Joyce Hanz stories, Page 46

Alex Chaffins of Vandergrift knows how to charm and disarm. With art. Chaffins, the unofficial muralist of Vandergrift, is known for his large colorful artwork depicting positive messages. The self-taught artist’s most recent mural is an underwater scene featuring a mermaid. It’s painted on his garage at home. Last year,...

Uninvited guests on Lowell Street in Vandergrift have some residents complaining to borough officials. Mattresses left outside at the steps of an empty apartment building at 502 Lowell St. on Tuesday morning were marked with signs saying they are infested with bedbugs. In a social media post Wednesday, resident Tiffany...

An annual community Halloween party in Vandergrift is growing in popularity. The third annual Vandergrift Halloween Party, organized by Vandergrift resident Heather Miller, is scheduled for Oct. 16 at The Center on Franklin. The free party welcomes all ages, but Miller said the festivities are geared with youngsters in mind....

Two exotic animals are making themselves at home in Washington Township. Zebulun, a 3-week-old Grant’s zebra, and Abraham, a 1-year-old dromedary camel, arrived safely at Victory Stables last week after a 13-hour road trip from the Midwest. Victory Stables Manager Jessica Corbin, 32, and her boyfriend, Dan Wallen, a wildlife...

Katy Appleman of Fox Chapel is blazing a trail. She is the first female from Western Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands Council to earn an Eagle Scout ranking. The Laurel Highlands Council is one of the largest in the country and includes 13 districts serving nearly 17,000 youths in Western Pennsylvania and...

Cora Scott Cole found herself with a lot of idle time when the pandemic lockdown hit last year. So she got busy writing. Cole, 82, of Kiski Township, self-published a memoir, “Cora Lee, A Testimony,” earlier this year with Peaceable Publishing. She’s donating 5% from the sale of each book...

Being blue never felt so good. Kiski Area South Primary School in Washington Township has been named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. National Blue Ribbon Schools are recognized annually by the Education Department for helping under- served groups attain progress and for overall academic performances...

A program honoring local veterans in Avonmore is moving forward, although banners honoring the veterans likely won’t be placed on poles until spring to save them from having to endure the winter weather. The borough is participating in the “Hometown Heroes” banner program, sponsored locally by the Avonmore Volunteer Fire...

Water main issues that shut down Linden Street in Vandergrift continue, but help is on the way. The street, next to Davis Field, is scheduled to undergo repairs next week, Vandergrift Councilwoman Christine Wilson said. A large portion of the street has remained closed for about five weeks. Wilson said...

A Harrison man who has worked as a police officer for multiple Alle-­Kiski Valley departments is accused of using police-tracking software to monitor the whereabouts of a woman who had broken off a relationship with him, court paperwork shows. Michael A. McSherry, 29, also is accused of secretly placing a...

The Pizza Hut in Allegheny Township is relocating, but you won’t be able to eat inside. Pizza Hut is now at 510 Hyde Park Road in Allegheny Plaza, next to Big Lots. It’s moving to the Hyde Park Plaza, which is within sight of the Allegheny Plaza. The restaurant will...

Tensions remain high in Kiski Area School District over the state-imposed mask mandate for K-12 schools. More than 100 parents and children showed up for Wednesday’s school board meeting to express their opposition to the Health Department mandate that took effect Sept. 7. Nearly 30 of them addressed the board,...

Authorities closed a section of Park Road in Allegheny Township’s Northmoreland Park on Friday morning after a body was discovered in the park. Gregory McCloskey, the Westmoreland County public works director, said the road remained closed while a deputy coroner investigated. McCloskey said the scene was cleared around 11:30 a.m....

Taco Bell is coming to Allegheny Township. Township officials approved land development for the fast-food restaurant last month. The eatery will be a standalone establishment, not a combo KFC/Taco Bell, Township Manager Greg Primm said. “It’s always good to see new businesses coming in, especially giving people more options for...

When business gets slow at Robert “Buster” Burnham’s food truck with deflated wheels, he puts on his full-body hot dog suit and goes to the side of the road in Vandergrift to try to flag down customers. “You need a promotion,” Burnham said. “When there’s no customers here, the suit...

Vandergrift officials are moving forward with plans to adopt an ordinance regulating the ownership of backyard chickens. A three-person committee established last month to work out details of a proposed ordinance offered some of its recommendations at a council meeting last week. While council members had discussed the possibility of...

A sixth-grader at Leechburg Area High School is her own sauce boss. Emilee Kostyak, 11, of Leechburg, is founder and CEO of D&D BBQ. At age 5, Emilee tasted her dad’s homemade barbecue sauce and promptly told him she didn’t like it. “I was being a little sassy and told...

A church in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood was evacuated Sunday after a man called 911 and threatened to harm himself and others at the church, police said. About 30 members of St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church, 506 Saline St., were inside the church when 911 received the call at 11:15...

An O’Hara restaurant has permanently closed. Patron Mexican Grill in Fox Chapel Plaza along Freeport Road posted a sign announcing the closing on its locked front door. The notice offers no explanation for closing and read “we are closed for good.” The letter, written by owner Martin Bolanos, went on...

A covid-19-positive inmate in the Allegheny County Jail died Sunday, Warden Orlando Harper said. It’s the first covid-related death for the facility. The name of the inmate wasn’t released, but he was a 48-year-old man who had been hospitalized since late August. He died Sunday at a local hospital. He...

The Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Harmar hosted a tribute to first responders Saturday on the 20th anniversary of the events of 9/11. Organizer and Shriner Robert Addleman began the ceremony introducing The Rev. John Piper from Castle Shannon, who let the crowd underneath the outdoor Shrine Pavilion in prayer, calling...

Cheswick Community Day has returned. The free daylong festival welcomed visitors to Rachel Carson Park after being on hiatus since 2014. Strawberry Days replaced it for years, but that event was canceled the past two years over covid-19 pandemic concerns. The ever-changing covid-related restrictions didn’t sway organizers this year, who...

Leechburg area Rev. Gary Lyon spent Saturday morning carefully crafting his words for a 9/11 dedication ceremony held later that day in Leechburg. Rev. Lyon serves as co-pastor alongside his wife, Lisa, at Cross Roads Community Presbyterian Church in Leechburg. He serves as a longtime volunteer firefighter with the Leechburg...

Downtown New Kensington was packed Saturday as thousands enjoyed the third annual New Kensington Wine and Beer Festival. Back bigger than ever after being canceled in 2020 because of the covid-related pandemic, an Alle Kiski Strong Chamber of Commerce official said attendance swelled to between 5,000 and 7,000 people. “This...