Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 25

Burrell School Board on Tuesday ratified a five-year contract with the district’s teachers union, the Burrell Education Association, agreeing to an average annual wage increase of almost 3%. Burrell teachers earn an average of $72,635, according to the state Department of Education. The collective bargaining agreement covers 136 employees and...

The Burrell High School Drama Club will present the coming-of-age classic “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The shows will be livestreamed each night starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. While the story focuses on the struggles of four sisters coming of age in...

Burrell School District parents received approval from Lower Burrell Council this week to hold a senior parade down a section of Leechburg Road in early June. The parade is scheduled for Sunday, June 6 at 4 p.m., featuring the senior students in cars, fire trucks and more. The rain date...

Burrell School District’s new school resource officer, Robert Acquaviva, will respond to student tips — day or night, on duty or off — when he is alerted that a student is in trouble. This helping hand is courtesy of the district’s Safe2Say program, offering students the chance to make anonymous...

Lower Burrell Councilman Robert Hamilton offered his resignation because of recent and anticipated absences from council meetings. But there were no takers. Hamilton recently became CEO of Veterans Place in East Liberty and soon will begin classes to pursue a doctorate. “I want to offer a public apology for the...

It might not be as celebrated as the cherry blossoms of Washington D.C. — at least not yet — but the massive planting of native redbud trees with dense pink-purple blossoms along Pittsburgh’s North Shore and other locations are in full bloom and are expected to last through next week....

Construction of a new Olympus Energy natural gas well in Upper Burrell will start in September, according to company officials. The so-called unconventional wells into Marcellus shale are used in the natural gas extraction process known as fracking. Construction of the new Calliope Well pad, at 812 White Cloud Road,...

The state Department of Environmental Protection has awarded nine grants, including $174,000 to Allegheny Transportation Services of Etna, to replace old diesel school buses for newer, cleaner diesel buses. DEP’s Driving PA Forward program awarded grants totaling $2.4 million statewide the grants to busing and trash collection companies throughout the...

Upper Burrell officials want to make sure PennDOT is aware of the extent of drainage issues with its drainage pipe from Route 780 and surrounding properties that discharge to Lower Drennan Road. During their meeting Wednesday, supervisors temporarily shelved development plans for a Dollar General along Route 780 at Dewey...

The Roaring Run Watershed Association is turning a narrow bridge into an opportunity to enhance the beauty of the 5-mile Roaring Run recreational trail: The association plans to build a covered bridge to augment a former railroad bridge. About 1.5 miles from the trailhead in Kiski Township off Canal Road,...

A wildfire has scorched about 150 acres in the Allegheny National Forest in the Tidioute area, Warren County, since Thursday with only 10% of the fire contained Friday afternoon, said Wendy Andersen, spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service, Allegheny National Forest. No one has been injured and all forest service...

As the covid-19 pandemic walloped many fundraisers, the Kiski Watershed Association is scrambling to raise money to stock trout in the Kiski River. It’s a 15-plus-year tradition that draws residents and visitors alike. Typically, the watershed association would work with local business and others to raise the money to buy...

The famously serpentine and tight Dutchmans Run in Lower Burrell, a main connector to Route 780, Penn State New Kensington and Arconic, will be repaired starting in about two weeks after a landslide winnowed down a section of road. “That road has been in disarray for close to three years;...

Those involved with a new nonprofit in New Kensington say they want to build on the momentum of the city’s revitalization efforts. “New Kensington is open for business,” said Doug Muetzel, a member of the New Kensington Downtown Partnership, which held an official kickoff celebration Thursday at the Voodoo Brewery....

Free trees and native plants will be offered to Buffalo Creek watershed residents attending workshops on managing invasive species, attracting wildlife and other topics concerning the watershed. The watershed stretches from Butler to Freeport. The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is offering the six free online workshops for residents. They...

Atop the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning, where the Laurel Highlands can be seen on a clear day, is prime real estate for peregrine falcons, with expansive views and lots of prey available. Two new falcons have driven out the former residents and are incubating four eggs. Peregrine falcons...

Allegheny County police are investigating a Sunday afternoon shooting in the 900 block of Etna Street in McKees Rocks. Allegheny County’s 911 dispatch center was notified about the shooting, then the shooting victim showed up at a Pittsburgh area hospital, according to Allegheny County Police. The man was transported to...

A man is in critical but stable condition in a Pittsburgh hospital following a shooting Sunday in the parking lot of a nightclub in Stowe, authorities said. Stowe Township police responded to a call for shots fired at 3:15 a.m. Sunday. When police arrived on scene, they learned that a...

A Brackenridge woman is facing charges of driving under the influence, concealing a loaded gun in her car and possessing suspected cocaine after a traffic stop 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Kiski Township police said. Sherry Milanak, 50, was speeding and swerving on Route 56 causing, police said. She was stopped and...

After canceling special waste collections during the pandemic last year, Lower Burrell will hold a drive-thru hazardous household waste recycling dropoff in May. Household hazardous wastes include flammable products, paint, pesticides, pool chemicals, drain cleaners, batteries, motor oil and more. The event will be held Saturday, May 8, at Lower...

As the pandemic zapped the usual educational experience for many students, one Lower Burrell family came up with an alternative educational adventure. The Kobelenske family raised money for Burrell School District’s special education life skills students to make their own recipes and pen the cookbook “Special Recipes Made by Special...