Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 15
Meat lovers feeling the sting of higher holiday season prices for beef
Instead of serving beef three days a week, the owners of Pershing Heights Senior Living in New Kensington now are providing beef one day a week to residents because of high meat prices. “People like me and different community organizations and churches I cook for are having a hard time...
Building the Valley: Upper Burrell business proves essential through pandemic
When the pandemic halted and disrupted businesses throughout the region, Quality Machined Products of Upper Burrell missed only a few beats. The family-owned tool and die shop manufactures screw machining parts for the defense and transportation industries. They are located in the Westmoreland Business and Research Park. Although not considered...
Local stores, recycling centers to offer specialty recycling for Christmas lights
While most people are familiar with recycling their Christmas trees, they might not be as familiar with options to recycle tangled strings of lights that no longer work. Although the lights can be disposed of in the trash, some bulbs contain small amounts of mercury — a toxic substance that...
Authorities: Convicted rapist who violated his parole found hiding in Kiski Township home
Kiski Township police say they found and arrested a convicted rapist Friday who broke parole and was hiding in the bathroom of a township home. Township police and authorities with the Armstrong County parole and probation department arrested Frank Shaner without incident at a home along Isabella Avenue and took...
Santa will ride through Kinloch streets Wednesday night atop fire truck
Santa Claus will make his rounds perched on a fire truck through Lower Burrell’s Kinloch section Wednesday night from 6 p.m. until about 8 p.m. Santa’s special ride was initially scheduled for Thursday night but was changed because of rain forecasted for Thursday. For more than 50 years, the city’s...
Sherry Tamski becomes 2nd woman supervisor to serve in Kiski Township
Next month, Sherry Tamski will begin a six-year term as a Kiski Township supervisor, the second woman to be elected to the post in the township’s nearly 190-year history. Township Secretary Patrick Bono confirmed Tamski’s second supervisor status with available records at the township. Being the second female supervisor ever...
State receives $240 million for drinking water systems; New Kensington and others plan to tap funds
The EPA is awarding Pennsylvania more than $240 million for drinking water systems, and some local water authorities are expected to tap the funds. EPA Administrator Michael Regan released details Thursday calling on governors to prioritize water system funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The legislation will release $50 billion...
Army Corps’ Pittsburgh District sends 16 workers to provide temporary power in tornado aftermath
The Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent 16 employees this weekend to support the Federal Emergency Management Agency with disaster relief and providing temporary power to Kentucky and other states hit by recent tornadoes. Severe storms and tornadoes devastated more than 1,000 homes over 200 miles...
Cookies with Santa in Lower Burrell; Santa rides again in Kinloch
Santa Claus will be in Lower Burrell for Cookies With Santa on Saturday at the city’s Volunteer Fire Company No. 3. But first, he will be traveling through the streets in the city’s Kinloch section Wednesday. For more than 50 years, the city’s Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 has driven...
National experts assembled for $500 million Parks nuke dump cleanup
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced it has assembled a national team of experts for the cleanup of the nuclear dump in Parks Township. The Corps made the announcement during a virtual public meeting Thursday. The Corps is working on a more than $500 million project to dig up...
Police: Teen runaway from New Kensington last seen on Dec. 5 returns home
New Kensington police reported Friday morning that a teen-age runaway who had been missing since Sunday has returned home. Police issued an alert for the public’s help in the search for Amir Kennedy, 14, who lives in the city. They said he was last heard from on Dec. 5....
Army Corps to update public on $500M-plus nuke cleanup in Parks Township
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will update residents on the status of the $500 million-plus cleanup of the nuclear dump in Parks Township in a virtual meeting Thursday evening. Excavation for the cleanup will start in 2024 at the 44-acre dump off Route 66. It is formally known as...
Lower Burrell has unsold property in county repository; councilman buys tiny parcel
When Lower Burrell Councilman Chris Fabry was buying a new home on Aloha Drive, the city treasurer told him about an unclaimed sliver of neighboring land. City Treasurer Brian Eshbaugh alerted Fabry and some other residents about small properties adjacent to their own in an effort to get them onto...
Burrell loosens covid-19 quarantine requirements for asymptomatic students
Students and staff members who have been exposed to covid-19 but don’t have symptoms won’t need to quarantine under a revised health and safety plan Burrell School Board approved Tuesday. Effective Wednesday, any students who were exposed to covid-19 but have no symptoms can return to school immediately. Parents will...
Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Co. to drive Santa Claus through the city
When Santa Claus visits Lower Burrell, you won’t see him in a sleigh. Lit by a constellation of holiday lights, Santa will ride through more than 40 city streets pulled by the Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 on Dec. 7 and 8. Dubbed as “Santa Claus Comes to...
Former supervisors ask Upper Burrell to add 2 more seats; ties to Marcellus shale raised
Two former supervisors asked Upper Burrell supervisors to consider a resolution for a referendum to add two more members to the current three-member board. Former supervisors Dan Myers and Allen Uhler approached the board Wednesday asking for the council to vote on a resolution to put the question on the...
Lower Burrell volunteer fire company’s EMS squeezed, asks the city for help
A red hot labor market and inadequate insurance reimbursements are squeezing Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3’s EMS and they are asking the city for help. City council has not agreed to anything but has been meeting with EMS and fire company officials to try to find a solution,...
Butler-Freeport Trail lands $280K grant to pave 1 mile of trail for disabled, elderly
The Butler-Freeport Community Trail landed a state grant for about $280,000 to lay 1 mile of an asphalt trail over a section of the existing trail in Winfield Township for elderly and disabled trail users. The mile-long section will start at the Cabot trailhead in Winfield, near the intersection of...
After 52 years on Etna council, Pete Ramage finishes last term
The Little Pine Creek flood project and keeping the peace with the police and public works departments are among Pete Ramage’s favorite feats during his 52 years of service on Etna borough council. A council president for 46 years, Ramage is stepping down at the end of his term later...
Monongahela River among 4 nominees for Pennsylvania River of the Year
The Monongahela River — one of the most polluted rivers in the country more than 50 years ago — is among four nominees for Pennsylvania River of the Year for 2022. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) sponsors the annual competition. The Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and...
Pine-Richland Youth Center raising money to help local needy families for the holidays
After witnessing the need for help during the holidays last year, the Pine-Richland Youth Center has mounted a $2,500 fund drive that it will match for needy families this holiday season. The effort, dubbed Richie’s Great Gift-Away, seeks to raise $2,500 by Dec. 15 and to identify families in need....
Marcellus shale natural gas driller proposes compressor station in Upper Burrell
Olympus Energy is seeking state approval to develop a Marcellus shale natural gas compressor station in Upper Burrell, off White Cloud Road on undeveloped industrial property owned by Arconic. Olympus Energy of Canonsburg has three well pads to tap natural gas in the Marcellus shale rock formation approved by the...
Upper Burrell forgoes fire tax as volunteer fire department buys new truck
The Upper Burrell supervisors are no longer considering enacting a controversial fire tax to help the township’s volunteer fire department buy a new truck. That’s because the township’s fire department announced earlier this month that they just bought one. “I don’t think we’re going to have a fire tax because...
Lower Burrell Councilman Joe Grillo close to completing his final term
While Lower Burrell Councilman Joe Grillo is perhaps best known for belting out the “God Bless America” for city events, the elder statesman will miss his official duties when he completes his term at the end of the year. Grillo has been a city councilman for nearly 16 years and...
Wildlife advocacy groups in Middlesex, Youngwood to benefit from calendar sales
The Pennsylvania Wildlife Samaritans calendar featuring photos of wildlife throughout the state will benefit a Butler County wildlife rehabber and other nonprofits. The Wildlife Samaritans calendar is on sale for $26.99 ; 100% of the profits go to the featured wildlife rehabilitation nonprofits. One of the beneficiaries is Wildbird Recovery,...
