Plum Advance Leader category, Page 42
‘True to the spirit of the times’: Plum native set to release 3rd historical novel
If it ever comes up during Trivia Night, the 58th doge of Venice died on July 18, 1365. OK. So, what’s a doge? And who cares? The first answer is the ceremonial leader of the canal-laden city-state in what now is Italy. The second is Kevin Butler. For his soon-to-be-published...
In brief: Plum area happenings, week of Aug. 7, 2023
Plum Class of ’73 reunion Plum High School Class of 1973 will hold its 50-year reunion starting at 4 p.m. Sept. 9 at the Lighthouse Marina, 799 Industrial Blvd., New Kensington. Price is $30 per person. RSVP by Aug. 19. For more information, contact Debbie Rittmeyer Martin at 412-798-4422 or...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of Aug. 6, 2023
Forest Hills John Rutkoski sold property at 139 Fairfax Road to Michael Hughes for $205,000. Adam Michael Vincent Zelenko sold property at 222 Sheryl Ln to Matthew Stephen Zelenko for $225,000. Edward Boenigk sold property at 529 Windsor Ave. to Pink Boots LLC for $80,000. Monroeville Estate of Rudolph Bailey...
Plum marching band prepares for school year
If it seems as if the 2022-23 school year just wrapped up, consider that a new one is right around the corner. The first day of Plum School District classes is Aug. 23, but even before the start of the month, students already were preparing for activities to come. Among...
Plum grad excited to take over alma mater’s hockey program
Jon Gratton’s first foray into ice hockey coaching came three seasons ago when the 2009 Plum graduate accepted a varsity assistant coaching position on college teammate Cam Raidna’s staff at Fox Chapel. “I can’t say right off the bat that coaching was a goal of mine,” said Gratton, a four-year...
Plum homeowner said to be making progress on fixing home borough sought to demolish
A Plum resident has been making “good progress” toward repairing his home that borough officials previously declared dangerous and sought to tear down, according to the borough manager. Council is scheduled to hold a follow-up hearing on the property at 247 Francis Road at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 14 at the...
Lady Mustangs lead Plum soccer camp
They may be knee-high to the proverbial grasshopper, but they know how to shoot and score. And they’re learning how to get better. Girls as young as kindergarten, 56 strong, signed up for a soccer camp conducted by members of the Plum High School Lady Mustangs, perennial participants in the...
Rock Talks: Plum enthusiast presents on Led Zeppelin, myriad other topics
In an unprecedented violation of marketing orthodoxy, the British band Led Zeppelin released its fourth album in 1971 with nothing on the front cover but a painting of an old man carrying a bundle of sticks. A turn of the gatefold jacket reveals a similarly wizened, wizardlike figure standing atop...
Plum grad Josh George makes a name for himself — or not — as Slippery Rock’s long snapper
Among football’s most common axioms is the anonymous nature of offensive linemen. While the quarterbacks and skill position players get all the headlines and highlights, the guys who toil in the trenches often are seen as just big, faceless bodies, if they are acknowledged at all. If offensive linemen are...
In brief: benefit, reunion, other Plum-Oakmont area events, week of July 31, 2023
Raffle baskets benefit causes John Anthony’s Restaurant will host a fundraising event aimed at supporting two charitable causes, the Remember Me Rose Garden, a living tribute to the heroes of 9/11 Flight 93, and the Beach Dog Rescue of Costa Maya. The event, featuring baskets to be raffled, is scheduled...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of July 30, 2023
Chalfant Tri Cog Land Bank sold property at 211 Wilkins Ave. to Fortunae LLC for $25,000. Churchill Wayne Casey trustee sold property at 1624 Branning Road to Glen and Charity Beveridge for $399,900. Barbara Fagnelli sold property at 101 Merrie Woode Drive to Bob and Pamela Hansen for $410,000. Edgewood...
4th Plum road to close for slide repair
Another road in Plum is closing for slide repair. PennDOT announced Thursday that Milltown Road between Shearer and Barnes roads will close at 7 a.m. Monday and remain closed through late September. Crews from A. Liberoni will be fixing three separate slides within the roughly mile stretch of Milltown, said...
Plum man held for trial on charges of threatening 3 with gun at Republican committee meeting
A Plum man who ran for Allegheny County Council in 2021 was held for trial Wednesday on charges stemming from allegedly threatening three men with a gun outside a Plum Borough Republican Committee meeting in April. The preliminary hearing for Eric Casteel, 62, had been continued four times from May...
Plum hires police officers, honors sports teams
Three new police officers were approved by the Plum Borough Council members at their July meeting: Timothy Troy, Cara Sterling and Jeffrey Bonicky. Troy and Sterling were at the meeting to meet with the council, and Bonicky was on a military assignment. “New faces, new blood, new energy,” said police...
Bean Bootmobile makes Plum appearance
You’ve heard of the Batmobile. Now picture a 13-foot-high, 20-foot-long, road-ready replica of a famous brand of footwear. That’s the Bootmobile, created for the venerable outdoor-oriented company L.L.Bean, and the shoe-shaped vehicle made a recent stop at the Sampson Family YMCA in Plum. “We are out on the road to...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of July 23, 2023
Churchill Janice Schano sold property at 3737 E. Rural Ct to Lamont Coleman for $150,000. Monroeville Allen Horton sold property at 522 California Ave. to Vince and Carol Scala for $50,000. Marcia Conklin sold property at 107 College Park Drive to Sangill Properties LLC for $50,000. Randy Rossi sold property...
Old Leechburg Road slide repair work continues for another week in Plum
Work along a section of Old Leechburg Road in Plum will continue for another week. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said guiderail installation work will continue through Friday, July 28, on a portion of Old Leechburg Road between Sardis and Old Mine roads. The roadway will remain closed until the work...
Design of VOPP Trail continues, 3 out of 4 phases mapped out
A bike lane through parts of Verona and Oakmont, a new traffic light at a busy intersection near the boroughs’ borders and the use of an old railroad bed are all parts of a proposed bike/walking trail connecting Verona, Oakmont, Penn Hills and Plum. Project officials announced three out of...
Plum graduate Rick Walsh named district superintendent
Rick Walsh is the new superintendent of the Plum School District. Walsh, previously assistant and deputy superintendent and briefly interim superintendent, replaces Brendan Hyland, who resigned effective June 30 to become superintendent of the North Allegheny School District. At its meeting Tuesday, the Plum School Board unanimously approved a five-year...
In brief: Free Dentistry Day, class reunions, other happenings, week of July 17, 2023
Free Dentistry Day in Verona Free dental services will be available on July 28 at Verona Dental Care. Dr. Sumit Gupta, the team at Verona Dental Care and volunteer doctors are participating in Free Dentistry Day, dedicated to providing for the growing number of Americans without dental insurance. Cleanings, fillings...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of July 16, 2023
Churchill John Anders Bendixen sold property at 317 Carlton St. to Thomas Fitzurka and Christie Kolenc for $285,000. Edgewood Estate of Susan Louise Bailey sold property at 124 W Swissvale Ave. to Margaret Pereira trustee for $677,000. Forest Hills Estate of David Berkowitz sold property at 297 Barclay Ave. to...
Proposal for 3rd Dollar General in Plum sees store downsized
A proposal to build a third Dollar General has returned in Plum, with a smaller building and more parking spaces. The store still would be built on about 2 acres subdivided from a 9-acre parcel along Saltsburg Road at Clements Road, according to revised plans submitted to the borough for...
Plum thanks Pat McAfee after another donation
Former Indianapolis Colts punter, current TV star and Plum native Pat McAfee was thanked by the borough for another charitable act. McAfee paid for every child age 17 and younger to have an all-day ride ticket at Plum’s SummerFest. According to borough manager Michael Thomas, the total cost was around...
Transition to Plum volleyball head coach going smoothly for Rachel Satira
The day before Rachel Satira graduated from Seton Hill in May 2019, she got a call from then-Plum girls volleyball coach Kelsey Bonk about coming on board as an assistant and also working with the middle school team. “I was more than happy to join,” said Satira, a standout four-year...
Verona man arrested after being on the run nearly a year
Police arrested a Verona man Wednesday after he had been on the run for nearly a year. Jaheed Aziz, 32, had been a fugitive since August 2022 when he didn’t appear for status hearings on four different cases, according to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office. Judge Beth A. Lazzara issued...
