Joyce Hanz stories, Page 4

Fresh air and fitness are two primary perks for members of a growing club at Fox Chapel Area High School. The Hiking Club formed in 2021 when Fox Chapel Area High School alumnus Matthew Fiedler completed a 130-mile hike over a 10-day span in Albuquerque, N.M. Fiedler, now 19 and...

More than 120 Fox Chapel Area High School alumni took a trip down memory lane Nov. 30 to celebrate the Class of 2004’s 20th reunion. The celebration, co-organzied by Todd Feiler and Darla Shay Whitlock, was held at Lawrence Hall in Lawrenceville. Both deemed the event a great success, with...

Aspinwall Mayor Joe Noro is a big supporter of a small annual event in Aspinwall. Shop Small Saturday is a longstanding merchant tradition in the historic borough lined with quaint houses, churches, specialty shops, restaurants, bars, cafes and specialty shops. “Small businesses drive the economy in our country,” Noro said....

A chance meeting by a third-generation home builder from Plum resulted in the newest housing development in O’Hara. Domenic Ricciuti Jr., vice president of Ricciuti Enterprise, broke ground this spring on Miramar Landings, a 38-unit riverfront townhome community at 1 River Road. Located on the former site of Bell Harbor...

Faith was a constant during childhood for the Rev. Ryan Kobert, who is in his sixth year as pastor at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sewickley. His devotion began at a young age growing up O’Hara and attending weekly church services at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Etna. He graduated...

Kindergartners at O’Hara Elementary School gobbled up a special Thanksgiving-themed day Nov. 25, complete with special activities and stories, to celebrate the holiday....

Young thespians at Dorseyville Middle School recently wrapped up their fall musical run of “Seussical Jr.” Director Pamela Fiano chose the whimsical Dr. Seuss-themed musical to mark the theater program’s 20th anniversary. “I chose this show because it has a sweet message and it’s fun,” Fiano said. “It’s about sticking...

A 95-year-old colonial home boasting an outdoor sport court is on the market in Fox Chapel. Berkshire Hathaway Realtor Julie Rost, a Fox Chapel native, listed 143 North Drive for $2.4 million in October. The home was built in 1929, five years before Fox Chapel was incorporated in 1934 after...

A Sewickley-based cybersecurity business has been recognized for excellence as a start-up company. Custos IQ was named a 2024 Tech 50 finalist in the start-up company culture category by the Pittsburgh Technology Council from Intersections of Possibility. Co-owners Robert Ragan Jr. and Isabelle Syring work with a small team of...

Things have gotten a lot more paws-itive at Fairview Elementary School in Indiana Township. And it’s all because of Stryker, the newest therapy dog serving the Fox Chapel Area School District. The 1-year-old mixed breed motivates students to be on their best behavior. At the school store, students can exchange...

Sewickley Academy students and staff were all about giving during the annual Spirit of Community Food Drive hosted on campus from Nov. 4-18. Thanksgiving-themed food items and monies were collected and two vans were loaded Nov. 20 with food and delivered to The Good Samaritan Church and Food Pantry (a...

Longtime sommelier Jerome “Jerry” Metallo of Aspinwall is pouring all of his efforts into the fight of his life. Metallo, 54, was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer this summer. The unexpected news sent shock waves through his mind, body and life that he shares with Cara, his wife of...

Rats scampering about a classroom is no reason for panic at Sewickley Academy. Instead, it’s embraced and encouraged. The second grade students are provided a hands-on learning opportunity from two sibling resident rodents, Cheeseball and King Bob. The duo resides in a large cage in second grade teacher Karen DiMaio’s...

Celebrate the season at Downtown Pittsburgh’s newest pop-up holiday bars. The Industrialist Hotel debuted a 1950s retro-themed pop-up holiday cocktail lounge Friday. Visitors mingled and sipped cocktails on its opening night among tons of tinsel, silver, red and pink Christmas trees and holiday light displays — all blended among cozy...

Emma Ehan of Sewickley is using her green thumb to dig into an ongoing horticultural project at Sewickley Academy. Ehan, a junior, loves to garden and tend to plants and now she’s using her skills to manage and tend to the dozens of plants growing inside the campus greenhouse. “My...

Marianne Fadden painted every day during the extended covid shutdown — it was her coping mechanism. “I would have gone crazy without painting,” said the retiree and avid painter. “It kept me sane.” A former Westinghouse marketing and communications executive, Fadden left her corporate career to open Creative Dressing By...

It’s a doggie debut for Pittsburgh. The Dog Penn is a newly opened, off-leash dog park and bar in the Strip District where folks can bring their dogs along for bar-themed fun and fellowship. The concept combines drinking with doggie socializing in a relaxed, controlled setting. Married co-owners Alissa and...

Feroce Luxury Consignment Boutique is the newest business venture for Kelley Costa of Allison Park. Costa, a handbag aficionado, is never caught out-and-about without a beautiful handbag, and she’s on a mission to make owning a quality handbag easier and more budget-friendly. She opened Feroce earlier this month at 405...

A familiar volunteer face has graced the halls of Hartwood Elementary School for more than a decade. PTO member Kristen Gulakowski of Indiana Township is in her 10th year of volunteering almost daily to make student life for more than 400 children more enriching, fun and festive. “My kids keep...

Sewickley Academy hosted Lieutenant Commander (ret.) Dan Dishart, U.S. Marines/U.S. Naval Reserve as guest speaker during the annual middle and senior school Veterans Day assembly held Nov. 11. First-graders presented a sign language version of The Star Spangled Banner onstage in the Rea Auditorium. Dishart is a graduate of West...

Hartwood Elementary School hosted a campuswide Veterans Day event on Nov. 11. The students — many of whom dressed in red, white and blue garb and wore handmade hats — gathered outside to raise the American flag, sing patriotic songs and honor everyone who has served in the armed forces....

A historic building is slated to be transformed into a new restaurant, thanks to a celebrity interior designer with a penchant for putting the spotlight on Sewickley. Plans for a proposed new restaurant cleared a hurdle Nov. 5 when Sewickley zoning board officials unanimously (5-0) approved a zoning variance request...

History was brought to life Nov. 4 as O’Hara Elementary School fourth graders presented their annual living wax museum. The students selected a pop culture or historical figure to research and presented their findings to the school’s third graders. Colorful poster boards detailed facts and information about their notable person....

Television cooking shows proved to be a career catalyst for O’Hara-based executive chef Blakely Aluise. Aluise grew up reading cookbooks and binge-watching The Food Network in her quest to learn about the culinary world and cooking. “I’d find myself in our kitchen at home trying to re-create what I’d seen...

The 2024 Krampus celebration in Pittsburgh has been booted from Market Square and will relocate this year, according to the event organizer. Pittsburgh’s 10th annual Krampusnacht celebration is moving to Penn Brewery in response to an email sent to organizer Mark Menold last December by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s Special...