Harry Funk stories, Page 8

Football season could be right around the corner at Hampton High School. Pending school board approval on March 11, the Talbots are on the way toward fielding a girls flag football club in the spring. Athletic director Michael Gavlik gave a presentation at the board’s March 4 work session about...

In her latest book, Pine resident Lori M. Jones writes about a teenager who bears a scar from a series of surgeries. “Cracked wide open, actually,” the main character, Annalise, muses. “Like a clamshell.” And so begins “Freaky Heart,” a journey through the mind of a young woman who was...

When the school day’s final bell rang, teenagers of yesteryear may have headed for a malt shop or the arcade at the mall, with dimes for milkshakes or quarters for pinball. Here in the 21st century, students are equipped with payment apps on their cellphones, ready to spend several dollars...

Art projects for preteens rarely involve prospects for permanence. Hampton Middle School is making an exception. In the fall, students completed a mural that went on display in the school cafeteria, and another sizable painting is in the works to brighten the courtyard for years to come. “If it’s around...

The sun never rises on Sunset Place Recording Studio in Richland, at least not in the part where the action is. “We’re underground, so you don’t have to worry about bothering the neighbors,” owner Destin LeCornu said. “You can crank it up as loud as you want.” For example, guests...

In the fall, an email made the rounds at Hampton High School seeking a coach for the unified bocce team. Christine Larson answered the call. “It was something that interested me, because I like kids, obviously,” Larson, a paraeducator who works with special-needs students, said. “I like to be involved...

Winter in Western Pennsylvania … chocolate box in “Forrest Gump” … You get the idea. Heading into the final weekend of February, the temperature climbed toward 60 degrees for a bright, mild Friday afternoon. Then people woke up to a dusting of Saturday-morning snow, which melted as soon as the...

Maybe it was a finger painting or stick-figure sketch, or perhaps something you drew using Spirograph. Whatever the style, your creation may have earned a prominent place on the family refrigerator, to be viewed every time someone opened the door. Now, imagine your work on display where hundreds of people...

If a relatively mild winter has you thinking about summer, keep a prime Pine attraction in mind. The splash pad at Pine Community Park is receiving a new ultraviolet water-treating system, thanks to township supervisors approving its $42,100 purchase during their Feb. 20 meeting. The cost is well below the...

The new fitness room at the Pine Community Center represents a two-for-one deal. A pair of smaller rooms minus a wall dividing them equals a sum that effectively is greater than its parts. “This is a dream come true,” fitness coordinator Lynda Brletic said. “For the past year and a...

You’ve seen fancy art gallery openings depicted on television and in movies, where attentive waiters serve hors d’oeuvres and champagne to nattily dressed guests. The ambience will be similar in the Bethel Park Public Library Children’s Department, except that any bubbly beverages won’t be of the alcoholic variety. Youngsters from...

Last season’s North Hills Middle School seventh-grade girls went undefeated on the basketball court. Coach Jason Pirring wasn’t necessarily expecting a repeat for the players as eighth graders. “This year, we had the bull’s-eye on our back,” he said. “Everybody knew. A lot of coaches came up before the game...

Pine-Richland School District last raised the real estate tax rate seven years ago, and it may hold steady again for 2024-25. The school board voted in January not to exceed an increase of 5.3% for next year, as per the base index set for the district as set by the...

Although she was born with a heart defect, Pine-Richland High School student Riley Jones leads close to a typical teenage life. She’s a member of the color guard in the school’s marching band. She likes to bake and paint, and she loves to dance. Riley does have to avoid playing...

The concept is simple. You roll a small ball, and wherever it stops, players launching larger spheres try to propel them as close to that point as possible. But however mundane that type of activity may seem, consider that people have participated in it for at least 7,000 years. And...

Hampton High School teachers apparently prefer educating to monitoring. “They didn’t always want to be the bad guys in the hallway, asking kids, ‘Can I see your pass?’” assistant principal Joshua Cable said. “That’s not the way we want to interact with our kids. We want to keep them accountable,...

They had the misfortune of seeing them, swastika-bearing banners flying above the streets of their towns. They couldn’t help but hear them, youngsters their age dressed in Hitler Youth attire and singing Nazi Party anthems. “I hate the songs,” Edith Leuchter says in a video in which she and her...

Folks who attended schools before they were equipped with air conditioning will remember how the heat of late summer and spring wasn’t exactly conducive to optimal learning. While Pine-Richland buildings have more advanced systems for temperature control, mounting inefficiencies caused by aging prompted school district officials to embark on upgrades....

One of people’s most common fears is public speaking. For folks who have such an aversion, try to imagine public singing. As a member of the band the Altered Egos, Hampton High School graduate Ann Hodos frequently treats audiences to her vocal talents. But she’ll admit to some trepidation as...

The parade involved simply turning a couple of corners inside a Robinson Township building. But to its young participants, it may as well have taken place along 34th Street on Thanksgiving. Thanks to Variety — the Children’s Charity, based regionally in Pine, six children had the opportunity to navigate their...

Next year’s Pine-Richland High School freshmen must wait to learn if the historical novel “Angel of Greenwood” will be required reading. The school board on Jan. 22 tabled a vote to approve the book as a core text for the ninth-grade English curriculum, as recommended by a selection committee following...

If you have a smartphone, you’re a photographer. “More pictures are being taken now, millions and millions of pictures,” Marie Golio acknowledged. “But we don’t do anything with them, so they’re being lost.” Sure, many of the images turn up on social media or online sharing platforms. But even more...