Plum Advance Leader category, Page 29
Plum seniors cap careers at PIAA wrestling tournament
Mike Tongel wrestled at the PIAA Class AAA tournament as a senior in 1984. He went 4-1 at 155 pounds and took third place overall. Forty years to the week, his son, Jack, a senior at Plum and a Pitt commit, took his first steps onto a wrestling mat at...
Expectations remain high for new-look Plum baseball team
It was another banner year in 2023 for the Plum baseball team. The Mustangs used a walk-off win against Fox Chapel on the final day of the regular season to earn a split of the Section 1-5A title with Penn-Trafford and went on to make the WPIAL semifinals before falling...
Plum School District budget projection shows tax increases for next 5 school years
Plum School District property taxes could increase every year for the next five school years as the district works to fund its operations, pay for a $30 million building project and bring back full-day kindergarten. District administrators still are working on the $74.1 million 2024-25 budget. The school board is...
Repairs to fire truck could cost Plum’s Unity Volunteer Fire Department $60,000
Repairs to one of the five vehicles at Plum’s Unity Volunteer Fire Department will wipe out the department’s budget for repairs this year, its chief says. Fixing the 25-year-old Freightliner could also eat up most, if not all, of what’s left of the $35,000 the borough budgeted for repairs for...
Guard punched inmate in Allegheny County Jail cell, police say
An Allegheny County Jail guard has lost his job and been charged after he punched an inmate multiple times, authorities said. Robert Veith, 49, of Plum, was conducting window cell checks Jan. 3 when the incident occurred, Allegheny County Police spokesman Jim Madalinsky said Monday. Surveillance video showed Veith talking...
In brief: Plum, Oakmont area events, week of March 11, 2024
Road name to honor former Plum manager A Plum road will take on a new name honoring former borough Manager Mike Thomas on April 1. Old Mine Road will officially become “Mike Thomas Way” on April 1, said David Soboslay, who succeeded Thomas as borough manager. Thomas, 57, was one...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of March 10, 2024
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Churchill Nick Decaria sold property at 3726 E Rural Ct to Ferdinand Charles Palombo for $165,000. Kurt Borgoyn sold property at 2525 Greensburg Pike Unit 101 to Cheryl Kay and Robert Duwayne Hosken for $197,000. Forest Hills Temitope Olatundun Egbeyemi sold property at 372 E. Avenue to Kathryn...
Oakmont Country Club reopens gift shop, features 2025 U.S. Open merchandise
Whether they’re into golf, Oakmont or squirrels, there’s plenty of merch for lovers of all of the above at the Oakmont Country Club’s gift shop. Merchandise for the 125th U.S. Open Championship, which the country club will host in June 2025, is already for sale at the shop in Plum....
Plum swimmers earn berth to PIAA championships
The Plum girls swim team fared well in a number of events at the WPIAL Class 3A championships Feb. 29 and March 1 at Pitt’s Trees Pool. The Mustangs clinched three PIAA appearances — the two freestyle relays and junior Giuliana Ricciuti in the 200-yard freestyle — and were close...
Plum hockey hopes to build off turnaround season
It was quite a turnaround this season for the Plum hockey team. The Mustangs were 3-16 a year ago. The organization’s board of directors felt a coaching change was needed, and Plum hockey alumnus Jon Gratton came on board. The returning team members hit the ice together in August and...
Rail yards, crossings in 32nd District get $7.1 million investment
Freight rail infrastructure in Penn Hills, Verona and Oakmont is set for upgrades after two railroads and a construction firm received a combined $7.1 million in state grants. PennDOT announced the funding in December as part of a $42.5 million package for 25 rail projects across Pennsylvania. State Rep. Joe...
Plum Rotary gives $2K to support Plum EMS car seat, crib program
The Plum Rotary Club is supporting an effort to get car seats and cribs to families in need. The club recently gave $2,000 to Plum Emergency Medical Services to support its child safety program, said Brian Maloney, director of operations for Plum EMS. Plum EMS started its child safety program...
Plum firefighters expecting to use old borough building for training before demolition
Plum’s old borough building will serve one last purpose for the community before it’s torn down. Council is expected to vote Monday on allowing volunteer firefighters with the borough’s four departments to use the New Texas Road building for training. Council appears receptive to the idea. When Holiday Park Fire...
In brief: Plum, Oakmont area events, week of March 4, 2024
Assistant principal resigns from post at Plum High School The Plum School Board accepted the resignation of Melanie Manes, an assistant principal at the district’s high school. The North Allegheny School Board voted Feb. 21 to hire Manes as an assistant principal at that district’s intermediate high school, with a...
‘Such a gift:’ Bishop Zubik leads special Sunday Mass at Plum retirement community
At first glance, the Mass that Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik led Sunday morning at a Plum-based retirement community followed a familiar pattern. Worshippers, seated in a ballroom in pastel-green chairs about 12 rows deep, read from the Old and New Testaments. After Zubik offered a prayer for...
Plum, Riverview athletes benefit from indoor track and field season
Owen Proskin finished as one of the top scorers for the Plum boys basketball team this season. The 6-foot-4 sophomore also made the most of his athletic double duty this winter through indoor track and field training and competition. His versatility showed with a third-place medal in the high jump...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of March 3, 2024
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Monroeville PJN Properties L.P. sold property at 1620 Golden Mile Highway to TIBA LLC for $1,442,000. Rudy Shimonovich sold property at 2226 Grandview Ave. to Rebecca Black for $160,000. Martin Clancy sold property at 424 Hochberg Road to Kenway Homes Easy 5 LLC for $80,000. Raelamar Brooks sold...
Almost 1,000 Lenten fish sandwiches sold Fridays at St. Irenaeus in Oakmont
Volunteer fry guy Eric Johnson knows his way around a fish fry. “I’ve been frying for 15 years,” Johnson said Friday at lunchtime while handling fish orders for a packed church hall at Holy Family Parish’s St. Irenaeus in Oakmont. Each week during Lent, dozens of parish volunteers man multiple...
Fish fry tradition continues with new management at Our Lady of Joy in Plum
The Lenten fish fry at Our Lady of Joy is under new management. Chris Allman of the Knights of Columbus Council 4242 is the new coordinator of the fundraiser at the Holy Family Parish church in Plum. The parishioner took over for the late Joe Dello Stritto Sr., who passed...
In brief: Plum, Oakmont area events, week of Feb. 26, 2024
Municipal authority looks to borrow $5M The Plum Borough Municipal Authority is preparing to borrow $5 million for a variety of capital improvements, authority Manager Howard Theis said. The projects include water and sewage work, with about $1 million going toward work on Sardis Road, Theis said. There also will...
‘2nd chance at life’: Nurse performs CPR, saves Plum teen who collapsed on run
Today, Giustino Racchini is a freshman at Penn State University studying journalism, with plans to be a play-by-play announcer or a sportswriter. On a cold Monday in December, the 19-year-old lay dead on Old Frankstown Road in his hometown of Plum. He wasn’t breathing. He had no pulse. His heart...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of Feb. 25, 2024
Oakmont Estate of Glenn Crawford sold property at 640 Fifth St. Unit 305 to Patricia Zanella for $255,000. Estate of Vincent Provenza sold property at 53 Crystal Drive to William and Barbara Charlton for $300,000. Cypress Land Partners LLC sold property at 1004 Fownes Lane 1154 to Jeffrey Scott and...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of Feb. 25, 2024
Edgewood Elizabeth Brown sold property at 129 Lincoln Ave. to Charles Larkin and Connie Landrum Carney for $447,000. Nancy Cunningham sold property at 1509 Walnut St. to Hayden Curlin for $377,000. Monroeville Loran Shive sold property at 3756 Evergreen Drive to Craig Shim for $195,000. Marlene Konnar trustee sold property...
Plum swimmers aim to contend at WPIAL championship meet
Brooke Price will again swim the 100-yard backstroke Friday on the second day of the WPIAL Class 3A championships at Pitt’s Trees Pool. The Plum sophomore swam to 17th in the event in her WPIAL debut last year. It was the only individual event she qualified for in her first...
After WPIAL playoff exit, Plum says goodbye to senior quartet
In 2021, the Plum girls basketball team defeated Lincoln Park to snap a two-decade-long win drought in the WPIAL playoffs. Last year, the Mustangs topped Montour in the WPIAL first round before bowing out to No. 2 Oakland Catholic, the eventual WPIAL runner-up, in the quarterfinals. Plum hoped to make...
