Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 56
Bare bones Sharpsburg budget still requires 30% tax hike
A bare-bones Sharpsburg budget will still require a 30% property tax hike for residents next year. Several council members said it was a challenge to balance needs and costs. Council approved the $4.6 million budget in November, with member Jon Jaso voting against the plan. The 6-1 budget vote increases...
Gatto’s eyes former Brackenridge fire hall for storage facility
A former fire hall along Morgan Street in Brackenridge could become a storage facility for Gatto’s Cycle Shop. Owner George Gatto hopes to purchase the building at 922 Morgan St. to store cars. He said a boat also would be kept there in the winter. “We don’t have room for...
Tarentum investigating after falling victim to online scam for nearly $140,000
Tarentum police are trying to figure out how someone managed to swindle nearly $140,000 from the borough in an online phishing scheme. Manager Dwight Boddorf said an investigation is underway after the borough was the victim of theft through email spoofing. Details of the theft were not released as the...
Harrison man finds meaning in giving back through CVS workforce training program
Harrison resident Sean Ware is coming off the Thanksgiving holiday feeling even more motivated to help those in need. An Army veteran, Ware is associate manager of CVS Health’s Workforce Innovation Training Center (WITC) in Pittsburgh, where he works to assist veterans and people transitioning from poverty. “I’m thankful that...
‘A celebration of hope’ at St. Vladimir in Arnold a year after fire
Members of St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold filed into the social hall along Kenneth Avenue on Sunday, filling the two dozen or so folding chairs to celebrate Divine Liturgy. It was a special day for parishioners of Arnold’s only Catholic church. Exactly one year prior, the 74-year-old building...
Fire destroys McKees Rocks building, spreads to 2 others
No injuries were reported in an early Sunday fire that destroyed a building in McKees Rocks, officials said. Emergency crews responded to the call just before 6:30 a.m. at 310 Olivia Street. Flames engulfed the building and it collapsed as the first fire units arrived, according to the fire department....
Vandergrift Back When Holiday Extravaganza wows crowds through Sunday
The Vandergrift Back When Holiday Extravaganza kicked off Friday with a bang. Thousands of festival-goers lined Grant Avenue to watch more than 20 floats, costumed characters and the award-winning Kiski Area High School Marching Band. “It was great,” said Steve Broda, a member of the committee who helped organize the...
New Kensington Christmas parade dazzles with dancers, fire engines, Santa and even (fake) snow
The forecast called for rain but there were snow flurries in New Kensington on Saturday for the annual Christmas parade. The guest of honor, Santa Claus, arrived atop a fire engine under a squall of huge white flakes — made of foam and sprayed from a nearby truck. Crowds lining...
Highlands National Honor Society students stuff a bus with toys for needy kids
Members of Highlands High School National Honor Society braved the rain on Saturday to collect presents for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. The group, led by teachers Mindy Eckenrod and Jordan Murdock, were scheduled to be part of the Harrison Recreation Committee Holiday Parade and persevered despite...
Dog owners will have to wait a few more months for Harrison Hills off-leash space
Carmie Lynch and her dog, Pete, regularly hit the trails in Harrison Hills Park. When they do, they peek longingly at the newly built 1.3-acre off-leash dog space in the upper section of the Allegheny County-owned park off Freeport Road. “We are out at there at least once a week...
Gift shop opens at Pittsburgh Brewing Co. site in East Deer
Barry Wagner of Brackenridge was hoping to score a case of fresh-brewed beer when he visited the newly opened Pittsburgh Brewing Co. gift shop. “I’ve been drinking Iron City since 1972,” Wagner said while perusing the T-shirts and tin signs at the site off Freeport Road in East Deer. “I...
Sharpsburg residents can have say in garbage collection cost increase
Sharpsburg residents will pay more for garbage collection in the new year, but they’ll have a say in how much bills will increase. Property owners are asked to complete an online survey to help council choose from several options in the Waste Management contract. The survey is available at...
Fawn lands $105,000 state grant toward Sun Mine Road slide repair
Fawn Secretary Pam Ponsart was happily surprised last week to hear the township would be receiving $105,000 toward a landslide repair. Fawn was among several groups awarded a grant through the state’s Commonwealth Financing Agency to target economic development projects in Allegheny County. Money will be used to help replace...
St. Joe’s takes home Sportsmanship Award from WPIAL summit
St. Joseph High School’s student-athletes show character on the court and field. Just ask the WPIAL. The group recently named the private Harrison high school as winner of the Sportsmanship Award at its 13th annual summit, hosted at the Heinz History Center and Sports Museum in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. “I...
Allegheny Valley Hospital to shift adult mental-health services to geriatric patients only
Adults in the Alle-Kiski Valley seeking mental health care no longer will be able to access in-patient services from Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison. Beginning Monday, the facility along Carlisle Street will be shifted to provide expanded psychiatry services for geriatric patients only. “We are not closing the unit but...
Christ the Divine students deliver holiday cheer to Sharpsburg’s St. Vincent dePaul food pantry
Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy students and staff have much to be thankful for, and they were busy spreading the good cheer ahead of Thanksgiving. Students made their traditional pre-holiday trek to St. Vincent dePaul food pantry in Sharpsburg to donate an abundance of food. Student council members delivered...
Jitney passengers face gun charges following Hazelwood traffic stop
Two Hazelwood jitney passengers face gun charges following a traffic stop Monday by Allegheny County Sheriff’s deputies. Dijuan Taylor, 21, and Preston Hemingway, 20, were among four passengers in a vehicle stopped for ignoring two stop signs just before 9 p.m. A news release from Sheriff Kevin Kraus’ office said...
Upgrades coming to Camp Guyasuta’s McGinnis Center
Leaders at Camp Guyasuta are eyeing renovations to the McGinnis Education Center, the massive dorm and conference facility at the entrance to the wooded grounds in O’Hara. The Boy Scout-run camp received word last week that it received a $100,000 state grant through the Gaming Economic Development Tourism Fund. Money...
West Mifflin Area administrators investigating weekend fight inside locked high school
West Mifflin Area Superintendent Jeffrey Soles said the district is investigating a video of what appears to be two students fighting last weekend inside the high school, which had been closed at the time. It was not clear how the students got inside the locked building. “The district will uphold...
Pittsburgh police safely locate missing teen
Pittsburgh police have safely located teen Jaquan Groomes-Smith. The 13-year-old was last seen Friday at Allegheny Traditional Academy when police issued an alert seeking help to locate him. Police posted an update Tuesday to social media that he has been found....
Thanksgiving detour: Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Bridge to close for Turkey Trot
Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Bridge will close to traffic for a short time on Thanksgiving Day to make way for more than 6,000 runners in the 32nd annual YMCA Turkey Trot. The bridge links the North Shore to Downtown at Seventh Street. It is scheduled to be closed from 7 to...
Pittsburgh police ask for help to find man last seen in early November
Pittsburgh police are seeking help from the public to locate a man last seen on Nov. 5. William “Billy” Garasich Jr, 30, is known to frequent Stanton Heights and Lawrenceville. He also hangs around The Waterworks shopping plaza near Aspinwall, according to police. He is described as 5-foot-6, 145 pounds,...
Suspect in Penn Hills homicide extradited to Pa. from Georgia
A man accused of fatally shooting a man at a Penn Hills gas station in September has been extradited to Pennsylvania, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Michael Wade, 36, was arrested earlier this month in Georgia and charged with homicide in connection with the death of Dante Jones. Wade...
Bitter cold weather gives way to sunshine; temps to hit 50s by Thanksgiving
Here’s something to be thankful for: The colder-than-normal weather will come to an end Monday in the Pittsburgh region with sunny skies warming temperatures into the low 40s. National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Modzelewski said there will still be some cold overnight lows, but the days will begin to heat...
Faces of the Valley: Natrona’s Patty Babinsack is a volunteer any group would relish
Natrona resident Patty Babinsack believes it takes work to build a better future. The 79-year-old is willing to do the heavy lifting. A lifelong resident of the small Harrison neighborhood along the Allegheny River, Babinsack has volunteered thousands of hours to making the Alle-Kiski Valley a region that boasts successful...
