Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 36

Good news keeps rolling in for park-goers in Harrison. The township will receive $70,100 from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for work on its kayak launch parking lot in the Natrona section. The grant covers about half of the $141,000 cost to transform a vacant lot into...

Park users in Aspinwall and O’Hara will benefit from a round of state grants aimed at green space upgrades. Sites in both communities will see significant benefits thanks to grants from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced Sept. 7. O’Hara Township will receive $62,500 for development of the...

Volunteers at Fawn Fire Company No. 2 will be better equipped to fight wildfires thanks to new gear and equipment. Phillip Smozski, fire lieutenant, said the department plans to outfit its utility terrain vehicle with $1,600 in firefighting equipment that includes fire rakes and Indian packs, or portable pump tanks....

Allegheny RiverTrail Park is getting ready to “Rock the River” one final time before fall with a concert on Sept. 30. Scott, Rob and Greg of longtime Pittsburgh-band, The Clarks, will perform for free at 7 p.m. in the welcome center pavilion. The large, open space provides for excellent acoustics...

Tarentum resident Dale Davis has earned his title as the pasta king. A longtime chef in restaurants across the Pittsburgh region, Davis made the leap to open the soul food takeout eatery Pasta King at 621 E. First Ave. in Tarentum just more than a year ago. “I started way...

People who use Fireman’s Park in Aspinwall will notice significant upgrades in coming months to the site off West Ninth Street. The state awarded the borough a $45,290 grant on Sept. 19 to renovate the park pavilion. “The borough is thrilled to receive the grant to update our beloved Fireman’s...

An eight-piece band in matching blue plaid suits will perform Saturday in Harrison Hills Park, and the musicians have a message for anyone who might attend: “It ain’t your grandpa’s polka.” “We’re a king-size plaidtastic stage show that no audience can resist,” said Michael Devine, a member of the Polkamaniacs....

Tarentum Council is eyeing more than $300,000 in grants from Allegheny County to improve borough infrastructure. Council last week approved two applications to the county Department of Economic Development for projects along West 11th Avenue and Collins Way. “Ultimately, both projects are about the safety of our residents,” Manager Dwight...

More traffic delays are likely along Route 28 beginning Wednesday, when single-lane restrictions take effect near O’Hara and Aspinwall, PennDOT announced. Work will begin at 6 a.m. in the northbound lanes and is expected to be ongoing through mid-October. Restrictions will be in place from Exit 7 (Delafield Avenue off-ramp)...

Highlands volunteers are seeking to build a community of warm hands and hearts through a coat collection for needy district students. Parent Christina Faltot of Harrison has launched her third annual “Winter Ready Rams” drive, which runs through October. “Knowing even one student will be warmer this winter is enough...

New Highlands Middle School Principal Becky Bragan started the school year with a goal to boost student engagement. So far, she’s crushing it. With support from the district administration, Bragan tweaked the class schedules so students end each day in an advisory period where several times a week they participate...

By this time next year, Highlands High School students could be getting their hands dirty in the name of sustainable learning. Senior Eli Majocha proposed to the school board on Monday plans for a greenhouse to be constructed on the Pacific Avenue campus, saying the initiative would help tackle health...

Allegheny Valley Hospital hosted its first farmer’s market in Harrison on Thursday with a fresh array of veggies, meats and pastries. Hospital officials said the event was aimed at celebrating nearby farmers and bakers because the cafeteria uses locally-sourced items to supply its kitchen. Represented at the market were Old...

Tarentum police are investigating after a woman told them she was carjacked at gunpoint just before 7 p.m. Sept. 5 along Heuser Way, not far from the Family Dollar store. No one was injured, according to Chief Bill Vakulick. The victim posted to social media about the incident, writing, “You...

The Highlands Middle School in Harrison could have a new administrative staffer by next week — one with four legs and a wet nose. The school board is considering a proposal for a district therapy dog named Charlie, a 5-month-old Labrador retriever. Charlie belongs to Principal Becky Bragan. “The goal...

The federal renaming of a stream that runs through Fox Chapel, Indiana Township and O’Hara is a long-sought triumph for people who battled years against what is now a nationally recognized slur. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on Sept. 8 announced that Squaw Run will be called Sycamore Run, striking...

The good news for Tarentum residents is that four hazardous homes and a dilapidated commercial building are expected to be demolished by January. The bad news is that the cost of the demolitions just jumped after asbestos was uncovered in all of them. “It will be costly,” Code Enforcement Officer...

Harrison resident Sharon Ellis spent much of Tuesday morning weeding and mulching around the trees that dot the grass outside the Highlands High School football stadium along California Avenue. “Trees are good for the health of the community and it’s important that you take care of them properly,” Ellis said,...

Tarentum police are seeking help to find a woman missing for two weeks. Tonya Lynn Sadecky, 43, was last seen when a friend dropped her off in the area of Ninth Avenue and Morgan Street in Brackenridge, Chief Bill Vakulick said. She was last seen before noon on Aug. 28....

A late Tarentum artist whose work added flair to the pages of the Valley Daily News in the mid-1900s and later the Valley News Dispatch will be celebrated with an exhibit of his work. Illustrations by Rudy Tutka, who grew up in a home along Ross Street and worked as...

A public mural in Aspinwall will tout the best of the borough and is expected to spur similar art projects to boost pride and aesthetics. Spearheaded by the advocacy group, Aspinwall Neighbors, the mural is being painted on the Field Avenue playground pavilion through a series of weekly workshops that...

Cleanups in Tarentum and Harrison’s Natrona neighborhood will happen this weekend as part of a larger effort to pluck litter from the Allegheny River. The monthlong series of events hosted by Allegheny CleanWays focuses on removing debris that has piled up along the riverbanks. Volunteers can ride along on the...

Thousands of people expected to attend the Summit Hose Fall Festival in Tarentum will have a chance to vote on plans for the borough’s riverfront trail. Friends of the Riverfront will be on hand to solicit input on the proposed path. The festival runs tonight, Sept. 8, through Saturday at...

The kayak launch along the Allegheny River in Harrison’s Natrona section soon could become an enhanced destination for people seeking shorefront recreation. The Harrison commissioners are hoping to move forward on a project to create a nine-space, paved parking lot at the corner of Sycamore Street and River Avenue, new...

Volunteers from ATI will join the Harrison tree committee Tuesday to make over a cluster of 27 trees planted years ago near the Highlands baseball fields. About four dozen people will tend to the bald cypress, birch, elm and pine trees that were paid for through a $250,000 grant from...