Joyce Hanz stories, Page 50
Nurse and quick-thinking dog lauded for lifesaving rescue at River Forest
Tom Kissel is alive today thanks to the combined efforts of strangers and a three-legged pooch named Tater Tot. Their quick work was recognized Tuesday in a ceremony sponsored by the American Heart Association and Allegheny Health Network at the River Forest Yacht Club in Allegheny Township. On July 10,...
Washington Township Cub Scout pack looks to draw new members with recruitment carnival
Cub Scout Pack 500 of Washington Township hosted an open house recruitment carnival Sunday. The annual event serves as a way to bolster the pack’s membership, which is about 22 scouts. Afternoon activities inside the Washington Township Fire Hall included plinko, mega wire, bull ringer and roller bowler. An energetic...
Gearhard Farms cornfield maze stands the test of time
The oldest operating farm in Westmoreland County has another distinction: a cornfield maze that has been amazing people for more than two decades. Gearhard Farms, in Murrysville near Washington Township, creates a new maze through a cornfield each year. The 2021 maze, spread over two acres, opened in September and...
Alle-Kiski Valley museums welcome public with open houses
Four Alle-Kiski Valley museums are banding together to promote history and heritage with a free tour of their premises. An open house showcasing the historical museums of Leechburg, Hyde Park, Apollo and Vandergrift is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Free shuttle trips among the four museums will...
The Green Team at Kiski Area Upper Elementary learns how to care for Earth
The green scene is expanding at Kiski Area Upper Elementary School in Washington Township. The Green Team club, composed of 40 fifth and sixth graders committed to promoting sustainability and eco-friendly practices on campus, has a waiting list for membership. “We had about a dozen members when we first started,”...
Decades-old Lower Burrell spring still flows freely for Alle-Kiski Valley residents
When Pia Trew of Lower Burrell heard her college roommate’s pet goldfish was in peril, she took a road trip back home. “The goldfish was on its last leg, or fin, so I made a trip home to bring him spring water and that did the trick,” Trew said. “He...
Muralist of Vandergrift, Alex Chaffins, keeps making positive visions
Alex Chaffins of Vandergrift knows how to charm and disarm. With art. Chaffins, the unofficial muralist of Vandergrift, is known for his large colorful artwork depicting positive messages. The self-taught artist’s most recent mural is an underwater scene featuring a mermaid. It’s painted on his garage at home. Last year,...
Resident complains of bedbugs in Vandergrift
Uninvited guests on Lowell Street in Vandergrift have some residents complaining to borough officials. Mattresses left outside at the steps of an empty apartment building at 502 Lowell St. on Tuesday morning were marked with signs saying they are infested with bedbugs. In a social media post Wednesday, resident Tiffany...
3rd annual Vandergrift Halloween Party kid-geared, but open to entire community
An annual community Halloween party in Vandergrift is growing in popularity. The third annual Vandergrift Halloween Party, organized by Vandergrift resident Heather Miller, is scheduled for Oct. 16 at The Center on Franklin. The free party welcomes all ages, but Miller said the festivities are geared with youngsters in mind....
Zebra, camel find new home at Washington Township stables
Two exotic animals are making themselves at home in Washington Township. Zebulun, a 3-week-old Grant’s zebra, and Abraham, a 1-year-old dromedary camel, arrived safely at Victory Stables last week after a 13-hour road trip from the Midwest. Victory Stables Manager Jessica Corbin, 32, and her boyfriend, Dan Wallen, a wildlife...
Fox Chapel teen becomes 1st female Eagle Scout in Western Pa.’s Laurel Highlands Council
Katy Appleman of Fox Chapel is blazing a trail. She is the first female from Western Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands Council to earn an Eagle Scout ranking. The Laurel Highlands Council is one of the largest in the country and includes 13 districts serving nearly 17,000 youths in Western Pennsylvania and...
Kiski Township woman writes memoir of life ‘blessed beyond anything I could ever imagine’
Cora Scott Cole found herself with a lot of idle time when the pandemic lockdown hit last year. So she got busy writing. Cole, 82, of Kiski Township, self-published a memoir, “Cora Lee, A Testimony,” earlier this year with Peaceable Publishing. She’s donating 5% from the sale of each book...
Kiski Area South Primary School is the only school in Western Pa. to be named a National Blue Ribbon School
Being blue never felt so good. Kiski Area South Primary School in Washington Township has been named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. National Blue Ribbon Schools are recognized annually by the Education Department for helping under- served groups attain progress and for overall academic performances...
Avonmore ‘Hometown Heroes’ banners won’t be mounted until spring to save them from winter weather
A program honoring local veterans in Avonmore is moving forward, although banners honoring the veterans likely won’t be placed on poles until spring to save them from having to endure the winter weather. The borough is participating in the “Hometown Heroes” banner program, sponsored locally by the Avonmore Volunteer Fire...
Repairs to Linden Street in Vandergrift, closed for 5 weeks so far, set to begin next week
Water main issues that shut down Linden Street in Vandergrift continue, but help is on the way. The street, next to Davis Field, is scheduled to undergo repairs next week, Vandergrift Councilwoman Christine Wilson said. A large portion of the street has remained closed for about five weeks. Wilson said...
Former Frazer cop accused of using police-tracking software to monitor woman’s whereabouts
A Harrison man who has worked as a police officer for multiple Alle-Kiski Valley departments is accused of using police-tracking software to monitor the whereabouts of a woman who had broken off a relationship with him, court paperwork shows. Michael A. McSherry, 29, also is accused of secretly placing a...
Allegheny Township’s Pizza Hut moving to another plaza, but will be takeout and delivery only
The Pizza Hut in Allegheny Township is relocating, but you won’t be able to eat inside. Pizza Hut is now at 510 Hyde Park Road in Allegheny Plaza, next to Big Lots. It’s moving to the Hyde Park Plaza, which is within sight of the Allegheny Plaza. The restaurant will...
Some Kiski Area parents, students call on district to make mask wearing optional, despite state mandate
Tensions remain high in Kiski Area School District over the state-imposed mask mandate for K-12 schools. More than 100 parents and children showed up for Wednesday’s school board meeting to express their opposition to the Health Department mandate that took effect Sept. 7. Nearly 30 of them addressed the board,...
Body found in Northmoreland Park, cross country invitational canceled
Authorities closed a section of Park Road in Allegheny Township’s Northmoreland Park on Friday morning after a body was discovered in the park. Gregory McCloskey, the Westmoreland County public works director, said the road remained closed while a deputy coroner investigated. McCloskey said the scene was cleared around 11:30 a.m....
Allegheny Township to get a Taco Bell
Taco Bell is coming to Allegheny Township. Township officials approved land development for the fast-food restaurant last month. The eatery will be a standalone establishment, not a combo KFC/Taco Bell, Township Manager Greg Primm said. “It’s always good to see new businesses coming in, especially giving people more options for...
Barbecue food truck with deflated wheels drawing attention in Vandergrift
When business gets slow at Robert “Buster” Burnham’s food truck with deflated wheels, he puts on his full-body hot dog suit and goes to the side of the road in Vandergrift to try to flag down customers. “You need a promotion,” Burnham said. “When there’s no customers here, the suit...
Proposed chicken ordinance moving forward in Vandergrift
Vandergrift officials are moving forward with plans to adopt an ordinance regulating the ownership of backyard chickens. A three-person committee established last month to work out details of a proposed ordinance offered some of its recommendations at a council meeting last week. While council members had discussed the possibility of...
Leechburg Area sixth-grader started her own BBQ sauce business half a lifetime ago
A sixth-grader at Leechburg Area High School is her own sauce boss. Emilee Kostyak, 11, of Leechburg, is founder and CEO of D&D BBQ. At age 5, Emilee tasted her dad’s homemade barbecue sauce and promptly told him she didn’t like it. “I was being a little sassy and told...
Police: Greenfield church evacuated after man calls in threat
A church in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood was evacuated Sunday after a man called 911 and threatened to harm himself and others at the church, police said. About 30 members of St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church, 506 Saline St., were inside the church when 911 received the call at 11:15...
Patron’s O’Hara location closes
An O’Hara restaurant has permanently closed. Patron Mexican Grill in Fox Chapel Plaza along Freeport Road posted a sign announcing the closing on its locked front door. The notice offers no explanation for closing and read “we are closed for good.” The letter, written by owner Martin Bolanos, went on...
