TribLive stories, Page 1165

Black bears may play an important role in spreading deer ticks, more widely known as blacklegged ticks, in Pennsylvania, according to researchers at Penn State. Blacklegged ticks are the primary spreader of the pathogen that causes Lyme disease, and more than 70 percent of black bears were found to have...

Supervisors approved a location for a second Dollar General store in West Deer but tabled a request for a planned 247-unit residential development at a former golf course. Supervisors felt that with at least two new members coming onto the board in January, the decision would be best left to...

STATE COLLEGE — The Penn State men’s basketball team’s matchup at VCU scheduled for Saturday has been canceled because of positive covid-19 results within the Nittany Lions program, the university announced Thursday. The game will not be rescheduled, and the status of future games will be determined at a later...

A Haiti gang has released all 12 hostages two months to the day that they were kidnapped in Haiti’s capital, Haiti National Police Spokesman Garry Desrosiers and two U.S. government sources confirmed to the Miami Herald. The hostages were abducted just east of Port-au-Prince by a notorious gang, 400 Mawozo,...

STATE COLLEGE — Manny Diaz called the week he began as the head coach at Miami (Fla.) and ended as the defensive coordinator at Penn State a “whirlwind,” but even while losing his dream job, moving up the East Coast and beginning a new, unexpected chapter in his life, Diaz...

Fundraisers • A pancake Breakfast with Santa and the Grinch will be from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 19 at Hartford Heights Volunteer Fire Department, Route 30, North Huntingdon. Admission: $8; children 5 to 12, $6; 4 and younger, free. Tickets: 412-742-7020 and at the door. • Lincoln Heights Civic...

The Steelers are disgusting to watch. Week after week, fiasco after fiasco, it’s clear to me that Art Rooney is the problem. His grandfather and father are probably doing backflips in their graves. The NFL is a business; start running your team like one. Starting at the top: Your GM...

Homeowners in Buffalo Township will be paying 9% more in property taxes next year. Township supervisors recently approved the tax hike as part of the township’s $2.8 million budget for 2022. The millage will increase from 5.5 to 6 mills. Township real estate taxes for an average home, assessed at...

NEW YORK — Can your pet get covid-19? Yes, pets and other animals can get the coronavirus that causes covid-19, but health officials say the risk of them spreading it to people is low. Dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, otters, hyenas and white-tailed deer are among the animals that have tested...

Aquinas Academy of Pittsburgh’s high school theater students performed Thorton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Our Town.” Using two mixed casts, Mike Flynn directed four shows in Aquinas Academy’s Rhodora J. Donahue building on the school’s campus. The first show was performed for students at the end of the school day...

Reviewing the Christmas television offerings listed recently in the Living section left me with a feeling of disgust. Believe me, I’m not a Grinch and enjoy celebrating the holidays as much as anyone, but who, I ask, are we honoring? There seems to be only one true, legitimate story reflecting...

Publicize your holiday events, club meetings and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Community invited to Springdale Christmas carol social A community Christmas carol social will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Springdale Open...

In Pennsylvania, a sheriff’s office has a mixed bag of responsibilities, but they all come down to one simple role. Whether a deputy is serving a warrant or delivering a subpoena or enforcing an injunction, the job is the same. It is about being the arm of the court. It...

Nations from all over the world gathered in Glasgow, Scotland, recently for the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 to address the climate crisis. Meanwhile in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania Legislature has failed to act: The Pennsylvania Senate passed a resolution blocking the state from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative,...

Kevin Sciullo of Wexford, a 4th degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, won the Weapons Grand Championship at the Zang Invitational Martial Arts Championship on Nov. 13 in Pittsburgh. Sciullo, 29, has been training in Tae Kwon Do since 2003 and holds rank in Judo and Ju-Jitsu. He has...

High schools WPIAL Basketball Boys Wednesday’s results Nonsection Beaver 65, Summit Academy 53 Mapletown 55, Bentworth 52 Brownsville at Monessen, ppd. Elizabeth Forward 54, Ringgold 37 Hopewell 61, South Side 55 Imani Christian 66, Upper St. Clair 62 Nazareth Prep at Obama Academy, ppd North Catholic 86, Wheeling Central Catholic...

Adam Hall (189), Owen Ott (215) and Joe Enick (285) recorded consecutive pins in the final three bouts of the night to lead Penn-Trafford to a thrilling 33-30 come-from-behind win over PLum in Class 3A Section 1B wrestling Wednesday night. Andrew Classen (172) had a pin that put Plum (0-1,...

With an estimated $207 billion expected to be spent online by shoppers this holiday season and a record 20 billion parcels shipped to U.S. addresses last year, it’s not a surprise that thieves see all those packages on the porch as opportunity, too. Most people don’t report stolen deliveries to...

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said Wednesday night that any potential disciplinary action against city police officers involved in the arrest of a homeless man who died after being tased will be handed out before he leaves office in three weeks. A police spokeswoman confirmed that an internal investigation into the...

The last of the lanternflies in Pennsylvania disappeared with the onset of frost a month ago. It was another summer and fall where residents across eastern and central parts of the Commonwealth and several adjacent states saw them flying outside entrances or maybe into their plate or drink if they...

It’s almost Christmas, and on the wish list for many Pirates fans in western Pennsylvania and elsewhere is that the team makes it to the World Series in 2022. It’s the same thing they have asked of Santa for many years. Being a Pirates fan can be painful. Most of...

Another season, another watershed moment for the Pitt women’s volleyball team. After reaching the Elite Eight for the first time last season, the third-seeded Panthers (30-3) are in the final four for the first time. They will take on perennial power Nebraska at 9:30 p.m. in Thursday’s second semifinal at...

The Robert Morris women’s basketball team canceled a pair of nonconference games due to positive covid tests within the program. Games against St. Bonaventure on Saturday and Waynesburg on Monday at the UPMC Events Center have been called off. The Colonials are 3-6, 1-3 in Horizon League play. They are...