Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 77
Lower Burrell Cross on the Hill will continue to shine thanks to outpouring of support
All it took was a mention that the locally iconic Cross on the Hill needed repairs, and people across the country responded. “Donations are really rolling in,” said Karen Snair, executive director of the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches in Harrison, which owns the 34-foot landmark. “We’re overwhelmed by the...
Highlands will drain its pool, ship swimmers to Burrell, Valley
The leaking swimming pool at Highlands High School will be drained this week while district leaders consider long-term fixes that could cost up to $160,000. In the meantime, the swim team will get its laps in at Burrell and Valley school districts, which have offered to open their pools to...
Retired police officer Bob Lang wins Tarentum mayor’s race
Retired Tarentum police officer Bob Lang won the election for borough mayor. It took three days for the results to be posted by the Allegheny County Elections Bureau after a complication with one of the West Tarentum polling machines. The outcome was posted on the election website midday Friday. Lang...
Tarentum incumbents Homa, Kerr retain council seats
Tarentum residents in the 1st Ward will be represented by two familiar faces on council. Republican incumbents Lou Ann Homa and Ray Kerr were vying for two seats up for grabs, one a four-year term and the other a two-year term. Homa captured the four-year term, winning with 210 votes...
Highland Hose in Tarentum celebrates a pair of 50-year members
Highland Hose lifetime member Allen Simmers recalls hanging around the Tarentum fire station nearly every day as a young child. “They would take us kids to Pirates games and have Christmas parties, all kinds of stuff,” said Simmers, 72. “My dad was a member and I just grew up there.”...
‘She Kills Monsters’ at Shady Side Academy full of nostalgia, adventure
Shady Side Academy Performing Arts Chairman Dek Ingraham said he chose this year’s fall play as a celebration of the return to live theater at the Fox Chapel-based campus. “She Kills Monsters: Young Adventurer’s Edition,” is bold, theatrical, funny, heartbreaking — a little odd, Ingraham said. “This show helps us...
Victor in Tarentum mayor’s race still unclear
Tarentum mayoral candidates Carrie Fox and Bob Lang still were waiting midday Wednesday for Allegheny County to declare a winner in the borough’s top race, more than 18 hours after the polls closed. “I haven’t heard a word,” said Lang, who ran as a Republican candidate after securing a write-in...
Federal Street in Harrison gets new trees thanks to partnership with ATI, Western PA Conservancy
Jim Mazur grew up in the 1950s along Center Street in Natrona, just a block away from the former Penn Salt Manufacturing Co. and an accompanying row of Federal Street homes where his grandfather, the local justice of the peace, lived. The houses, about 20 of them, are long gone,...
Fox Chapel Area students bring ‘Anne of Green Gables’ to life
Fox Chapel Area senior Gabby Bell expects audiences will fall in love with the characters in this year’s school play, “Anne of Green Gables.” Curtains will rise at 7 p.m. Nov. 4-6 to tell the tale of a feisty teenager adopted by elderly siblings in turn-of-the-century Canada. Tickets cost $8...
Sharpsburg’s Roots of Faith, Pittsburgh International Airport partner for coat giveaway
Roots of Faith in Sharpsburg is partnering with the Pittsburgh International Airport to dole out winter coats that never quite made it to their intended destination. For the fourth consecutive year, the ministry has received an array of warm weather clothes left at the airport by travelers and other visitors....
‘Bad Hair Day’ Scarecrow wins top prize in Tarentum contest
After sprouting along the Tarentum business district the past several weeks, three wildly creative straw-stuffed figures have been crowned winners in this year’s Scarecrow Contest. First place went to “Bad Hair Day,” a creation by Hailey’s Hair Creations and Spa, along Fifth Avenue. With an armful of hair dryers, combs...
Lindsay Fraser unseats Tom Kish as Brackenridge mayor
Brackenridge residents cast a ballot for change on Tuesday, electing a new mayor for the first time in 12 years. Political newcomer Lindsay Fraser, who is not affiliated with any party, handily won the election against Democratic incumbent Thomas Kish by more than 30%, with a total of 275 votes...
Local veterans invited for free dinner, camaraderie at Sharpsburg VFW
Local veterans who served at any time and in any location are welcome to the Sharpsburg VFW for a free dinner on Sunday. “We don’t care where you live, where you served or for how long,” Post 709 Commander Pat Corcoran said. “This is veterans celebrating veterans. “We’d love to...
Faces of the Valley: Tarentum resident Christa Jones is using her voice to help others thrive
After years battling addiction and shunning attention, Christa Jones credits her recovery — and her family — for her transformation into a community activist. Jones, 43, of Tarentum works as an administrative supervisor at Allegheny Family Network, where she spends her days providing programs and education for parents of children...
Highlands Middle School expands Ram’s Den to help students with necessities
What began as a small stack of shirts and pants for clothing emergencies at Highlands Middle School will expand in November into a large-capacity Ram’s Den open to all students. The room will stock things from sweatpants to toothpaste to canned food. “If a student is at school and has...
Bus driver fired after Pittsburgh student slept through stop, was found at bus garage
A bus driver with W.L. Roenigk Inc. was fired Thursday after a Pittsburgh Public Schools student was found at the company’s bus garage in McKees Rocks after sleeping through her stop. Parents of the child, a student at Pittsburgh Beechwood PreK-5, reported her missing when she didn’t get off the...
Free diaper giveaway at PNC Park
A free diaper giveaway is being held outside PNC Park from 10 a.m. to noon Friday. It will be a drive-through event in the cul-de-sac on Mazeroski way, near the right-field gate. The event by Global Links and the Western PA Diaper Bank will serve up to 500 vehicles. Families...
Man faces charges after shooting at vehicle in Sharpsburg
A man turned himself into police Thursday after Sharpsburg surveillance video showed him firing two gunshots along Main Street, one hitting a passing car. Justin Craig faces charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment stemming from the Oct. 17 incident, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Police said Craig left...
Chartiers Valley student’s death at basketball practice triggers grief, donations
A 12-year-old student from Chartiers Valley School District died Wednesday after collapsing at basketball practice, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Jayson Kidd, of Bridgeville, collapsed during warm-ups at about 5 p.m. and was taken to a local hospital where he died. Kidd was a student at the...
Body of missing Ford City man found in Allegheny River lock
The body of a Ford City man missing since Sunday was discovered in the Allegheny River on Friday morning, according to the Armstrong County coroner. Todd Tremont, 59, was reported missing by family members, police said. Initial search efforts were focused along a Rails to Trails path near the Allegheny...
North Allegheny’s Carson Middle School boosts security after unclear, online threat
Students at Carson Middle School in North Allegheny School District saw extra security when they arrived to class Thursday after someone posted an online threat that was vague but still concerning to district officials. Officials were notified Wednesday of an online threat against a “CMS student,” Superintendent Melissa Friez told...
No one injured in fire that spread to several homes in Pittsburgh’s Perry South
Some residents of Kennedy Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Perry South section had to jump to safety after their homes caught fire early Thursday, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety officials. No one was injured in the fire that spread to at least three homes. The fire, which started in a two-story home...
Brackenridge homeless shelter clears zoning hurdle
The recommendation by Brackenridge Zoning Hearing Board for a former personal care home to operate as a homeless shelter is a step toward much-needed housing support in the Highlands School District, a former school board member said. “We need to lift people up when they are down,” said Misty Woody,...
2 Sharpsburg council members vie for mayor’s office
Sharpsburg voters will see two familiar faces on the ballot for mayor. Brittany Reno and Joe Simbari, both current council members, are competing for the office. The current mayor, Matthew Rudzki, is not running for re-election. Reno won the Democratic nomination in the May primary. Simbari got the Republican nomination...
Person injured in house fire in Wall Borough
One person was injured in a fire early Wednesday in Wall Borough, according to Allegheny County dispatchers. Emergency responders were alerted just before 8 a.m. to the fire at 617 Dawson St. Heavy flames were showing at the two-story home when firefighters arrived. Dispatchers said they did not know the...
