Natalie Beneviat stories, Page 15
Marshall holds 35-year real estate tax line
Marshall enters its 35th straight year without a real estate tax increase, with the rate of 1.42 mills remaining among the lowest in Allegheny County. The township’s 2024 budget, as approved unanimously by supervisors in December, calls for $9.836 million in expenditures, a slight increase over last year’s $9.358 million....
Family donates $20,000 to North Allegheny High School theater department
John Woffington, who directed nearly 40 plays while a teacher at North Allegheny, is continuing his love of the stage by gifting the district’s theater department $20,000. He and his wife, Judy, presented a $20,000 check to benefit the North Allegheny High School theater department on Jan. 3 to theater...
North Allegheny Foundation honors distinguished alumni
Nine North Allegheny High School alumni will be honored for their postgraduate contributions during the 2024 North Allegheny Foundation’s Distinguished Alumni Gala on Jan. 25 at The Chadwick in McCandless. Each honoree represents a different award category: arts, business, community service, education, government, law, medicine, science and young alumni who...
‘Happy that we’re staying’: Land purchase preserves North Park ‘gateway’
Local businesses in North Park along East Ingomar Road in McCandless are staying put for now, thanks to a local resident and business owner who bought the property in late December. Jason Wolfe purchased the 41-acre parcel from Joy Irwin, the daughter of the late Joan Ammer of Fox Chapel,...
Ingomar Elementary students in the North Allegheny School District craft gingerbread look-alikes
Students at Ingomar Elementary School added some sparkle to the Ashton Commons Senior Living Center in McCandless by making cardboard gingerbread houses during art class to be displayed at the senior community’s Light Up Night on Dec. 8....
Marshall Township teen writes book for elementary girls ‘The Four Take on the Fifth’
Eighteen-year-old Sawyer Wright has penned a book about four fourth-graders moving up to fifth grade and their experiences. She wrote “The Four Take on the Fifth” as part of her project to win a Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts of USA. “My goal with...
Chief of police at the North Allegheny School District hired at a $105,000 annual salary
The North Allegheny School Board hired a task force officer with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to serve as the school district’s first chief of school police, safety and security and as school safety coordinator. Eric Harpster — who has more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, according to...
Santa, cookies kick off Christmas Eve 5K in North Park
Work off those inevitable Christmas cookie calories by racing in the Christmas Eve 5K Run/Walk in North Park. The event, sponsored by Wolf Creek Race Management, starts at 10 a.m. Dec. 24 near the lake at the North Park Swimming Pool on South Ridge Drive in Allison Park. Volunteers from...
Winterfest in McCandless attracts hundreds to holiday event
Hundreds of people came out for McCandless Township’s third annual Winterfest celebration on Dec. 2. Food, games, light displays and fireworks were part of the fun. The event was held at the public works garage adjacent to the township building on Grubbs Road. Winterfest is one of the township’s best-attended...
Warner voted in as president of North Allegheny School Board
The North Allegheny School Board will be led by two Democrats. School board members elected Democrat Elizabeth Warner as president during a board reorganization meeting Dec. 6 by a vote of 7-0 with two abstentions. Democrat Paige Hardy was elected vice president on a 5-4 vote. Warner, who was re-elected...
Lights, decorations wrap up the holiday season in the North Allegheny Area
Wrap up December with holiday fun in the North Allegheny area, including adding some unique decor to the Christmas tree. Franklin Park Borough is selling a commemorative tree ornament to celebrate its bicentennial this year. The silver ornament showcases the borough’s new logo on a stocking with the words “Franklin...
Bell ringers critical to Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign, ringing opportunities exist in Pittsburgh’s North Suburbs
This updated version corrects the addresses of the Walmart and Kuhn’s stores where bell ringers can sign up for a shift. Back in the 1800s, when Salvation Army Captain Joseph McFee was a sailor back in Liverpool, England, there was a big iron kettle called “The Simpson’s Pot” where passersby...
Officials: North Allegheny 2019 bond fund may be used up after 2025-26 school year
The North Allegheny School District continues to use proceeds of a 2019 bond to finance capital projects, but that money may be exhausted after the year 2025-2026. The bond fund contained almost $8 million as of Oct. 31, said Kermit Houser, NA director of finance and treasurer, during a Nov....
North Allegheny exploring creation of 1 campus for senior, intermediate high schools
The North Allegheny School Board is planning its next steps for a possible high school renovation, and there seems to be interest in creating one campus for both the senior and intermediate high schools, said board Director Richard McClure, the board representative to the building and grounds committee. Currently, the...
North Allegheny School Board approves multiple personnel changes at special meeting
The North Allegheny School Board approved a slew of top personnel changes at a special meeting Nov. 29 amid calls by some community members that the board should delay the vote until next month. “No one should be voting on this tonight. No one should be voting at this meeting,”...
Stop the Judgement passes out nearly 100 Narcan kits in Marshall event
Stop the Judgement Project distributed nearly 100 kits containing the drug Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, during a Nov. 25 event at Generoasta Coffee and Cafe in Marshall Township. Those attending were also trained free of charge to spot the signs of an overdose and...
Santa to visit McCandless museum, which will get a new executive director
Santa will be visiting the McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage and Cultural Center on Aufman Lane in McCandless on Dec. 9 from 1 to 4 p.m. The event will also feature a story time and train display, according to Executive Director Joe Wall. He said Santa also will be bringing gifts and...
McCandless hosts Winterfest Dec. 2
Santa and the sisters of “Frozen” fame — Princess Anna and her sister Queen Elsa — will be honored guests at the third annual Winterfest in McCandless on Dec. 2 from 4 to 7 p.m. “Winterfest comes at a time when families are looking to celebrate the holiday seasons and...
Home schooling a strong option in North Allegheny area
There’s been a steady growth of homeschooling in the North Allegheny School District, according to a report presented to the school board. “Homeschooling did increase significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and remaining at its highest level we’ve seen while other enrollment levels have re-balanced,” said Yuko Wong, data manager at...
More than 150 people attend Diwali open house in McCandless
More than 150 people attended a celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, at an open house Nov. 13 hosted by Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-McCandless, at his McCandless office. Venkat was born in India and is Pennsylvania’s first state representative of Indian American background. He immigrated to the United...
Wild turkey population ‘unbelievable’ this year, with wooded areas of Allegheny County popular spots for birds
No doubt about it. It’s tough to be a turkey this Thanksgiving. The farm-bred birds end up in the supermarket. And in parts of Allegheny County and Southwest Pennsylvania, there’s a Thanksgiving wild turkey hunting season from Nov. 22 to 24, said Travis Lau, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Game Commission....
McCandless proposes 1st-time contribution to McCandless Franklin Park Ambulance Authority
The proposed 2024 budget for McCandless contains the township’s first-ever cash contribution to the McCandless Franklin Park Ambulance Authority, according to Assistant Town Manager and Finance Director Trisha Greathouse. The authority had requested $161,680 from McCandless, whose population is the largest of the five communities the authority serves. The town...
McCandless holds the line on real estate taxes for 19th year in $28M proposed spending plan
For the 19th straight year, McCandless has held the line on property taxes. “There is no planned increase in the real estate tax millage” in the town’s proposed $28 million budget for 2024, said Assistant Town Manager and Finance Director Trisha Greathouse. The real estate millage rate will remain at...
North Allegheny student growth is slow but steady, report finds
The slow, but steady growth in the North Allegheny School District is coming at a good pace, according to William Kirk, assistant director of project management and infrastructure at North Allegheny. “What we’re seeing is a stable housing market, not an explosive one. We like what we’re seeing here,” Kirk...
McCandless race brings 2 Republicans, 1 Democrat to town council
Two Republicans and one Democrat won seats Nov. 7 on McCandless Council in races for three contested ward seats, according to unofficial results from the Allegheny County Board of Elections. Republican Doug Arlow defeated Democrat Claire Buonocore, 729 to 700, in Ward 1; Democrat Nicholas Giorgetti took the Ward 3...
