Harry Funk stories, Page 18
Carnegie library program features colorful art of India
Instead of the fourth Thursday in November, India’s equivalent of Thanksgiving takes place in mid-January. But don’t expect turkey and stuffing for the festival of Sankranti. Those who celebrate traditionally take a different dietary approach. “They harvest fresh rice from the fields, and using that rice, they make a dish...
SAD no more: Live Well Bethel Park program addresses cures for winter blues
You’ll lose an hour of rest on March 12, but the tradeoff may be well worth it. When Daylight Saving Time starts at 2 o’clock that morning, it ushers in a natural remedy for what’s ailing plenty of Western Pennsylvanians. “Less sunlight during the day affects how our bodies regulate...
Hampton High School officially opens addition, media center
This isn’t your grandmother’s school library. Or yours, even. Hampton High School is hosting an open house from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 for community members to get a close look at the recently completed addition to the building, including a library media center in which you’re not going...
Extra money going toward Monroeville road resurfacing
Monroeville’s road resurfacing program stands to receive a financial boost. Council members have agreed to raise the allocation by $500,000, for a total of $2 million this year, toward improving municipally maintained driving surfaces. “We have 110 miles of roads and 34 parking lots, which convert into about seven miles...
Monroeville Public Library launches Teen Film Festival
Back when, say, Steven Spielberg starting making movies, the process of using 8 mm film and editing it with a razor blade was far more cumbersome than how it’s done today. “Kids, with their iPhones and kind of basic programs, can really do so many cool things,” Benny Kuster, teen...
Historian provides overview of early Chartiers Valley railroads
Editor’s note: This article is the first of two parts. These days, the road less traveled is on the rails. By contrast, consider the scenario presented by the guest speaker at the most recent Bridgeville Area Historical Society meeting. “In 1908, there were nine passenger trains each way from Washington...
From cold caller to business owner, Hampton resident finds success in Shaler
Trying to phone people who don’t know you can be a major study in frustration. Amanda Ceravolo’s perseverance in that regard paid off big time. “What I basically did was call around to small businesses in Pittsburgh and say, ‘Are you interested in training me?’ I just didn’t really enjoy...
‘You can see the changes’: At Plum event, Veterans attest to value of medical service dogs
As a sufferer of post-traumatic stress disorder, Army veteran Debbie Richey left her house only rarely. That changed with some constant canine companionship. “I finally started to be able to go out in public. At first, I was a little afraid. I wasn’t sure. I never had a dog before,”...
‘How hard can that be?’: Author shares writing tips with Divine Mercy Academy students in Monroeville
You may remember Career Day at school, when someone would begin rambling on about his or her profession, and you pretty much zoned out after a few minutes. Alan St. Jean seemed to start down that path when speaking to students at Divine Mercy Academy in Monroeville. “Boom. I’m an...
Riverview High School Model UN students continue to impress
Imagine a universe in which Richard Nixon succeeds in a nefarious plan to become president a decade and a half earlier than he did in real life. Riverview High School senior Naomi Girson developed such a scenario in her portrayal of the nation’s then-vice president during the University of Michigan’s...
Hampton freshman named to 18 Under Eighteen
Chess may not be the easiest game to learn. But it doesn’t seem to have been a challenge for Luke Martin, who started playing as a third-grader and likes to share his knowledge with others. “I’ve been teaching since I was 11,” the Hampton High School freshman said, “and I’ve...
Gardeners get early, informative start to season at Monroeville seed swap
Take a look at supermarket prices, and you may want to think seriously about alternatives to paying so much for food. If you’re partial to vegetables, a cost-saving measure could be to start a garden or enhance an existing one. And the knowledgeable folks qualifying as Penn State Master Gardeners...
Library exhibits work of versatile Monroeville artist
While many artists tend to stick with a certain medium or two, Debbie Walker’s originals run the gamut. Her work in fabric, acrylic, pencil, charcoal and various printing techniques is on display in the Gallery Space at Monroeville Public Library, demonstrating her versatility. “I was born to be an artist,...
Pine resident helps set record for largest pizza party
Imagine the logistics of providing one of America’s favorite foods to more than 3,000 people gathered in the same place at the same time. “It was definitely months of planning, and then it took a whole week of executing,” Nick Bogacz, owner of Caliente Pizza and Draft House, said. When...
Gateway officials discuss potential for pre-K program in Monroeville
Gateway School District officials have discussed the possibility of implementing a pre-kindergarten program for 2023-24. The program, free for children to attend, would be separate from the high school’s preschool class, which is part of the family and consumer science curriculum. Instead, the new offering would take place under the...
Monroeville Finance Authority seeks board members
You know what they say about the world’s two certainties, and Dan Marston is doing his part to help mitigate one of them: “We all have enough of a tax burden.” And he is looking for Monroeville residents who may want to help his cause while learning more about the...
Oakmont welcomes EV charging stations
First came the goats, eating their way toward clearing out unwanted vegetation in Oakmont. “That was very popular,” assistant borough manager Phyllis Anderson said. “They brought the community together. I had no idea that was going to happen.” During the summer, quite a few local residents visited the banks of...
Dolls, tea and history: Hampton museum helps make learning fun
Barbie may be ready to turn 65 in 2024, but dolls have been a staple of children’s playthings since the days of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. As such, miniature versions of people already had been around for the millennia by the time of the United States’ founding in the...
Allegheny County’s fastest-growing demographic celebrates Lunar New Year
To help launch the Year of the Rabbit, Rich Fitzgerald provided a reminder of an applicable demographic trend. “For the first time in 60 years,” he said, “Allegheny County grew again in population. And the reason is an 80% increase in our Chinese-American population.” Fitzgerald, the county’s executive, addressed the...
Hampton School Board favors adding elementary guidance counselor
Members of Hampton Township School Board are in favor of adding a guidance counselor for the district’s elementary schools. The question now is how to fit the new hiring into the district’s 2023-24 budget. During the board’s January work session, Jay Thornton, district psychologist and director of student services, gave...
Bethel Park Lions Club celebrates 80th anniversary
Part of Bethel Presbyterian Church is eminently familiar to Jay Wells. “When I joined the club, we met right in this same room,” he said. The group he referenced is the Bethel Park Lions Club, which is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its establishment. The club was organized on Dec....
Food bank director receives Unsung Community Service Award in Bridgeville
Each year, the Bridgeville nonprofit One Music Fest Inc. presents an Unsung Community Service Award. The 2023 recipient is Tim Anderson, director of the Bridgeville Community Food Bank, who received his honor during One Music Fest’s fifth annual Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., held Jan. 16 at Bethany Presbyterian...
Bridgeville event celebrates life of Martin Luther King Jr.
For more than half a century, students in most American classrooms have learned at least a little something about Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. They may have memorized it as occurring in 1963 before a quarter of a million people in the nation’s capital, and that...
Bridgeville welcomes senior living community
Some students of the former Washington Elementary School in Bridgeville will admit to sneak over to the candy store across the street. Today, the senior living community Halcyon of Bridgeville occupies the erstwhile academic building. And the candy store is no more, having been supplanted by Country Style Pizza. But...
Event at Carnegie Museum of Art rings in Chinese New Year
Like Indiana Jones, you may not be especially fond of snakes. But as Qihan Liu demonstrated, they can have a musical purpose. He was among the musicians giving demonstrations of traditional Chinese instruments during Sunday’s 26th Greater Pittsburgh Lunar New Year Show and Fair at the Carnegie Museum of Art...
