Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 47
West Deer free store and Arnold food pantry team up for naloxone distribution
A West Deer free store and an Arnold food pantry have teamed up to foster overdose awareness in the communities. Up to 76 doses of naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal spray, will be distributed June 11 during food pantry hours at the Speed Family Blessing Box along Fifth Avenue in...
Highlands students dunk teachers to benefit the Foster Love Project
Spring Sanity was unleashed Thursday at Highlands High School, and students got to take their best shot at teachers — by dunking them in a 5-foot water tank. The teens took a break from Keystone testing and final exams for a two-day, fun-filled outdoor event in the courtyard. Spring Sanity...
Rotary Club honors 10 Fox Chapel Area seniors for academics, good citizenship
Ten Fox Chapel Area seniors have been honored by the Rotary for outstanding achievement and embodiment of good citizenship and service to others. Rotary Club of Fox Chapel Area gave the students a monetary award and a certificate from youth committee Chair Bill McConnel during a mid-May luncheon at the...
Sharpsburg’s Atithi Studios to show work by neurodivergent artists
A Sharpsburg gallery will host a mixed media exhibition that explores sensation and perception through work by 18 neurodivergent artists. “Sensational: Observations on Sensory Processing Through a Neurodivergent Lens,” will run through June 4 at Atithi Studios along North Canal Street. The event is a collaboration between Evolve Coaching and...
Renowned economist John Taylor to speak at alma mater, Shady Side Academy, graduation
When renowned Stanford economist John Taylor takes the stage at Shady Side Academy’s commencement June 2, he’ll urge students to continue to pursue education and maintain a mix of work and pleasure throughout their lives. “Don’t be discouraged by the occasional let-down after a change,” Taylor plans to tell the...
Questions surround timing of vote for new Harrison police chief
The Harrison Commissioners didn’t break the law but they appear to have violated the intent of the state’s Open Meetings law when they voted during last week’s agenda meeting to hire the township’s new police chief, according to an attorney for the PA NewsMedia Association. “Residents and taxpayers expect and...
2nd annual Run for the Hill of It brings in $12K for emergency services
Wexford resident Jeff Rixie was crowned King of the Hill after making his way to the top of Center Avenue in Aspinwall in record time. The winner of the second annual footrace fundraiser, “Run for the Hill of It,” finished in just under six minutes. He was one of nearly...
Long musical road comes to an end for O’Hara’s Craig Cannon
O’Hara musician Craig Cannon is moving into his next, possibly best, chapter. The man synonymous with music across the Lower Allegheny Valley is hanging up his vocal hat, or at least the daily grind of it all. Cannon, who retired as choral director in 2013 from the Fox Chapel Area...
Long-awaited Harrison Hills dog park scheduled to open Thursday
Harrison resident Cindy Fantuzzo has a date Thursday with her goldendoodle puppy, Willow. The pair will celebrate the opening of the long-awaited dog park at Harrison Hills, the 500-acre Allegheny County-owned park off Freeport Road in Harrison. “So many people have been anxiously waiting for it to open,” said Fantuzzo,...
Harrison names Sgt. Brian Turack as new police chief
Harrison has a new police chief for the first time in nearly three decades. Sgt. Brian Turack, a member of the department for about 12 years, was hired by township commissioners during their agenda meeting May 16, Commissioner Jim Erb said. Turack starts in the new role July 1, replacing...
Guardian Angels Parish continues tradition of colorful sawdust carpets at new venue
Tarentum native Megan Grevas moved away from home several years ago but always circles a weekend in June to visit. Grevas and her family plan the short drive from Pittsburgh’s Ingram neighborhood to spend the Feast of Corpus Christi “coloring” one of the church parking lots of Guardian Angels Parish....
Faces of the Valley: Highlands teacher Jennifer Kosior wins magical Disney trip for creative educators
Sometimes you get an email that you just can’t believe. For Highlands Middle School teacher Jennifer Kosior, it was an announcement from the happiest place on Earth, naming her a winner in the Disney 100 Teachers Celebration. “I don’t think I can put it into words,” said Kosior, the school’s...
Tarentum continues anti-blight campaign with 6 potential demolitions
If all goes as planned, six dilapidated homes will be demolished this year in Tarentum, clearing what council called significant eyesores and hazards from the borough. Work would bring the total to 60 structures razed since council began its anti-blight fight in 2020. “Eventually, most of the blighted properties will...
UPMC St. Margaret nurse Julie Ann Farren set early sights on career
Julie Ann Farren jokes that her career aspirations were cemented in second grade when her dad gave her a frozen deer heart to take to school for show and tell. “He gave me a whole speech on the anatomy,” said Farren, who attended St. Alphonsus Catholic School in Springdale. “All...
Tarentum summer concerts kick off with a food drive to ‘Back the Blue’
As the Lost Boys bluegrass band croons onstage during the first of Tarentum’s summer concerts, volunteers will be working the crowds with a message to “Back the Blue.” The borough’s free concert series kicks off Thursday, May 25, doubling as the unofficial start to summer as well as a fundraiser...
Tarentum residents will choose at-large representative in November
The Tarentum Council race was seemingly decided Tuesday, save for the at-large position which pits Democratic incumbent Scott Dadowski against newcomer Maggie Smith, a Republican. Either way, both of them appear to have earned a seat on council after winning their individual uncontested ward contests, according to unofficial results from...
Harrison’s 3rd Ward race appears to be decided by less than 10 votes
The race for Harrison commissioner in the 3rd Ward appears to have come down to the slimmest of margins. Incumbent Eric Bengel eked out a victory for the Democratic nomination over opponent Gary Hines, according to unofficial results from the Allegheny County Elections Department. Bengel earned 213 votes to Hines’...
Kiski Township supervisor candidate with leaked Only Fans account cruises to victory; 3 incumbents appear to be out
The Kiski Township supervisor candidate at the center of a social media controversy appears to have cruised to victory and ousted three incumbents along the way. The operative phrase, though, is “appears” to have done so. Brittany Hilliard, 29, earned the most votes of four Republican candidates seeking two available...
Highlands senior appears to edge out incumbent for school board seat; 8 vying for 5 seats in fall
The first time Highlands senior Elijah Majocha was legally able to vote, he cast a ballot for himself. The 18-year-old was among a field of 11 people vying for five positions in three school board regions — and he appears to have come away with a nomination on both tickets....
Incumbent Carolyn Saldari Bengel appears to win 6th term as district judge
A Brackenridge-based magistrate with 30 years in office appears to have won the nomination on both tickets this fall, essentially guaranteeing another six years on the job. With 100% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Carolyn Saldari Bengel handily beat her opponent, Thomas Babinsack, on the Democratic ticket, earning about 60%...
Nevin Shelter restored, 180 trees planted in South Park
South Park is getting spruced up just in time for summer. A recent green upgrade came courtesy of a significant tree-planting effort by the Allegheny County Parks Foundation and communications infrastructure company Crown Castle. Through the Connected by Good partnership, 180 trees were put in the ground at the county-owned...
Harrison library hopes new seed garden grows each year
The Community Library of Allegheny Valley has a new section for patrons to browse, but it doesn’t include books. The site along Broadview Boulevard in Harrison has established a seed library, the first of its kind since the facility opened in 1998. “A seed library is a great community resource...
Burtner House needs volunteers to keep history alive
The desire to maintain one of the oldest homes in Allegheny County remains strong for volunteers at the Burtner House in Harrison, but the hearty work is a lot to shoulder for the aging group. A handful of do-gooders at the Burtner House Restoration Society are tasked with mowing the...
New Harrison Hills exhibit showcases ‘Native Americans of the Allegheny Valley’
A small-scale replica of a Native American longhouse sits among artist Robert Griffing’s depictions of 17th-century life in a new display at the Harrison Hills Environmental Learning Center. “If you have ever wondered what life was like in our locale before it was densely populated by European settlers, the new...
Kiski Township supervisor candidate’s Only Fans page sparks criminal investigation
Only Fans strikes again. A candidate for Kiski Township supervisor is the latest person forced to contend with leaked news that she has a page on the social media site featuring racy photos of herself. But it might not be supervisor candidate Brittany Hilliard who ends up paying the price...
