Harry Funk stories, Page 13

What may seem like all of a sudden, coyotes aren’t just cartoon characters on television anymore. “They’re very prone to getting media attention,” Hampton resident Jamie DeHart said. “One event out of how many days in the year, and all of a sudden it’s front-page news.” Whether they simply are...

The future of Camp Invention at Gateway High School was in question after James Pottinger stepped down as director after the 2022 session. “I saw how the kids didn’t want camp to end. They loved it so much,” Chris Jordan, a camp instructor at the time, said. “And I thought,...

What was supposed to be a special day for Special Olympics athletes ended before it began. “They were on their way on the buses, and we had to call all of them and say, ‘Turn around.’ It broke our hearts,” Jessie Merckle said. As sports director for the Three Rivers...

Playgrounds have come a long way since the days of bolting together iron bars and sheet metal atop a sea of asphalt. “There are federal and state guidelines on what you have to do with playground equipment. It’s pretty extensive,” Bethel Park council member John Oakes said. “There’s even a...

The first woman in the United States to be ordained as a rabbi by a rabbinical seminary was Sally Jane Priesand, in 1972. A few years later, a middle school student at the time in Schenectady, N.Y., contemplated the possibility of joining those ranks. “I was aware that there were...

Bethel School Board is scheduled to vote June 27 on adopting the district’s final budget for 2023-24. Property owners can expect a new real estate tax rate of 24.5526 mills, or 4.8% over the current fiscal year, according to the proposed budget made available for public review. The amount represents...

Most youngsters spend nine or so months waiting, patiently or otherwise, to hear the proclamation: “School’s out.” Heck, a song with that title remains popular even though it’s been around for more than 50 years now. But Destiny Otricelli of Bridgeville, a student at Pathfinder School in Bethel Park, is...

At ages 7 or 8, a group of Chartiers Valley Primary School students can lay claim to being authors. Just before the end of the school year, members of Shelley Territ’s second-grade class celebrated the release of “Chartiers Valley History for Kids,” a book toward which they contributed heavily with...

Numerous military veterans who are paired with service dogs can attest to their overwhelmingly positive effect on quality of life. Thanks to the success of what has become an annual event, three more vets will be joined by canine friends. A fundraiser held June 3 at Veterans of Foreign Wars...

Coming out of college, Jodi King took a job that she thought would relate strongly to the degree she earned in biology. It didn’t work out that way. “I called my biology professor from college, crying,” she recalled. “I told him what was going on, and he said, ‘Here, let...

For folks in the stage of life where they start dreading the next birthday, Jason Zawodniak offers encouraging words. “We don’t believe that 50 is old, or 60, or even 70,” he said. “With the right programming, it doesn’t have to be.” In May, Zawodniak and his wife, Rachel, opened...

Chartiers Valley Middle School students, an auditorium full of them, couldn’t help but laugh when a certain accomplished alumnus admitted: “If I could go back to eighth grade — I wouldn’t.” Former Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto took a more serious tone in acknowledging the difficulties faced by youngsters as they...

With Bethel Park School District planning to close its elementary buildings by 2026, the municipality seeks ownership of two of the properties. The impetus is to preserve the land at Benjamin Franklin and George Washington schools for recreational purposes and green space, according to Tim Moury, municipal council president. “We...

Optimism abounds at high school graduations, as each year’s seniors look forward to receiving their diplomas while well-wishing family members and friends prepare to applaud. For those attending Chartiers Valley High School’s May 31 commencement, speeches by three particularly eloquent members of the Class of 2023 buoyed the overall sense...

Considering that he runs one 5-kilometer event a year, Darryl Wiley conceded that his latest effort might not land him in the winner’s circle. “I’ll see you at the finish line,” he told fellow runners prior to the start of a June 11 race in Boyce Park. “I’m not going...

Verona joined a growing number of municipalities to pledge support for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Active People, Healthy Nation initiative. During their June 13 meeting, council members Dr. Nancy Carpenter, Red Craig, Trish Hredzak-Showalter and Sylvia Provenza took turns reading a proclamation that “recognizes the importance...

Forgoing the typical student’s summer vacation is par for singer Clara McGough’s course. “She practices all the time,” her mother, Julie, attested. “She doesn’t have a lunch at school. Instead, she takes a study hall, which is her practice period.” With the conclusion of Bethel Park High School’s academic year,...

For the Hartwood Acres concert in Allegheny County’s new Acoustics in the Park series, the featured musician is a singer who grew up nearby. Aspinwall native Katie Simone will perform at 7 p.m. June 21 in Hartwood’s Sculpture Garden, accompanied by guitarist Mark Lucas. “This gig for the county at...

When he graduated from Riverview High School in 2007, Jack Craig knew exactly what he wanted for a career. Exactly one semester into college, he decided that his lifelong goal of being a zookeeper wasn’t for him. Actually, a clue in that regard may have come earlier. “My Riverview claim...

He may have racked up decades’ worth of accolades for his songwriting and performing prowess, but Jeff Black likes to keep touring simple. “I just usually throw my guitar and my mandolin in the van, and I take off and I go,” he said. “Sometimes I have a banjo with...

When Caliente Pizza & Draft House took on sponsorship of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix’s International Car Show, the next logical step was to enter a vehicle in the nation’s largest vintage street race. “We were thinking about building one,” Hampton resident Perry Bogacz said. “And we also were looking...

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that applies to convention centers. Picture the one in Monroeville, which seems sizable enough at 100,000 square feet. Now multiply that by 18 and try to visualize the scope of Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center. Gateway High School student Prince Sadam...

Midway through her Gateway High School Commencement welcome address, Juliana Guido had to pause. “I didn’t think I was going to cry,” she said. But the subject matter merited tears. “I think it’s appropriate to take a moment to remind all of my fellow classmates on this field with me...

As a prelude to her May 27 valedictory address, Hampton resident Maryam Bou Samra provided a disclaimer for her classmates: “If you think you see me crying at any point when I give my speech, I’m definitely not. It’s probably just something in my eye.” Other members of the Class...

In 2022, longtime Oakmont-Verona Memorial Day Program master of ceremonies Russell Truby asked U.S. Army Maj. Dimitri Facaros to provide remarks. “He had the idea that I come last year, and I couldn’t make it based on a work conflict,” Facaros said while serving as featured speaker for this year’s...