TribLive stories, Page 1398
South Hills real estate transactions for the week of Aug. 22, 2021
Baldwin Borough Jeffrey Smonskey sold property at 472 First St. to Simeon Barnett for $173,500. Brian Stone trustee sold property at 1719 Beryl Drive to Reetan and Suk Maya Gurung for $179,000. Stephen Totin sold property at 1145 Cloverfield Drive to Michael Kravetz and Rachel Portman for $155,000. Robert Nicholas...
Collier, South Fayette area real estate transactions for the week of Aug. 22, 2021
Collier Antonio Torres sold property at 4080 Breckenridge Drive to Warren Jay and Adele Sufrin for $750,000. Timothy Hughes sold property at 1006 Grey Fox Cir to Michael Millen and Julia Ofrichter for $310,000. Maronda Homes LLC sold property at 1007 Livorno Drive to Evan Michael Welsh and Rachel Suzanne...
Mask debates rage in Western Pa. as schools return to class
The debate over whether students should wear masks to school this fall shows no signs of cooling down at area districts, with the start of classes arriving as the covid-19 transmission rate rises across the region. Officials in Harrisburg have recommended that local districts follow guidance from the Centers for...
Familiar coach guides Summit Academy’s return from 1-year hiatus
What’s old is new again at Summit Academy. After a two-year retirement, John McCloud is back at Summit as the head football coach. The 1972 Valley High School graduate was an assistant football coach, wrestling coach and athletic director for nearly 20 years and has dedicated his life to serving...
Shady Side Academy has new look, from mascot on down
The nickname might have been changed, but the goal is still the same. Shady Side Academy, with Bulldogs now as its moniker instead of Indians, is anxious to get back into WPIAL playoff contention. The school compiled a 1-3 conference record and was 2-4 overall in the truncated 2020 season....
Letter to the editor: Nordenberg will ensure redistricting is fair, equitable
Your editorial “Census numbers chance for fair redistricting” (Aug. 15, TribLIVE) was right on target in every category of logic you used to make the point that if ever necessity for equity and fairness in a critical process needed to be paramount, it is in redistricting voting districts. Pennsylvania has...
The Stroller, Aug. 22, 2021: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your club meetings, community events and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. PSNK Alumni golf outing planned Oct. 8 Penn State New Kensington Alumni Society will host a golf outing Oct. 8 at...
Editorial: Golf good for economy, but state needs to be open
There are a lot of things that Pennsylvania’s government needs to underwrite. There are more than 3,000 schools, 14 state universities and four more state-affiliated universities. There are 24 prisons, more than 4,000 state police and three levels of state courts. State agencies do everything from supervising parks and forests...
Letter to the editor: Plenty of blame for Afghanistan
What’s most astonishing about the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is how astonished everyone professes to be, while conceding delaying the inevitable would not have prevented it. Failure is often an orphan; this one lays claim to plenty of fathers. Bill Clinton regrets not assassinating Osama Bin Laden after the 1998...
Pirates farm report for Aug. 21, 2021: Cole Tucker homers in Indianapolis win
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 45-49) held on to beat Toledo (Tigers), 5-4. SS Cole Tucker (.232) went 1 for 3 and hit his sixth home run, a solo shot in the seventh. 3B Hunter Owen (.234) went 1 for 4 with a homer, his 14th. CF Jared Oliva (.234) went 2 for...
Sheldon Jacobson: Emotion gets in way of covid consensus
People tend to overestimate or underestimate risk. The pandemic brings this into stark relief. Picture someone wearing an N95 mask while walking their dog through a deserted park. Contrast that with someone entering a crowded bar maskless in an area with high coronavirus transmission rates. Risk is a function of...
Building trust key to rebuilding Monessen football
It was a fair question, albeit a brutally honest one. When coach Wade Davis met with what was left of the Monessen football team for the first time in mid-January, this was the first question he fielded: “Coach, are you going to be here for one year and leave?” After...
George Guido: Football’s back, but will the fans be?
The stage is set for the start of the Alle-Kiski Valley’s 123rd football season Friday as all 13 local schools will see Week Zero action. That’s a far cry from last season when the start was delayed two weeks because of the covid-19 pandemic. The season was reduced to seven...
David Super: Vietnam mistakes repeated in Afghanistan; we must break the cycle
The rapid collapse of the Afghan government has lessons to teach us, if we will listen. Many of these are lessons we could have learned from the Vietnam War, but we did not. In both Vietnam and Afghanistan, the enemy was very real. The Viet Minh began as a nationalist...
As covid-19 vaccination mandates gain momentum, Pa. health care workers remain largely free to decide
Only one major Pennsylvania health care employer, Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine, has required employees to get vaccinated against covid-19. But mandates are under consideration at others. “We haven’t gotten to the mandate yet. We think about it and we assess where we’re at, but we haven’t made that decision yet,” said...
Here are 5 Penn State football underclassmen who can step up in 2021
Penn State football’s roster has youth at several positions. The Nittany Lions have several players who can contribute this season despite their relative lack of playing time at the collegiate level. Let’s take a look at five young players in particular who could contribute at a high level this season...
Sounding off: Ignorance, apathy threaten democracy
A university professor told his class that the greatest threats to democracy were ignorance and apathy. When he asked his students to explain the difference, one responded, not knowing it was the correct answer, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” In the 2020 presidential election, voters took a step...
Experience matters at defensive tackle, and Penn State is counting on 2 vets to hold down the middle
On paper, Penn State is expected to field one of its most inexperienced defensive lines in recent memory. The Nittany Lions must replace a pair of first-team All-Big Ten ends (Shaka Toney, Odafe Oweh). Stout tackle Antonio Shelton, a 2020 starter, is now with the Florida Gators. PJ Mustipher, a...
Rich Askey: Follow CDC mask-wearing guidance in Pa. schools
Pennsylvania’s public school educators and support professionals are looking forward to returning to school to welcome a new class of eager students to their classrooms. As we do so, we are at a crossroads. We look ahead with enthusiasm but recognize that, in order to make this school year successful...
Letter to the editor: Blood on Biden’s hands
President Biden has a lot of blood on his hands . His misguided decision to announce, and then implement, the immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, while leaving behind billions of dollars in weapons and equipment for the Taliban to use, is insane. Regardless of what the Taliban says, I...
South Hills student news for the week of Aug. 21, 2021
Academic achievements The following students from the area were recognized for their academic achievement during the spring 2021 semester by being named to the dean’s, president’s or provost’s list at the college or university they attend: • Hiram College: Kieran Schmidt • Knox College: Rand Al Baka, Teeba Al Baka...
Letter to the editor: Commissioners should gather input for spending plan
I am concerned that our three commissioners have shown no effort to gather public input around American Rescue Plan funds. Westmoreland County leadership has failed to provide both a community engagement plan and a spending plan, both of which are required by the law. The $105 million coming to Westmoreland...
Mohawk aims to pass less, win more
There was hope going into the 2020 season that Mohawk would be able to capitalize on the modest, two-game winning streak that ended the 2019 campaign. But that hope soon came unraveled as the covid pandemic struck and injury problems, especially on the line, emerged. “Last year was brutal as...
Ellwood City building program, looking to get into win column
Ellwood City is getting tired of the goose eggs. The football program suffered its third consecutive winless season in 2020. The Wolverines have dropped 27 consecutive games and have not posted a victory since defeating Brentwood on Oct. 26, 2018. Third-year coach Joe Lamenza, however, feels two of the problems...
High school football’s about to start in the A-K Valley? Sounds good to The Birdie
The Birdie Last season: 65-12 (84.4%) While flying through football camps across the Alle-Kiski Valley the last few weeks, The Birdie heard some of his favorite sounds. OK, not his No. 1 favorite sound. That would be the rumble of a pizza delivery driver’s truck pulling into his driveway. Not...
