Harry Funk stories, Page 19
Plum telethon raises more than $57,000 for Make-A-Wish Foundation
Everyone involved with Plum Borough School District’s 22nd annual Make-A-Wish Telethon figured the 2021 event would be a tough act to follow. After a year’s hiatus, the 2021 telethon returned to an enthusiastic response that took its cumulative fundraising total over the $1 million mark. Donors’ generosity continued in 2022,...
South Hills Lights festival celebrates Hanukkah
This year’s Hanukkah celebration has a special significance for Rabbi Mendel Rosenblum and, by extension, Jewish communities throughout the world. In leading the annual South Hills Lights festival on Dec. 19, Rosenblum told a story related to him by a fellow rabbi, Eliezer Chitrik of Nuremberg, Germany. In 1938, the...
Gala supports nonprofit that serves students in Baldwin-Whitehall, Bethel Park, South Park
For nearly two decades, Melting Pot Ministries has had an overriding goal for the youngsters served by the nonprofit: “To try to help them become the best that they can be,” executive director Diane Ford, a lifelong Bethel Park resident, said. “And I’m very serious when we talk about being...
Bethel Park honors service members with Wreaths Across America ceremony
The weather may have been wintry, including a light dusting of snow, but that hardly deterred a healthy gathering at Bethel Park’s Wreaths Across America ceremony. “This is the second year for this event, and I am very overwhelmed with the response,” organizer Lisa Jenkins said as she greeted guests...
South Arts honors Bethel Park residents as ‘202 Years of Artists’
After taking a break for the winter, Jean Benson plans to resume teaching classes in tole painting. In the meantime, John Del Monte probably isn’t planning to take much of a break from sketching. At ages 104 and 98, respectively, the Bethel Park residents continue to impress fellow South Arts...
Donations in Plum help Toys for Tots celebrate 75th anniversary
Toys for Tots is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and thanks to a lot of caring people in Plum, the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve-led nonprofit is benefiting substantially. Plum Senior High School’s eighth annual Toys for Tots Toy Drive took place the evening of Dec. 7, with donations from...
Gateway educator named Junior Achievement Teacher of Year
The announcement of Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania’s Teacher of the Year came as a surprise, as intended, for the winner. “I’m shaking,” Emily Levine said as she greeted a multipurpose room full of cheering students in Monroeville. “This is just unbelievable. I never imagined something like this would happen.”...
Monroeville couple continue toy-collecting tradition
This Santa Claus is about as real as it gets. Pete Colangelo might not have a flying sleigh or workshop full of elves. And instead of the North Pole, he lives in Monroeville. But each year, and he and his wife, Carol, make deliveries that put plenty of smiles on...
No tax increase proposed for Oakmont
Oakmont’s proposed 2023 budget shows the real estate tax remaining at 3.73 mills. Borough council plans to vote Dec. 19 on adopting the final version of the spending plan. In its proposed form, as council authorized for advertisement on Nov. 21, the general fund budget calls for operating expenditures of...
Ethical Hope: Plum resident helps world’s artisans sell products
Extreme poverty can lead to extreme measures for many of the world’s mothers. “It’s easier to sell your child for money than it is to raise your child. That’s a heartbreaking reality,” Meredith Hedeen said. “And that happens in the U.S., too.” From her home in Plum, Hedeen seeks to...
Former Steeler’s foundation conducts 10th annual Holiday Giving Program
Youngsters often take what is given to them for granted. Will Allen was an exception. While growing up in Dayton, Ohio, the future Pittsburgh Steeler would go to his elementary school in the summer for breakfast and lunch, and he’d take part in enrichment programs to supplement his basic education....
Collier DJ parlays love of music into global audience
Some people find music to be little more than a pleasant auditory diversion. Others take a more active interest. And then there are those for whom music pretty much constitutes a way of life. For Collier resident Robert Paparella, his fascination stretches back about 60 years, to when he was...
‘It was a shell’: Two-century-old Bethel Park homestead brought back to life
A photograph mounted prominently on Luke Erny’s living room wall shows his Bethel Park home at some point in the distant past, with accompanying text relating its history: “Lytle Road was named after the early Lytle family settlers. The Lytle homestead still stands near the corner of Lytle Road and...
Meals On Wheels rings in season with Bridgeville fundraiser
’Twas the month before Christmas, and Santa had a good beard going. Dressed in his red-and-white suit and matching cap in mid-November, Al Welle said that he usually just sports a white goatee. But when he was asked to portray St. Nick, he promptly started to grow the rest of...
‘Twelve Swipes of Christmas’: Bethel Park writer works through adversity to publish first novel
Anyone who’s composing an email, authoring a book or anything in between can take a cue from Elizabeth Meitzler. “If you’re sitting there falling asleep reading your own writing, everybody else is going to do the same thing,” the Bethel Park resident said. “I wouldn’t want to read that!” So...
They love Lucy: Tournament benefits family of stricken soccer player in Hampton
Calendars usually have the fourth Thursday of November circled prominently, but this year, Lucy Interthal had her sights set on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. “The last two weeks have been the best she’s been in six months,” her father, Dave, said. “And I’m sure this is the reason why.” He...
No sleeping in for Bethel Park Turkey Trot participants
Not everyone sleeps in on holidays. Well before the sun rose Thanksgiving morning, volunteers started gathering around the Clifton Road entrance to the Montour Trail in Bethel Park, ready to help prepare for hundreds of fellow early risers. At 7:30, they were off and running. Or walking. Or watching and...
Hampton Bands’ Holiday Extravaganza set for Dec. 3
While the Hampton Bands’ Holiday Extravaganza features a day full of students performing music, folks who attend can expect a whole lot more. “We really try to make sure that when a family decides to go to the event, everybody in the family has something that they’re interested in and...
Hampton educator earns statewide honor
You’ve heard of the three R’s of education, and you probably wonder why only one of them actually begins with an R. Unlike two-thirds of the traditional “reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic,” a field for the 21st century fits the bill: Robotics. At Hampton Middle School, faculty member Gwen Cohen greets...
Pep rally in Monroeville celebrates Divine Mercy Academy athletics
Students at Divine Mercy Academy in Monroeville and members of their families had the opportunity to vote on a new name for the mascot representing the school’s sports teams, and the winner was revealed during a Nov. 18 pep rally celebrating Sabers athletics. Among them was Fletcher Dagit, who bested...
Riverview boroughs ring in holidays
Beyond diversions like a light-up leg lamp and tongue-retaining metal pole, Bob Clark’s “A Christmas Story” enjoys enduring popularity for portraying the holiday season the way it used to be. Well, maybe it never was exactly like Ralphie Parker’s however many decades ago in Hohman, Ind. But enough of the...
Hampton hosts Harlem Wizards
The Wizards from Harlem are heading to Hampton. “They say it’s kind of like a combination of a basketball game with a Broadway show,” Michelle Csajka Coll said. “It’s just a lot of fun.” As president of the Hampton Boys Basketball Booster Club, she joins her colleagues in seeking ways...
Chartiers Valley seeks images for Athletic Legacy Wall
Give the gift of immortality. Well, not literally. But starting Nov. 29, Chartiers Valley School District is providing the opportunity to purchase space to display images of sporting Colts, past and present, on an Athletic Legacy Wall. “What we’re asking people to do is, share your pictures with us,” Angela...
Bethel Park district judge guides young people toward productive choices
With surgery scheduled to repair a torn ligament, baseball player Nick Arnoni knew he’d be in for plenty of pain afterward. He also knew that certain types of prescribed medications were causing major problems across the country because of their strong potential for addiction. So leading up to his operation,...
Support for veterans detailed at Collier ‘Salute’ brunch
Just a few years ago, the chances of convincing Craig Hodgkins to talk in front of a room full of people effectively were nil. That may have come as a surprise to those who heard him speak confidently and candidly on Nov. 10 at Collier’s Salute to Veterans Brunch. Attired...
