Michael DiVittorio stories, Page 112
Sewickley officials approve new police services contract with Glen Osborne Borough
Sewickley officials have finalized a new police services contract with Glen Osborne Borough. Council unanimously approved a five-year contract on Nov. 10. Glen Osborne signed off on the deal last month. Sewickley officers have patrolled their neighboring community’s streets for about a decade. The current five-year deal was set to...
Plum Community Center closed to the public, most programs moved online
Plum Community Center may be closed to visitors, but its programs are still very much open to the public. Center Executive Director Karen Hochberg said her facility, which serves between 70 to 80 seniors a week, has been closed since mid-March due to the covid-19 pandemic. That means no cafeteria,...
Plum School District celebrated Veterans Day with a virtual program, various activities
With not having guests in buildings due to covid-19, Plum School District students found different ways to honor the military’s men and women on Veterans Day. The high school honored veterans throughout the day on Nov. 11 via virtual ceremony. Principal Joe Fishell and cadets from the Plum Air Force...
Oakmont Councilwoman Carrie DelRosso claims victory in race to unseat Frank Dermody
Oakmont Councilwoman Carrie Lewis DelRosso claimed victory Tuesday night in her race to unseat state House Minority Leader Frank Dermody. DelRosso, a Republican, had collected 51.5% of the votes counted compared with Dermody’s 48.5%, a margin of 923 votes, according to unofficial results from the Pennsylvania Department of State. “I’m...
Sewickley officials plan to hold the line on taxes in 2021 budget
Sewickley officials want to hold the line on real estate taxes with the 2021 budget. Council unanimously approved next year’s preliminary spending plan on Nov. 10. The millage rate is expected to stay at 6.25 mills. “I think that the budget is solid,” council President Jeff Neff said. “I would...
Sewickley Public Library’s $1.3 million repair project clears another hurdle
A roof and a heating, ventilation and air conditioning repair project at the Sewickley Public Library has cleared another hurdle. Borough council unanimously voted Tuesday night to approve a “certificate of appropriateness” for the HVAC portion of the work at 500 Thorn St. It granted the certificate for the roof...
Riverview School District welcomes students back in second 9-weeks hybrid model
The Riverview School District has switched to a hybrid learning model this grading period with most students back in school a couple days a week. The switch this month from all online learning to a mix of in-person student groups and continued at-home education was was welcomed by Verona parent...
Volunteers are wanted for Plum’s annual holiday extravaganza in December
Volunteers are wanted for the fifth annual Christmas at Plum Creek. The borough event is scheduled for 5:30 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 3 in Plum Creek Park along New Texas Road. There will be a tree lighting ceremony with a likely visit from Santa, food trucks and caroling. Plum...
No tax increased proposed for Plum’s 2021 budget, paving and park upgrades planned
Plum council plans to hold the line on taxes for the fourth straight year. Borough officials unanimously approved advertising the 2021 spending plan and real estate tax ordinance Nov. 9. They plan on adopting the final budget at council’s Dec. 14 voting session and maintaining the millage rate at 4.78...
Steel City Con in Monroeville rescheduled to April because of covid-19 concerns
Steel City Con, one of the largest conventions in the nation and exclusive to the Monroeville Convention Center, has been postponed again due to covid-19 safety concerns. Organizers were hoping to have pop culture and comic book enthusiasts return to 209 Mall Blvd. in December after having to cancel their...
Pittsburgh Diocese: Sacred Heart volleyball team moved to online learning due to covid-19
Sacred Heart Elementary School volleyball team will learn online for two weeks due to someone testing positive for covid-19, Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh officials announced. Diocese spokesman Bob DeWitt said Wednesday that someone associated with the team tested positive for the virus, and 19 people involved with the team must...
New Goodwill store and donation center opens in Penn Hills
The new Goodwill store and donation center in the Penn Hills Shopping Center is now open. A grand opening celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremnony took place Nov. 5. There was a DJ, and people were dancing as part of the celebration. “We’re excited to be in Penn Hills,” said assistant manager...
Pittsburgh police: Man shot while driving in Homewood
A man was hospitalized in stable condition after being shot in Pittsburgh on Thursday evening. Officers responded to 911 calls for a person shot just before 5:45 p.m. along the 6900 block of Penn Avenue. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said the victim told police he was shot a while...
Seton LaSalle Catholic High School closed at least through Sunday due to 2nd covid case
Seton LaSalle Catholic High School students will be learning remotely starting Friday after a second person at the school tested positive for covid-19. All activities in the building this weekend have been canceled as well, according to a release from the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. It is unclear when the...
Penn Hills School District students pledge to promote peace
Penn Hills School District students recently participated in a non-violence week and promoted peace and unity. Students signed a peace pledge, and the signed pledges were hung in hallways. Elementary students also made various crafts featuring peace signs and positive messages....
Ohio Valley Lines in Ambridge cancels open house, holiday train display this year
Model trains of Ohio Valley Lines in Ambridge will not pull out of their station this year due to health concerns and covid-19 safety restrictions. The club of locomotive enthusiasts have hosted an open house and holiday display for nearly 40 years. It’s been held the last two decades at...
Plum School District approves new deal with its food services department
Plum School District officials recently inked a new three-year deal with their food service workers. The previous contract expired in June. The new deals runs through this school year and the next two. District Business Manager John Zahorchak said the five cook managers and 25 other food service workers will...
Medical examiner IDs man shot, killed in car in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park area
A man was fatally shot inside a vehicle in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park area Wednesday night. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the victim as Lavonte Martel Howard, 28, of Pittsburgh. City Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said officers responded to a Shotspotter alert for multiple shots fired shortly before 8:10...
Pittsburgh police: Man in critical condition after being struck by vehicle
A man was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle in the city’s Homewood West neighborhood. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said officers responded to a pedestrian struck by a vehicle shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday along the 800 block of Lincoln Avenue....
Protesters in Downtown Pittsburgh disperse, 3 from splinter group arrested
Pittsburgh police have arrested three people in connection with a protest downtown Wednesday night, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety officials. The arrests came after a small group of protesters broke off from a larger group and began overturning every garbage can they passed and knocking over traffic signs shortly before...
Tree planting near Beulah Presbyterian Church provides environmental boost to Churchill area
Volunteers from several organizations came together late last month to make the landscape of Churchill a little greener. More than 70 people planted 115 trees in the area between Beulah Presbyterian Church, its nearby cemetery and the Parkway East. The church partnered with Garfield Community Farm and Plant Five for...
Fire displaces 5 Harmar residents
The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a blaze that displaced five Harmar residents. Flames erupted in a garage at 241 Sweet Gum Road shorty after 9 p.m. Tuesday. Firefighters from several nearby communities were able to knock it down in about an hour and limit the damage to...
DUI, theft cases among those recently handled in Judge Zucco’s Plum court
Plum District Court Judge Linda Zucco handled these cases recently. Defendants will have court dates set in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. Charges were filed by Plum police unless otherwise noted. Held for court • Chasity Gervasoni, 28, of Duquesne on charges of receiving stolen property, driving with...
2 of the 3 people killed in Saturday’s shooting in Pittsburgh’s Allentown have been identified
Allegheny County officials identified two of the three people killed in a Saturday night shooting in Pittsburgh. City police continue to investigate the incident, which took place shortly after 9 p.m. along Beltzhoover Avenue near Edgemont Street. Laffayette Gordon, 21, and Joseph Hendricks, 17, both of Pittsburgh, were fatally shot...
Oakmont Thanksgiving food drive underway for Rosedale Food Pantry
Food pantries like the one in Penn Hills’ Rosedale Methodist Church are preparing to serve more families than usual this holiday season. “This is our busy time,” said John Dick, Rosedale Food Pantry director. “It will probably increase this month and through Christmas.” The pantry helps an average of 170...
