Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 23

A local outfitter will provide kayaks to Kiski River Sweep volunteers on Saturday so they can cover about a 5-mile stretch of the river from North Vandergrift to Leechburg. For about a decade, the River’s Edge Canoe and Kayak rental in Gilpin has been offering up its vessels for volunteers...

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) collected a $175,000 fine from Olympus Energy for environmental issues at its Marcellus well site in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County. The fine was for erosion and sedimentation violations in 2019 when Olympus was developing its Plutus well pad and Ceto tank pad in...

Upper Burrell supervisors will hold a hearing Wednesday night on a proposed site to control the flow of natural gas from nearby Marcellus shale wells. Olympus Energy’s subsidiary, Hyperion Midstream LLC, is seeking a conditional use for a natural gas valve site at 488 Rich Hill Road. The property is...

Apollo-Ridge School Board has passed a preliminary budget for next school year that proposes a 2.4% real estate tax hike for its Armstrong County communities and a 7.9% decrease in Indiana County. The proposed $26.8 million budget for 2021-22 is 1.7% higher than this school year’s. The district covers the...

The state has issued an “overcrowding alert” this holiday weekend for 14 of its 121 state parks including regional favorites such as Ohiopyle, Keystone and Presque Isle. A large number of park users on good weather weekends is causing some state parks to turn away visitors, according to a report...

Allegheny CleanWays is sponsoring a “cleanup blitz” along the Allegheny River next weekend. The cleanups will take place in Freeport, New Kensington and Cheswick. The cleanup blitz is the organization’s strategy for a series of cleanups to define high litter areas for a more extensive cleanup along the Allegheny next...

Peoples Library, with locations in New Kensington and Lower Burrell, is working its way back to pre-pandemic operations, but it doesn’t plan to scrap all of the practices it implemented during the pandemic. “We look forward to seeing everybody, and we welcome them back,” said David Hrivnak, director of Peoples...

It’s been a good year for the state-endangered peregrine falcon in Southwestern Pennsylvania, with more nesting sites and chicks across the region. While there has been turbulence for the peregrines at the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning, with mates being ousted by stronger competitors and some falcons going missing,...

Wildlife centers and the Pennsylvania Game Commission say they have been deluged with calls from people who have picked up wild animals, often in an attempt to help them. Game Commission spokesman Seth Mesoras said the agency has received a number of calls from people who tried to take in...

The Penn State Extension office in Pittsburgh has been fielding daily phone calls from residents who discovered woolly adelgid on their native Eastern hemlocks. “The good news is that hemlock woolly adelgid can be managed fairly easily in the residential landscape,” said Brian Wolyniak, Penn State Extension educator in Pittsburgh....

The PA CareerLink Alle-Kiski reported an uptick this week in job openings, with a four-week rolling average of 225 openings in the Alle-Kiski Valley. “Virtually all of the businesses and organizations that we have contact with are looking to add workers now,” said Phil Grove, account representative with PA CareerLink...

Thursday was a busy day for beekeepers, and not just because it was World Bee Day, when people should reflect on the importance of bees and their role as pollinators supporting our food crops and environment. Bill Kopar of Fawn Township, owner of the Kopar Honey Farm, recently has been...

Apollo Council Vice-President Mark Tarle lost in a tight, four-way contest on the Democratic ticket for three seats on Apollo Council. Two of the Democrats who won are incumbents, along with current Mayor Cindee Virostek. Unofficial results from the Armstrong County Elections Department for the Democratic nomination for three, four-year...

The result of Democratic write-in votes yet to be announced will decide whether the winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary for Harrison’s 4th Ward commissioner will take the seat or whether a Democraic challenger will emerge. Commissioners Chairman Bill Heasley served two four-year terms. But he said he chose not to...

Abby Major, Jeff Pyle’s former chief of staff, handily won her ex-boss’ seat in a special election Tuesday. The state’s 60th House District covers parts of Armstrong, Butler and Indiana counties. Pyle stepped down in March for health reasons at the start of his ninth, two-year term. Major will finish...

The three Republican candidates for Fawn’s board of supervisors were separated by just 20 votes as of Wednesday, with two GOP nominations up for grabs, according to unofficial primary election results. The unofficial tally shows challenger Daniel Selfridge Jr. as the top vote-getter with 123 votes, or 30.2% of the...

Lower Burrell council recently approved a new five-year labor agreement with its 10 public works department employees who are represented by the United Steelworkers. Both sides said they were happy with the contract that provides 1.5% in the first year, then 2.5 %, 2.5% and 3% in successive years and...

The Burrellton Garden Club is sponsoring a Blue Star plaque dedication on Memorial Day weekend. The organization earned approval from a national club to bestow a Blue Star marker honoring all military veterans. The marker is a project of the National Garden Clubs. The event will take place Saturday, May...

Nathan Sipes of Cheswick not only bagged three big-game animals during the 2020-21 hunting season, but he also nailed two of them on Sundays. Sipes, 24, has been hunting since he was 11. Like many hunters, he never had such a sensational season. He harvested an eight-point buck in Upper...

Property owners in Burrell School District will pay 3.5% more next school year. The school board unanimously approved a preliminary budget of $32.7 million that includes a tax hike of 3.5 mills. For a home assessed at $22,900, the district’s average home tax assessment, the homeowner would pay an additional...

All three bald eagle nests along the Monongahela River and Youghiogheny River near McKeesport in Allegheny County have chicks this spring, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. At the Youghiogheny River nest, near McKeesport, there is at least one young bird on private property, said Douglas Bergman, a game warden...

West Deer attorney Shea Kraft is challenging incumbent District Judge Tom Swan in a primary race in the magisterial district that includes East Deer, West Deer, Hampton and Richland. Swan, 63, a Republican from Richland, is in the final year of his six-year first term. Kraft, 30, a Democrat, is...