Not much happens in Sylvia, Kansas – population 218. But Ian was savoring his arrival in the tiny town that most people zoom through at 65 miles an hour. He’s midway to the Pacific Ocean.
“It’s pretty amazing, you know, starting in the Appalachians, in the cold,” he says.
The walk became Ian’s way of dealing with the profound loss and letting others know that they don’t have to struggle alone. His walk is raising money for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Each night – often in a motel room paid for by strangers he meets along the way – he chronicles his journey on his blog, updates his social media and takes stock of his supplies.
Digging into a bag of makeshift trail mix – a medley of chocolate and nuts – he declares it a “gross mess.”
One thing he’s learned about walking in the cold in March: It’s easier to keep your food fresh than it is in Kansas in June. Now, heat is a concern, as is making certain he’s packed sufficient resources.
Places to re-stock come along much less frequently out here.
For the homestretch, Ian will have some much appreciated company on his journey. He’s being joined by Nick Rodgers and Jake Lusardi – his brother, Ryan’s two best friends from back in Dormont.
“They’re grieving and coping with the loss of Ryan just as much as I, my family, and so many other people who knew him,” says Ian.
Together, the three hikers will tackle the Rocky Mountains and walk to San Francisco – only another 1,600 or so miles.
Ian says it’s wonderful to have their companionship, but he says all along he’s felt support from those in Pittsburgh – those who love him, those who worry about him and those who are cheering him on.
Says Ian, “No matter how many miles I put into this and no matter how much farther away I get, I still feel like everybody back home is walking with me every single day.”
Mount Lebanon native Joe Manganiello is screening a new documentary here in Pittsburgh tonight.
The actor who starred in “True Blood” and “Magic Mike” and his brother made the documentary about “LaBare Dallas.”
“LaBare Dallas” is billed as the most popular male strip club in the world.
The film is an inside look at the history and culture of the club.
Tonight’s screening is at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the screening is at 7 p.m.
Only 100 tickets will be sold for the screening, they cost $50 each. That ticket includes popcorn and a drink, as well as entrance to an after-party at “Ivy Pittsburgh” in the Strip District.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A huge Hollywood star is back home in Pittsburgh.
You might know him from “True Blood” or “Magic Mike.”
Joe Manganiello is in town this weekend to screen a new documentary that he and his brother created. Proceeds from the event will help raise money for two historic Pittsburgh movie theaters.
KDKA’s Kimberly Gill Reports:
Manganiello, a Mount Lebanon native turned Hollywood star, is back home to walk the red carpet at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont.
He’ll be showing a screening of a new documentary he created with his brother, Nick.
The film is a behind-the-scenes look at the world’s most popular male strip club “La Bare” in Dallas, Texas.
“We’ve been kind of pseudo working together our whole lives, growing up together, whether it was him making movies or us playing role-playing games, so it is wonderful that we can potentially make money now,” said Nick.
The money raised from Friday’s event will help the Denis Theatre in Mount Lebanon reopen, and the Hollywood Theater in Dormont upgrade its projection system to digital.
The goal is to raise $75,000.
KDKA’s Christine D’Antonio Reports from the Screening:
“It’s a huge challenge. In fact, there are small town neighborhood cinemas like the Hollywood and the Denis that have closed around the country in the past five years cause of this switch. A lot of theaters just can’t afford to make the switch,” said Chad Hunter, the executive director of the Hollywood Theater.
The theater’s history dates back to the 1920s during the times of silent film.
The Manganiello brothers say they have a lot of fond memories watching movies at both the Hollywood and Denis theaters, which is why they wanted to come back here for the screening.
Watch the full interview with Joe and his brother here:
The film marks Joe Manganiello’s first time directing a major motion picture.
“You know, I come from Carnegie Mellon; I come from classical theater background. Nick has a business background. We both are yin and yang in that way,” said Joe. “There’s a bit of businessman in me. There’s an artist in him. And we have the same taste. It is really complimentary in the perfect way.”
“It will be a great fundraiser and I think it will bring some good attention to both the Hollywood and Denis Theater and to Dormont,” added Hunter.
The private screening is Friday at 7 p.m. at the Hollywood Theater in Dormont. The show is sold out. But there will be two more screenings this weekend – on Saturday at 9:15 p.m. and on Sunday at 2 p.m. And tickets are still available for those screenings.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Allegheny County Health Department officials are warning residents of Spring Hill and Dormont after animals were found with rabies.
In Spring Hill, some residents say they have the stray cat blues.
“Usually when we get in our cars, they’re like walking, you know, just walking around,” said Jailyn Andrews.
It turns out one of those stray cats was rabid. It’s been recovered and warning signs have been posted in the neighborhood.
“There was only one?” asked one resident. “’Cause I know there was a lot out here. That’s pretty scary.”
Dormont Park was bustling with such beautiful weather, and filled with children. That’s why health officials are trying to track down children seen playing with baby raccoons in a hollowed out tree in the park.
They could have been exposed to rabies, which has some parents and grandparents alarmed.
“Well, definitely, yes,” said Denise Doolie of Dormont. “I mean, got all the kids running around. Of course, I mean it’s rabies. They need to take care of it, that’s for sure.”
The Allegheny County Health Department says if you think you’ve been exposed to rabies, contact the department right away.
They say you should avoid contact with wild or stray animals – and make sure your pet gets a rabies vaccine.
So far this year, there have been seven rabid animals reported in Allegheny County. Last year there were 18.
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Health officials are warning Oakmont residents of a possible rabies risk.
Most bats do not have rabies. They eat bugs and mind their own business.
But bats are the most common transmitter of the potentially fatal disease to humans.
On Aug. 8, at Riverside Park in Oakmont, the body of a bat was found near the bleachers of the Third Street Baseball Field.
“In a place that’s so populated, I was kind of surprised to hear about it,” said Melissa Havran.
Havran often runs in the park with her son, Michael, in his baby jogger.
“I run four to six times a week down here,” she said. “So it’s a little scary, especially with all the kids playing in the park.”
Once that suspect bat was discovered, no chances were taken. The carcass was sent to the Allegheny County Health Department for testing.
“We found that there was rabies virus antigen present,” says Dr. Robert Wadowsky, the director of the Public Health Department laboratory.
This is was the 11th reported rabies case in the county this year. Others affected have been cats, raccoons and groundhogs.
“The first step that is done is the brain material is removed,” said Dr. Wadowsky.
A section of the Oakmont bat’s brain clearly shows the rabies virus in apple-green speckles scattered throughout.
Rabies is nothing to fool with, says Dr. Wadowsky.
“Once the infection begins to proceed without treatment, it’s very difficult – almost impossible – to control a fatal outcome from occurring,” he says.
The Health Department posted a sign on the back stop at the field warning anyone who believes that they, or their pets, came in contact with the infected bat, to call them right away.
Earlier this month, health officials also warned residents of Spring Hill after a rabid cat was found in the neighborhood.
A family of raccoons also prompted concern in Dormont after some children were seen playing with the baby raccoons.
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DORMONT (KDKA)- You can help your pooch cool off this Labor Day by taking a dip in the Dormont Pool.
The annual “Doggy Dip” starts at 4:00 p.m. today. Small Dog Session runs from 4:00-5:00 p.m. An All Dog Session will be held from 5:15-6:30 p.m. And there is a session for Large Dogs, it will beheld from 6:45-8:00 p.m.
The Dormont Pool is in the 1800 block of Dormont Avenue.
Rules for Dog Swim
Online Pre- Registration cost $25 per dog per session
Same Day Registration cost $35 per dog per session (If session
hasn’t maxed out)
One dog per one human owner
Each dog must have a separate registration form filled out
Your dog may be released from their leash upon entering the pool
deck area, but your dog must remain under your control at all times.
DOG GUARDS will be on deck to maintain control. If dog seems out
of control a leash will be required for your dog, or you will be asked
to remove your dog from the pool area
Please do not use the “big blue” water slide
Be courteous to other guests and clean up your dog’s “accidents”
Female dogs in season are not allowed
Do not bring dogs with health issues that may cause them harm
Children under 16 must have adult supervision
Humans are not allowed in the pool in water above their knees
Do not bring outside food or drinks (pet or human) in the pool area
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Ian Cummins, who completed his walk across America in memory of his brother, is now back home in Dormont.
And Tuesday, he was honored in his own community for bringing his message of hope to so many others.
“Ian basically gave me a tour of America,” said State Rep. Dan Miller.
Miller was one of many following Cummins on Facebook and through blogs as he walked through 10 states on a mission, sharing the story of his 20-year-old brother Ryan, who took his own life last November after battling chronic depression for years.
Ian has already logged more miles and memories than most 23-year-olds.
Beginning in March in Virginia Beach with the Atlantic at his back, he spent six months crossign the country, eventually walking across the Golden Gate Bridge, scattering Ryans ashes and finally seeing the Pacific surf.
Along the road, hundreds of strangers became friends, many who could identify with Ian’s purpose of shining light on the darnkess surrounding mental illness.
Ian told those gathered in Mt. Lebanon, “When folks who struggle with mental illness are able to come forward and openly share their stories without judgement, without criticism, that’s how we spread awareness.”
During his walk, Ian raised nearly $10,000 for the National Alliance On Mental Illness.
“To have someone like Ian take it upon himself to walk across the county and take that message to whomever he met along the way takes our work to a whole new level,” said Chris Michaelsd of NAMI.
Jake Lusardi, also of Dormont and a life-long friend of Ryan’s, kept Ian company from Kansas onward.
Then, with Jim and Kathryn Cummins looking on, Rep. Miller presented Ian with a special honor from the state of Pennsylvania.
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DORMONT (KDKA) – Police are looking for a man in connection with three robberies at local Eat’n Park restaurants.
Police say a man struck the Eat’n Park on West Liberty Avenue in Dormont first around 3:52 p.m. Wednesday.
Police are calling it a brazen attempt, considering it happened in broad daylight and the restaurant was filled with people.
“I’ve been here 28 years and we’ve had robberies before. Typically, they’re later at night. It’s unusual for that time of day,” Sgt. James Burke with Dormont Police said.
Police said the man came into the restaurant with a black hoodie and black bandana over his face with a white skull cap and red lips.
“He’s approaching the register with hands in his pockets. At that time, three managers in the store see him and become alarmed and another manager starts yelling, ‘Register, register,’ and they converge towards the register,” Sgt. Burke said.
It is unclear if the man was armed. Police say he took off and was last seen getting into either a gold Toyota or Mazda.
Later in the day, police say a man fitting the same physical description hit the Eat’n Park at Edgewood Towne Center around 9:08 p.m. They say the man threatened to shoot, but never showed a firearm. He got away with about $800.
A third robbery took place at the Eat’n Park in North Versailles on Route 30 around 9:24 p.m. No one was in the restaurant at the time.
The suspect is described as being an African-American male standing about 5-feet-6-inches tall and weighing about 107 pounds.
If you have any information, you’re being asked to call police.
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Has the “cell phone bank robber” struck again?
A robber in Bethel Park Monday afternoon used the same tactic seen in two previous robberies in the South Hills.
In all the cases, he appears to be talking on the phone during the robbery.
The latest robbery was at the PNC Bank branch on Library Road.
Police released security photos that appear to show a man with a phone to his ear.
Just as in previous cases, he handed the teller a note and never showed a weapon.
Police describe him as about 5 foot 6 inches tall, with a slender build and a beard. He wore a brown and white baseball cap, sunglasses, a blue T-shirt over a long sleeve shirt, dark sweatpants and white tennis shoes.
On Dec. 1, someone robbed the First Commonwealth Bank in Dormont. The robber there wore a ball cap and handed the teller a note.
“The entire time he was in the bank, he was holding a cellphone to his ear, as if was talking on this cellphone,” said Det. Steve Dish from Allegheny County Police.
Then about a week later, the First National Bank in Castle Shannon was robbed. And once again, the robber had his cellphone to his ear.
Anyone with information about the Bethel Park robbery may call 412 833-2000.
Anyone with information about the Dormont or Castle Shannon robberies is asked to call Pittsburgh Crimestoppers at 412 255-8477.
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A string of bank robberies in the South Hills are all connected, according to police.
The FBI, coordinating with other police agencies in Allegheny County, is trying to find a bank robber who just won’t put down his cell phone.
Surveillance images have been released of the man, who FBI agents say, walks in to a bank, appearing to have a phone conversation.
“Comes in with a baseball hat on. Always on that cell phone. Sort of lingers around the bank a little bit,” FBI Special Agent Michael Brokos said.
Pacing, until he casually walks up to the counter and slips a note to the teller and never putting the phone down.
“What we think is he’s just gauging it. Trying not to be noticed. It keeps his head down. It’s his thing not to be noticed,” Brokos said.
A PNC, a First National Bank and a First Commonwealth Bank were robbed in the South Hills in recent weeks.
The latest happened on Monday and the FBI confirmed today that the same man, being dubbed the “cell phone bank robber,” is responsible.
“Right now, we believe there are three connected. The one in Dormont, Castle Shannon and the one last night in Bethel Park,” Brokos said.
The FBI said they’re working with good surveillance images and also believe the suspect is getting away by car after parking the vehicle some distance away.
“We believe he is in a vehicle. In the robbery last night, he ran up the hill to the Stop and Shop and we believe he took off in a vehicle there,” Brokos said.
FBI agents said the robber has not threatened violence, but while he’s still on the loose, it remains a concern.
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OAKMONT (KDKA) — When the Oaks Theater of Oakmont opened its doors in 1938, the seats were immediately packed with customers.
But decades later, competition from suburban multiplexes marked the end of many single-screen theaters. Unless they could adapt to the times.
Co-owners Joe Wichryk and Tony Serrao have managed a massive makeover of the Oaks, and a well-stocked bar is only part of it.
At the rear of the theater, Wichryk says, “Basically, what we have here is an 800-square-foot platform that we leveled off in the theater, so we could bring cabaret-style seating in.”
A seat at a table is just a couple bucks more than one of the 355 traditional seats. Today’s Oaks Theater is a mix of old, and new.
“There’s the stage up front which you can see there,” the co-owner adds. “We’re concentrating on mainly cult and classic films. But we wanted to open up to a variety of entertainment.”
It seems to be a trend. The century-old Strand Theater in Zelienople is successfully following the same formula, as is the newly-renovated Manor in Squirrel Hill. Dormont’s Hollywood Theater, once left for dead, has regained prominence as a neighborhood destination.
The Denis Theater in nearby Mount Lebanon also has high hopes. The marquee came down years ago, but local citizens haven’t given up. A foundation has bought the building, and hopes to reopen it as a combination theater and community center.
As for the Oaks, Wichryk says Oakmont residents had a request regarding the sculptures on the walls.
“Don’t take the oak leaves away. Don’t touch the oak leaves. So we wanted to make sure we kept those,” said Wichryk.
Image may be NSFW.
