Harry Funk stories, Page 20
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...
Bethel Park Veterans Day program focuses on support pets
Apparently, dogs can go a step beyond serving as man’s best friend. During what seemed like a typical evening in 2011, U.S. Air Force veteran Ron Papik unknowingly suffered a severe drop in his blood sugar. “He went out to play cards. He came home. He went to bed,” his...
Pittsburgh leads national Light To Unite for Purple Heart’s 240th anniversary
As the sun set on Veterans Day, the land of the red, white and blue turned purple. Starting in Pittsburgh at the Koppers Building and followed by New York’s One World Trade Center, reddish-blue illumination glowed across the United States for Light To Unite, an initiative to honor the 240th...
No tax increase anticipated in Plum
Plum officials do not anticipate an increase in the real estate tax rate for 2023, according to information presented at borough council’s Nov. 7 work session. For projected revenues to match expenditures, though, borough manager Michael Thomas said it would be necessary to use between $1.2 million and $1.5 million...
Fall musical returns to Hampton Middle School
For the first time since 2019, Hampton Middle School is able to stage a full-fledged fall musical. Back then, the students who will take part in presenting “Newsies Jr.” were in elementary school. “It’s different, because you have all these kids who aren’t used to the production,” director Greg Shumaker...
Happenings around Plum, Oakmont and Verona, week of Nov. 7, 2022
Military charity collecting candy Local nonprofit Military Connections will have collection bins for leftover Halloween candy that will be donated to troops stationed overseas. Collection points are located at: • Military Connections, 313 Tionesta Drive, New Kensington • Tomlinson Insurance Agency, 506 Allegheny River Blvd., Oakmont • Oakmont Realty, 630...
‘We just crossed $40,000’: Festivities in Carnegie celebrate nonprofit’s record year for fundraising
As with most aspects of life, battling a debilitating disease takes money, and quite a bit of it. Thanks to the generosity of more than 230 donors, Mark Christman was able to share some especially good financial news on behalf of the cause he supports. “This is a big shock...
‘Do not talk during shows’: Hampton venue promotes respect for performers
Say you’re a musician who has poured the proverbial heart and soul into a writing a song, one that you’re proud to perform in front of a live audience. But a glance at the crowd shows eyes focused on cellphones and mouths jabbering away, as if you didn’t really exist....
Springdale Marine Corps League detachment celebrates branch’s 247th anniversary
In lieu of “Happy Birthday,” U.S. Marine Corps veteran Andy Burch suggested a more specific celebratory tune: “You all brought your singing pipes with you today, right? We’ve got to sing ‘The Marines’ Hymn.’” With that, the Tarentum resident launched into the familiar “From the Halls of Montezuma to the...
Members of military inducted as Hampton Heroes
Each year, Hampton Township School District honors members of the military, past and present, as Hampton Heroes. Traditionally, the ceremony for new inductees took place on an alternating basis at the high school, middle school or an elementary building. “During the pandemic, we decided to move this outside,” Superintendent Michael...
No tax increase expected in Monroeville
Monroeville’s proposed 2023 budget calls for no changes in municipal tax rates. If adopted by council as scheduled on Dec. 13, the spending plan maintains the property tax rate at 4 mills, meaning property owners will continue to pay $400 per $100,000 of assessed value. Earned income, business privilege and...
‘Everyday Heroes’ featured in Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra children’s program
By vocation, Dr. Joel Greenberger has been fighting cancer for nearly half a century. By avocation, he’s one heck of a horn player. Along with treating patients while serving as chairman of the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Radiation Oncology, Greenberger managed to add making music to the mix, playing...
Plum Borough Community Library acknowledges donors with Giving Tree
Visitors to Plum Borough Community Library will notice something new, and probably intriguing. Mounted prominently on one of the walls is a Giving Tree, featuring leaf-shaped medallions of assorted colors bearing various inscriptions, such as a dedication to the “loving memory of Mike & Mary Maloney.” They were the parents...
‘Learning about each other’: Carnegie library display helps celebrate Diwali, India’s Festival of Lights
The United Nations projects India to become the world’s most populous country by decade’s end. In the meantime, the 2020 U.S. Census shows more than 4.5 million Indian Americans, constituting 1.4% of the population and representing the nation’s highest-earning ethnic group. Yet India’s holiday of Diwali, which about a billion...
Family STEAM Night returns to Gateway’s Ramsey Elementary in Monroeville
Move over, Steph Curry. When it comes to basketball-shooting accuracy, Sally may have your number. Sally, named after the late astronaut Sally Ride, is a robot constructed by members of Gateway High School’s Quasics Robotics Club. And during Family STEAM Night at Gateway’s Ramsey Elementary, Sally put on a heck...
Gateway marching band scores hit at championships
Gateway scored a hit with “Headphones On.” That’s the title of the show presented by the high school marching band this season, and it impressed judges at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association Championships to the tune of an 87.575 score out of 100, good for sixth place among 17...
