Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 2

Rob and Natalie Pofi of O’Hara had a rollicking time at a relative’s wedding at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh on New Year’s Eve. Delivering a baby was not on their minds, as Natalie Pofi was scheduled for a Cesarean section Jan. 23. While kicking up her heels at the wedding,...

Kiski Township supervisors on Wednesday approved a $1.6 million budget for 2023, that includes raising township real estate taxes by 1 mill or 22%. Under the budget, the millage will increase from 4.5 to 5.5 mills. The owner of a home assessed at $50,000 will pay $275, which is $50...

With the congressional passage of the federal 2023 spending bill, Freeport secured $1.5 million to help pay for its new sewage treatment plant estimated to cost $16.9 million. The Freeport project was included in the $1.7 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2023. Both the U.S. Senate and House passed the...

For Noah Kleckner, a senior at Burrell High School who completed a pre-apprenticeship program at school, safety protocols for personal protection are huge. “You don’t want metal shavings in your eye,” he said. Kleckner, 19, of Lower Burrell earned seven state certifications in safety, quality, manufacturing and maintenance in Burrell’s...

Lower Burrell Council unanimously approved an $11 million final budget for 2023 with no tax increase. The real estate tax rate for the city will remain at 24.75 mills. The owner of an average property, assessed at $20,000 again, would pay a real estate tax of $495. Although next year’s...

Upper Burrell unanimously passed its $1.2 million budget recently for 2023 with no tax increase. Supervisors also approved a new ordinance prohibiting animals from making extended loud noises, such as dogs barking. After enacting the first tax increase in 16 years in 2022, Upper Burrell adjusted the budget and didn’t...

A former Armstrong County elections director filed a federal lawsuit against the county and one of its contractors, alleging discrimination and security concerns with the county’s voting system. Marybeth Kuznik of Penn Township, Westmoreland County, was fired in 2021 shortly after she requested a new scan of ballots after the...

A Lower Burrell man was presented with the Officer Brian Shaw Memorial Scholarship during the graduation ceremony Friday for the largest Allegheny County Police Training Academy cadet class in at least seven years. Colton Moorhead, 22, one of 32 graduating cadets, learned about winning the scholarship shortly before Friday’s ceremony...

A traveling exhibit of the 2022 Audubon Photography Awards winners will be on display at Buffalo Creek Nature Park until Sunday. The local Audubon Society chapter has hosted the exhibit before, and visitors have been “amazed at the ‘wow-ness’ of many of the images,” said Rachel Handel, spokeswoman for the...

Three Armstrong County public defenders who were fired last month have filed a civil case against the Armstrong County Board of Commissioners in federal court in Pittsburgh. The lawsuit, filed Dec. 2, accused the county commissioners of wrongful discharge, breach of the terms and conditions of employment agreements and multiple...

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the mission for the TryLife Center in Lower Burrell has changed from primarily encouraging young pregnant women to give birth to assisting more single dads and working with co-parenting arrangements. The nonprofit offers educational services, covering pregnancy, abortion, adoption and parenting. “We get abortion-determined women and...

After a Kiski Township man recently sued former township police Sgt. Thomas Dessell for $12,000, the township has not responded to requests to defend him. Township Solicitor Tim Miller said the township supervisors had no plans to defend Dessell, at least so far. Dessell’s attorney said he has sent letters...

Freeport icon and World War II hero Joseph Rodney “Rod” Chapman, 101, died of natural causes on Sunday, Dec. 4. In addition to his military duties, Chapman was a Freeport area historian, author and a mail carrier then the chief clerk at the borough’s post office for 35 years. Federal...

Lower Burrell is holding its first Christmas parade in recent memory Saturday, the day after a tree-lighting ceremony at Stewart Elementary School. The city has been hosting multiple parades annually with good turnouts, including a St. Patrick’s Day parade initiated by residents during the covid-19 pandemic. “We hope to build...

Lauren Edinger and her husband, Edd Velez, whitewashed an antique tin ceiling in their future ice cream and sandwich shop in the former J.H. Shoop & Sons building in Freeport. The repurposing of the century-­plus-old retail building — home to one of the oldest family-owned men’s clothing stores in the...

Described as “generational changing,” recently awarded investments in rails-to-trails will help connect more than 100 miles of recreational trails in Western Pennsylvania, opening previously unrealized pathways to communities poised to benefit economically. Murrysville to Rankin. O’Hara to East Deer. Aspinwall to Homewood. Plans are underway to grow and connect mostly...

Harrison’s gain is Lower Burrell’s loss as Amy Rockwell, Lower Burrell’s city manager, has been hired as the new township manager for Harrison. Rockwell, a Lower Burrell resident, has been Lower Burrell’s city manager and administrator since 2018. She will start her job as Harrison’s manager in early 2023 at...

Etna borough manager Mary Ellen Ramage can rattle off the names of five elderly widows who brought chocolates to office staff when they paid their water bills. That was when Ramage was a receptionist some 45 years ago. The borough, along with other government officials, honored Ramage recently for her...

Etna’s preliminary 2023 budget of $5.9 million holds the line on real estate taxes, however, the town’s sewage and garbage fees are going up. An average home assessed at $82,000 currently pays $738 for borough real estate taxes. The borough is passing on rate hikes from ALCOSAN to increase sewage...

A Kiski Township man filed a civil complaint and is suing former Kiski Township police Sgt. Thomas Dessell for $12,000, alleging physical injuries, legal expenses and defamed character. Dessell resigned from the department in July, along with three other Kiski Township officers and a dispatcher who claimed they were harassed...

When it comes to glass, the National Aviary on Pittsburgh’s North Side has a unique problem. Not only do officials there not want any of their more than 500 birds to fly into its windows and glass ceilings, but they also don’t want wild birds outside hitting it either. Window...

Obese with back problems, high blood pressure and pre-diabetes, Jerry Taylor, a medical emergency doctor at Allegheny Valley Hospital, used weight-loss techniques, exercise and body-sculpting equipment to lose 45 pounds in three months. He and his wife, Vicki, a retired Highlands Area School District teacher and a licensed esthetician, have...

Students are having fun playing 40 parts for Burrell High School Theatre Company’s production of “Once in a Lifetime,” running Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Burrell High School’s auditorium. The sophisticated comedy centers on a vaudeville trio breaking into Hollywood during the new era of talkie motion pictures. The play...

Lower Burrell is raising sewage rates next year by 3% because of rate increases from the Municipal Authority of New Kensington and other expenses. New Kensington’s sewerage authority, MSANK, processes Lower Burrell’s sewage while Lower Burrell owns and maintains the sewage system in the city. The current bill for an...