Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 4

A fire early Saturday in New Kensington is considered suspicious, authorities said. The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that police are investigating the blaze along Sixth Avenue as potentially intentional. “On behalf of the New Kensington police department, we can confirm that police and a Pennsylvania State Police fire...

Honeybee colonies in the United States are projected to decline by up to 70% this year, entomologists say. And that could spell economic disaster. According to the American Beekeeping Federation, honeybees contribute about $20 billion to the value of crop production in the country. But master beekeeper Joe Zgurzynski of...

Harrison residents who live in the 1st Ward can apply to fill a vacancy on the township’s board of commissioners. Longtime board member Chuck Dizard submitted his resignation Monday, leaving an unexpired term of about 2½ years. Anyone interested in the term must submit a letter of interest and an...

Belly dancers and Brazilian drummers will take center stage at the B.I.G. Fair in Brackenridge, which returns this month after a five-year covid-related break. Brackenridge Avenue will close from Morgan Street to Locust Lane while live bands entertain crowds along the quarter-mile stretch. The smell of gyros, hot sausage and...

Summer is sizzling in Sharpsburg. The business district has partnered with area nonprofits to show off the best of the borough during a “Spend a Saturday in Sharpsburg” series of events. The next one is scheduled for Aug. 23. “We want to make sure people know about all the wonderful...

There is a hole in Lee McIntire’s heart that doesn’t heal. It’s been more than two years since his son, Justin, began his 2 to 10 p.m. shift as Brackenridge police chief, as he had done so many times before. Shortly after leaving home, he responded to a call to...

Allegheny County representatives will be in Tarentum on Thursday seeking input on the county’s recently launched climate action plan. “We’re trying to meet folks where they are and get their thoughts on the vision and value of the plan,” said Brittany Prischak, director of the county’s Department of Sustainability. The...

Local grocery guru Doug Sprankle predicts it will be a tough sell to replace the closing Community Supermarket in Harrison. “It’s probably going to be near impossible,” said Sprankle, whose family owns supermarkets in Saxonburg, Leechburg and Kittanning. “The capital to open a business like that is insane. It’s a...

A new Fawn Supervisor was appointed by the township’s vacancy board following two tie votes by supervisors. Vacancy board member Tom Kuhns cast the deciding vote for Republican Shannon Rummel, saying, “I truly thought that both candidates were qualified to hold the position.” Longtime resident Carrie White, a Democrat, also...

Joseph Szalanski set off to tour the country in 1932 with 48 cents in his pocket. The 22-year-old from East Vandergrift, who immigrated from Poland to America as an infant, was determined his future wouldn’t be forged in a steel mill. Instead, he traveled as a hobo, hopping freight cars...

Abby Young feels right at home at the Sharpsburg Community Library. A new job as the patron services assistant is checking all the boxes for Young’s eclectic interests – travel, cryptids, crystals, plants, bones, Dungeons and Dragons, and of course, reading. “It might be cheesy, but I’d say it’s probably...

Another grocery store is being sought to replace Community Supermarket in the Harrison Heights plaza, a spokesman for the owner of the plaza told TribLive. Benbrooke Development asset manager Richard Lubkin said his company will seek a grocery tenant to fill Community Supermarket’s location in the plaza. It’s the latest...

Honeybee colonies in the United States are projected to decline by up to 70% this year, entomologists say. And that could spell economic disaster. According to the American Beekeeping Federation, honeybees contribute about $20 billion to the value of crop production in the country. But master beekeeper Joe Zgurzynski of...

A plate of pasta will go a long way at the first annual Back-to-School Bash spaghetti fundraiser in Brackenridge. Hosted by Highlands School Board member Elijah Majocha, the festival-themed event will serve up food, music, baked goods and more than 60 raffle baskets — all to benefit students and teachers...

A new Fawn supervisor is expected to be appointed Tuesday after a vote earlier this month ended in a tie. Three residents — Carrie White, Shannon Rummel and Bryan Ward — applied to fill a vacancy created in June when Phillipi Smozski resigned. A vote on July 8 ended in...

Highlands School Board member Justin Kipp is stepping down. Kipp, a representative in Region 1, cited personal reasons for his resignation, which is effective Aug. 1. “It has nothing to do with anything regarding the district,” said Kipp, who was elected in 2023. He has about two years remaining on...

Tarentum officials are taking steps to remedy water plant woes after being called out by the state Department of Environmental Protection earlier this year. Crews are installing automatic hydrant flushers over the next two weeks to improve water quality, specifically in areas with limited circulation. The water is safe to...

Harrison Commissioners will have a public hearing where residents can hear a plan by AT&T for a cell tower near Highlands High School. Representatives from the communications company are scheduled to go before the zoning hearing board on July 23 and then before commissioners on July 28. They are seeking...

Artist Jenn Hartzler lives nearly three hours from Harrison but her newest mural, displayed at Walmart in the township’s Natrona Heights section, perfectly captures the best parts of the community. The 18-by-11-foot design depicts the Burtner House, Harrison Hills and people enjoying bike trails and waterfalls. “I searched a lot...

More than 4,000 homes and businesses are without power in the Leechburg/Hyde Park/Kiski area, according to West Penn Power. The cause is under investigation, according to the utility website. Crews are on the way to assess the area. A person who answered the phone at the Leechburg municipal office said...

Fawn resident Paul Freshwater spent Thursday morning shoveling 2 inches of water from his garage off Metz Road. It was only the second time in 60 years that Freshwater remembers storm runoff causing an issue at his property. “It came down so fast and so hard that you couldn’t see...

Tarentum resident Michael Shutack was still reeling from a Halloween dog mauling when he learned Tuesday that the man who police said helped him escape the jaws of two pit bulls is the person who set them loose. “As much as I went through my whole life, including being in...

Amy Nulph grew up at Dreshar Stadium in Tarentum. “My dad coached there for the Hornets, my brothers played there and now my kids are there with RYFO (Rams Youth Football Organization),” she said. Plans to demolish the 87-year-old sports complex are bittersweet for Nulph and many area families. Work...

Heavy thunderstorms rolled through the area Wednesday, wreaking havoc in local municipalities, particularly Fawn and Harrison. In Fawn, Bull Creek Road was flooded for a considerable stretch in the vicinity of Iron Bridge Road. There was a report of a house that in that area having 5 feet of water...

Harrison Commissioner Chuck Dizard hand-delivered his annual newsletter to more than 900 homes in the First Ward on Friday, calling it his grand finale. Dizard plans to resign July 31 after 10 years on the board. “We need some young leadership,” he said. “We need new people coming to the...