Plum Advance Leader category
No arrests yet in Greenfield shooting, abduction
Allegheny County Police confirmed that a man shot in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood on Wednesday night was the victim of a kidnapping earlier that evening. But police say the kidnapping did not happen in Plum, as originally reported. Instead, police say, preliminary information shows the victim traveled to an undisclosed location...
‘Brothers’ face off as Franklin Regional wrestling continues its roll with win over Plum
Franklin Regional 152-pound junior wrestler Michael Ruane was rivals with Plum’s Owen Campbell for six minutes Wednesday night at Franklin Regional High School. Not long after Ruane’s 8-2 win during the Panthers’ 66-0 Section 9 victory, their friendship, which has spanned well over five years, resumed. Ruane said competing against...
Pittsburgh police: Kidnapping in Plum related to Greenfield shooting
Police believe an armed kidnapping in Plum is connected to a shooting in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood on Wednesday night. Pittsburgh police spokeswoman Eliza Durham said the department learned of the armed kidnapping reported to Plum police at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday. A family member told Plum police that his brother had...
New members join Plum Council, leaders named
November’s four election victors officially joined Plum Council on Monday, Jan. 5. Ryan Delaney, James McBride, Raymond Rall and Phoebus Apollo were sworn-in to their posts by District Judge Mike Doyle at the borough’s reorganization meeting. The four were part of a Democratic slate that swept aside Republican incumbents Paul...
Penn Hills boys run away with win over Plum
Penn Hills 6-foot-3 senior guard Amon Hawthorne was comfortable and confident Tuesday night at Plum High School. Collectively, the Indians played with the same mindset during a 67-39 Section 1-5A win. Penn Hills jumped out to a 15-3 lead and never trailed. The Indians were led by Hawthorne, who scored...
Oakmont looks into new technology for busy intersection
Travelers through Oakmont might be able to get to their destinations faster come 2027. The borough is beginning a project to update the traffic light system at the intersection of Allegheny River Boulevard, Allegheny Avenue and Hulton Road. Borough Manager Scot Fodi said the area has long been a headache...
Plum girls keep cool, hold on to defeat Penn Hills in key section matchup
Taylie Auth didn’t hide that the Plum girls basketball team was nervous heading into a home Section 1-5A matchup with Penn Hills on Monday night. The Mustangs guard had ample reason to be nervous. With how tight the top half of the section is, there is little margin for error...
A-K Valley athletes of the week: Plum’s Riley Stephans, Fox Chapel’s Grant Fenton
Riley Stephans School: Plum Class: Senior Sport: Basketball Claim to fame: Stephans scored 57 total points across two games at the Peter Sauer Memorial Tournament at Shady Side Academy. She went off for 33 points in a loss against Class 6A Pine-Richland on Monday. She then followed that with her...
After strong start, Plum girls basketball braces for upcoming section tests
Rich Mull knows that for his Plum girls basketball team to earn a playoff berth and contend for a title in Section 1-5A, it is going to have to make sure to take care of the little things that often form a razor-thin line between triumph and defeat. “The section,...
Holy Family Parish serves Christmas Day meals to community members
On a cool Christmas morning, Holy Family Parish, in the eastern suburbs of Plum, Verona, Oakmont and Penn Hills, continued its tradition of celebrating Jesus’ birth by sharing brunch with about 170 guests at St. Joseph Church Hall in Verona and Our Lady of Joy Church Hall in Plum. The...
Westmoreland Land Trust names Plum native as new executive director
The new executive director of the Westmoreland Land Trust brings a love of nature and extensive experience to a nonprofit organization that has helped preserve about 700 acres in the county. “I really connected to the trust’s mission of protecting and preserving land in Westmoreland County and making it accessible...
Plum School District’s new finance director returns to role he previously occupied
John Zahorchak is set to return to Plum School District as its new director of finance and operations. Zahorchak, a Plum resident, previously served in the same role from 2016-2021 before leaving for neighboring Penn Hills School District. There, he helped oversee Penn Hills’ exit from financial recovery status in...
90-year-old artist paints portraits of caregivers who helped her recover at Plum retirement community
When a broken leg rendered Eva Lu Damianos mostly immobile in June, a whole team of nurses, aides and therapists assembled to get her back on her feet. Months later — now sauntering around with the help of a walker — Damianos, 90, has chosen to express her gratitude by...
Timely 3-pointers send Highlands past host Mustangs in double OT at Plum tournament
Ty Hall missed the opportunity at the end of regulation to make a go-ahead 3-pointer. When the Highlands guard had another opportunity in the second overtime, he knocked one down to give the Golden Rams momentum. While Highlands’ 85-82 double-overtime win over the host Mustangs on Friday night at the...
Monroeville man will march in Tournament of Roses Parade with a band of band directors
Michael Buckstein might be an assistant band director at the University of Pittsburgh, but it has still been a while since he practiced his heel-toe marching step. He’s been brushing up lately, though, after being chosen to perform with the Band Directors’ Marching Band at the annual Tournament of Roses...
Monroeville man will march in Tournament of Roses Parade with a band of, well, band directors
Michael Buckstein might be an assistant band director at the University of Pittsburgh, but it has still been a while since he practiced his heel-toe marching step. He’s been brushing up lately, though, after being chosen to perform with the Band Directors’ Marching Band at the annual Tournament of Roses...
Plum’s Make-A-Wish telethon cracks $1.25 million all-time total in 25th edition
When Rick Berrott started Plum’s Make-A-Wish telethon in 1999, the event lasted a few hours and was filmed on VHS tapes. But in its 25th edition on Monday and Tuesday, students stayed on the digital airwaves for more than 12 hours to crack an all-time total of $1.25 million. Berrott,...
Penn Hills man accused of fighting Plum police after being revived from drug overdose
A man repeatedly attempted to fight Plum police officers after being revived from an apparent drug overdosed Monday, police say. Frank Russo, 39, of Penn Hills is charged with three counts of felony aggravated assault, obstructing administration of the law and resisting arrest, among other misdemeanors. Officers were dispatched to...
Holy Family Parish offering free brunch on Christmas
Holy Family Parish is trying to make sure nobody in the community is alone on Christmas this year. The parish churches in Oakmont, Penn Hills, Plum and Verona will be offering a free Christmas Brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Christmas Day at two parish locations: • St....
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 14, 2025
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Churchill Diane Davis sold property at 2525 Greensburg Pike Unit 403 to Leon and Jeanetta Blackston for $230,000. Edgewood Jessica Zhu sold property at 513 Allenby Ave. to Kelsey Brazell for $295,000. Harrison Harrell sold property at 132 Beech St. to Lorna Romero Tangara for $531,115. Jessica George...
Some defendants in Plum fatal explosion case ask judge to dismiss negligence claims
Several defendants being sued over a 2023 fatal house explosion in Plum asked a judge Friday to dismiss negligence counts against them during a two-hour hearing heavy on legal citations. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Philip A. Ignelzi did not rule from the bench. The families of six people killed...
Plum Council passes budget with no tax increase
Plum property owners are looking at a level tax rate next year after council passed its budget Monday. The budget keeps the tax rate for residents at 6.63 mills for the second year in a row. That means the annual borough property tax bill on a home at Plum’s median...
More than 200 people gather to remember loved ones at 30th Light of Love event
Nearly a year after his mother, Rose Pirollo, died on Christmas Day, Chris Pirollo of Penn Hills attended Soxman Funeral Homes’ Light of Love memorial program for the first time. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but he walked away feeling it was a “wonderful, elegant, tasteful celebration of remembrance.”...
Election victors join Plum School Board; new president named
Plum School Board has four new members after a slate of Election Day victors took their seats this month. Jill Klipa, Adam Hill, Tiffany Hyde and Geter Sloan were sworn in to office by District Judge Mike Doyle. Hill served one term from 2019 to 2023, but the other three...
Plum prepares for 25th edition of Make-A-Wish telethon, hopes to crack $1.25M mark
Plum’s annual Make-A-Wish telethon is set to return later this month for its 25th edition. The livestreamed event has raised $1.19 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation since it began in 1999. But organizers are hoping to crack the $1.25 million mark this year, according to Plum High School teacher and...
