Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 11
CareerLink Alle-Kiski: Still an employees’ job market
The number of job postings for light manufacturing, health care and transportation positions remains high at the state Department of Labor’s CareerLink Alle-Kiski office. This week, the center had 425 job openings, which is down slightly from last November, according to Phil Grove, an account representative at PA CareerLink Alle-Kiski....
New Kensington Camera Club offering free splash/water drop workshop
To illustrate an upcoming New Kensington Camera Club workshop, past president Harry Shipman created a splash/water drop photo honoring Ukraine. The camera club will offer a free public photo class on splash/water drop photography on Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. in Suite 201 of the Pittsburgh Mills mall in...
Freeport and Gilpin police clear Second Street Park after gun was found earlier
Out of an abundance of caution, Freeport police brought in Gilpin police and their police dog Monday to check for weapons after a gun was found earlier in Second Street Park. “At no time was there ever a viable threat to public safety,” Freeport Police Chief Chris Fabec said. A...
Petition protests Burrell School District making graduation caps and gowns all blue
More than 1,700 people have signed a petition on change.org protesting Burrell School District’s decision to use just one color for graduation caps and gowns. Traditionally, Burrell’s ceremony has featured both of the school’s colors: senior boys wearing blue caps and gowns with girls donning white. But the administration recently...
Restoration of Apollo’s historic Drake Log Cabin complete
The Apollo Area Historical Society had the town’s historic Drake Log Cabin “chinked” recently to restore the mortar mix between the logs. Bob Reintgen, a historic carpenter from Latrobe, and his team of workers installed new chinking between the logs on the front of the 206-year-old log home. Using material...
Freeport EMS fires whistleblower
Freeport EMS fired the executive director who found financial irregularities revealing an almost $100,000 misappropriation tied to a former EMS treasurer. The EMS board fired Chris O’Leath earlier this month, Mayor Jim Swartz confirmed. O’Leath, who also serves as a firefighter in Arnold, was given access to the EMS’s finances...
Third eaglet hatches in Hays nest, keeping mom and dad busy finding food
With the arrival of the third and final chick Friday, the Pittsburgh Hays bald eagles are busy feeding their brood. The harried couple feeds the hatchlings up to 17 times a day, according to statistics from last year’s breeding season from PixCams. The Murrysville company partners with the Audubon Society...
Burrell finds success with more behavioral help on site
Burrell School District’s Pupil Services program, which the district started last year, has treated about 100 students for social-emotional behavior issues this school year. Many of the students and some staff are treated for anxiety, said Greg Egnor, director of student services. As the district’s mission is education, it tries...
Pittsburgh Hays bald eagles welcome 2nd chick with viewers from 50 countries
In their 10th year of nesting, the Pittsburgh bald eagles in Hays welcomed their second chick of the season on Tuesday morning. A third egg is expected to hatch between Friday and Sunday, according to the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania and PixCams, which sponsors the live webcam where viewers...
Upper Burrell’s Versa-Fab helps update electrical grid
Demand for precision machining and manufacturing continues to grow for Versa-Fab Inc., a family business in Upper Burrell founded in 1989. Located in the Westmoreland Business and Research Park, the company provides products and engineering services to customers in North America and Europe. Their products include electrical enclosures, conveyor systems,...
From big to small, local governments expect to feel the pinch of high gas prices
Some local governments are running over budget on their fuel costs as gasoline prices surge and remain volatile. Many are looking to juggle that expense with other items in their budgets. While most say it’s too early to know exactly what the impact of high fuel prices will be on...
Lower Burrell police Sgt. Cernava and K-9 partner Dax to retire: ‘It just seems right’
Lower Burrell’s police K-9 Dax is 11. In dog years, that’s a bit over 60. His handler, Sgt. Steve Cernava, turns 57 next month. By Cernava’s calculation, both are old enough to retire. They’ll work their final day together on the Lower Burrell police force at the end of the...
Lower Burrell approves funding to study improvements at city parks
Lower Burrell Council has approved the development of a plan to rethink most of the city’s parks. City parks include Braeview Fireman’s Park, Burrell Lake Park, Kotecki Memorial Park, Kinloch Fireman’s Park and Veteran’s Central Park. The city received a $20,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural...
State legislative redistricting causes changes in Alle-Kiski Valley communities
With the state Supreme Court affirming the commonwealth’s new legislative district maps this week, state House and Senate representation changed in many communities in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Pennsylvania’s highest court Wednesday rejected final legal challenges to affirm the state’s new legislative district maps. A list of local communities and how...
Schafer Drive bridge in Upper Burrell to close for 10 weeks later in year
A bridge replacement on Schafer Drive in Upper Burrell will close a section of that road for 10 weeks starting in early September. The $500,000 project will replace the current single-lane, open grate steel bridge with a wider, precast span, said Melissa Maczko, spokeswoman for PennDOT, District 12. The bridge...
Endangered Indiana bat mostly gone from southwestern Pa. but longer migration holds hope
The tiny wings of the endangered Indiana bat seem to be taking the creature on longer journeys. The Pennsylvania Game Commission recently documented the longest known, single-season migration of the federally and state-endangered bat from Pennsylvania to Kentucky. As the migration, at least 418 miles, broke the record for longest...
Murrysville PixCams brings live footage of wildlife and more into homes
While PixCams of Murrysville is best known for its live Pittsburgh Hays bald eagle webcam, the small company has been expanding and now has 30 live webcams. They rolled out a new product for the public, businesses and nonprofits to set up their own live webcam system and broadcast it...
Lower Burrell councilmen seek new uses for empty JCPenney store, a longtime eyesore
Two Lower Burrell councilmen are working to change the city’s symbol of lost retail luster — the empty JCPenney building fronted by pothole-riddled asphalt once lined with more than 300 parking spaces. Councilmen David Stoltz and Chris Fabry are trying to bring in a new buyer to Penney’s, as well...
DCNR names 9/11 National Memorial Trail as Statewide Major Greenway
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has designated the 9/11 National Memorial Trail as a Statewide Major Greenway. The trail is a proposed 1,300-mile recreational trail linking the three 9/11 crash sites — in New York City; the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.; and near Shanksville, Somerset County. Currently,...
Upper Burrell firm donating up to 1% of March sales to support Ukrainian refugees
Polyconcept North America, an international business in the Westmoreland County Business and Research Park in Upper Burrell, is donating up to 1% of its March sales revenue to humanitarian relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees. The main page of the company’s website is promoting its efforts, stating: “We’re proud to support...
St. Patrick’s Day parade strike averted: Allegheny County and 911 dispatchers reach tentative deal
Allegheny County and the SEIU, which represents 1,000 county workers including emergency dispatchers, announced a tentative agreement Wednesday. The contract between the county and the Service Employees International Union expired at the end of last year. Specific details on wage increases and terms of the contract will be released in...
Missing Leechburg girl found safe
A 13-year-old Leechburg girl who had been missing since Tuesday night has been found Thursday, Leechburg police said. Leechburg Police Chief Jason Schaeffer said Thursday night that Aeryona Dongilli was safe and would be returning home to her family....
More stocking planned after opening day of Pa. trout season
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, with some help from the Tri-County Trout Club, has stocked Deer Creek in Emmerling Park, Indiana Township. It was the first time since the beginning of the covid pandemic that volunteers from the trout club could assist in transferring thousands of trout from commission...
Burrell High School’s drama club presents musical comedy ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’
The Burrell High School Drama Club will present “The Drowsy Chaperone,” a send-up of musicals from the Jazz Age, Thursday through Saturday in the school’s auditorium. Burrell music director Martin Connolly said the musical is a great venue to showcase the talents of eight to 10 students in featured roles....
Lower Burrell’s Kinloch fire company satisfied most issues in state auditor general’s report
Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 (Kinloch) has satisfied two of three issues flagged in a routine state auditor general’s report. In an audit covering Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2020, the Auditor General’s Office concluded that Kinloch’s relief association had unauthorized expenditures, inappropriate ownership of a rescue...
