Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 54
Gift shop opens at Pittsburgh Brewing Co. site in East Deer
Barry Wagner of Brackenridge was hoping to score a case of fresh-brewed beer when he visited the newly opened Pittsburgh Brewing Co. gift shop. “I’ve been drinking Iron City since 1972,” Wagner said while perusing the T-shirts and tin signs at the site off Freeport Road in East Deer. “I...
Sharpsburg residents can have say in garbage collection cost increase
Sharpsburg residents will pay more for garbage collection in the new year, but they’ll have a say in how much bills will increase. Property owners are asked to complete an online survey to help council choose from several options in the Waste Management contract. The survey is available at...
Fawn lands $105,000 state grant toward Sun Mine Road slide repair
Fawn Secretary Pam Ponsart was happily surprised last week to hear the township would be receiving $105,000 toward a landslide repair. Fawn was among several groups awarded a grant through the state’s Commonwealth Financing Agency to target economic development projects in Allegheny County. Money will be used to help replace...
St. Joe’s takes home Sportsmanship Award from WPIAL summit
St. Joseph High School’s student-athletes show character on the court and field. Just ask the WPIAL. The group recently named the private Harrison high school as winner of the Sportsmanship Award at its 13th annual summit, hosted at the Heinz History Center and Sports Museum in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. “I...
Allegheny Valley Hospital to shift adult mental-health services to geriatric patients only
Adults in the Alle-Kiski Valley seeking mental health care no longer will be able to access in-patient services from Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. Beginning Monday, the facility along Carlisle Street will be shifted to provide expanded psychiatry services for geriatric patients only. “We are not closing the unit but...
Christ the Divine students deliver holiday cheer to Sharpsburg’s St. Vincent dePaul food pantry
Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy students and staff have much to be thankful for, and they were busy spreading the good cheer ahead of Thanksgiving. Students made their traditional pre-holiday trek to St. Vincent dePaul food pantry in Sharpsburg to donate an abundance of food. Student council members delivered...
Jitney passengers face gun charges following Hazelwood traffic stop
Two Hazelwood jitney passengers face gun charges following a traffic stop Monday by Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies. Dijuan Taylor, 21, and Preston Hemingway, 20, were among four passengers in a vehicle stopped for ignoring two stop signs just before 9 p.m. A news release from Sheriff Kevin Kraus’ office said...
Upgrades coming to Camp Guyasuta’s McGinnis Center
Leaders at Camp Guyasuta are eyeing renovations to the McGinnis Education Center, the massive dorm and conference facility at the entrance to the wooded grounds in O’Hara. The Boy Scout-run camp received word last week that it received a $100,000 state grant through the Gaming Economic Development Tourism Fund. Money...
West Mifflin Area administrators investigating weekend fight inside locked high school
West Mifflin Area Superintendent Jeffrey Soles said the district is investigating a video of what appears to be two students fighting last weekend inside the high school, which had been closed at the time. It was not clear how the students got inside the locked building. “The district will uphold...
Pittsburgh police safely locate missing teen
Pittsburgh police have safely located teen Jaquan Groomes-Smith. The 13-year-old was last seen Friday at Allegheny Traditional Academy when police issued an alert seeking help to locate him. Police posted an update Tuesday to social media that he has been found....
Thanksgiving detour: Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Bridge to close for Turkey Trot
Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Bridge will close to traffic for a short time on Thanksgiving Day to make way for more than 6,000 runners in the 32nd annual YMCA Turkey Trot. The bridge links the North Shore to Downtown at Seventh Street. It is scheduled to be closed from 7 to...
Pittsburgh police ask for help to find man last seen in early November
Pittsburgh police are seeking help from the public to locate a man last seen on Nov. 5. William “Billy” Garasich Jr, 30, is known to frequent Stanton Heights and Lawrenceville. He also hangs around The Waterworks shopping plaza near Aspinwall, according to police. He is described as 5-foot-6, 145 pounds,...
Suspect in Penn Hills homicide extradited to Pa. from Georgia
A man accused of fatally shooting a man at a Penn Hills gas station in September has been extradited to Pennsylvania, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Michael Wade, 36, was arrested earlier this month in Georgia and charged with homicide in connection with the death of Dante Jones. Wade...
Bitter cold weather gives way to sunshine; temps to hit 50s by Thanksgiving
Here’s something to be thankful for: The colder-than-normal weather will come to an end Monday in the Pittsburgh region with sunny skies warming temperatures into the low 40s. National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Modzelewski said there will still be some cold overnight lows, but the days will begin to heat...
Faces of the Valley: Natrona’s Patty Babinsack is a volunteer any group would relish
Natrona resident Patty Babinsack believes it takes work to build a better future. The 79-year-old is willing to do the heavy lifting. A lifelong resident of the small Harrison neighborhood along the Allegheny River, Babinsack has volunteered thousands of hours to making the Alle-Kiski Valley a region that boasts successful...
Gatto’s Harley-Davidson showroom set to open as watercraft hub in Tarentum
The Harleys have roared out of Gatto Cycle Shop along East Sixth Avenue in Tarentum, and the owners are transitioning the space to all things water-related to meet an increasing local demand. Jet skis and wave runners already are filling the Gatto Cycle Shop Marine Center, which is expected to...
Highlands Area Rotary Choral Festival makes return after 2-year covid hiatus
One of the high notes of the holiday season is back after a two-year covid-related break. The Highlands Area Rotary Club’s choral festival is set to hit the stage Wednesday, Nov. 30, at Highlands High School in Harrison. It features choirs from five districts: Burrell, Freeport Area, Highlands, Kiski Area...
Equus and PA CareerLink Alle-Kiski in New Kensington surpass 100th GED milestone
Diamond Stockfields was hit with family problems as a teen and decided that graduating from Valley High School wasn’t the path for her. Instead, she earned her GED through Equus and PA CareerLink Alle-Kiski. Now working as an EMT, she hopes to attend college in the spring. “I don’t think...
No injuries reported in New Kensington crash that closed Tarentum Bridge Road
A portion of Tarentum Bridge Road in New Kensington was closed for a short time Friday morning after an SUV flipped between Leechburg Road and Carl Avenue. No injuries were reported, according to New Kensington Fire Department No. 2. Emergency crews responded to the crash just after 7 a.m. near...
First-ever meatloaf dinner fundraiser a whopping success for Harrison Cub Scouts
Meatloaf dinners are paving the way for exciting Cub Scout activities in the new year. Pack 186, based out of Guardian Angels Parish in Harrison, hosted a fundraiser dinner Nov. 6 where more than 300 meals left the church kitchen. “It was the first time we attempted this type of...
Faith Lutheran Church in Harrison to celebrate 50th anniversary
A reluctant merger of two local churches in 1972 has led to a thriving congregation at Faith Lutheran Church in Harrison. Parishioners will mark the 50th anniversary Saturday, celebrating a unity that “accomplished many wonderful things,” longtime member Elaine Sakaluk said. “Now we’re like family,” said Marilyn Gilkey of Cabot....
Tarentum doubling earned income tax to compensate for budget shortfall; millage to remain the same
An updated tentative 2023 budget for Tarentum calls for an increase in the earned income tax from 0.5% to 1%. Borough Manager Dwight Boddorf blamed the increase on a projected $1.2 million general fund deficit. The overall proposed budget for next year of nearly $17 million assumes the borough will...
Pittsburgh’s rock royalty releases ‘A Very Yinzer Christmas’ to benefit people with autism
Legendary Steel City musicians will release a holiday album Friday that might be the ’Burgh-iest musical compilation to ever hit the airwaves. “A Very Yinzer Christmas” features holiday tracks by more than 25 Pittsburgh music icons, including Donnie Iris, The Skyliners, Johnny Angel & the Halos, Bill Deasy and Joe...
Sharpsburg sewer line project will bring minor disruptions for area residents
Sharpsburg residents in the area of 10th to 13th streets can expect slight water disruptions when a major sewer line project is scheduled in early December. Insight Pipe is expected to begin work Dec. 1 along Main Street. “The sewer line in that area needs to be relined,” Manager Christine...
Demand for Murphy Building in Tarentum shows renewed interest in business district
Demand for office suites at the near-century-old Murphy Building in Tarentum is outpacing available space. The large corner building that sat vacant for eight years is breathing new life into the borough’s business district, with offices on the first floor rented at capacity. Owner Dave Rankin has kicked off a...
