TribLive stories, Page 553

One of the sadder days in the Alle-Kiski Valley was Feb. 22, 2016. Ellen Mangus Toy — educator, girls volleyball coach and a star in that sport during her playing days — died after a years-long battle with stomach cancer. A charity foundation and an outdoor volleyball court in Vandergrift...

I am an oddball. I like to work on Christmas. I don’t know how it is now, but when I was younger and worked for newspapers, variously in Africa, Britain and the United States, I always volunteered to work over the holiday and loved it. There was a special Christmas...

Regarding the letter “Abortion and overpopulation” (Dec. 7, TribLive): I am incredulous of the writer’s idea to alleviate overpopulation by killing unborn babies. Why stop there? Maybe you could create a committee to decide who among the elderly should be eliminated to alleviate overpopulation. I cannot fathom how you consider...

Bidenomics has been disastrous The article “Biden goes into 2024 with the economy getting stronger, but voters feel horrible about it” (Dec. 11, TribLive) quoted a few “experts” that stated they were “mystified” as to why Americans weren’t more positive about Bidenomics. They cited the reduced inflation rate of 3.2...

Regarding Renee Y. Hsia’s op-ed “Same hospital, same injury, same child, same day — why did one ER visit cost thousands more?” (Dec. 15, TribLive): What would really be helpful are price lists. I can’t think of anything else where you have no idea what you are paying for ahead...

Yet again, Christmas is under attack. Multi-billion-dollar companies deceiving some into thinking that Christmas means getting and receiving material things, consumers flooding the stores of multi-billion-dollar owners, gluttons feasting on Christmas dinners, going to church and filling the coffers for the next golf outing, and yet homelessness hits a record...

The most dangerous part of an imminent crash can be the attempt to avoid it. This being Pennsylvania, most of us are familiar with the hazards of driving on an icy road. When the wheels slip, you can make cautious adjustments that help you regain control — or you can...

Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Community safety night planned in Kiski Township A community safety night...

Recovering addict Lisa Hoey of Pittsburgh’s South Side says alcohol was an integral part of her holidays. It was part of nearly every detail — from baking cookies and entertaining, to watching TV specials and wrapping gifts, said Hoey, now sober for more than two decades. An alum of O’Hara...

With the holidays upon us, many Pennsylvanians are trying to budget for everything from gifts and family get-togethers to fuel for long car rides. Fortunately, it seems the focus can stay on holiday cheer and not gasoline costs this season, as discussed in “National average gas cost falls for 3...

Here is a listing of schedules for holiday basketball tournaments involving WPIAL teams from Dec. 27-30. Please email any corrections or additions to ptrsports@triblive.com. Boys Wednesday’s schedule Beach Blast At Coconut Creek, Fla. Mt. Lebanon at Coconut Creek (FL), 7:30 p.m. Bentworth tournament Carrick vs. Brownsville, 2 p.m. West Greene...

High schools Basketball Boys Friday’s results Charleston Classic Upper St. Clair 47, Ashley Ridge (SC) 32 KSA Pre-Holiday Tournament At Orlando, Fla. Uniontown 67, Tuscaloosa Central (AL) 55 McDowell 61, Canon-McMillan 38 Nonsection Brashear 68, Cornell 39 Burgettstown 75, South Side 71 Butler 76, Slippery Rock 48 Cameron (WV) 61,...

Call it a Christmas Blessing for the Greensburg Salem girls basketball team. Blessing Gantt hit the buzzer-beating game-winner to defeat Buckeye Valley (Ohio), 33-31, on Friday in the championship game of the pink division at the KSA Pre-Holiday Tournament in Orlando, Fla. Gantt finished with seven points and was named...

MIAMI — It will be nostalgia week for the Miami Heat in mid-January, with the team announcing Friday that Udonis Haslem’s No. 40 jersey will be sent to the rafters at Kaseya Center on Jan. 19, a ceremony that will come five days after the Heat on Jan. 14 honor...

Ryan Minor, the Baltimore Orioles infielder who became part of baseball history when he replaced Cal Ripken at the end of his record-setting consecutive games streak in 1998, has died. He was 49. The University of Oklahoma — where Minor starred in baseball and basketball — said he died of...

LOS ANGELES — As the center fielder for Team Japan in last spring’s World Baseball Classic, Lars Nootbaar had a unique view of the jaw-dropping four-pitch repertoire of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Japanese right-hander who agreed to a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Dodgers on Thursday. Nootbaar, the St. Louis...

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert grew up idolizing Ricky Williams. He and his brother wore Williams’ No. 34. In last Sunday’s win over the New York Jets, when Mostert scored the first of his two touchdowns, he broke Williams’ single-season Dolphins rushing touchdowns record. The...

MADISON, Wis. — The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Republican-drawn legislative maps Friday and ordered that new district boundary lines be drawn as Democrats had urged in a redistricting case they hope will weaken GOP majorities. The ruling comes less than a year before the 2024 election in a battleground...

GILFORD, N.H. — For most Americans dreaming of a white Christmas, this year’s prospects aren’t good. Although parts of the Rockies and Midwest already have snow or could get a fresh dusting by Monday, other parts of the country that normally are coated in white this time of year still...

The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that former President Donald Trump will not be allowed on the ballot in the state due to his alleged breaking of the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment. The clause was meant to prevent Jefferson Davis, among other Confederate leaders, from seeking political office...

The 60th Medallion Ball was held Nov. 24 at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh hotel. Bishop William Waltersheid honored 95 young women with the Joan of Arc medallion for completing a total of 17,474 volunteer hours. They join more than 5,500 others, now spanning four generations, who have given over 1.5...

The city of Pittsburgh knew at least 11 bridges required high-priority repairs in late 2017, about four years before the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed, according to documents released by PennDOT relating to spans owned by the city. Specifically, PennDOT chided the city for dragging its feet on making priority repairs...

The Pine-Richland High School Student Government Association helped a local radio station beat its target goal for its annual Stuff-A-Bus program. Pine-Richland students stuffed six buses full of toys for the annual fundraiser helping 96.1 KISS FM fill a record 68 buses this year. Toy donations were collected at all...

Fox Chapel Area students pulled in $66,775 during their 34th annual telethon Dec. 22. The money will benefit Backpack for Hunger, a local volunteer organization that provides weekend food for students in the school district. Students from all six of the district’s schools — Fairview, Hartwood, Kerr and O’Hara elementaries;...

Olu Fashanu, one of Penn State’s top prospects in recent memory, is off to the NFL. Fashanu, arguably the best lineman in the class, has declared for the 2024 NFL draft, he announced Friday. The star left tackle wrote in a statement that he will be “spending time with my...