Deer Lakes School District welcomes new assistant superintendent
The Deer Lakes School District added a new member to its administration team. On Feb. 17, the school board unanimously voted to hire Beth Hutson of Oakmont as the district’s assistant superintendent. According to her contract, posted on the board’s BoardDocs page, she will begin the position with a starting...
Leechburg Area Drama Club looks for donations for spring musical
The Leechburg Area Drama Club is a little more than $1,600 away from having its own “Secret Garden.” With opening night scheduled for April 6, the club has a $3,500 goal set to put on a seventh-through 12th grade production of “The Secret Garden.” According to the school’s Schoolfundr fundraising...
ICE arrests Sewickley father whose daughter, 6, is battling cancer
Federal immigration agents conducting a traffic stop Sunday arrested a Sewickley resident and Brazil native whose young daughter is undergoing cancer treatment at a Pittsburgh hospital. A spokeswoman for the family said four Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulled over a car carrying Bruno Guedes da Silva, 38, and his...
Keystone Wheelchair Games provide a platform for para-athletes in Pittsburgh
Lester L. Bennett’s goal for Friday was to go home with his neck feeling a little heavier. It was Bennett’s second year competing for medals in the Keystone Wheelchair Games. “I’m here to kick everybody’s butts,” Bennett, 50, of Homestead said. The games are an annual, winter-based adaptive sports competition...
Gilpin begins ‘preventative measures’ in regard to data centers
In the coming months, the Gilpin supervisors plan to be proactive by having conversations about how best to regulate potential data centers in the township. During a meeting Tuesday, the supervisors authorized township Solicitor Tim Miller to draft an amendment to the township’s zoning ordinances regarding data centers. “Right now,...
Pittsburgh area expected to see some snow this weekend
While Pittsburghers are expected to see some snow this weekend, don’t break out the shovels quite yet. “We are not forecasting anything like what we saw in January with the storm,” Colton Milcarek, a National Weather Service meteorologist said Friday morning. Milcarek said there will be some snow coming to...
Gilpin Township supervisors propose tax on skill machines and amusements
The Gilpin supervisors are discussing a tax that would affect owners of skill machines and mechanical amusement devices. Supervisor Gary Hall said the township stands to make thousands of dollars by incorporating one. “It’s become very common in many municipalities, in most municipalities, that they’re taxing the ‘Pennsylvania skill games’...
Mt. Pleasant Area School District ends contract with Lifetouch for alleged Epstein connection
The Mt. Pleasant Area School District has joined a growing number of school systems nationwide in terminating its contract with photography giant Lifetouch. Superintendent Timothy M. Gabauer notified families of the decision in a letter sent Wednesday. The move follows community concerns regarding the company’s corporate ownership and indirect links...
Morning Roundup: Monessen teacher found with gun in school; flood watch issued for multiple counties
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, Feb. 20: Monessen teacher found with gun in elementary school A Monessen City School District employee was found in possession of a gun while on school grounds Thursday, the district said in a letter to parents and guardians....
Pittsburgh Mills owner acquires Macy’s store marked for closure
The owner of the Pittsburgh Mills mall property in Frazer has acquired a new property. Residents don’t have to leave the mall to see it. According to the Allegheny County Real Estate portal, Pitt Realty LLC, purchased the Macy’s store attached to the mall. Pitt Realty is a limited liability...
Morning Roundup: Coroner called to crash; Woodland Hills School District faces audit; Pittsburgh deer management season ends
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Thursday, Feb. 19: Coroner called to crash in Butler County A portion of Route 8 in Butler County was reopened Wednesday evening following a crash Wednesday afternoon. According to TribLive news partner WTAE, Route 8, or Pittsburgh Road, in...
Morning Roundup: Fugitive nabbed in Verona; Fayette County borough council president accused of stalking police chief
Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Wednesday, Feb. 18: Fugitive taken into custody after being on the run in Verona Verona police announced the arrest of a fugitive who fled a traffic stop Saturday. Police said Joseph Fisher of Pittsburgh was stopped Saturday at a...
Oakmont family recounts husband’s ICE detainment
For a time, Jose Flores thought he would never see his family again. The morning of Jan. 29, Flores was getting ready for work and to drive his 8-year-old daughter, Lily, to school. “It started like any normal day,” Flores, 47, said through an interpreter as he and his wife,...
Oakmont Historical Society to launch exhibit featuring local artists
Oakmont is the home of some creative people, and the Oakmont Historical Society wants to show it. Gary Rogers, president of the historical society, and Bob Bechtold, historical society board member and docent for the center, will be hosting the first ever Oakmont Historical Society Oakmont Artist Exhibit. Seventeen artists’...
Explore Amish culture at Dutchman Amish Market in Vandergrift
Aundrea “Andie” Martin has always appreciated Amish culture and the products created through Amish practices. Martin, from the West Lebanon neighborhood of Young Township, Indiana County, has embarked on a mission to bring Amish creations to a larger population. She’s doing it through her store, The Dutchman Amish Market in...
Interpretation of immigration law brings ICE arrests to forefront of community concerns, discussions
Recent arrests made in the region by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have captured headlines but are not new. Immigration attorneys, though, say the arrests signal new interpretations of longstanding immigration laws as part of President Donald Trump’s push to step up deportations. “Under recent actions of the Trump administration,...
Deer Lakes Lancer Foundation welcomes 1st board
The Deer Lakes Lancer Foundation is ready to accept donations, and it already has a volunteer. Tuesday evening, nine board members, all district residents, were appointed to oversee the foundation’s projects. The foundation was created to fund educational technology for teachers to use in the classroom; items that the athletics...
Forbes Road Career & Technology Center to continue remote learning due to water main break
Forbes Road Career & Technology Center will remain closed through Friday because of ongoing service issues and repairs within the building. The school has been operating on a remote learning schedule since Jan. 26. A water main break on the Monroeville campus resulted in the loss of water, power and...
Riverview School Board passes student, staff safety policy in wake of ICE arrest
After districtwide outrage following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest in Oakmont late last month, the Riverview School Board approved a student and staff safety policy that streamlines information from various bodies. It outlines the actions to be taken by staff and teachers if any law enforcement agency comes to...
Oakmont man arrested by ICE is home, but being monitored; future unclear
Jose Flores, the Oakmont man arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents late last month, is home with his family again, but not necessarily out of the woods. Flores, 47, originally from Nicaragua, was taken into custody by ICE agents the morning of Jan. 29 in front of his home...
Lost and Found Pharmacy in Penn Hills moves to new building
Penn Hills’ Lost and Found Pharmacy has found a new home. The nonprofit has felt right at home at 5745 Saltsburg Road since its move on Nov. 22. Shannon Parsons, one of the pharmacy’s founders and pharmacists, said the move was a group effort. “It was amazing,” Parsons said. The...
Oakmont man released from ICE custody ‘profoundly relieved and grateful to God,’ attorney says
The Flores family is back together after Jose Flores was released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody Saturday. A Saturday evening Instagram post from Oakmont Bakery, where Flores works, said Flores was released and reunited with his family. The post thanks various parties, including ICE officials, “who made the decision...
Community concerns spur new policy on cooperation with federal agencies in Penn Hills School District
The Penn Hills School Board is considering a new safety protocol for students and staff. According to district solicitor Chelsea Dice, the protocol stipulates what steps staff members are expected to take should a federal agency — including Immigration and Customs Enforcement — enter a district building requesting information regarding...
Oakmont Bakery harassed over ICE arrest
It appears no one is safe from public ire when it comes to the nation’s debate over immigration, not even a popular local bakery. Marc Serrao, co-owner of Oakmont Bakery, said his business has faced harassment on social media and via telephone since the arrest of Oakmont resident Jose Flores...
Moving goal post: Lawyer thinks Oakmont ICE arrest the result of new immigration priorities
It appears politics, not immigration law, sparked the arrest of Jose Flores in Oakmont last week, the man’s lawyer suggested. “Jose’s legal posture in the country is one that allows him to remain and work lawfully in the U.S. while his case is being adjudicated and, for the last 30...
