Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 28
Apollo-Ridge students to run T-shirt printing operation with help of $25K Arconic grant
Apollo-Ridge School District now has a direct-to-garment printer that will provide students creative and commerce opportunities. Arconic’s foundation and its technology center in Upper Burrell jointly worked on awarding the $25,000 grant to the district. The Pittsburgh-based metals manufacturer awards grants to community and educational efforts in areas where they...
Lower Burrell Councilman Rob Hamilton will not seek reelection but promises to return
Lower Burrell Councilman Rob Hamilton will not seek reelection later this year in order to pursue a doctorate. Hamilton, 32, a veteran, has a full plate with a young family and a new position as executive director of Veterans Place of Washington Boulevard in East Liberty. Hamilton is in the...
National Bird Feeding Month: Sales soar, as do views on Western Pa. feeder camsVideo
It’s not just that February is National Bird Feeding Month. Every month since the beginning of the pandemic last year has seemed like a bird feeding month. Sales of feeders, seed and most anything to do with birds have skyrocketed as people have flocked to the avian world — a...
Lower Burrell Council sets up new process for members to meet board appointees
After a heated discussion last month over a Lower Burrell Council member not meeting a person seeking reappointment to the city’s Zoning Hearing Board, council is formalizing its process to meet appointees for its boards and committees. Council last month shelved a proposal to reappoint John Kamarados, an attorney, to...
Hole in the Wall Gallery, eclectic gift store in Lower Burrell, to closeVideo
An Alle-Kiski Valley institution, the Hole in the Wall Gallery in Lower Burrell, is closing after 50 years. The enchanted shop with its wisteria-draped doorway leading to more than a dozen rooms and cubbyholes was the go-to store for unique gifts, jewelry, top-shelf household items and fresh floral arrangements that...
Bear with us: PA Black Bear den webcam goes live
The Pennsylvania Game Commission launched a live webcam on a bear den under a porch in Monroe County this week. It’s the same den where the commission installed a webcam two years ago. The adult bear hibernating there currently could be the same one, the commission said in a press...
Upper Burrell Fire Co. teams with Port Vue for $15,000 cash ‘Luck of the Irish’ drawing
As the pandemic continues to hammer traditional fundraising, Upper Burrell Volunteer Fire Company is teaming up with a fire company from Allegheny County for a Luck of the Irish raffle offering a $15,000 cash prize. “The pandemic has caused us to find new and innovative ways to do business,” said...
Upper Burrell Planning Commission grants conditional approval for Dollar General
The Upper Burrell Planning Commission has granted conditional approval for the development of a Dollar General store at Route 780 and Dewey Drive. Township supervisors will have to grant final approval for the project to proceed. But first, the store’s developer will have to address several issues raised by township...
VALarena roller rink fans pitch in to raise money so North Apollo mainstay can reopen
While the VALarena roller rink in North Apollo paused their reopening this month, some loyal customers have raised more than $3,200 to help the cash-strapped, nostalgic icon reopen. For more than 70 years, generations have laced up for skating sessions in the cozy rink with the same snack bar that...
Bear harvest in Pittsburgh region slips 24%, also declines across Pa.
Pennsylvania had the sixth best black bear harvest in 2020, taking 3,608 bears. However, last year’s harvest was 20% lower from 2019 statewide and 24% lower in the southwestern part of the state. In 2019, hunters set a record in harvesting 4,653 bears. The annual average has been running 3,675...
Shenango River named Pa. River of the Year; Buffalo, Loyalhanna creeks finish in Top 5
Although the 82-mile-long Shenango River in Northwestern Pennsylvania earned recognition as Pennsylvania’s 2021 River of the Year, promoters of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Buffalo and Loyalhanna creeks said they were happy to see their waterways finish in the Top 5. Sponsored by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the River...
Allegheny River group snags $15,000 but needs more to open Armstrong locks
The Armstrong County Commissioners are donating $15,000 of the $100,000-plus needed to pay to open five locks on the Allegheny River in Armstrong County for recreational boaters on summer weekends. The Allegheny River Development Corp., a nonprofit group of boaters and river supporters, contracts with the U.S. Army Corps to...
More food trucks and craft beer on tap for Lower Burrell fire company fundraisers
It’s food trucks galore with Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire Company No. 3 scheduling three themed roundups with up to 16 food trucks and craft beer. The events are set for May 1, July 24 and Oct. 9. Although the pandemic caused Lower Burrell No. 3 and Kinloch (fire company No....
Organizers hope for 1,000 motorcycles for 4th annual Officer Brian Shaw Memorial Scholarship RideVideo
Registration opens Monday for the fourth annual Officer Brian Shaw Memorial Scholarship Ride set for Aug. 21. The ride through the Alle- Kiski Valley benefits a scholarship fund that reimburses graduates from the Allegheny County Police Training Academy. Shaw, a New Kensington police officer, was shot and killed after a traffic...
Lower Burrell unveils new, more user-friendly website
Got a nasty pothole on your street that needs to be fixed but you don’t know who to call? Lower Burrell residents don’t even have to call. They can send an email directly to the city’s public works department. Timely public access is one of the features of a new...
Fastest bird alive and owls caught by wildlife specialists at Pittsburgh International Airport
Catching the fastest bird alive, the peregrine falcon, is another day at office for bird control experts at the Pittsburgh International Airport and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A peregrine falcon would not leave the airport grounds earlier this month despite biologists’ efforts to shoo away the threatened raptor. Experts...
Pennsylvania offers hunting, fishing, boating licenses via new website
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the state Game Commission have teamed up to offer one website for residents to buy hunting and fishing licenses. HuntFishPA replaces the previous Pennsylvania Automatic Licensing System (PALS) platform known as The Outdoor Shop. It’s accessible on all mobile devices. Previously, licenses for...
With a $2.2 million infusion, new Community College to open in Ford City in 2022
Butler County Community College’s announcement of $2.2 million from public and private sources for a new site in Ford City increases its sites to five Western Pennsylvania counties. The college’s new location in Ford City, known as “BC3 @ Armstrong,” will cost $4.5 million to construct. School officials say it...
Hazelwood’s Center of Life honored for covid-19 work with Champion in Action award
Citizens Bank, Trib Total Media and Pittsburgh Cares have named Center of Life in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood as a 2021 Champion in Action, an award that comes with $35,000 in funding and promotional and volunteer support. The announcement was made Wednesday at Hazelwood’s Spartan Community Center, where Center of Life...
Bantam Jeep Festival set to return; State awards organizers $40,000 for new Butler site
After having to cancel last year because of pandemic restrictions, the annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival is coming back. It will celebrate its 10th year June 11-13 with a Jeep parade through downtown Butler and events at Cooper’s Lake Campground in Worth Township, which is near Slippery Rock, and a...
Army Corps secures $750,000 to fix sinkholes at Natrona lock and dam site
The federal headquarters of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released $750,000 in its work plan to the Pittsburgh District to fix sinkholes on the grounds of its Natrona lock and dam on the Allegheny River in Harrison. The money is part of an additional $57.4 million disbursement for the...
Alle-Kiski job fair official: ‘There have been jobs here the whole time’
Organizers of the largest job fair in the Alle-Kiski Valley say there are jobs to be had for those job seekers not spooked by the pandemic. “There have been jobs here the whole time, and there will continue to be openings in the Alle-Kiski Valley,” said Rick O’Domes, CareerLink Alle-Kiski...
Hundreds of tundra swans fly by for near record-breaking Christmas bird countVideo
The Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count in Pittsburgh tallied 78 species, one of the highest numbers of types of birds recorded in the 110 years the count has been conducted in Pittsburgh. The national Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, in its 121st year, is a birding tradition serving as an...
Ross Walker begins 23rd year as chairman of Upper Burrell Supervisors
Although his father tried to dissuade him from entering politics because he didn’t think it would mix well with the family funeral home business, Ross G. Walker III became the longest-tenured chairman of the Upper Burrell Board of Supervisors. This month, he began his 23rd year as chairman and 24th...
New Burrell School Board president, a psychiatric nurse and black belt, says she’s ready for the job
Pam Key, a preschool teacher, psychiatric nurse, martial artist and grandmother, has been chosen to lead Burrell School Board as it tries to navigate a historic pandemic with educational challenges. She succeeds board member and former board president Tricia Shank, who nominated Key to lead the nine-member board. “It was...
