Haley Daugherty stories, Page 18
Shaler Area School District handles backlash after gender support plan raises social media ire
Shaler Area School District has become the target of online outrage after the district’s “Gender Support Plan” was spotlighted in a post by a right wing social media influencer. Wednesday night, Chaya Raichik, the owner and operator of the Libs of TikTok social media accounts, posted a screenshot of a...
Gilpin waiting to see if water system can be sold
The fate of the Gilpin Municipal Authority is up in the air after officials were unable to fill soon-to-be empty positions. According to township Supervisor Charles Stull, the authority has two employees who are set to retire at the end of the year and officials have been unable to find...
‘I was raised to always help’: Verona man rushes to help residents escape apartment fire
Erik Kust only wants to be known as a good neighbor. Others call him a hero. Thursday night, Kust was heading home from the grocery store. He was about four blocks away from his Verona home when he stopped at an intersection and noticed heavy smoke billowing from the windows...
Leechburg Drama Club stages ’50s film noir parody as fundraiser
Leechburg Area student Katie Monroe has been in seven shows with the Leechburg Drama Club. She remembers the first year the club began hosting a student-run production that serves as a fundraiser for the club’s spring musical. Three years later, she’s one of the student officers helping to direct and...
Penn Hills student reinvigorates club programs, leads by example
Isabella Pivirotto is a busy young woman. The 17-year-old has never shied away from a full schedule and didn’t hesitate to add resurrecting the club culture in Penn Hills High School to her to-do list. “My freshman year was kind of that weird year where people were coming back to...
Verona business owners bring policing concerns to council
Whether reflected by actual data or not, one thing is clear: Verona business owners are feeling less safe these days. Borough business owners and managers — 21 of whom signed a letter to Verona officials — say they’ve seen an increase in crime in the business district over the past...
New Year’s Eve party doubles as kickoff event for Leechburg’s 175th anniversary
Excitement is in the air as Leechburg leaders and community members prepare to welcome the new year and the borough’s 175th anniversary. To kick off the year of celebrations, the Leechburg Museum and the Leechburg Area Community Association are teaming up to host a New Year’s Eve party at the...
Linton Middle School’s large pool reopening
After years of inactivity, the large pool at Linton Middle School will be back in use for the district’s swim team. The pool has been inoperable because of maintenance issues and repairs since the spring of 2022. Since then, Penn Hills swim team members have hosted home meets at the...
New Kensington neighbors gather for annual holiday tradition
The holiday spirit arrived in a New Kensington neighborhood Sunday night. Around 30 people gathered at the corner of Marlboro Drive and McLaughlin Drive for the third year in a row to go caroling around the block. This yearly tradition was started by neighbors Michael Sawhook, Jena Arcuri and Kris...
A quicker fix: New Kensington clinic draws veterinarians interested in efficient treatment in shelter settings
Dr. Becky Morrow loves taking care of animals — and teaching others how to as well. Not only is Morrow the founder, president and medical director of Frankie’s Friends, a non-profit veterinary clinic and medical rescue for cats in New Kensington, she is an assistant teaching professor at Penn State...
Folks get festive at Freeport Home Town Christmas
Freeport Area ninth grader Lizzi Smetak has been volunteering regularly at Freeport Area Library for about a year now. “I just love coming in here,” said Smetak, 15. “It’s a really nice place to spend my time.” She didn’t think twice when she agreed to spend her Saturday morning helping...
Harrison Township Christmas Parade draws crowd
People of all ages donned their coats and hats and braved the cold to watch the annual Harrison Township Christmas Parade on Saturday afternoon. The pararde began at 1 p.m. at the intersection of Alabama Avenue and Broadview Boulevard and ended on Montana Avenue. The Harrison Police Department cleared the...
Oakmont residents have new communication route
There’s a new way for Oakmont residents to contact elected leaders, borough departments, community groups and administration. On Tuesday, Dec. 3, council Vice President Amanda Pagnotta introduced an updated communication form on the borough’s website for resident use. Borough officials have been receiving a large number of messages from residents,...
1-mile Leechburg trail finished, open to public; other sections to come
A new trail is short but eventually will connect Leechburg to hundreds of miles of trails along the Allegheny and Kiski rivers. The Leechburg Area Community Development Corp. has officially kicked off its Tow Path Trail project, which has the potential to give Leechburg access to almost 600 miles of...
Proposed Leechburg budget has no tax increase
Leechburg’s proposed 2025 budget calls for no tax increase. The budget includes over $1.3 million in expenditures with just over $1.2 million in revenue according to the borough’s proposed budget. The gap will be filled by a projected $100,000 surplus from this year’s budget. “The proposal has no millage increase,”...
2 injured after head-on collision involving pickup, Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus
Two people were taken to a hospital Friday morning following a head-on crash involving a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus and a pickup in Penn Hills. According to Adam Brandolph, deputy chief communications officer of Pittsburgh Regional Transit, the crash happened near the intersection of Frankstown Road and Coral Drive. He...
Tarentum Bridge reopens after icy shut down
The Tarentum Bridge was shut down for a brief period Friday morning because of icy conditions. Both sides of the bridge closed around 8 a.m. after a minor accident so city crews could salt the road, New Kensington police Chief Bob Deringer said. Eureka Fire Rescue confirmed there were reports...
Penn Hills School District renames media center as ‘thank you’ to Sen. Jay Costa
The Linton Middle School media center sports a new name. Penn Hills School Board members and district officials gathered in the media center Nov. 26 for a ceremony to formally rename the space as the Senator Jay Costa Media Center. Superintendent John Mozzocio called the dedication a way to express...
$500,000 grant secured for new ambulance in memory of fallen Penn Hills parametic
Nick Theofilis lived to serve others. “Nick was an incredible young man,” said Diane Fitzhenry, supervisor of Penn Hills EMS. “(He was) 23 years old, but as I’ve mentioned in other gatherings, he was quite accomplished. He had accomplished more milestones in his short life than many people more senior...
Gilpin would use reserves to close budget deficit, keep property taxes the same
Gilpin’s proposed 2025 budget calls for no tax increase, but the township would use more than half of its reserve money to close a projected $113,000 deficit. The proposed budget includes nearly $973,000 in spending but about $860,000 in revenue, according to the township. The township’s property tax rate would...
Oakmont proposed budget calls for 40% tax increase
Oakmont property owners could see a 40% tax hike, the first increase in 11 years, under the proposed 2025 budget. The budget proposal calls for a real estate tax increase of 1.5 mills, taking the rate from 3.73 mills to 5.23 mills. Officials say the increase is needed to cover...
Leechburg Area wins award for food service efforts outside school hours
Tess Diehl loves to feed people. She shows that love every day as Leechburg Area’s food service director. “I rather enjoy taking care of people through food and nutrition,” she said. During her second year at the district, Diehl has combined her creativity, passion and knowledge of nutrition to create...
Santa makes early appearance in Penn Hills, and Rosedale Food Pantry benefits
Santa made an early appearance Nov. 20 in Penn Hills with a special visit to the Berkshire Hathaway office on Frankstown Road. Staci Rullo of Penn Hills invited the public to her real estate office for free photos with Santa and cookies. “We have been doing this for many, many...
Kiski leaves police regionalization discussions; Leechburg forges ahead
Kiski Township has dropped out of discussions about forming a regional police force with nearby Leechburg, Parks, Apollo and North Apollo. Leechburg Councilman DJ Zelczak, a member of the steering committee exploring the merger, said he did not want to speak for Kiski officials in declining to say why that...
Faces of the Valley: Leechburg man makes history with volunteer fire service
Paul Wright has been a volunteer firefighter with the Leechburg Volunteer Fire Company for 34 years. Involved since he was14, Wright views his service as a way of helping his community. “When I was a kid, my preacher always asked us what we would do to make a difference,” he...
