Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 18

A sober game room opening in Sharpsburg is expected to be a game changer for people in addiction recovery. “It’s designed for fellowship because people with addiction issues need support and camaraderie,” said Larry Wagner, a Fox Chapel resident and board member of the Addiction Recovery Ministry who is spearheading...

George Honchar of Carnegie said it was like “coming home” to attend the reopening services Sunday at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold. “This is my Bubba’s church,” Honchar said. “We come every year for a reunion, and it’s only natural that we would celebrate this.” The city’s only...

Organizers of the Glass City Heritage Festival said it was fitting to showcase Jeannette’s rich history during the street fair that aims to move the city forward. “We wanted to bring back what made the city important,” said Dawn Wallhausen, from You Are Here gallery. She helped spearhead a glass-blowing...

It’s not uncommon to see students at Curtisville Primary School dancing and stretching during class. The youngest students in the Deer Lakes School District have movement breaks, when they are encouraged to shake off “the blahs” and reenergize themselves to learn. Elsewhere in the school on Saxonburg Boulevard, tower gardens...

Students at Mary Queen of Apostles are rolling up their sleeves to do their part for the environment — and their bellies. Garden Club members are in their second year tending to a monarch butterfly sanctuary near the school’s front entrance on Elmtree Road in New Kensington. Plants such as...

The Highlands School Board might spend money on a facelift for the former Fawn Elementary School, but the larger question of what to do with the building still looms. The board on Monday heard a proposal from Chris Reiser, director of buildings and grounds, who urged action on a leaky...

Shoppers who love trying the latest skin care or cosmetic lines likely will be delighted with the newest addition to The Waterworks along Freeport Road near Aspinwall. Ulta Beauty is set to open by late fall in the space that formerly housed a state liquor store, which moved this year...

Curtisville Primary students learn more than soccer and dodge ball in Meghan Bright’s class. She teaches them from the earliest age how to care for their bodies with proper fuel, sleep and emotional balance. “Starting in kindergarten, my students learn about the functions of their body systems and how to...

Highlands sophomore Lillie Ryan is excited to have friends to run with on the high school’s cross country team this fall. The lone runner for the district, Ryan would have to forgo the sport if it weren’t for a co-op with neighboring St. Joseph High School. “I’m happy about it,”...

This time next year, West Deer Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 firefighters will be able to practice rappelling and rescue techniques without leaving the fire hall on Gibsonia Road. An indoor training space is among the highlights of ongoing renovations at the hall, which is a transformed commercial building that...

The Women’s Board of Pittsburgh hosted one of its most successful fundraisers in the group’s 30-year history, netting more than $98,000 for children’s charities. Hosted in the spring at Fox Chapel Golf Club, the annual event was dubbed “Sunset Safari, Fashion Their Future: Support Pittsburgh’s Children.” This year’s beneficiaries are...

Several times each week, a box truck arrives at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison to potentially save lives. A new mobile imaging pad outside the hospital on Carlisle Street allows rotating MRI and PET CT capabilities, opening 40 more appointments a week. The truck travels throughout the region, pulling up...

Highlands High School senior Gus Narang moved to the district from India in 2017 with dreams of an American education. “I left my family and everything I knew,” said Narang, a member of the school’s National Honor Society and the marching band’s drum major. “I knew nothing about this way...

Allegheny Valley Hospital union workers will gather for a candlelight vigil Thursday outside the Harrison facility ahead of a potential strike. About 450 union members on Friday authorized a strike, as they call for increased recruitment and compensation to help meet growing patient care needs. “We are ready to stand...

A castaway graduation gown and a pile of plastic spoons might look like they’re destined for the recycling bin. But for two Fox Chapel Area juniors, the scraps combined for a winning look that will sashay down a professional runway with a global audience. Ayla Ojanen and Lily McLaughlin, both...

West Deer police Sgt. Rob Petosky wears his pink with pride. For 13 years, he has helped to organize the township’s 5K Run/Walk to raise funds to fight breast cancer, which is the second-leading cause of cancer death in women. “When people can’t afford to go and have a mammogram,...

The lightning-fast turf fields at No Offseason Sports in West Deer don’t scare Special Olympian pitcher Rachel Miles. When the 25-year-old takes the mound this week during the Special Olympics North America Softball Championship, she’ll keep an unwavering eye on the prize. “I want to win it all,” said Miles,...

Sixty-three colorful parking spaces welcomed Deer Lakes High School students back to school, some with neon flowers and others with lines of a football grid. The creative initiative led by Student Council President Scarlett Hadlum fosters a sense of ownership and pride within the school community, high school Principal Ryan...

The Harvest Fair at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church — which brings in about $100,000 for charity each fall — wouldn’t open its doors without volunteers like Matt Scott. Scott and a slew of others have prepped, cleaned, sorted and baked for months in anticipation of the 69th Harvest Fair on...

Tarentum Council’s decision to eliminate boat docks caused a furor among residents last year, but, since then, many are excited about the prospect of new recreational opportunities, officials said. “The people that I spoke to are interested in new sidewalks for safer walking, a fishing pier and a community boat...

Masked thieves made away with $60,000 in Yamaha motorcycles from a Fawn business early Sunday using a U-Haul box truck emblazoned with a camel graphic for their getaway. Owner Ryan Lojak said four suspects stole six bikes, broke a glass door and busted through a garage door. They were caught...

Fix the potholes or end up in court. That’s the message Frazer officials gave the owner of the Pittsburgh Mills mall, saying the condition of the parking lots and roads at the shopping center have become a public safety hazard. Potholes at the Mills have become an infamous sore spot...

After 33 years as a hot ladle craneman at the former Allegheny Ludlum (now ATI), Todd Barbiaux couldn’t enjoy retirement until he salvaged a bit of the company’s history for future generations. The former union president of Local 1196, Barbiaux recovered a 17-foot side silhouette of a stainless-steel 1960 Thunderbird...

Highlands sports broadcasters Mike Choma and Mike Pavlik still get chills when they enter the Golden Rams basketball court and see the 2020 WPIAL boys basketball championship banner hanging from the ceiling. “That’s one I’ll never forget,” said Pavlik, 60, of Lower Burrell. “When we got back from that game...

Financial struggles could force the merger of two of the longest-serving EMS companies in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Citizens EMS in Harrison and Eureka Community Ambulance Service in Tarentum are considering joining forces to become one provider — though discussions are in the early phases and details are scant. Harrison’s commissioners...