Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 39

About 1,000 pairs of gently used shoes will be walking into a new life as playground mats, running tracks and basketball courts through the efforts of the Fox Chapel Garden Club. The annual collection by club members is underway, marking the 15th year for the program that has made an...

Growing up in Fox Chapel, Jessica Harcina’s family couldn’t afford to send her back to school in style. “We couldn’t go out and buy all the things that I needed,” said Harcina, now a Tarentum resident. “I was the kid who didn’t have a new backpack.” That feeling stuck with...

The playground at Riverview Memorial Park in Tarentum might need to close for at least a day or two while crews work in the coming weeks to remove a towering tree from the perimeter. Council on Tuesday approved the project after talking about the damage caused by a fallen branch...

A popular Caribbean restaurant that drew people to Sharpsburg for its oxtail and jerk chicken has announced its doors will close this month. 2 Sisters 2 Sons, which recently celebrated its second anniversary in the borough, will close Aug. 31 “The area wasn’t working out for us as we hoped,”...

Jayson Ankney of Tarentum said the free lunch served Tuesday at Central Presbyterian Church was worth the walk from his house at the top of the hill. A sixth grader in the Highlands School District, Jayson gobbled up the pancake bites and home fries doled out in the church basement...

Tarentum has a new borough manager. Council hired Dwight Boddorf of Bellevue on Tuesday. His start date is Sept. 1. Boddorf currently is the secretary of Stowe Township. He could not immediately be reached for comment. Boddorf will be paid $89,000. Council member Lou Ann Homa said she is eager...

The wife of a man killed in a Kiski Township motorcycle crash July 3 also has died from injuries related to the wreck. The victim was identified as Kimberly Stasko, 64, of Indiana, according to the Armstrong County Coroner’s Office. Stasko’s husband, Anthony D. Stasko, 58, was pronounced dead at...

Argonne Drive in Harrison has reopened to traffic after being shut down in early July. The busy road connects Freeport Road near Highlands Middle School to Ash Street near the railroad tracks in Natrona. Work finished up earlier than expected — the road was scheduled to be off-limits until September....

The Harrison commissioners are eyeing major safety upgrades for a busy Freeport Road intersection. Township Manager John Pallone will apply for $2 million in the coming weeks through the state’s Multimodal Transportation Fund to redo the five-way intersection of Freeport and Springhill roads and Broadview Boulevard near the Harrison Hi-Rise....

Local officials will celebrate the progress of a public housing complex in Harrison while looking toward its future during a community festival Aug. 12. The 35th annual Sheldon Park Community Day will provide games and activities for children while speeches are delivered from Highlands Superintendent Monique Mawhinney, Harrison police Chief...

The Best of Blawnox is hosting “Ice Cream With a Cop” and a community dog walk for National Night Out. The event takes place at the Blawnox Community Park on Tuesday, Aug. 2 from 6-8 p.m. The dog walk begins at 6 p.m. at the corner of Lewis Avenue and...

Big plans are in the works for Aspinwall’s inaugural Big Night Out. Scheduled for 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 11, the event is pegged as a community celebration and a chance to meet and mingle with many local organizations. It is expected to draw more than 1,300 people to the...

Katie Urich moved from the North Hills to Tarentum last year to grow her digital marketing studio. The self-described “old house nerd” bought a large Victorian home in East Tarentum and has settled nicely into the community, which she said is supportive of small businesses. A graduate of North Hills...

As a child spending time at his grandparent’s house in Natrona, Paul Krofchik vividly recalls walking the few blocks from their home along Linden Street to Mass at St. Ladislaus Church, a domed building that takes up half the block on Spruce Street. “It was huge, and there were these...

A long-term lane shift along Route 28 near O’Hara is scheduled to begin Saturday to accommodate a paving project. PennDOT announced that work will begin at 5 a.m. on southbound Route 28 and impact the stretch that runs through Aspinwall, Sharpsburg and O’Hara. Motorists will be shifted from the current...

If it’s a Friday in July, you can find Bill Crooks flipping funnel cakes behind a sizzling hot fryer at Kennedy Park in Sharpsburg. A line of hungry people snakes around the concession stand, eager to sample the festive fare offered by the Sharpsburg-Aspinwall Rotary. “We do about 80 funnel...

Harrison police have issued an arrest warrant for a man accused of breaking into Freehling Service along Freeport Road and stealing a truck and other items. Mark Bauer, 61, of Harrison is charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft and receiving stolen property stemming from an incident July 22. “He was...

Church leaders looking to grow their audience in Harrison finally have a building to call home. Harvest Church, a nondenominational ministry, is scheduled to purchase the Calvary Baptist Church in the Natrona Heights section of the township. The church sits along Pacific Avenue, just off Freeport Road. “I’m stoked,” said...

A community garden in Sheldon Park is thriving once again thanks to two women with green thumbs and big hearts. Whitney Washington, a resident of the public housing complex in Harrison, resurrected the decades-old plot three years ago after it fell into disrepair. Now, providing food for residents is among...

Legendary Pittsburgh rocker Joe Grushecky will hit the stage Friday in Aspinwall for an evening of blues and soul sure to get audiences movin’ in their seats. The concert is part of the Rock the River series, the park’s annual summer shows, aimed at bringing stellar musical performances to the...

Motorists who use Route 28 near Harmar and Fox Chapel should expect traffic tangles beginning Wednesday. In Harmar, the on-ramp from eastbound Route 910 that carries traffic north on Route 28 will close short-term, PennDOT announced. Weather permitting, work there is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. and will go...

Tacos, shrimp po’boys and ice slushies will be on the menu at Tarentum Recreation Board’s inaugural Food Truck Festival. Scheduled for Aug. 11, the event is expected to fill Riverview Memorial Park. “We thought this would be a fresh idea for Tarentum,” said Carrie Fox, board president. “We wanted to...

A fire at a Harrison home that was targeted for blight remediation is under investigation by the Allegheny County Fire Marshall. Emergency crews were dispatched at about 6:40 a.m. Monday for a two-alarm fire at 52 North Canal Street in the Natrona section of the township. “There is water damage...

Harrison police are investigating the burglaries of three businesses late last week along Freeport Road. A truck was stolen early Friday from Freehling Service at 2901 Freeport Road. Burglars also hit Della’s Frozen Custard at 5001 Freeport Road and Harbison’s Nursery at 4024 Freeport Road. All three incidents happened overnight...

Several blighted homes in Harrison will be demolished next year thanks to a $118,000 grant awarded to the township in June. Manager John Pallone said a majority of the money will be spent in the Natrona section of the township but noted there are other areas that will be addressed....