Cindy Alexander stories, Page 2

If the proposed final budget passes on June 2, residents of North Hills School District will see a tax increase of .66 mills. Revenues and expenditures included in the proposed budget total $91,612,966. School board president Allison Mathis said that the major reason for the increase was a boost in...

Mother Nature was kind to the Shaler residents who participated in the annual Polar Plunge on May 14 at the Crawford Pool in Kiwanis Park. The warm and sunny day helped those jumping into the chilly waters. Each person who participated paid a $3 fee, but was rewarded with free...

Hampton Township School District showed off students’ artistic and musical talents with the Hues and Harmony Festival, opening on May 11 at the middle school. The event began at 5:30 p.m. with an art reception in the school’s main corridors, feature multiple media, paintings, pen and ink drawings and sculptures....

Shaler Area School District’s real estate tax rate will remain at 23.5319 mills if the proposed final budget for 2022-23 is adopted prior to the June 30 deadline. The proposed spending plan, which received school board approval May 11, calls for $6.87 million of the district’s fund balance to be...

A survey looking for input on what to do with the former Jeffrey Primary School revealed that more than half of Shaler residents who responded do not want to pay to construct or sustain a community center. However, only around 5.5 % of Shaler residents took the survey – 1,536...

Two North Hills High School teachers took a cue from Penn State University’s THON charity dance marathon and implemented it locally. Biology teacher Jennifer DiPasquale, a Penn State alum, and family consumer science teacher Amy Patsilevas started the local event in 2015. The North Hills Student Council and the student...

An incident involving a Texas drill team and Walt Disney World is causing the North Hills High School marching band to get new uniforms sooner rather than later. During the April 21 voting meeting, the North Hills School Board unanimously voted to replace the home uniforms of the band. “While...

Hampton Community Trail’s Phase 2 has begun, with unanimous approval of the engineering proposal during municipal council’s April 27 meeting. The first phase of the project has been completed, connecting the Rachel Carson Trail at Community Park’s northernmost end with the center of the park, next to its playground. Phase...

They like their community to be spick and span. More than 100 Hampton residents turned out for the municipality’s annual Clean-Up Day in April, including the young and old, individuals and families. The crowd gathered at the Hampton Community Center on McCully Road early on a Saturday morning, enjoying doughnuts...

Katelynn Marie Britenbaugh thought she was just stopping at Burger King in Etna, her part-time employer when she is not in school or playing travel softball, to see her coworkers and to meet her family for a short lunch on April 16. She wasn’t aware that she was about to...

A lot can happen in 50 years, and some of the bigger stories of five decades were discussed during Shaler Area School District’s March 24 Storytelling event. “The idea behind the night to create an event where we bring different storytellers and panelists back to the district to talk...

During President’s Day weekend, the annual Golf ‘Fore’ Shaler North Hills Library event raised $1,800 for the library. The annual “FUN’raiser as the library calls it, is sponsored by the Friends of SNHL. Before the Fore was held, the public was asked to put their creativity to the test and...

On Feb. 27, Butler Street in Etna was shut down and transformed into a public ice rink for the day. The free annual event is held for all to come and take a spin on the outdoor rink placed in front of the Rear End Gastropub and Garage. The weather...

Ross and West View are among the 80 communities being celebrated as 2022 Banner Communities. County executive Rich Fitzgerald and the Allegheny League of Municipalities made the announcement at the end of February. Being chosen as part of this yearly list means that the municipalities are being recognized for their...

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and the Allegheny County League of Municipalities have released the 2022 list of 80 Banner Communities, and among them are Etna, Millvale, Reserve and Shaler. “Congratulations to the 2022 Banner Communities, and particularly their elected and appointed officials who have continued to ensure that their...

The North Hills High School cheerleading squad battled through injury and covid to get to their goal of competing at the cheer competition in Orlando, Fla., the weekend of Feb. 12. After competing in the WPIAL competitive spirit competition in Hempfield where they qualified for the PIAA State Competition in...

When Jimmy Hartz became a volunteer firefighter with the Undercliff Volunteer Fire Company last year, he couldn’t have imagined how much his fellow firefighters would impact his life in the future. Hartz is an Air Force Reservist with the 911th Pittsburgh Air Wing and was deployed on June 25, 2021....

North Hills Middle School teacher Joseph Welch has been named one of four finalists for 2022 National Teacher of the Year by the Council of Chief State School Officers. If chosen, the eighth-grade American History teacher will spend a year serving as “an ambassador for education and an advocate for...

After being delayed due to covid restrictions, the Hampton High School Marching Band will be making the trip to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., to perform at the Magic Kingdom on March 18. The last two trips planned for the band to Disney World were canceled due to...

Hampton council approved an initial purchase of body cameras and vehicle dashcams for the Hampton Township police department at its Feb. 23 meeting. Hampton Police Chief Thomas Vulakovich requested the approval to purchase the cameras and camera systems using $36,845 out of the Capital Improvement Fund budget. The total cost...

The Ross Township Board of Commissioners held a special meeting on Jan. 31 to appoint a new commissioner for Ward 9, filling the vacancy left by previous commissioner Jack Betkowski. Betkowski resigned on Jan. 3 after being elected to the Allegheny County Council in the November election to represent District...

Prior to their regular meeting on Jan. 3, the Ross Township board of commissioners held their annual reorganization meeting, swearing in three re-elected commissioners and one new commissioner. Commissioners Chris Eyster of Ward 2, Joseph M. Leslavic of Ward 4, and Jason Pirring of Ward 6 were all re-elected and...

The Shaler commissioners held their reorganization meeting on Jan. 3, swearing in new and reelected officials for their upcoming terms. At the start of the meeting, township manager Tim Rogers thanked the “people who run for office and serve.” “It’s a tough job,” said Rogers. Re-elected commissioners James Boyle and...

The township of Shaler is looking to garner opinions from the public to help determine what will be done with the site of the former Jeffery Elementary School on Wetzel Road, which closed its doors at the end of the 2017-18 school year. A survey is available for residents to...

The North Hills School District has chosen two new assistant principals for the North Hills Middle School, replacing Dr. Jessica Sapsara, the previous middle school assistant principal, who resigned in November. Jim Cassell was hired as the new assistant principal of the middle school and comes from the Brentwood School...