Joyce Hanz stories, Page 45

A night of comedy is coming to Vandergrift. Professional comedian Shaun Blackham will headline a 90-minute show Saturday in the historic Casino Theatre. Blackham, who lives in the Mamont section of Export, has opened for famous comedians, including Adam Sandler, Steven Wright, Tracy Morgan, Mitch Hedberg and Dave Attell. “This...

A Fox Chapel physical therapist is helping others with a distinct approach to well-being. Kristen Carlin, 38, opened Evoke Physio three years ago inside the yoga studio at Green Heiress Holistic Health in Aspinwall. Blending physical therapy and training, Evoke offers clients of all ages personalized physical therapy, private and...

Theater productions are back and in-person at Kiski Area High School. The school’s drama club is set to present “Blithe Spirit” on Nov. 4-6 in the high school auditorium. The play, set in Kent, England, during WWII, is recommended for ages 13 and older due to language and content. Musical...

A giant gourd is helping one man give back. Joel Keefer, 70, of Aspinwall began decorating oversized pumpkins for the public’s enjoyment 25 years ago. “I’m known as The Pumpkin Guy,” Keefer said. Keefer initially began his Halloween tradition of carving gourds weighing more than 1,000 pounds in an effort...

A hands-on approach to life is serving up new opportunities for MacKenzie Borkovich of Indiana Township. A senior at Fox Chapel Area High School, Borkovich began playing softball and started taekwondo lessons when she was 6. More than a decade later, she’s a star pitcher for the Foxes and Ohio...

East Vandergrift Council last month named Jeremy Manners to fill a vacant seat. While his appointment lasts through December, Manners aims to stay on council with a write-in campaign in the Nov. 2 election. The seat became open after the July death of council member Bonita “Bonnie” Bober, who was...

The winning continues for the Kiski Area High School marching band. The band earned another championship win Saturday at the 2021 Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association (PIMBA) competition, hosted by Gateway High School in Monroeville. Kiski Area concluded its competition Saturday with a performance titled “Beneath the Shifting Sands” and...

Michael J. Stevens has stepped into his new role as chief of the Fox Chapel police department. Stevens, 55, has served with the Fox Chapel police force for 33 years. He was appointed chief in August, saying he is “honored” to serve in his “dream job.” “This community is amazing...

From preserved alligator heads to brand-new Christian Louboutin shoes, two years of personal items left by travelers at Pittsburgh International Airport went up for auction Saturday. Hundreds of auctiongoers showed up at a heavy equipment garage at the airport to bid on lost, unclaimed and abandoned items from the airport’s...

It’s safer to drive in Fox Chapel thanks to almost three decades of deer management in the borough. The management program, implemented in 1993, reduced the number of deer in the 8 square miles that make up the residential borough in Allegheny County and cut the number of deer-related crashes...

Amy Anderson is a gunslinger with a wild hobby. Anderson, 66, of Washington Township might sling hash in the cafeteria at Kiski Area South Primary School, but in her downtime she slings guns — competing nationwide in Western-style shooting competitions. Anderson and her husband, Dan, 69, are members of SASS,...

Vandergrift’s winery is set to reopen after having erratic hours for more than five months. Wooden Door Winery at 101 Custer Ave. will welcome wine enthusiasts back starting Oct. 28. Co-owner Jeff Pollick said operating hours at the normally year-round winery were disrupted because of personal reasons. “It’s been a...

A longtime Republican supervisor in Alle­gheny Township will appear on the ballot Nov. 2 as a Democrat. Kathy Starr, a registered Republican, lost by 42 votes to political newcomer James Morabito in the May Republican primary. No Democrats appeared on the May primary ballot. But because Starr collected 389 write-in...

The Kiski Area High School Marching Band is on a roll. The band placed first in the Bands of America Mid-Atlantic Regional competition held Oct. 9 in College Park, Md. The win marks the band’s 21st BOA Regional Champion title. Band director Shawn Pityk said Kiski Area is the only...

Friends John Bieranoski and Robert Buchanan never planned to open a business during a pandemic. But the new business owners did, and they not only have survived, they have thrived. Allusion Brewing Co., the only in-house brewery in Vandergrift, recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. For Bieranoski, 46, and Buchanan, 44,...

A pumpkin-themed event is returning to Vandergrift. The annual Vandergrift Great Pumpkin Patch returns from noon to 3 p.m. on Oct. 30 in Franklin Park. Last year’s festivities were canceled because of the pandemic. The event is sponsored by the Vandergrift Parent Project. “The VPP loves to bring our community...

A new takeout eatery has opened in O’Hara. Farmer x Baker opened its second location Friday, welcoming a steady stream of customers right away when the doors opened at 8 a.m. “We’re looking forward to serving our community locally sourced, healthy and delicious foods all year round,” owner Jennifer Urich...

Incumbent Vandergrift Mayor Barbara Turiak is running a write-in campaign for a second term in office. Turiak lost to Councilman Lenny Collini by about 12 votes in the Democratic primary in May. The general election is Nov. 2. There was no Republican candidate on the ballot on the primary ballot,...

A longtime Alle-Kiski gardening guru is retiring. Dave Vargo, owner of Kiski Garden Center in Allegheny Township, announced the sale of his business and his retirement last week. A large banner outside his business reads “Time To Retire — Garden Center For Sale.” Vargo, 68, said he did the math...

Tom Kissel is alive today thanks to the combined efforts of strangers and a three-legged pooch named Tater Tot. Their quick work was recognized Tuesday in a ceremony sponsored by the American Heart Association and Allegheny Health Network at the River Forest Yacht Club in Allegheny Township. On July 10,...

Cub Scout Pack 500 of Washington Township hosted an open house recruitment carnival Sunday. The annual event serves as a way to bolster the pack’s membership, which is about 22 scouts. Afternoon activities inside the Washington Township Fire Hall included plinko, mega wire, bull ringer and roller bowler. An energetic...

The oldest operating farm in Westmoreland County has another distinction: a cornfield maze that has been amazing people for more than two decades. Gearhard Farms, in Murrysville near Washington Township, creates a new maze through a cornfield each year. The 2021 maze, spread over two acres, opened in September and...

Four Alle-Kiski Valley museums are banding together to promote history and heritage with a free tour of their premises. An open house showcasing the historical museums of Leechburg, Hyde Park, Apollo and Vandergrift is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Free shuttle trips among the four museums will...

The green scene is expanding at Kiski Area Upper Elementary School in Washington Township. The Green Team club, composed of 40 fifth and sixth graders committed to promoting sustainability and eco-friendly practices on campus, has a waiting list for membership. “We had about a dozen members when we first started,”...

When Pia Trew of Lower Burrell heard her college roommate’s pet goldfish was in peril, she took a road trip back home. “The goldfish was on its last leg, or fin, so I made a trip home to bring him spring water and that did the trick,” Trew said. “He...