Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 50
PennDOT looking for 104 plow truck drivers this winter
If you like to drive trucks and have time this winter, PennDOT might have a job for you. The transportation department’s 12th district, which includes Westmoreland, Fayette, Washington and Greene counties, is looking to hire more than 100 winter road crew drivers this year. The positions are temporary but fulltime....
Belvedere ruins begin to disappear in Oklahoma BoroughVideo
If you were hoping for a memento from the former Belvedere Hotel, you’re out of luck. “The borough must have received at least 50 calls from people wanting door knobs, hinges and, of course, the tin ceiling and wall tiles that famously adorned the hotel’s first floor,” said Lee Schumaker,...
Demolition of Belvedere Hotel begins; Orr Avenue in Oklahoma Borough closedVideo
After a postponement almost three weeks ago, the demolition of the charred remains of the Belvedere Hotel along Route 66 in Oklahoma Borough will begin Tuesday morning, according to an Oklahoma official. Orr Avenue was closed Monday as preparation for the cleanup began. The demolition is expected to take several...
Invasive northern snakehead fish caught in Monongahela River
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission confirmed Monday that an invasive species, the northern snakehead fish, was recently caught in the Monongahela River. It is the first confirmed snakehead fish in Southwestern Pennsylvania, according to Kris Kuhn, chief of the fisheries management division for the commission. The invasive fish has...
Apollo Borough offices find temporary home
The Apollo Borough offices will temporarily move to the former state liquor store site at 206 Warren Ave. No date for the move has been set, but the borough will soon have to vacate the offices rented in the former Apollo Elementary School building. The lease expires at the end...
Microchip your pet for $25 at special clinic in Harrison
The Building Block of Natrona nonprofit is teaming up with Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley to microchip residents’ pets for $25 each from noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 6 at Natrona Community Park on River Avenue. Registration for the microchip clinic is not required but organizers request that pet owners...
Trash or treasure? Antiques appraisals set for Diamond Antiques in Tarentum
It’s the Alle-Kiski Valley’s version of “Antiques Roadshow.” Diamond Antiques and Gifts will sponsor an Antique Appraisal Fair on Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at its Tarentum store, 311 East Six Avenue. There is a charge of $5 per item. The appraiser is Jeff Poole, who owns On...
Rural charm on tap for Allegheny Township farm tour
The Allegheny Township Historical Society is offering an inside glimpse of the township’s rural roots with a farm tour Saturday, featuring a farmhouse that dates to the 1820s. Seven farms are included along a 15- to 20-mile loop. Advance tickets cost $10 and can be bought as late as Friday....
Western Pa. congressmen weigh in on Trump’s Ukraine dealings, impeachment inquiry
U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, said Tuesday afternoon that allegations of President Trump’s improper dealings with Ukraine’s new leader “add to the urgency of a full and immediate impeachment inquiry.” Doyle, a 13-term congressman, made the remark in a news release issued just before Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the...
Western Pennsylvania experiencing same bird declines being seen nationwide
Recently released researched confirmed what local bird experts already suspected: Bird populations have dropped a staggering 29% — nearly 3 billion birds — since the 1970s, according to the journal Science. Jim Bonner, executive director of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania headquartered in Fox Chapel, said he is, sadly,...
Kiski Valley sewage authority disputes claims of lax billing
After Allegheny Township decided to hire an attorney to go after the Kiski Valley Water Pollution Control Authority for billing issues, the authority issued a statement accusing the township of attempting to “thwart the legislative process” of the 13-member community authority. In response to Allegheny Township’s allegations of being remiss...
Sandy Hook mom to speak again at Burrell in November
The Burrell School District on Nov. 11 will bring back Scarlett Lewis, the mother of a 6-year-old son who was one of 26 people killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in 2012. Lewis will give a presentation open to the public about her story and Choose Love...
Avonmore has taken its licks, but it still celebrates with Harvest JubileeVideo
“We got the wings.” The director of Avonmore’s Harvest Jubilee excitedly told its former director that another purveyor had been found after the original chicken wings vendor pulled out. They were checking final details Wednesday for the festivities that take place Friday and Saturday. The jubilee is free. It features...
Burrell School Board reconsiders artificial turf for stadium improvement
After a strong showing by parents last week, urging the school board to reverse its vote to renovate the Burrell High School stadium field with natural grass, the board Tuesday night agreed to seek contract bids for artificial turf as well. The decision is part of a renovation project at...
Vandergrift pool finally lands $165,000 grant for new liner
State Rep. Joseph Petrarca, D-Washington Township, announced Wednesday that the Commonwealth Financing Authority awarded $165,000 for a much needed new liner and other improvements to the Joseph A. Petrarca Memorial Pool in Vandergrift, named in honor of his late father, also a state legislator. The pool grant also includes installing...
Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh to throw free star-gazing party at Kunkle Park
The Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh, Inc. will throw a free star gazing party at Kunkle Park in Washington Township on Sept. 28, starting at dusk, weather permitting. If the skies are accommodating, observers can see brightly colored double stars, star clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy, distant galaxies, the...
Northmoreland Park on deck for potentially millions of dollars in upgrades
Westmoreland County is asking the public what it wants at Northmoreland Park in Allegheny Township for phase one of a park master plan with an estimated $1 million to $1.5 million in improvements in 2021-22. A disc golf course? An amphitheater? A destination playground? All are possibilities and have become...
Removal of Belvedere Hotel fire rubble halted due to higher, unexplained costs
Officials won’t say exactly what the problem is, but they are seeking bids for the demolition of the Belvedere Hotel in Oklahoma Borough after halting the project this week just a day before the removal of the charred remains was scheduled to begin. After a July 24 fire decimated the...
Senate support of 9/11 trail could unlock funding for Pennsylvania segment
The U.S. Senate’s official recognition of the September 11th National Memorial Trail on Wednesday’s anniversary of the 2001 terror attack could make it easier to secure money to develop a 12-mile, off-road trail from the Great Allegheny Passage to the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, according to trail organizers. The...
Belvedere Hotel demolition postponed, Orr Avenue remains open
The demolition of the Belvedere Hotel, aka the Tin Hut, in Oklahoma Borough, is postponed, according to PennDOT. Demolition was to begin this week with the closure of Orr Avenue at Route 66 but was called off at the last minute. Demolition was expected to last through the month of...
18 years later, the need to remember the courage, sacrifices of 9/11 still burnsVideo
They came to remember at a time when they fear too many have forgotten. An American flag was suspended 30 feet between ladder trucks from New Kensington and Arnold volunteer fire departments at the American Legion Post 868 in Lower Burrell for a Sept. 11 ceremony Wednesday observing the 18th...
New Kensington woman among inventors honored in Ms. Monopoly game
The first game in the 84-year-old Monopoly franchise to celebrate women trailblazers will hit store shelves soon under the name Ms. Monopoly, Hasbro announced Tuesday. “While Mr. Monopoly is a real-estate mogul, Ms. Monopoly is an advocate whose mission is to invest in female entrepreneurs,” Hasbro said of its latest...
Lane closure to affect Route 28 south traffic on Wednesday and Thursday
PennDOT will close one lane of Route 28 southbound between the 40th Street and 31st Street bridges from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday for maintenance work. Work crews will remove debris to improve drainage along the roadway, according to a PennDOT release Tuesday....
Pittsburgh group to visit for moonlight hike on Roaring Run and history tour
The Pittsburgh group Venture Outdoors is planning a full moon hike on the Roaring Run Trail in Kiski Township and an Apollo history lesson on Saturday. John Linkes, a director with the both the Roaring Run Watershed Association and the Kiski Watershed Association, was pleased that a Pittsburgh group of...
Double your elk-watching: Murrysville company sets up live webcam in Benezette
The Murrysville man who set up the Pittsburgh eagle webcam now has a live webcam with two cameras in Benezette capturing all of the excitement of the bull elk in rut. Elk in Pennsylvania were wiped out by the late 1870s. But the Pennsylvania Game Commission re-introduced elk from the...
