Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 49

Back in the 1960s, it was enough for Apollo Area Lions Club members to take their own lawnmowers to cut the grass at the old Apollo Cemetery. But not anymore. Old trees have been uprooting some tombstones and threatening to swallow up the ownerless but historic cemetery in Kiski Township....

Roadwork will continue next week in Allegheny County on Crosstown Boulevard and the Parkway East. PennDOT said the right lane and shoulder of Interstate 579, also known as Crosstown Boulevard, will be closed to northbound motorists from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Monday through Friday nights while contractors remove...

After a failed sealed-bid auction to sell Oak Lake Golf Course in Upper Burrell last year, the owners will close the 18-hole course Thursday, Oct. 24 and hold a public auction two days later. All of Oak Lake’s assets will be for sale at the Saturday auction, including the land,...

Lower Burrell residents who want to dispose of leaves and limbs behind City Hall will be able to do so only on weekends because a renovation project has closed some areas of the City Hall campus along Schreiber Street. Nita Serene, a city secretary, said the restriction will be in...

The demolition of the Belvedere Hotel in Oklahoma Borough came in $36,000 under budget. The demolition was completed Friday and took a little more than a week. The final cost was $48,700, or about 40% less than expected. Originally, Westmoreland County came up with $75,000 and Oklahoma Borough pledged $10,000...

The organizers of a GoFundMe account created after a bald eagle was found shot in Westmoreland County have increased their reward for information about the shooting to $1,000. The bald eagle died after it was found on the West Penn Trail in Derry Township on Oct. 4. Earlier this week,...

Oklahoma Borough code enforcement officer Lee Schumaker said Monday that demolition of the former Belvedere Hotel along Route 66 has been completed. Crews from Eveready Contracting LLC of Washington Township finished work Friday and carted away the last of the charred debris to a dump in Imperial, according to Schumaker....

Some voters in Lower Burrell will cast their ballots at a different polling place on Election Day, according to the Westmoreland County Election Bureau. Voters in Lower Burrell precinct 3-1 will now vote at Moose Lodge 53, 499 Reimer St. Voters in that precinct had cast their ballots at Lower...

Pennsylvania’s state bird, the ruffed grouse, could go extinct in the state along with dozens of other bird species because of climate change, according to a National Audubon Society study released Thursday. It’s more bad bird news. Last month, the journal Science reported the loss of 3 billion birds since...

A reward for information leading to charges being filed against whoever shot a bald eagle on the West Penn Trail in Derry Township last week has been raised from $500 to $750, according to the couple who started a GoFundMe account to pay for bird’s medical expenses and the reward....

The Belvedere Hotel demolition along Route 66 in Oklahoma Borough could be completed next week, according to Lee Schumaker, borough code enforcement officer and the demolition project coordinator. Orr Avenue has been closed between Hancock Avenue and Route 66, which is the project’s staging area. It’s expected to reopen sometime...

The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania will plant six acres of native vegetation along area waterways within two weeks and testing polluted waters to find the source in the Buffalo Creek watershed. Known for its rich environmental quality and beauty, the Buffalo Creek watershed runs through Butler and Armstrong counties...

Lower Burrell police Chief Tim Weitzel will step down as the city’s top officer and return to his former position of lieutenant next year in a move that he said would insulate him from being ousted over politics. “I have to watch my back in 2020,” Weitzel said at a...

Lower Burrell has hired two new police officers to increase the size of the force to 17 full-time officers, according to Chief Tim Weitzel. Daniel Rote of Lower Burrell started in September, while Steven Guelich of Manor started this month. The starting salary for both patrolmen is $58,039. The city...

A woman has never served on Kiski Township’s Board of Supervisors since the township incorporated 188 years ago. That could change Wednesday if the board appoints one of two women seeking to finish out the term of Jack Wilmot, who stepped down last month. Two men also are seeking appointment...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District awarded a $1.2 million contract to Green World Contracting Co. of Harrison to remove accumulated sediments and vegetation along the Stonycreek River in Cambria County. The project will allow for unimpeded water flow, which will reduce the risk of flooding. The work...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Pittsburgh District plans to conduct an exercise dubbed Operation Dark Frost on Saturday at the Crooked Creek Lake Outdoor Discovery Center in Bethel. It will run from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the center on Kerr Road. Agencies participating will include state police,...

Katmai National Park and Reserve knows how to have a good time with its brown bears. In addition to a live webcam, catching all of the action of bears catching and feeding on salmon at the Brooks River, the park holds a fattest bear contest, complete with brackets and elimination...