Plum Advance Leader category, Page 25
Rustic Ridge family that lost home to explosion awaits completion of new house
As Rick and Beth Napoleon planned their new house in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood, they knew it had to be different. “With every decision, we’re pretty much trying to do the complete opposite of the last house,” Rick Napoleon said. “Every decision is the opposite. We want something new, different...
Plum board approves budget with 6.2% tax hike
Plum School District property owners will see their real estate tax bills go up 6.2% next year. The school board voted 8-1 Tuesday night to adopt their estimated $74.3 million spending plan with the tax hike for the 2024-25 school year. Board member Lindsay Arenth dissented. The 6.2% increase includes...
New traffic signals set to launch at Routes 286 and 380 in Murrysville
Temporary traffic signals are being installed where Route 380 and Golden Mile Highway meet, but the permanent improvements proposed for the intersection have a Murrysville family upset. Canonsburg-based Olympus Energy is funding traffic improvements as part of its Hermes fracking well pad project, being constructed nearby on the Murrysville/Plum border....
In brief: Plum, Oakmont area events, week of May 27, 2024
Plum’s ‘Monday Market’ begins June 3 This year’s “Monday Market” in Plum will begin June 3. Markets will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. every Monday until Aug. 26. They will be held at Plum Creek Park, near the ballfields on New Texas Road. Plum summer movie night “PAW...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of May 26, 2024
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Churchill Rybee 2 LLC sold property at 2302 Marbury Road to Djarrard Dutrieuille for $410,000. Edgewood Jessica Nevins sold property at 440 Greendale Ave. to Christopher Carosi and Rebecca Wetherbee for $292,500. Forest Hills Concetta Leary sold property at 336 Sharon Drive to William Henry and Courtney Strouse...
Plum softball team look ahead to promising future after 1st-round loss
The Plum softball team has grown to not appreciate the field at Gateway High School, considering a trio of recent playoff fates there. Three years ago, as the No. 3 seed for the WPIAL Class 5A tournament, the Mustangs were shut out by Fox Chapel. Last year, in the No....
Plum baseball uses early playoff exit as learning experience
When Trinity’s Logan Daniels tallied a two-run single for the final runs of a three-run top of the 11th inning in a WPIAL Class 5A first-round playoff game May 15 at Gateway, No. 5 Plum had its collective backs against the wall. The Mustangs did the best they could to...
Pickleball coming soon to Oakmont’s Riverside Park
Oakmont is hopping on the pickleball bandwagon. Council voted Monday, May 20, to award the contract for the Oakmont Borough Park Improvement project to Dun Rite Construction & Paving of Tarentum. The more than $251,000 project will take place at Riverside Park to help foster a community-friendly activity space. “I’d...
Stay cool: Find your pool’s opening day and hours
Swimming pools across the region are set to open soon. Here’s when pools near you will open for the summer season: Allegheny County • Boyce Park Wave Pool, Monroeville: Opens June 1, 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily, weather permitting. For more information, visit alleghenycounty.us or call 724-325-4667. • Deer...
Plum senior Rayla Smith sets near unbreakable school record for goals
Senior Rayla Smith set the all-time goals record for Plum girls lacrosse last season and has added to her total. The record of 179 goals was set by Plum graduate Sam Casile in 2010. Going into last season, Smith had 121 goals and went on to lead the team with...
In brief: Plum, Oakmont area events, week of May 20, 2024
McAfee donation covers repair cost for Unity fire truck A donation from Pat McAfee is covering the entire cost to repair the Unity Volunteer Fire Department’s rescue truck, fire Chief P.J. Mudar said. McAfee is Plum native who was a punter for the Indianapolis Colts punter who now is a...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of May 19, 2024
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Churchill Jessalynn Oliver sold property at 3725 E. Rural Ct to Brenda Gregg for $130,000. Edgewood Estate of Carol Richards sold property at 300 Dewey Ave. to Karina Steren for $330,000. Forest Hills Estate of Josephine Pasquarelli sold property at 27 Greenwood Road to Tyler Mock and Madeline...
Plum foundation honoring junior firefighter awards scholarship
A foundation created to remember a teen from Plum has awarded its first scholarship to a junior firefighter graduating from the borough’s school district. Jennifer Martinez created The Mark Matesic Memorial Foundation shortly after her 16-year-old son died by suicide in March 2022. Fascinated with trucks, especially firetrucks, since he...
Former patients reunite as professionals at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Dr. Matt Kocher was setting up an operating room during his anesthesia fellowship at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Lawrenceville when nurse Alexis Mamros asked if he had ever received anesthesia. He replied that he had, during his cancer treatment. Curious, Mamros asked for details. Kocher mentioned he remembered another patient...
Plum set to graduate 309 students
Plum School District’s 2024 commencement ceremony will begin at 7 p.m. May 29 at the athletic stadium at Plum High School. The district has 309 graduates this year. The outstanding senior award recipients are Isabella Surace and Austin J. Kim. Patrick Baughman became high school principal in October. He called...
Plum School Board censures member, calls for resignation
Plum School Board’s president called for fellow board member Ronald Sakolsky’s resignation late Tuesday following a vote to censure him. The resolution to censure Sakolsky, approved in a 7-2 vote, accused him of publicly sharing confidential or false information about the school district and its superintendent. “Time that should have...
Plum recognizes first responders to Rustic Ridge tragedy
What Peter Troxell remembers most about the August day when a house exploded in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood is that it was hot. As a fire police officer with the Holiday Park Volunteer Fire Department, it was Troxell’s job to make sure the first responders who needed to get to...
Connellsville jumps on Plum early in Class 5A 1st-round win
Gateway High School’s softball field isn’t the most popular place for Plum. The Mustangs have seen their season end on that field three of the past four years. Two years ago in the WPIAL Class 5A first round, Fox Chapel blanked Plum. Last year, Thomas Jefferson rallied from three runs...
In brief: Plum, Oakmont area events, week of May 13, 2024
‘Bowl for the Cure’ scheduled The 15th annual “Bowl for the Cure” will be held beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 18, at Nesbit’s Lanes, 3501 Leechburg Road in Plum. The cost is $20 per person or $100 per lane and includes bowling, shoes, pizza, pop, random drawings, a 50/50...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of May 12, 2024
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Chalfant Dennis Syska sold property at 301 Greenfield Ave. to Aviedaleen Rozina Carden Miller and Maleena Matilda Escalera for $164,000. Churchill Jessica Buitrago sold property at 3310 Longbow Drive to Daniel Mankin and Kyrnan Matthias for $352,500. Mary Ann McClain sold property at 3318 Scathelocke Drive to Finnbarr...
Plum notebook: Mustangs wrestlers make college decisions
Antonino Walker and fellow Plum seniors celebrated their high school wrestling careers and wrestling futures as they finalized decisions to compete at the next level. Walker, who committed to Division I Edinboro, as well as Sam Snyder (Division III Saint Vincent), Carson Yocca (Division II Ashland) and Rylen Campbell (Ashland)...
GAMA Sports Training working on move into new $2.5M facility in Plum
A sports training facility in Plum is growing again. Joe Fischetti hopes to move his family business, GAMA Sports Training, into a 27,000-square-foot home in September. The new building would be at the end of Sheena Drive, a dead-end road off Davidson Road, where GAMA currently is housed in a...
Suspect in Mount Oliver drug deal shooting arrested in Plum
A Clairton man accused of shooting a person during a drug deal in Mount Oliver in April was arrested Wednesday night in Plum. Plum police arrested Dorian Randell Ingram, 29, after an anonymous woman said she saw him at a residence in the 100 block of Unity Center Road. The...
Plum School District to honor 22 retiring employees with special reception
The Plum School District is preparing to bid farewell to nearly two dozen employees with more than 550 years of combined service to the district. The district plans to honor its 22 retirees with a reception beginning at 6:30 p.m. May 28 at the high school library. It will be...
Plum baseball defeats Fox Chapel to create WPIAL’s 1st 4-way tie for section title in 20 years
On the final day of section play, the Fox Chapel baseball team controlled its destiny for an outright title. Instead, with help coming from another section matchup, Plum’s victory over the Foxes solidified an ultra-rare four-way tie atop the Section 1-5A standings. With Plum’s 10-4 victory and Franklin Regional pulling...
