Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 117
Chase Bank to fill long-vacant O’Hara property
Construction along Fox Chapel Road in O’Hara this fall will put an end to musings about potential projects for a former Sunoco gas station property. Council on July 9 approved a minor land development proposal by Chase Bank to build at 50 Fox Chapel Road, the previous longtime site of...
Feeding time at the James Sharp Landing
Sharpsburg resident Jennifer Daniels took time Tuesday morning with her daughter, Cheyenne Galford, to feed the ducks swimming in the Allegheny River at the James Sharp Landing along 13th Street. Daniels is a lifelong resident of the borough and said the summer spot has changed dramatically since she was a...
Portion of Jacoby Road in Harmar to close for 4 months
Motorists who travel through Harmar near the Indiana Township line should expect delays the next four months while a portion of Jacoby Road is closed for bridge work. Specifically, Little Deer Creek Bridge No. 5 was scheduled to close at 6 a.m. July 17 for reconstruction, the Allegheny County Department...
UPMC St. Margaret earns 3rd Magnet designation
UPMC St. Margaret has made history by becoming the first UPMC hospital in western Pennsylvania to achieve a third Magnet designation. Employees gathered together and were flooded by a balloon drop when the call came in from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), public relations manager Stephanie Stanley said. Magnet...
Aspinwall council beefing up rental inspections
Aspinwall council is expected this week to discuss changes to the borough’s ordinance regarding rental inspections. Council will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the municipal office at 217 Commercial Avenue. Manager Melissa Lang said amendments could be made to code enforcement that would require registration and inspection of all...
Video: Top Lower Valley stories of the weekVideo
Here are some of the news highlights from around the Lower Valley for the week of June 30: • Fox Chapel teen bikes across country for Parkinson’s. • Bear cub spotted on camera in Sharpsburg. • Fox Chapel Area Superintendent to retire. • Delays expected for Route 28 road work....
Etna camp combines religion, science; registration open for elementary students
A day camp will be hosted this month in Etna for area elementary school children to explore “God and His World.” The camp will be hosted at Emmanuel Lutheran Church at Grant and Highland avenues. It is July 29 to Aug. 2. Cost is $10. Along with traditional activities like...
Delays likely due to traffic restrictions near Highland Park Bridge
Motorists who travel Route 28 near the Highland Park Bridge can expect delays next week. Crews will be working in the southbound lanes of the expressway on Monday and Tuesday, PennDOT announced. Survey work will be done on a stretch of the highway through Etna, Sharpsburg, O’Hara and Shaler. Traffic...
Fox Chapel Presbyterian seeking donations for Harvest Fair
Collections are underway for the much-anticipated yearly fundraiser at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church. The Harvest Fair, hosted this year on Sept. 27-28, is accepting donations Mondays through Saturdays. The event has been hosted more than 60 years in an effort to support local outreach efforts. In 2018, the fair brought...
Aspinwall sprinkler pool clogged 3 times with mulch
Members of the Aspinwall public works department are becoming frequent visitors to the borough’s sprinkler pool at the Field Avenue playground — but it’s not to cool off. Manager Melissa Lang said the pool’s drain has been clogged with mulch or other debris three times in the span of a...
Photos: Aspinwall’s ‘Rock the River’
The “Rock the River” concert series returned last week to Aspinwall Riverfront Park, giving music lovers and outdoor enthusiasts a reason to spend the night under the stars. The June 30 event included a show by The Shiners, as well as free kayaking and fishing through Venture Outdoors and Kayak...
Fox Chapel Area Superintendent to retire in 2020
Fox Chapel Area School District Superintendent Gene Freeman has announced his impending retirement after five years with the district. His departure is effective June 12, 2020. Freeman said it has been a great honor to lead the district and he’s proud of the path it has taken. Since he began...
Audubon seeks volunteers to collect discarded fishing line in O’Hara, along North Shore
With more than one million birds killed each year from debris like discarded fishing line, the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is seeking people to help combat those numbers. The group, headquartered at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel, is looking for stewards to maintain fishing line recycling bins....
Fox Chapel Area’s Gina Wang earns volunteer award from UPMC St. Margaret
Recent Fox Chapel Area graduate Gina Wang spent the final two years of high school volunteering at UPMC St. Margaret, escorting patients to physical therapy appointments. For her efforts, she earned the 2019 UPMC St. Margaret student volunteer scholarship worth $1,000. Officials at the hospital, near Aspinwall, said Wang was...
Bear cub caught on camera crossing Sharpsburg street
Sharpsburg Mayor Matt Rudzki chuckled at the surveillance video of a bear cub wandering Sunday night through the borough. “It likely lost it bearings,” he joked. In all seriousness, the mayor said he could barely believe it when police Officer Dan Sciulli called to report the sighting, captured on video...
Portion of Reis Run in Ross remains closed
Motorists traveling through Ross Township are reminded that a portion of Reis Run Road remains closed while crews correct a landslide. The road is shut down in both directions between Rochester and Arndt roads to everyone except local residents. Other traffic will be detoured to Rochester Road where they can...
Etna-Sharpsburg to host inaugural National Night Out
Etna and Sharpsburg will join municipalities across the region in hosting a National Night Out this summer. The inaugural celebration will be 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 6 at the Gateway Portal, along Bridge and North Main streets. Hailed as a night of appreciation for first responders, the event is...
NWS: Microburst damaged Quicksilver Golf Club as storms walloped region
Strong storms moved through the region Thursday night, packing a wallop and leaving trees down, roads blocked and activities canceled — even delivering a wallop to a Washington County golf course. “It was a strong microburst,” Shannon Hefferan, a meteorologist the National Weather Service in Moon, said of the cell...
Bell Acres bears latest in string of regional sightings
Bell Acres residents should be on the lookout for an unwanted visitor. Police have issued two warnings this week about black bear sightings in the borough. On June 26, police posted on Facebook about a black bear in the area of Witherow Road. The animal stopped for a snack at...
1 injured in McKees Rocks shooting
Police are investigating an overnight shooting in McKees Rocks that sent one person to the hospital, borough officials said. Officers were called at about 11 p.m. to Woodward Avenue. The police chief was not immediately available to discuss details. BREAKING: police in McKees Rocks investigating overnight incident that sent someone...
Man charged in connection with shooting at Homestead playground
An 18-year-old man who police believe was not the shooter was arrested in connection with Wednesday’s shooting at the Charlie Batch Playground in Homestead. Allegheny County police claim Demon Ross provided a gun to the shooter suspected in the incident. Ross was charged with carrying a firearm without a license,...
Police investigating man accused of taking photos of children at SandcastleVideo
West Homestead police are investigating reports of a man who may have been taking photos of children at Sandcastle Water Park , WPXI reported. A woman told police she noticed the man at about 6 p.m. on Tuesday, sitting inside a car in the parking lot of the popular summer...
Police: Armed Homewood man barricaded inside home with children
Members of a Homewood family are safe after Pittsburgh SWAT officers were able to negotiate with an armed man who barricaded himself inside his home with two small children, police said. Officers from Zone 5 were called at 10:15 p.m. Wednesday to a home in the 7100 block of Everton...
Photos: Etna carnival
The annual Etna carnival is drawing hundreds of people to the borough for rides, games, food and music. The festivities begin at 6 p.m. through June 29. Sponsored by the Etna Economic Development Corporation, the carnival is a long-standing tradition....
Missing teen girl from West Newton safe, found with man in New Jersey
A teenage girl from West Newton reported missing Tuesday was found in New Jersey on Wednesday in the company of a 23-year-old man. Donna Long, 16, wasn’t harmed and was in the custody of police in Middlesex County, N.J., Wednesday afternoon, according to Officer Michael Stefko of the West Newton...

