Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 58

After breaking a seven-week fast, the small but powerful congregation of the Holy Virgin Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Arnold celebrated Easter on Sunday in traditional style. The service paid homage to the high holiday in all of its pageantry. The Rev. Mark Swindle dressed in crisp, ivory robes, a spray...

The problem of litter was exemplified Saturday when one of the Hays bald eagles brought a fish snagged with multiple hooks and fishing line and fed it to one of its two eaglets. It’s unclear if the one of the young birds swallowed a hook, according to Jim Bonner, executive...

Just when birdwatchers thought it might be a normal breeding season with two apparently healthy chicks at the Cathedral of Learning peregrine falcon nest in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood, the mother killed and ate the third chick emerging from its egg Thursday. It marks the fourth year in a row the...

The self-described fun, bold and adventurous Becca Droz, a Pittsburgh native, will hit the ground running to Laos during Wednesday’s episode of CBS’ “Amazing Race” all-star season at 9 p.m. She is competing for a $1 million prize on a 25,000-plus mile journey around the world. Droz, a 2008 graduate...

The Postal Service will issue its Wild and Scenic Rivers stamps May 21 with the Clarion River as one of a dozen Forever stamps paying tribute to “the exceptional streams that run freely through America’s natural landscapes.” The Clarion River, a tributary of the Allegheny, was in the news last...

Earlier this month, PennEnvironment joined forces with Pennsylvania House Democrats to announce its “Zero Waste PA” package of 13 bills looking to tackle a number of litter and pollution problems. According to PennLive, the proposals range from “creating a 5-cent beverage bottle and can deposit program and raising fines for...

The mood was sober during Allegheny Township police Officer Charity Butz’s presentation Tuesday on the dangers and penalties for driving under the influence for a freshman health class at Kiski Area High School. But the students perked up considerably when they wore goggles that simulate being drunk or under the...

East Stroudsburg University’s tick research lab is accepting ticks for free testing from Pennsylvania residents. The university lab, known as the Pennsylvania Tick Research Lab, will test ticks for Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, according to Brenda Friday, university spokeswoman. “Tests are ordered online, and residents can...

The first peregrine falcon chick of the season hatched at the Cathedral of Learning nest in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood Monday and appears to be doing well after three years of infanticide by the same mother, documented by a live webcam sponsored by the National Aviary. For the past three years,...

The search is on this summer for the Allegheny alligator or the snot otter, better known as the Eastern hellbender, in rivers in Western Pennsylvania. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy plans July surveys in the Kiski, Allegheny and Youghiogheny rivers for the salamander, a reclusive creature that lives under rocks the...

Lower Burrell Council is exploring a local tax incentive for city firefighters to boost their thinning ranks and properly reward their community work. Councilman Joe Grillo is looking at city firefighters forgoing the city’s earned income tax or other possibilities. A course for young firefighters is also under consideration. “It’s...

Washington Township will hold its spring cleanup Dumpster Day on May 4 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the township’s maintenance garage, 3788 Route 66. Large household items will be accepted. However, some junk will not be accepted, including liquids, paints, chemicals, hazardous materials, any electronics (including televisions), appliances...

Kiski Area School District and its secretaries have a new, 5-year contract calling for average 2.35 percent raises over the life of the contract, according to Peggy Gillespie, the district’s assistant to the superintendent for finance and operations. The new contract takes effect July 1 and covers 19 secretaries represented...

State officials are hoping the buzz of helicopters will prevent the buzz of black flies around area waterways. Within the week, the state Department of Environmental Protection will start aerial and backpack spraying to control black flies on about 1,700 miles of waterways in 35 counties, including Armstrong and Westmoreland....

Plans are underway to paint the pavilion in Vandergrift’s Franklin Park as part of a beautification day May 19, according to the nonprofit Vandergrift Parent Project. The group said it is looking for volunteers and donations of money and supplies for the beautification day, which also will include installing a...

Westmoreland County could become the first one in Western Pennsylvania to have large-scale, baseline testing done on the water quality of private wells by the federal government. The Westmoreland Conservation District is applying for a $250,000 grant to pay the U.S. Geological Survey to do baseline testing on 40 to...

It doesn’t take much to bring out the cadre of wildlife photographers who faithfully follow the whereabouts and activities of the region’s bald eagles. After more than a week of watchers and photographers trying to get a peek of the eaglet in the Harmar nest, Fox Chapel’s Gina Gilmore managed...

The gas company that had to plug a problematic gas well earlier this year in Washington Township got approval from township supervisors for a new well pad along Turack Road. CNX Resources of Canonsburg is applying for permits for a new well pad on property owned by the Municipal Authority...

Live webcams like the one at a wildlife refuge in Fulton, Illinois, document some of nature’s oddities — like threesome of two males and one female bald eagle successfully raising young. Highly territorial, breeding bald eagle couples typically do not allow a third adult in on the breeding action. But...

The Washington/Bell Township Lions Club will stock trout in Pine Run in Kunkle Park on Saturday. The fish are donated by the Blackleggs Creek trout nursery in Clarksburg, Indiana County, according to John Turack of the Lions Club. The stocking of about 200 fish is for young anglers, ages 10...

The Vandergrift Public Library won a free Science in the Summer program from GlaxoSmithKline for children to be enrolled in a four-day program at the library taught by educators from the Carnegie Science Center. The four-day program, running during the week of June 10-13, will be open to all children...