Harry Funk stories, Page 6

Given today’s technology, the concept of sending a “wish you were here”-type correspondence by so-called snail mail may seem rather quaint. But consider the reaction of certain Pine-Richland students on the receiving end. “It’s like that scene from ‘Willie Wonka’ where he has the golden ticket,” Alexandra Batouyios said. “They’re...

Instead of simply turning on the faucet, imagine hiking for several miles just to obtain water. That’s the reality for millions of people throughout the world, and that’s what a group of Pine-Richland High School students sort of experienced on the hot, cloudless afternoon of May 20. Forty-plus members of...

Small, as they say, can be mighty. “I think it’s awesome that at a school of our size, with 154 high school students, six of our seniors are going to be playing college athletics,” Leslie Mitros said. She is head of school at Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh in Hampton, which...

Hampton Township School Board approved two firms to work on advancing the second phase of renovations to the high school, a project with an estimated cost of between $30 million and $33.2 million. On May 13, the board voted 8-1 for DRAW Collective of Mt. Lebanon to perform architectural and...

The question continues to be asked of youngsters: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Some people on the verge of retirement still don’t know, let alone teenagers who face making life-establishing decisions. But North Hills High School staff members want to make sure their students have...

Getting off the couch — or out of the car, or up and down the stairs — used to be a cinch. Once you pass the half-century mark, probably not so much. Although they have a while to go in that regard, Bethel Park residents Jason and Rachel Zawodniak understand....

In 2009, the nonprofit assistance organization then known as South Hills Interfaith Ministries moved into its Bethel Park center on South Park Road. “We knew then there were issues with the building that we wanted to address at some point going forward,” executive director Jim Guffey recalled. Improvements such as...

Drumming up support for a land conservation effort in Ross may not be much of a problem, as Lindsay Dill learned while attending a township event. “A 9-year-old boy came up to me and said, ‘So, uh, how much do you need for this thing?,’ very confidently,” Dill recalled. “And...

Complete with frosty hair, even whiter teeth and ever-present sunglasses, meet Joe Bidentime. “He came into my life at the end of 2020. And the reason he came into my life was he was president, and I’m an equal-opportunity offender,” Bethel Park native April Brucker said. Four years earlier, she’d...

Pine-Richland School District’s real estate tax rate is expected to remain at 19.5867 mills, as stated in the 2024-25 proposed final general operating fund budget approved by the school board May 6. The board plans to vote June 10 on a final budget that includes total expenditures of just over...

In November, Paul McDonnell lost his wife of 30 years, Terri, to pancreatic cancer. “We did hospice at home, and I didn’t do any support groups when she was sick,” he recalled. “There was too much care that had to be given.” After Terri’s passing, he took the suggestion of...

The second of three planned phases of Hampton High School renovations could begin next spring. Representatives of construction management firm PJ Dick, which served as project manager for the first phase, presented a tentative timeline at the school board’s May 6 work session. They estimated the total Phase II cost...

When Kelly Enders told her daughter that she was going to tan her hide, she meant it literally. It seems that Bri Bicker has a Renaissance fair costume in which she portrays a satyr — “So she’s half-goat, half-human,” her mother said — and wanted to change it up with...

Here’s an idea: Use something old to create something new. And fashionable. That’s the concept behind Runway RePurposed, the May 22 fundraiser benefiting the Salvation Army Family Caring Center in East Liberty. Plus it’s a pursuit on which Erika Graham, who chairs Pine-Richland’s family and consumer science department, embarked quite...

Be careful with those apple cores. “If I just throw it out my window, sure, it’s going to degrade. It’s going to decompose,” wildlife habitat educator Nick Stahlman said. “But what’s most likely to happen before that happens is some sort of animal is going to come investigate it and...

Fans of Bonnie Raitt were disappointed, and probably more than a bit concerned, when the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer canceled her Pittsburgh concert 11 months ago to undergo surgery. The wait was worth it. Raitt’s rescheduled appearance, a sold-out show Monday at Heinz Hall, showed that, at age...

Beyond the basics of time signatures, sharps and flats, and treble and bass clefs is a whole world of teaching piano. Hampton resident Mary Lynne Bennett started giving lessons before she turned 20, and along with being a wife and mother of three, providing instruction continues as a primary focus....

To continue working toward an expansion of North Park, Allegheny Land Trust is seeking help from Hampton. “They’ve been working the past few years to acquire parcels for an uncompleted phase of the Hemlocks plan, off Big Rock Road,” municipal manager Ryan Jeroski said about land adjoining a townhouse development...

Since the advent of area codes, “412” has a special meaning for Pittsburgh. As such, April 12 does, too. Given the name of the Pine-based philanthropic group 412 Gives Back, planning an event for 4/12 was a natural. So on “412 Day,” 60 or so volunteers gathered to mark the...

The van used by Hampton Township School District to address heating, ventilation and air-conditioning needs is a 2009 model. “It’s definitely past its useful time,” Jeff Kline, director of administrative services/transportation, said. “We don’t feel it will pass inspection this year.” During the April 15 school board meeting, he presented...

When she was young, Jean Reidy wrote stories and stapled the pages together to make books. She continues to do so, minus the stapler. The native of suburban Chicago recently visited two Bethel Park elementary schools to talk in part about her experience as an award-winning children’s author. Her main...

In 1981, Ann Talman placed a call from New York City to her hometown Upper St. Clair, announcing: “Dad! I got the Broadway show. And guess what? Guess who’s playing my mother? Elizabeth Taylor!” What followed was 18 months of touring with a cast that also included Maureen Stapleton and...

One of the catchiest campaign slogans in American history is “I like Ike.” It turned out to be effective, too: Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president twice, both times by relative landslide. And the statement apparently reflects Eisenhower’s personality to a tee. “He was a genuine, authentic person,” historian Dick...

The prevailing employer attitude toward workers seems to focus on squeezing blood from the proverbial turnip, with regard to little but the bottom line. Franklin Park resident Stephanie Kirby offers quite the change of pace with her business, the Blue Daisy Floral Design in Ross. “It’s very much quality of...