Plum, Oakmont, Verona happenings, week of May 1, 2023

National History Day finalists

A group of Riverview High School ninth- and 10th-grade honors history students participated in traveled to the National History Day State Finals on April 22-23.

Five of the students’ projects received top-six finishes:

• Chiara Brun and Molly Morrissey, second place, Senior Group Performance, “Bayard v. Singleton: An Influential Court Case in Early America.”

• Rocco Brown, Emily Chen and Clare Sliben, fourth place, Senior Group Documentary”The Double Standard: The Story of Rosalind Franklin.”

• Aicha Jaafar, fifth place, Senior Historical Paper, “A Woman’s Right to Vote: The Frontier Broken by New Zealand’s Suffragists.”

• Drew Hunter, Carter Loughren, Drew Ogrodowski and Peter Sekel, fifth place, Senior Group Documentary, “DNA Theory: The Creation and Controversy of the Building Blocks of Life.”

• Grace Johnson and Rosa Lascola, fifth place, Senior Group Website, “The Sun of Education in India.”

For finishing second in the state, Chiara Brun and Molly Morrissey have qualified and can choose to participate in the national finals at the University of Maryland in June.

Movies in Railroad Park

The Verona Parks and Recreation Board announces its Movies in the Park series, starting with “The Sandlot” on May 12. The movies begin at dusk in Railroad Park, 737 E. Railroad Ave.

Also on the schedule are “Aladdin” (1992 version), June 9; “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” July 21; “Ready to Rumble,” Aug. 11; “The Empire Strikes Back,” Sept. 8; and “Hocus Pocus,” a special Halloween drive-in event.

Oakmont-Verona Memorial Day

The 2023 Oakmont-Verona Memorial Day parade and ceremony will take place on May 29.

The parade will line up at 9 a.m. on East Railroad Avenue in Verona and begin at 9:30. Frank Bonaroti is the parade marshal.

The route will be along Allegheny River Boulevard across the Roger F. Duffy Viaduct to Pennsylvania Avenue, and then to the Verona Cemetery at Oakmont.

A ceremony following the parade features guest speaker Maj. Dimitri J. Facaros, a 2002 Riverview High School graduate who is assigned as the group judge advocate for 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.

If you know of any veteran who passed away since May 2022 whose arrangements were outside of Oakmont and Verona, please send the name, date of death and branch of service to seantruby@yahoo.com so that the veteran can be recognized.

Vietnam veterans in Verona and Oakmont who would like to be recognized in the program can contact Rich Luciana at 412-969-7191.

Ben Bailey performs at Oaks

Drusky Entertainment presents Ben Bailey of “Cash Cab” on May 5 at The Oaks Theater in Oakmont.

The doors open at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8. Ticket prices range from $25 to $50 for the all-ages event. Visit www.eventbrite.com/e/ cash-cabs-ben-bailey- tickets-554710824007.

Firearms license-to-carry event

A firearms license-to-carry event is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 13 at the Plum Borough Building, 2000 Old Mine Road.

The events will be on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department. New and renewal applicants must have a valid Pennsylvania identification or driver’s license, a completed application and $20 cash to pay the fee.

In addition to issuing licenses, the sheriff’s office will have a representative from its opioid reduction program, Project DUMP, on site to accept expired and unused medications. Glass bottles, liquids, syringes, inhalers, insulin and creams will not be accepted.

Business Blossom Award launched

Verona Chamber of Commerce invites business members to participate in making the business district a walkable garden with the inaugural Business Blossom Award contest.

The contest will start June 1 and the winner announced Sept. 15. Prizes are:

• First place, $300 cash to be donated by Bettis Floral Event Design. Your business name will be engraved on a vase that will be displayed in until the following year.

• Second place, $75 gift certificate to be donated by the Hula Bar.

• Third place, $50 gift certificate donated by Eiler’s Hardware.

All Verona residents can vote. The ballot box will be located at 757 East Railroad Ave. There also will be a panel of judges.

You must be a member of the Verona Chamber of Commerce to enter and win.

Garden summer story time

Verona Community Garden, in partnership with Oakmont Carnegie Library, is offering summer story time from 11:30 a.m. to noon weekly on Wednesday from June 7 through July 26 at 246 W. Railroad Ave.

Stories will be geared toward children ages 1 to 5. Contact veronagardengrows@gmail.com for more information.