Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 46

Steelworkers at ATI in Harrison are Secret Santas, as they bought 39 bikes and helmets for Alle-Kiski Valley kids this Christmas. The money was raised over the last two months, according to Bill Campbell, union grievance representative for the United Steelworkers Local 1196 in Brackenridge, which serves ATI’s steel mill...

Penn State Extension is offering a new cooking class for weight management when healthy eating and losing weight is on many people’s minds after the holiday calorie splurge. “Let’s Cook for Weight Management,” a new Penn State Extension class will be offered: Tuesday, Jan. 14, 6 p.m. at the Penn...

The Boyce Park snow tubing area in Plum will open for the season Saturday at 9:30 a.m. with a 30-inch snow base on what’s considered the “steepest snow tubing hill in Western Pennsylvania” by Allegheny County Parks. The snow tubing area will operate through mid-March, weather and conditions permitting. Santa...

The property tax rate will remain the same next year for Cheswick property owners. Council passed a 2020 budget of $1.78 million that keeps the borough’s real estate tax rate of 5.85 mills. The total includes 0.25-mill dedicated to the library. A Cheswick homeowner would continue to pay $608 in...

The Pennsylvania Game Commission reported the state’s highest bear harvest ever this year as the agency tries to slow a growing bear population. Locally, hunters took the most bears in Armstrong and Butler counties, with numbers in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties holding steady. Expanded hunting opportunities doubled the number of...

One nonprofit’s demise is another’s gain. After 76 years, the Hypnosis Society of Pennsylvania is dissolving and has donated its savings, about $17,000, to the Syria Shriners, headquartered in Harmar. “We consider that a large contribution, and we are very grateful for it,” said David Gardy of Mt. Washington, Syria...

Scarlett Lewis, the Sandy Hook mom who founded a social emotional learning program, has canceled a speech scheduled for Monday night at Burrell High School because she is ill, according to Burrell Superintendent Shannon Wagner. Lewis’ presentation will be rescheduled, according to Wagner. Burrell said they opened up Lewis’ speech...

Penn State Extension will present a one-day conference on growing industrial hemp on Feb. 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Chadwick in McCandless. The conference will focus on planting, growing and harvesting industrial hemp. Hemp was designated a legal crop in the 2019 Pennsylvania Farm Bill. There...

Burrell School District officials are encouraging the public and area community groups to attend a free presentation Monday on social emotional learning from Scarlett Lewis, whose son was Jesse was one of 26 people killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. Lewis’ presentation is scheduled to start...

Classic vinyl will shine at the Pittsburgh Record Fest Sunday in Lawrenceville, where aficionados of all ages can peruse thousands of albums while local DJs spin their favorites. Pittsburgh Record Fest features large and small collectors alike offering up new, used, and collectible imports and domestic records in a marketplace...

The nonprofit Friends of the Riverfront appointed one of its board members, Kelsey Ripper, as executive director. She succeeds Valerie Beichner, who left several months ago to take the helm at another outdoor recreation nonprofit, Venture Outdoors. Ripper, 33, of Lawrenceville, has been vice president of Friends of the Riverfront’s...

The Apollo municipal office closed this week and will remain closed until Dec. 20 when it reopens at a new location at 809 N. Warren Avenue. The move was prompted by the expiration of the borough’s lease at the end of the year at 616 First St., the former Apollo...

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is investigating the shooting of three elk along a highway with a small caliber firearm in Elk County’s Benezette Township. A cow and two bulls were found Thursday along Quehanna Highway. Anyone with information related to the incident should contact the Game Commission’s Northcentral Region Office...

The five nominees for Pennsylvania’s River of the Year include the Ohio River and an obscure but environmentally unique waterway, Buffalo Creek in Armstrong and Butler counties. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the nonprofit Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers annually pick nominees for the honor....

A video showing two teens torturing an injured deer has rocked a small Western Pennsylvania community while generating outrage far and wide, including online where nearly 600,000 people have signed a petition calling for criminal charges. As of midday Wednesday, authorities had not charged the teens, who can be seen...

An Oakmont contractor knocked $1,000 off the final bill to restore a veterans’ monument in front of Lower Burrell’s Stewart Elementary School. The monument for residents who served in World War II toppled over earlier this year. The office of state Rep. Bob Brooks, R-Murrysville, headed up the monument restoration...

Pittsburgh isn’t exactly the bird capital of world, but its volunteers who count birds for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count are ranked as the 10th largest group of counters in more than 2,600 count areas. Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count is the largest citizen survey in the country that measures...

An online map could soon help the growing number of paddlers in the Kiski and Conemaugh rivers and outdoor enthusiasts discovers where to stop for a beer and to take in a small town attraction. A $230,000 state grant to the nonprofit Allegheny Ridge Corporation will pay for an updated,...

Lower Burrell Council raised the base sewage rates by 9% but will not raise real estate taxes for 2020. Council on Monday unanimously passed the city’s $10.97 million budget for 2020, keeping city real estate taxes at 22.75 mills. A Lower Burrell homeowner assessed at $18,210 would continue to pay...

Residents can literally chill out with some penguins during the Pittsburgh Zoo’s Penguins on Parade, which starts Saturday and is held every weekend while the temperature stays under 45 degrees. Timing is important as the Penguins Parade starts at 11:30 a.m. sharp every Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting, outside of...

Lower Burrell will use several grants to pay for new playground equipment at Veterans Park, develop a city parks plan and make other improvements. Outgoing Councilman Chris Koziarski, who oversaw the city’s parks department, and City Administrator Amy Rockwell announced Monday that the city secured two state grants totaling $69,900...

Work to improve traffic signals on Route 910 and Freeport Road in Harmar is scheduled to begin Tuesday, resulting in traffic restrictions, according to PennDOT. Single-lanes restrictions will be in place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays from Tuesday through June 2020 at intersections along Route 910 from...