Plum hires police officers, honors sports teams
Three new police officers were approved by the Plum Borough Council members at their July meeting: Timothy Troy, Cara Sterling and Jeffrey Bonicky. Troy and Sterling were at the meeting to meet with the council, and Bonicky was on a military assignment. “New faces, new blood, new energy,” said police...
Plum thanks Pat McAfee after another donation
Former Indianapolis Colts punter, current TV star and Plum native Pat McAfee was thanked by the borough for another charitable act. McAfee paid for every child age 17 and younger to have an all-day ride ticket at Plum’s SummerFest. According to borough manager Michael Thomas, the total cost was around...
Plum appoints deputy superintendent as interim superintendent
The Plum Borough School Board voted June 13 to appoint Rick Walsh as interim superintendent. Board President Michael Devine said the district would begin negotiating a contract with Walsh to make him the next superintendent. Walsh has been with the district since 2018 as assistant superintendent and later deputy superintendent,...
Plum hires athletic director Drew Karpen away from Highlands
Drew Karpen is Plum Borough School District’s new athletic director and coordinator of student activities following his hiring at the June 13 school board meeting. Karpen served as athletic director and transportation director at Highlands School District. Prior to that, he was an assistant in the North Allegheny athletic department....
Plum adds varsity teams for girls
Plum Borough School Board voted May 30 to recognize golf and wrestling for girls as varsity-level sports. The school district added a girls wrestling team last June, and members just finished their first season, competing in events primarily hosted by other districts. When Plum sanctioned girls wrestling, it was the...
Author dedicates book to former instructor at Forbes Road Career and Technology Center in Monroeville
Forbes Road Career and Technology Center alumna Dorothy Andreas dedicated her third book, “Build a Million Dollar Beauty Business: Proven Strategies to Streamline Your Success,” to a former Forbes teacher. Val Zola, a retired instructor and former head teacher for the cosmetology department at Forbes the Monroeville trade school, is...
Plum food workers reach deal
Plum Borough School District and Plum Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ reached a new four-year agreement as their current agreement, a three-year contract signed in 2020, was set to expire. “The union and district teams have worked hard over the last six months to provide a contract that balances...
Plum board approves contract with teachers
The Plum Borough School Board voted May 30 to approve the six-year contract that the school district signed tentatively with teachers this month. The deal will extend the current contract from 2024 to 2029. “We started in the fall,” Superintendent Brendan Hyland said about the negotiating process, “on the off...
Meet new student representative to Plum board
Therese Schollaert was introduced as the new student representative to Plum Borough School Board during its May 30 meeting. She succeeds Lauren Price, who graduated and plans to attend the University of Notre Dame to study civil engineering. “It was an honor to be a voice for my student body...
Banner year for Plum robotics
Robert Miller, the adviser for Plum’s school robotics club, wasn’t sure if the program would survive past this year. When the team’s previous advisers stepped down a week before school started and his son couldn’t find a replacement teacher, Miller stepped up despite being, as he put it, “just a...
Plum honored for music education
Plum Borough School District’s music department continues to rack up awards. For the fifth consecutive year, Plum has received the Best Communities for Music Education designation from the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation. “The music staff is pleased to be part of a community where music and the visual...
Plum alum gives the gift of cleats
A former Plum High School baseball player is giving back to the program that gave so much to him. Nick Frazetta, a 2015 graduate, donated new cleats to each member of this year’s varsity team. He presented the cleats in person to the team in March, an experience that both...
Plum High School robotics receives $62,500 donation
Two local robotics engineers are giving back to their alma mater significantly. Plum High School graduates Don and Joe Doerfler donated $62,500 to the high school’s robotics club, which competes in BotsIQ, a workforce development program of the Pittsburgh Chapter National Tooling and Machining Foundation. The brothers’ own competitive team...
Plum student selected to play with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
A Plum High School orchestra student will have the chance to perform for the whole city. Justin Muretisch, a senior at Plum, has been selected with others from around the area to participate in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s Side-by-Side mentoring program. “I always knew I wanted to play, (and) if...
Friends of Jupiter Pet Walk returns to Boyce Park in Plum
A charity dog walk is returning to Boyce Park after being conducted virtually the previous few years because of the covid-19 pandemic. “We were virtual, but I still remained active on social media and people still made donations,” Friends of Jupiter Pet Walk organizer Nicole Orlando said. “I was still...
Turning 20: Plum pizza shop nears two decades in business
For many kids growing up in the Plum area, Somma’s Pizza has been the place to go after a Little League baseball win. Trophies donated from football, baseball and especially hockey teams can be found in a case by the restaurant’s game room. Business cards are near the front door,...
Plum dog trainer featured on Bloomberg TV’s ‘World’s Greatest!’
If you look at the logo of Say It Once Dog Training, you will see a friendly, well-trained canine. You may not see it for what it has become, a shrine to a man’s best friend. Vinnie Somma adopted Trigger, the dog the logo is based on, 11 years ago....
Plum School Board elects new leadership
Plum Borough School Board elected Michael Devine as president and Michael Caliguiri as vice president by a 7-2 vote during the board’s annual reorganization meeting on Dec. 6. “I am honored and excited that the board has once again placed their trust in me to lead us into the next...
Founder’s daughter takes over as managing partner at Plum restaurant
Zen Restaurant and Sushi Bar in Plum has undergone an ownership change, although the faces around the restaurant may not change as far as the regulars are concerned. Victoria Weng, 24-year-old daughter of previous owner Mei Liu, is now one of the youngest managing partners of a restaurant in the...
Plum elementary students gain school board recognition
Plum Borough School Board honored numerous kindergartners through fourth-graders who were chosen based on recommendations by their teachers. The recognition by the Plum Mustang Foundation relates to the Rachel’s Challenge initiative put in place to help combat mental health issues in the community and promote a more positive environment. Students...
Plum alumna crowned Miss Duquesne
Plum Senior High School alumna Cassie Wiles didn’t plan on being a pageant winner. In fact, she signed up for the Miss Duquesne pageant expecting to lose, but her friends encouraged her to compete. Those expectations proved to be unfounded as Wiles was awarded the crown by a panel of...
Council meeting christens new municipal building in Plum
Plum Borough Council held its first meeting at the new municipal building on Nov. 14. The $12 million building is still partly under construction, and not all tenants have moved in yet, but it will be the site for council meetings going forward. “Welcome to Plum’s new home,” borough manager...
Seniors best juniors in 30th annual Plum powderpuff game
Senior and junior girls competed in the 30th annual powderpuff game for Plum Senior High School, with the seniors pulling away to win 20-0. In the defensive battle, the senior girls scored the first touchdown with approximately three minutes left in the first half on a run by Mia Matolcsy....
Powderpuff football tradition spreads in Plum
Powderpuff games are a high school tradition, and at Plum Senior High, they’ve taken place for the past three decades. But for the first time in the school district’s history, some younger girls had their chance to shine on the football field as Plum Middle School held its first powderpuff...
Plum hires new school police officer
Plum Borough School Board unanimously approved the appointment of Officer James Miller to the school district’s police department. Miller, whose was hired at the board’s Oct. 25 meeting, will be stationed at Holiday Park Intermediate School for the remainder of this school year. He has been a resident of Plum...
