Mary Ann Thomas stories, Page 59

Lower Burrell Recycling Day — only for typical household items — is set for April 27. The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. behind city hall at 2800 Bethel St. Residents can drop off a number of recyclable items including: Motor oil, automatic transmission fluid, kerosene,...

Pittsburgh native Becca Droz is back again as a contestant on the CBS Emmy-award winning show, “The Amazing Race” to compete for $1 million on a 25,000-plus mile journey around the world. The show’s All-Star Season will premiere on CBS April 17 at 9 p.m. April 17 : World Premiere...

The Kiski Area School District wants to add dinner to the meals it serves students. The school board is expected within the next two months to approve applying for a federal program that pays for dinners or snacks for students who stay for after-school activities, according to Superintendent Tim Scott....

Tarentum borough will offer free movie screenings at Riverview Memorial Park from May 23 until Aug. 21. This year’s lineup for “Movies By the River” includes: “The Lego Movie 2” on May 23; “Ralph Breaks The Internet” on June 20; “Avengers: Endgame” on July 19, and “The Incredibles 2” on...

Armstrong County is offering grants for repairs to owner-occupied homes with residents who meet income guidelines and are in need of health and safety related improvements. Repairs could include electrical upgrades, flooring, windows and doors. Applications are due at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 18. Residents can get applications from...

The Kiski River might not be a designated trout water, but the Kiski Watershed Association is seeking donations to stock the river with the popular fish. The association has raised almost enough money from local businesses for one stocking in about mid-May, according to John Linkes, a member of the...

The time to watch a hibernating black bear sow and her single cub on a live webcam is running out as they are expected to leave any day now. The Pennsylvania Game Commission launched its first ever live bear webcam this year from a bear den under a porch at...

Plans for a new, unconventional natural gas well pad are underway for the Hephaestus well pad project on Merwin Road near the intersection of Whitten Hollow Road in Upper Burrell. Civil & Environmental Consultants of Murrysville is currently working on the application to the state Department of Environmental Protection from...

A bounty of wildflowers in April is a good reason to get out there and find those lush patches of spring beauties. Now through May is the time to see wildflowers in the Alle-Kiski Valley. “The show is spectacular with trillium and the bluebells when they are concentrated,” said Deborah...

The Harmar bald eagles reportedly welcomed a newly hatched eaglet early Friday in their nest on a hillside above Route 28. Confirmation was still pending Saturday morning from the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. Without the benefit of a live webcam, observers including a photographer documented the birds likely feeding...

The Upper Burrell supervisors are considering adding a 2-mill fire tax in what would be the township’s first tax increase in more than a decade. Supervisors are expected to vote on the new tax when they meet May 1. Upper Burrell’s real estate tax rate is 10 mills. At that...

The USDA Farm Service Agency has loans available for under-served groups and beginning farmers in Allegheny, Armstrong and Butler counties. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines under-served farmers as those who have been subjected to racial, ethnic or gender prejudice. For program purposes, USDA targeted under-served groups are women, African...

While volunteer fire companies are famous for their fish fries and bingos, they do come up with some original fundraisers, too. More than 25 years ago, the Washington Township Volunteer Fire Company presented its first auto parts swap meet and it continues to go strong many years later. Their upcoming...

Lower Burrell Council awarded a contract of nearly $356,000 to Marc Service Inc. to handle heating, ventilation and air conditioning work for the $3.1 million renovation of City Hall that’s expected to begin this month. Marc Service Inc. of Windber turned in the “lowest responsible bid” among four bidders, according...

The Upper Burrell supervisors tabled a proposal to require inspections of rental units after some residents who are landlords complained about the proposed regulations and potential costs. After a draft of the inspection proposal circulated, township landlords such as Pearl Jones asked supervisors to reconsider passing it Wednesday. Supervisors Chairman...

The Apollo-Ridge Education Foundation is holding its Big Spring Cleanup in the borough on Saturday, April 13. Volunteers are needed. Cleanup organizers are also looking for a few more pickups for hauling. Volunteers are asked to meet at 9 a.m. at the Apollo Plaza near the stone arch. The cleanup...

Allegheny Technologies Inc. secured a $45 million contract for a pipeline project in South America, and it comes at a time when the company is hiring new workers in the Alle-Kiski Valley. The specialty steelmaker’s $1.1 billion hot rolling mill and processing facility in Harrison played a key role in...

Unhealthy diets dominated by sugar, salt and trans fats were associated with one in five deaths and were more deadly than tobacco and high blood pressure, a new study says. Results of the study, published Wednesday in the British journal The Lancet, were reported in The New York Times and...

Apollo has scrapped its traditional weeklong celebration of the Apollo 11 moon landing, but it is planning several public events and has invited NASA to town to commemorate the landing’s 50th anniversary on July 20. “We didn’t want it to slip by unnoticed after all the years we’ve done it,”...

The Brandywine Conservancy’s Penguin Court Preserve in Ligonier Township’s Laughlintown neighborhood is offering discounted applications to train 15 Pennsylvania Certified Master Naturalists. Applications are available for the fall 2019 course, which will train citizen volunteers in natural history. The discounted rate for the training is $325, which then increases to...

An ecological assessment of Hartwood Acres recommends methods to combat invasive plant species in the park — including the use of goats. The Allegheny Parks Foundation released the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s ecological assessment of Hartwood Acres, a county park straddling Indiana and Hampton townships. Seems that pesky Japanese stiltgrass, a...

After surviving a double lung transplant in 2015, the mayor of Lower Burrell is looking for a new kidney. But you would never know Rich Callender, 51, needs a new kidney, as he often arrives at city hall by 9 a.m. on weekdays, ready to tackle the problems of the...

Lower Burrell is looking for applicants to fill a full-time police officer position expected to open later this year and to build a pool of available applicants, according to Amy Rockwell, city administrator. The city currently has 17 full-time officers. The starting salary for a Lower Burrell police officer is...

Although the “Destination Moon: the Apollo 11 Mission” exhibit is over at the Heinz History Center, one of its historians is coming to Apollo to speak about the historic NASA mission on Sunday, at 6:30 p.m., for a free public event at the Women’s Christian Temperance Union of Apollo building,...