Plum Advance Leader category

Landen Ekiert suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder in the last game of his freshman season. Surgery was needed to fix it. The Plum senior was limited in his comeback, and then he was injured again. While still being nagged by injury, he admitted he had an on-and-off junior...

Several defendants being sued over a 2023 fatal house explosion in Plum asked a judge Friday to dismiss negligence counts against them during a two-hour hearing heavy on legal citations. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Philip A. Ignelzi did not rule from the bench. The families of six people killed...

Plum property owners are looking at a level tax rate next year after council passed its budget Monday. The budget keeps the tax rate for residents at 6.63 mills for the second year in a row. That means the annual borough property tax bill on a home at Plum’s median...

Rich Mull’s eyes gleamed. The Plum girls basketball coach will take a two-point victory on the road. Especially at neighboring Franklin Regional. “Any time we can get a win against Franklin Regional, it’s special,” Mull said moments after his Mustangs held on for a 33-31 victory in a WPIAL Section...

Nearly a year after his mother, Rose Pirollo, died on Christmas Day, Chris Pirollo of Penn Hills attended Soxman Funeral Homes’ Light of Love memorial program for the first time. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but he walked away feeling it was a “wonderful, elegant, tasteful celebration of remembrance.”...

Plum School Board has four new members after a slate of Election Day victors took their seats this month. Jill Klipa, Adam Hill, Tiffany Hyde and Geter Sloan were sworn in to office by District Judge Mike Doyle. Hill served one term from 2019 to 2023, but the other three...

The Plum girls basketball team, fresh off victories over Latrobe and North Hills on Friday and Saturday to win its tip-off tournament, hoped to keep things rolling Monday as it visited rival Kiski Area in the final tune-up before the start of section play. The Cavaliers hoped to quell the...

Plum’s annual Make-A-Wish telethon is set to return later this month for its 25th edition. The livestreamed event has raised $1.19 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation since it began in 1999. But organizers are hoping to crack the $1.25 million mark this year, according to Plum High School teacher and...

Group offers support for weight loss All are welcome to join the men and women at Oakmont TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) who are learning how to lose weight. With in-person meetings, rewards, support and encouragement, we gain knowledge of healthy eating and exercise. You may visit with no obligation...

ALLEGHENY COUNTY Forest Hills Kevin Wilhelm sold property at 714 Cascade Road to Rachel Harriet Corn-Hicks for $195,000. Estate of Florence Mae Beatty sold property at 1987 Centurion Drive to Emily Phillips for $64,600. Monroeville RS Holdings 201 LLC sold property at 431 California Ave. to Cerkat Ventures D LLC...

During Allegheny Valley School District’s two-month search for a consistent high school biology teacher, Superintendent Patrick Graczyk said other teachers, outside substitutes and even school principals stepped in to keep the science class going. Eventually, the district found a long-term substitute with an emergency biology certification to fill the role...

A private consulting firm’s report for a Delmont energy company being sued over a 2023 fatal house explosion in Plum has determined Penneco Oil Co. was not responsible — a conclusion sure to be challenged in court. Penneco and Peoples Gas were among those sued for negligence and wrongful death...

ALLEGHENY COUNTY Chalfant Starry Night 88 LLC sold property at 230 Fairview Ave. to 4313 East View LLC for $41,790. Churchill Omid Kashefi sold property at 1921 Garrick Drive to Joseph Balaban Jr. and Marc Schuler for $430,000. Edgewood Estate of Robert Fuchs sold property at 235 Dewey St. to...

Builders may soon build a new home on one of the plots left vacant for two years after a 2023 Rustic Ridge house explosion in Plum that left six people dead. The land formerly occupied by the home at 143 Rustic Ridge Drive, which was leveled after sustaining enormous damage...

The Plum girls basketball team emerged last season from a challenging Section 1-5A schedule as a WPIAL qualifier for the third consecutive season. The Mustangs finished tied for third place in the section with Fox Chapel at 7-5 and entered the playoffs hoping to make some noise. But Penn-Trafford, a...

Plum residents can expect much of the same in 2026 if borough council passes a preliminary budget with no tax increases next month. The budget keeps the millage rate for residents at 6.63 mills for the second year in a row. That means the annual borough property tax bill on...

ALLEGHENY COUNTY Chalfant 5th Avenue Property Group LLC sold property at Unknown Address to Lamont Fourguson for $100,000. Edgewood Ryan Wilk sold property at 142 Lloyd Ave. to Josh Ray and Courtney Camp Grove for $426,500. Forest Hills Joan Ellenbogen Handelsman sold property at 2143 Ardmore Blvd. to Brian Emmanuel...

Drainage improvement work that will shift traffic on Coxcomb Hill Road in Plum is set to begin Monday, Nov. 24. The work will last until mid-December, according to a release from PennDOT. The shift will take place between Hulton and Logans Ferry roads weekdays between from 8 a.m. and 4...

A Pittsburgh police sergeant has been charged with DUI for the second time in less than five years. Both incidents occurred in Plum, the hometown of Sgt. Tariq Jamal-Francis, 44. The latest incident happened Nov. 10, just before midnight, when Plum police said they found Jamal-Francis asleep at the wheel...

A new Taco Bell location seems to be on the way in Plum. Developers submitted an application to the borough’s planning commission to build a franchise location of the popular chain at the site of the former Sheetz on Golden Mile Highway. The one-acre site has sat vacant since 2024,...

Allegheny County Police have accused Shawn Higgins of beating his girlfriend to death in Plum on Saturday. Higgins, 62, of Wilkinsburg is charged with criminal homicide in connection to the death of Jacqueline Pryber. Police in Washington Township, Westmoreland County, initially located Pryber’s body in the passenger seat of Higgins’...

ALLEGHENY COUNTY Chalfant Anthony Thomassey sold property at 286 Brighton St. to Fifth Ave Property Group LLC for $75,000. Denise Trasoline sold property at 225 North Ave. to Bridgeloft One LLC for $230,000. Churchill Mircia Martin sold property at 1900 Garrick Drive to James Lewis and Suzanne Marie Spearman for...

Plum Police say they soon plan to hire four new patrol officers. Department spokesman Det. Joe Little said the department is hiring in anticipation of retirements to bring the force up to its “typical compliment of officers.” The borough’s website states the department has 29 officers, including the chief and...

A building once occupied by Burger King in Plum has been demolished as the property owners search for a new occupant for the lot. Located at the corner of Golden Mile Highway and New Texas Road, the building had been home to the Burger King for decades until the restaurant...

Oakmont police are asking residents to be on alert after a series of road rage incidents. According to a news release and a post to the borough’s Facebook page, a 2021 gray Honda HRV with a Pennsylvania license plate was involved in several road rage incidents in the Oakmont area...