Local category, Page 1864
Scouts from Pack 184 create project aimed to increase bird population in Heritage Park in Monroeville
Scouts from Pack 184 added a fresh touch of nature to Heritage Park in Monroeville to help increase the bird population in the area. A group of 16 scouts from kindergarten through third grade came together in May to build birdhouses and bird feeders, and plant blueberry and raspberry bushes...
News and events in the greater Murrysville area for the week of July 28
Here are just some of the news and events taking place in the Star’s coverage area in the coming weeks. To submit items, email pvarine@triblive.com. Murrysville drug take-back yields 82 pounds of pills Nineteen police departments from across the county — including Murrysville — recently took prescription pills gathered over...
Gardening goats return to Frick Park to munch on weedsVideo
The goats are back. Just after 10 a.m. Monday, 14 goats and their guardian, a donkey named Hobo, in a procession entered their temporary home and project site at the Frick Environmental Center in Pittsburgh. The goats were led to the Clayton Hill trail area of Frick Park to resume...
Letter to the editor: Franklin Regional should install air pollution monitors
To the editor: I am again expressing concern about high levels of air pollution around the Franklin Regional school complex in Murrysville. The air quality monitor outside at my home, mere steps from the complex, often shows high levels of air pollution far exceeding the EPA’s “safe” levels of exposure....
Pittsburgh residents can use vouchers at Dormont pool
Pittsburgh youth will be able to use Dormont pool for free and adults can gain admission for $5 using vouchers, the city announced Thursday. The move is part of an effort to provide better chance for people to use a pool in light of a staffing shortage that’s caused 10...
Pittsburgh Public Schools board approves mask mandate
Students in Pittsburgh Public Schools will have to continue wearing masks during the upcoming academic year, according to the district’s health and safety plan. The plan — which requires masks indoors and keeps many covid-19 mitigation measures in place for the 2021-22 school year — was passed during Wednesday’s school...
Bethel Park kicking off Live Well Speaker Series with Outreach Teen & Family Services
Bethel Park’s fall/winter Live Well Bethel Park Speaker Series kicks off at 7 p.m. Aug. 11 featuring Outreach Teen & Family Services executive director Mary Birks. Birks will discuss programming information that may be helpful to the Bethel Park community. Already providing counseling services to area students and parents, Birks...
Hempfield looking to update comprehensive plan to help with future growth, projects
Hempfield leaders are searching for a consultant to help them update a comprehensive plan. Township supervisors this week approved issuing a request for proposals for a consultant who will help guide work on the plan, which has not been updated for about 14 years. In all, the comprehensive plan will...
Fox Chapel Area parents divided on district’s proposed mask-wearing policy
Fox Chapel Area School District parents have started opposing online petitions regarding the district’s proposed voluntary mask-wearing policy for students and staff. A petition drive on ipetitions .com, started Tuesday by Sarah Stanger, asks the district to require mask-wearing on campus and had gathered more than 375 signatures as of...
Franklin Regional hosts meet-and-greets, open houses for incoming students
As part of the Franklin Regional transition program for community preschoolers, district officials held an outdoor StoryWalk, featuring the beloved storybook character, Pete the Cat. The event was held on three evenings at the newly renovated Franklin Regional Primary School, the former Sloan Elementary, to accommodate all registered students and...
‘When it’s your kid, it’s not minor’: Penn-Trafford removes mask, distancing protocol in proposed health and safety plan
Penn-Trafford School Board will vote on the district’s proposed health and safety plan for the coming academic year at its meeting Aug. 9. The proposed plan will not require students, teachers or staff to wear masks or maintain social distancing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released updated guidelines...
Hempfield hires a fire inspector
Sean Hearn is the new fire inspector for Hempfield . Hearn, whose salary will be $60,000, will be responsible for inspecting commercial properties to ensure there are no fire related issues. According to township manager Jason Winters, Hearn will also focus on fire prevention and inspections with township businesses in...
Severe thunderstorm watch issued as storms approach Pittsburgh region
Damaging winds, hail and isolated tornadoes are possible with storms expected to reach southwestern Pennsylvania this afternoon, a National Weather Service meteorologist said. The service issued a severe thunderstorm watch at 3:30 p.m. that runs until 10 p.m., meteorologist Lee Hendricks said. The watch covers a swath from Indiana through...
Allegheny Township ice cream stand is up for sale
A popular ice cream business in Allegheny Township is on the market. Sweetie’s Ice Cream, at 6273 Leechburg Road, is listed for $339,000 with Jason Mazzei of Keller Williams Realty. Co-owner Edward Spix, who has owned it for almost a decade, said, “It’s time to move on.” Mazzei said he...
Quaker Valley school board approves 2021-22 health and safety plan
The Quaker Valley school board voted unanimously 8-0 with one board member absent to approve the school district’s 2021-22 health and safety plan on July 27. The plan will take effect at the start of the school year on Aug. 25 for students in grades K-9 and Aug. 26 for...
Organist Paul Jacobs to perform at Westminster Presbyterian Church
One of Pittsburgh’s favorite performers, organist Paul Jacobs, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 27 at Westminster Presbyterian Church. This will be his fifth performance there, rescheduled from March 2020. A concert with Paul Jacobs is always an exciting and uplifting experience, with his superb music-making and delightful commentary. Jacobs...
Missing Indiana County boy, 5, drowns in neighborhood swimming pool, police say
A missing 5-year-old Indiana County boy died after being found late Wednesday unresponsive in a swimming pool near his home, according to state police. Troopers, neighbors, first responders and a canine search team from Westmoreland County helped to look for Lenny Hatinda after he left his White Township home around...
Allegheny County Police arrest suspect in fatal North Braddock shooting
A North Braddock man is accused of the fatal shooting of a Swissvale man in North Braddock early Thursday morning, Allegheny County Police said. The suspect, Robert Lawson-Johnson, is charged with homicide and firearms violations in the shooting death of Benjamin Dixon, 33, in the 1200 block of Rebecca Avenue...
Ohio man killed, driver injured in tractor-trailer crash on Pa. Turnpike near Donegal
A Columbus, Ohio, man was killed and another person was injured in a crash early Wednesday on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, according to state police. Crews were dispatched to the eastbound lanes at mile marker 91, about one mile east of the Donegal interchange at 3:55 a.m. Thursday for reports of...
‘So unbelievable’: Police say Mt. Lebanon man killed parents, fatally shot himself
Neighbors heard at least a dozen gunshots early Thursday before police and SWAT officers swarmed a quiet stretch of Gilkeson Road in Mt. Lebanon, where police say a man killed his parents and then opened fire on police. “We were trying to go to sleep when we were awakened by,...
The late Ellen Toy, longtime volleyball coach, honored with court in Vandergrift’s Kennedy Park
A new volleyball court in Vandergrift aims to honor the memory of a longtime devoted Alle-Kiski Valley coach and teacher. The Ellen Toy Grass Court at Kennedy Park recently was completed. It was made possible by funding from the nonprofit We Serve First Foundation. “Let’s let people know there’s a...
Police: Man in critical condition, 2 others taken to hospital, after shooting in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood
A man is in critical condition, and two others were taken to the hospital, following a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Carrick neighborhood Wednesday night, police said. Pittsburgh police and EMS responded to the 1600 block of Brownsville Road around 11 p.m. where they found a man with multiple gunshot wounds, according...
Pa. fish commission considers statewide opening day for trout
The head of the region’s Trout Unlimited chapter supports having a single opening day for trout season in the state — the first Saturday in April — as the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is considering. “I would support an earlier opening day because of the impact of climate change...
East Liberty bank building fails to gain historical designation, could be demolishedVideo
An effort to preserve a 51-year-old Modernist bank building in East Liberty failed to gain the support of Pittsburgh City Council members this week. The building, at 6112 Penn Ave., is a landmark that should be preserved, Councilwoman Deb Gross said. But Gross was the only council member who thought...
More upgrades coming to Creekside Park in Oakmont
Oakmont officials have approved the next round of improvements to Creekside Park. Council awarded an estimated $338,000 project to DeFrank Development for the relocation of a parking lot, grading and repaving of an existing trail and a new outfield fence for the baseball field. The company was the lowest of...
