South Hills Record category, Page 70

The West Jefferson Hills School District could pay roughly $20,000 for a company to survey the old Thomas Jefferson High School to find all of the hazardous materials inside prior to the building’s demolition. After bringing in two abatement firms, each of which found asbestos and other hazardous materials in...

Jonah Clonan is a self-proclaimed animal lover with four cats, two dogs, two guinea pigs and three fish tanks at home. When Jonah, 10, a fourth-grader at Jefferson Hills Intermediate School in the West Jefferson Hills School District learned of the devastating bushfires killing more than one billion animals in...

Shevan Abdulla sits on the floor inside a first-grade classroom at McClellan Elementary School constructing a colorful tower alongside student Santino Civitello. “Higher,” Santino states, as Abdulla, a paraprofessional at the school, adds more blocks to the structure and begins quizzing the young boy on his spelling words. It’s business...

Baldwin Borough leaders are considering new rules that would require residents who are sacrificing animals for religious purposes to do so out of the view of the public. The amended ordinance, which is working its way through borough council, would address an issue that sprung up in Baldwin last year,...

Robert and Linda Reese celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Jan. 4 in Pittsburgh. The celebration was hosted by their children and attended by many friends and family. Their family includes four children: Julie Bookser (and husband Ryan), Robert Reese Jr., Sharon Reese and Jade Reese. Also nine grandchildren: Ryan...

A majority of Baldwin council members decided through a straw poll — conducted by phone before the borough’s Jan. 6 reorganization meeting — that they planned to switch solicitors that night, according to the current council president. Dating back to December, some council members had individually discussed the idea and...

A new ride-hailing service already operating in the South Hills is eyeing a second test area in Pittsburgh’s suburbs. RubyRide has a pilot program that launched in the Clairton area in late October and will be starting a second pilot Feb. 1 in areas that make up the Sto-Rox School...

Nikol Muslimovic hoped the bright, colorful cards she and her classmates at Baldwin High School created for women awaiting asylum at the Mexican border would give them hope and encouragement to keep going. For her, this was personal. Just two decades ago, her parents immigrated to the United States from...

A South Park man who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $1.2 million from a church in Upper St. Clair was sentenced Tuesday to 10 to 20 years in prison and ordered to make restitution to the church. David Reiter, 50, was the administrator at Westminster Presbyterian Church from 2001...

A homeowner shot and killed an intruder Sunday while his fiance and 10-month-old child were inside the Baldwin Borough apartment, according to police. Joshua Brandon Long, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene after he allegedly tried to rob the apartment using a handgun shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday evening....

Brentwood Police officers will begin working 12-hour shifts in 2020, as borough leaders entered into an agreement on Jan. 6 with the department that allows them to pilot an overhaul in scheduling in the new year. “What’s attractive about it is the unity in command,” said Police Chief Adam Zeppuhar....

It’s not unusual for Baldwin Borough police officers to stop by a baseball game and chat with the coaches or visit the library and converse with residents. In the last year, community policing has become a major part of the job for all 24 officers in the department. That means...

The 23-year-old South Hills man who was driving a car involved in an October fatal crash with a cyclist in Brookline was charged with homicide by vehicle Wednesday by Pittsburgh police. Police said Thomas Morton wasn’t licensed when he was driving a Honda Civic shortly after 9 p.m. Oct. 20...

While property taxes won’t increase in Whitehall Borough in 2020, borough leaders agreed to raise the earned income tax rate in an effort to bring in more funds to pay for municipal services. Council members recently approved raising the borough’s earned income tax rate from 1% to 1.2%, which they...

It’s a new day in Jefferson Hills, as three new council members took the oath of office on Jan. 6. Democrats Karen Bucy, Nicole Ruscitto and Keith Reynolds were sworn in for a four-year term at the borough’s reorganization meeting that evening. “We have the opportunity in this brand new...

The new Jefferson Hills zoning ordinance will provide added clarity for residents and developers alike on what they can and can’t do in each zoning district, leaders say. An overhaul of the borough’s zoning code has been in the works for roughly three years and is finally making its way...

Early Friday morning, prior to student arrivals at McAnnulty Elementary School in Baldwin-Whitehall School District as the teaching and professional staff began to arrive in the building, a malfunction was detected with one of the boilers in the building, according to a news release from the district. Carrie Butler, Baldwin-Whitehall...

Jefferson Hills planning commission members said they had no updates this month on a controversial Blackwood housing plan to add 67 single-family homes in the Deer Park neighborhood. Commission members on Dec. 30 tabled the proposal initially presented in November for another month. Residents showed up in force in November...

UPMC will present updates to its plans for a new 63-bed hospital that it hopes to build in Jefferson Hills to the borough’s planning commission in January. Residents for more than a year have fought plans for the new hospital and the zoning permit to allow the project to proceed...

As we enter a new decade, the South Hills Record is looking back at 2019 and the stories that made the year memorable. Here’s a look at our picks for the top 10 stories from last year. Jefferson Hills zoning board strips UPMC permit A group of Jefferson Hills residents...

The past month has been a whirlwind for Melissa Girman Steffey. After losing the recent municipal election for a seat on Jefferson Hills borough council by one vote, an end-of-the-year vacancy revived Steffey’s chance to serve the community she loves in that role. She was sworn in Dec. 9 to...

Whitehall Borough has announced the winners of the 2019 house decorating contest. They are: • Best overall — Scott and Lisa Schaming, 134 E. Club Drive • Best all-white lights – Kenneth and Kristin Figura, 125 Audbert Drive • Best traditional – William and Mary Nee, 4625 W. Barlind Drive...

New England Patriots rookie defensive end Chase Winovich hasn’t forgotten his roots in Thomas Jefferson High School’s Jaguar country. As a special treat just before the holidays, Winovich, 24, paid for the entire free and reduced lunch debt of 96 students in the West Jefferson Hills School District. “The district...

Baldwin Borough leaders have held the line on real estate taxes for 2020. However, residents will be paying more for sewage in the new year. Council members on Dec. 17 approved the borough’s 2020 spending plan that includes $12.8 million in the general fund, $6.8 million in the sewer fund,...