Shaler Journal category, Page 25
Motivated by 1-point playoff loss, Shaler girls aim higher
Hanna DeJidas still thinks about the Shaler girls basketball team’s loss in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. The Titans became one of the WPIAL’s top defensive teams last season by utilizing bungee cords in practice so the entire team knew how to move and work together....
Shaler Area School Board says goodbye to its longest member
Long-time Shaler Area School Board member Jeanne Petrovich was given a heartfelt farewell from her fellow board members on Nov. 15. Petrovich has been a member of the board for the past 24 years and has had six children graduate from Shaler Area High School. Her youngest daughter graduated last...
Etna Girl Scout leader honored for 50 years of service
Ruth “Ruthie” Hidek is a woman of her word. Following through with a pact that she made in high school, she’s been a Girl Scout troop leader for the past 50 years. Hidek was a scout until high school. She ended up leaving the program because “they wanted to have...
Shaler Area School Board looks for solution to declining enrollment
Several parents attended the Shaler Area School Board meeting on Nov. 15 to address the board about the possible closure of Reserve Primary School. The conversation comes after the district received the results of a feasibility study that emphasized work that needs to be done in the district. The study...
No tax increase in Shaler proposed budget
Shaler commissioners presented a proposed 2024 budget with no tax raises on Nov. 14. The budget includes more than $16.3 million in expenditures with almost $14.8 million in revenue. The proposal calls for the township’s millage rate to stay at 3.49 with residents owning property with an assessed value of...
Etna launching Community Heart and Soul initiative
Etna Borough officials want to have a conversation with residents. Toward the end of the year, residents will be invited to meetings to speak about how to make the community a better place to live. According to borough manager Mary Ellen Ramage, officials are hoping to focus on community outreach...
North Hills area real estate transactions, week of Nov. 12, 2023
Bellevue Bank NY Mellon Tr sold property at 269 N Balph Ave. to Renault Bonner for $78,750. Estate of Donald Easler sold property at 309 Union Ave. to Mitchell Bentley for $100,000. Franklin Park Maronda Homes LLC sold property at 1322 Adrian Drive to Ryan Chedwick for $642,295. Gary Bleakley...
Incumbents win most Shaler area races
The majority of the races in the Shaler area were uncontested. Etna council In the Ward 1 race for Etna council, incumbent Democrats Megan Tunon and Brad Ianuzzi won the two open seats with 217 and 214 votes, respectively. Republican Nicholas Behr Leffakis received 104 votes and there were three...
North Hills area real estate transactions, week of Nov. 5, 2023
Franklin Park Maronda Homes LLC sold property at 1328 Adrian Drive to Matthew Thomas Brock and Jennifer Amanda Murtha for $652,320. Estate of Velia Schubel sold property at 2231 Montgomery Road to Nicholas Schubel for $240,000. Hampton Dale Lynn sold property at 5027 Apple Ridge Drive to Derek and Kattiana...
Shining Star Gala to benefit McCandless museum
The McCandless/Northern Allegheny Heritage and Cultural Center is hosting its first-ever Shining Star Gala on Nov. 25 at the Chadwick Banquet Center in McCandless. The event begins at 5 p.m. with cocktails, with dinner at 6 p.m. There will be an award presentation for long-standing volunteers in the community, followed...
Plum artist takes us ‘Down the Rabbit Hole’ in Etna show
From the 19th-century writings of Lewis Carroll to the 20th-century lyrics of Grace Slick, rabbits white and otherwise have come to symbolize departures from the ordinary. Plum resident Bob Freyer continues the tradition with his latest art exhibit. “It’s really just taking me away from all the stress and aggravation...
North Hills area real estate transactions, week of Oct. 29, 2023
Franklin Park Rajesh Patwari sold property at 1911 Kimberly Ct to Cartus Financial Corp. for $855,100. Cartus Financial Corp. sold property at 1911 Kimberly Ct to Rajil and Sonali Mehta for $855,100. David Lee sold property at 3730 Lyndell St. to Infinium Investments LLC for $150,000 (state deed transfer stamps...
Shaler Area High School Japanese Honor Society helps fight world hunger
Shaler Area High School’s Japanese National Honor Society decided to fight world hunger in a unique way. Table for Two, a global initiative that works to increase school lunch nutritional value by partnering with corporations, restaurants and schools to serve healthy TFT-branded meals, announced the start of its annual Onigiri...
Millvale gallery to feature Telephone of the Wind
It all started with a book. Alisa Whysong and her husband, Todd, lost their daughter Katie to depression in 2021. Grieving had taken them on a few different journeys, including the creation of a Telephone of the Wind garden located at the Maple Leaf, an art gallery space in Millvale....
Westinghouse to base its nuclear battery operations in EtnaVideo
Nuclear power pioneer Westinghouse is expanding its footprint in Western Pennsylvania and renewing its commitment to nuclear innovation with a new facility in Etna. Westinghouse signed a lease for an 87,420-square-foot building at 51 Bridge St. The Cranberry-based company plans to make the most critical component of its eVinci nuclear...
Late-season win provides highlight for Shaler boys soccer
If Shaler boys soccer coach Tyler Schultz had it his way, the Titans’ outburst against Hempfield on Oct. 10 would have happened much sooner. But as it was, Shaler’s 5-1 win over Hempfield was a nice reward for a group of seniors who had difficulty navigating through a brutal Section...
Shaler golfer still working after playing in state championships
Chris Catanese chuckled when he got the notification on his phone from Jacob Crissman’s parents. The Shaler junior golfer hadn’t stopped working after he finished playing the Penn State Blue Course at the PIAA Class 3A championships. After Crissman’s final round, he stuck around and drove some balls. Then, when...
North Hills area real estate transactions, week of Oct. 22, 2023
Bellevue Yabeca LLC sold property at 132 S Euclid Ave. to Joshua James Geiger and Rebecca Miller for $277,500. Etna Terrence Cavanaugh sold property at 13 Vilsack St. to Bettina and Wesley George for $240,000. Franklin Park Amy McGuigan sold property at 2567 Aldon Drive to Noah David Schell for...
Shaler Area students recognized for perfect scores on Civic Knowledge test
Eight Shaler Area High School students were honored at the Oct. 18 school board meeting for earning a perfect score on the state-mandated Civic Knowledge test. Seniors Hannah Klaas, Sadie Wilkinson, Jacob Kunc, Julian Vizzoca, Alexi Gralewski, Hailey Richards, Lilliana Zimmerman and Ronald Molnar were recognized and presented with certificates...
Family of late, beloved custodian at North Allegheny’s Hosack Elementary School honors his memory with book
If one word could describe Hosack Elementary’s late custodian Kevin Cavlovich, it would be kind. That’s the core message of “Looking for Kindness,” a new book about Cavlovich — Mr. Kevin, as he was called by students — the school’s former head custodian, who at age 30 died unexpectedly of...
Ward 1 Etna’s only contested council race
In Etna’s council race, only the Ward 1 race is contested with incumbent Democrats Megan Tunon and Brad Iannuzzi and Republican challenger Nicholas Behr Leffakis running for two open seats. The Ward 2 race only has Democrat Ronald Trader on the ballot. In Ward 3, Democrat Jessica Semler is the...
Contested races for commissioner seats in Shaler Wards 5, 7
Shaler Township’s odd numbered wards have seats up for election this November, but only Wards 5 and 7 have contested races. In Ward 1, incumbent Frank Izzo won both the Democrat and Republican nominations in the primary and is unopposed. It’s the same situation in Ward 3 with incumbent and...
North Hills real estate transactions for the week of Oct. 15, 2023
Franklin Park Memory Lane Venture LLC sold property at 1606 Memory Lane Ct to Benjamin Marcus Homes LLC for $220,000. Hampton Joshua Good sold property at 5031 Lakeview Drive to Peter Michael Biernesser and Samantha Lynn Wills for $355,065. Marshall Stephen Grunz sold property at 2634 Lansdale Drive to Cartus...
Firefighters battling rowhouse fire in Etna
Firefighters were battling a residential structure fire in Etna Saturday night. The fire at a rowhouse in the 100 block of Cherry Street was reported at 8:35 p.m., an Allegheny County 911 dispatcher said. There were no immediate reports of injuries. After about an hour into the fight, no one...
Multiple Shaler-area races uncontested
Editor’s note: The Shaler Journal is publishing candidate interviews for contested municipal and school board races only. Candidates must be on the ballot (no write-in candidates will be included). Multiple races in the Shaler area are uncontested according to the Allegheny County Office of Elections unofficial candidate list. Shaler Area...
