Tawnya Panizzi stories, Page 121
Fox Chapel Area’s Breen earns full-ride college scholarship
Fox Chapel Area Lead Principal Michael Hower described senior Justin Breen as charismatic and hard-working. It doesn’t seem to have been a stretch. Breen, 18, earned a full-ride scholarship to attend Texas A&M University in the fall. “I’m very thankful to have earned this great honor that will change my...
California-based company invests up to $16 million to launch O’Hara marijuana facility
A California-based real estate company focused on the cannabis industry has acquired property in O’Hara’s RIDC Park to help launch a licensed medical-use marijuana growing and processing facility. Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (IIP) paid $6.3 million for the industrial space at 575 Epsilon Drive. The company has an agreement with...
Video: The Herald’s top stories of the weekVideo
Here are some of the news highlights from around the Lower Valley for the week of April 22: • Sharpsburg’s walking tour showcases the best of the borough. • Shady Side Academy granted $5.2 million to create scholarship fund. • Blawnox invites residents to help grow community garden. • Fox...
$2.4 million sculpture garden to be planted at Hartwood Acres
About $2.4 million worth of once-weathered art will be installed at Hartwood Acres to create a new sculpture garden, Allegheny County officials announced this week. The outdoor exhibition space will include 12 pieces of art acquired by county parks nearly 40 years ago, and will also feature one new piece....
Shady Side Academy lacrosse hosts ‘Face-Off Against Suicide’
Shady Side Academy boys’ lacrosse captain Ronan O’Connor lost his older brother to suicide in 2013 and is working to prevent others from feeling his family’s pain. He’s spearheaded an all-day fundraiser on May 4 called The Face-Off Against Suicide. It will bring a full-day of Shady Side Academy boys’...
Fox Chapel Area teacher inducted into Pitt-Johnstown Athletics Hall of Fame
Kerr Elementary teacher Carrie Ferguson hopes to use her induction in the Pitt-Johnstown Athletics Hall of Fame as platform to motivate her students. The basketball standout said the achievement should serve to motivate youngsters to maintain a balance between athletics and academics. “It brings great pride as it serves as...
3 running uncontested for Blawnox council
Blawnox voters won’t see a contested race for council in the May primary, according to the Allegheny County Elections Bureau. There are three candidates, all Democrats, vying for three open seats. Each term runs four years. The primary election is May 21. Candidates for council include: • John Simmons, of...
Herb Society hosts May plant sale at Beechwood Farms
Herb enthusiasts, or “herbies,” should mark their calendars for the annual plant sale at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve. The event is a week earlier than usual this year. Hosted by the Western PA Unit of the Herb Society of America, it will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 11...
Shady Side Academy to present student-driven ‘Original Works’
Shady Side Academy senior Koji Shimada is feeling opening-night jitters prior to the Senior School’s Original Works Theatre Festival, despite having performed countless times on stage. The festival will be Shimada’s premiere as a writer, director and actor in his own musical, and the teen is feeling the pressure, he...
Blawnox residents invited to help grow community garden
A community garden is coming to Blawnox, at long last. The initiative by I Heart Blawnox has been in the works at least four years, with volunteers from the religious outreach searching for a proper venue. They’ve joined with borough council to bring a garden to the Blawnox Community Park...
Shady Side Academy granted $5.2M to create scholarship fund
A $5.2 million donation to Shady Side Academy will create a scholarship fund that annually pays for seven students to attend the Fox Chapel-based Middle School and Senior School campuses. It is the second-largest gift in the Academy’s 136-year history, officials announced Wednesday. The donation was made in honor of...
Photo Gallery: Earth Day cleanup at Beechwood Farms
More than 30 volunteers turned out to Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel for an Earth Day cleanup on April 20. Volunteers of all ages helped to remove invasive species from the 5 miles of trails at the 134-acre sanctuary. They also planted native varieties, spread aster and wildflower...
Sharpsburg walking tour showcases borough’s past, future
A new walking tour of Sharpsburg gives a nod to the borough’s past while showcasing its steps toward future growth. Sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the University of Pittsburgh, “WalkWorks” takes people past Heinz Memorial Plaza and the Chief Guyasuta statue, St. Mary Church and the James...
Fox Chapel Area, Shady Side Academy athletes earn top WPIAL honors
Shady Side Academy seniors Emmie Lau and Nick Lauer, along with Fox Chapel Area senior Marissa Hardiman, are among the top scholar-athletes of 2019, according to the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL). They each won a WPIAL James Collins Scholar-Athlete Award which goes to the top 10 male and...
Fox Chapel Rotary golf outing to assist flood clean-up at Camp Guyasuta
The 2019 Charity Golf Classic sponsored by the Rotary Club of Fox Chapel Area will benefit ongoing flood clean-up at Camp Guyasuta in O’Hara, members announced. The May 20 outing at River Forest Country Club in Freeport continues the Rotary’s tradition of supporting community organizations, member Bill Boag said. Tee-off...
Cooper-Siegel staff distributing 1,000 ‘Poems in Your Pocket’
Jonay Gurley of Penn Hills was out and about at Fox Chapel Plaza in O’Hara on April 25 when someone happily surprised her with a tiny gift. Staffers from Cooper-Siegel Library hit the plaza sidewalk to celebrate “Poem in your Pocket Day” and distributed 1,000 mini verses rolled up in...
Video: The week’s top Fox Chapel area storiesVideo
Here are some of the news highlights from around the Lower Valley for the week of April 15: • Fox Chapel Area junior earns perfect score on AP exam. • St. Margaret opens registration for 31st annual 5k. • Sharpsburg launches streetscape project with work at Chief Guyasuta statue. •...
Volunteers sought for Beechwood Farms Earth Day clean-up
Beechwood Farms in Fox Chapel is seeking volunteers to roll up their sleeves and help with a clean-up on Saturday. Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, headquartered at Beechwood, is hosting a Day of Service to celebrate Earth Day. The clean-up will be 9 a.m. to noon at the site, 614...
Fox Chapel Area students tout diversity with ‘Be the Change’ workshop
Two Fox Chapel Area sophomores rallied their peers from across the region for a workshop aimed at promoting social justice. Students Abigail Rickin-Marks and Suparna Agrawal hosted a half-day workshop April 14 titled “Be the Change: Fight Discrimination in School.” The free program was held at the Jewish Community Center...
Sharpsburg officials: Chief Guyasuta statue not going anywhere
The statue of Chief Guyasuta that stands tall in the heart of Sharpsburg’s commercial district isn’t going anywhere, officials assured curious residents. Council members have been fielding questions about the statue and its surrounding H.J. Heinz Plaza since orange construction cones popped up around its perimeter. “Chief Guyasuta is not...
Fox Chapel Area teacher wins Carnegie Science Center award
The director of Fox Chapel Area’s cyber school is the winner of the Carnegie Science Center’s 2019 High School Educator Award. Stephanie Reilly, the district’s online learning coordinator, will receive the honor on May 10 at the 23rd annual celebration at Carnegie Science Center’s PPG Science Pavilion. “I am honored...
University Women honor Fox Chapel Area students for STEM excellence
For their academic achievements in STEM fields, a group of female students from Fox Chapel Area High School were honored by the American Association of University Women (AAUW). The girls, all sophomores and juniors, were lauded during a ceremony April 11 at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church by AAUW members from...
Fox Chapel Area students selected for Spanish National Honor Society
A group of Fox Chapel Area High School students donned red stoles and celebrated their induction into the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica – Spanish National Honor Society — during an April 8 classroom ceremony. Students were selected for their academic achievements in the Spanish language classes offered at the high school...
Women’s Board raises $90,000 for Wilkinsburg-based Hosanna House
The Women’s Board of Pittsburgh broke its own record with its 2019 fundraising luncheon. The Fox Chapel-based group brought in $90,000 to benefit Hosanna House, Inc., a multi-purpose health and human service organization assisting more than 35,000 people a year in Wilkinsburg and nearby communities. “It was a fantastic outpouring...
Christ the Divine’s ‘Panther Prowl’ brings in nearly $8,000 for Aspinwall school
Students at Christ the Divine Teacher Catholic Academy blew bubbles, hula-hooped and snapped pictures at Aspinwall Riverfront Park on April 12, all in the name of raising money for their elementary school that sits just blocks away. The first-ever “Panther Prowl” walk-a-thon involved students soliciting pledges for walking around the...
