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Senator Jane Orie’s office presented a check for $12,000 to the Cranberry Area Chamber of Commerce. [photo right] The funds will be used for technology enhancements and upgrades.
Kim Schattauer, left, manager of accounting for the Sisters of Divine Providence, was selected by her peers as this year’s recipient of the Commitment to Excellence award. Schattauer has been with the organization since June 2004.
Gateway Rehabilitation Center announced the addition of Connie Egan, right, to its board of directors.
The Cranberry Lions Club announced its new officers for the 2008-09. They are: Bob Isler, Mike Doerfler, Ruth Dobson, Bob Boren, Ted Cramer, Larry Duncan, Tail Twister, Chuck Haefner, and Larry Walker. Newly elected directors include: Todd Harris, Skip Sanguigni, Joe Goral, Ed Sarver, Karl Koebler, Clyde Cameron (membership committee chairman) and Ron Perry and Tim Roscoe (committee members).
Celtic Healthcare of Lawrence celebrated Celtic’s Great Share Day on June 21. Representatives from Celtic went into the community and performed random acts of kindness and added a bit of joy to someone’s day.
John Leffakis, 14, of Lawrenceville, won the boys national championship, and Amber Ricci, 12, of Glenshaw, won the girls national championship at the 85th National Marbles Tournament in Wildwood, New Jersey.
James L. Cook III, Esq., founder and managing partner of The Cook Law Group, P.C., was recently awarded the 33rd Annual Prudential Willie Stargell Memorial Pittsburgh/ Allegheny County MVP Award for 2008 for his outstanding contributions and support of Inner-City Youth.
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By Paula Green In April, 14-year-old Shaler resident Alex Ammons was named the Audience Choice Vocal Award winner in the Kean Idol Amateur Talent Contest. Alex sang Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra to receive top honors. His prize package included a professional shoot with Rick Armstrong, six hours of recording studio time with Audible Images Recording Studio, one month of free music lessons from In Tune with the Arts and free tickets to Crimes of the Heart at the Kean Theatre at St. Barnabas. “When I won the Kean Idol audience award, I truly couldn’t imagine that I actually won. It was a feeling like no other,” Alex said. Alex started singing when he was a fourth grade student at St. Sebastian School in Ross Township for a Disney chorus concert. His mother noticed his talent and enrolled him in voice lessons. He began his career singing the National Anthem at several North Hills baseball and football games. He also became a member of the North Star Kids. “We sang, danced and performed at many different venues under the direction of Annie Snyder. We even got to perform One from A Chorus Line for Marvin Hamlisch. Additionally, we sang at the Flight 93 site in Shanksville, PA,” Alex said. Alex currently takes private voice and piano lessons with Matthew Evancho. He will enter the 9th grade this year at Shaler High School. His hobbies include playing piano and guitar. Alex also enjoys playing sports and he loves cars. He has an older sister, Tina, and older brother, Robert. Alex uses Alexander Scott as his professional name. As far as future plans, “I want to sing professionally, play the piano and guitar. I look forward to performing with the Shaler Marching Band this year. I am working on my first album. I would like to thank my parents Richard and Nancy for all their encouragement and direction. Also I would like to send out a special thank you to all the people that voted for me to make me “Kean Idol 2008.” Northern Connection magazine would like to congratulate Alex on his prestigious award, and we wish him the best of luck with his future endeavors. |
Spotlight on Schools
La Roche College student and Wexford resident Lisa Allen, right, received a $1,500 scholarship grant from the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors®.
Five La Roche College students were inducted into The Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. They are: Crystle M. Critcher, R.N., McCandless Twp., Lauren Marie O’Donnell, R.N. of Glenshaw, Deon P. Eaton, B.S.N., R.N., of Penn Hills, Carine G. Wawa, R.N., Congo and Helen Mukankusi, B.S.N., R.N., a native of Rwanda, Africa.
Community College of Allegheny County was ranked as the second largest provider of associate’s degrees in nursing in the nation and the top provider of associate’s degrees in Pennsylvania in the analysis of US Department of Education data published in the June 16 edition of Community College Week.
The World Affairs Council has awarded scholarships for a two-week educational seminar to three area high school students. The recipients are: Emily Sisak, Pine-Richland High School, Caroline Torie, North Allegheny Senior High School and Scott Crawford, South Side Area High School.
Officials at Sewickley Academy announced the hiring of several new administrators: Bill Gellman joins the Academy’s Summerbridge Pittsburgh staff as executive director. Mark Hansen has been hired as the new head of Lower School. Brendan Schneider is welcomed to the Academy as the new director of admission, and Neal Holmes joins Sewickley Academy as the director of diversity and global education.
Eight Saint Sebastian School seventh grade students won awards at the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science state competition held at the Pennsylvania State University. First place honors went to: Nicholas Boone, Joe Bray, Kevin Loughlin, and Shannon Masterson.
Natalie Santucci, a third grader at St. Sebastian School won first place in the annual Loyalty Day Poster Coloring Contest sponsored by the West View VFW Post 2745. Devin Spagnolo and Jeremy Scholze won Honorable Mentions.
Luke Masa, an eighth grader at St. Sebastian won the American Legion Leadership Award. The Principal’s Award and the Pastor’s Award went to Bridget Melvin and Michael Witt, respectively.
Seneca Valley Middle School student and Evans City resident, Hailie Sandor, right with Ben Roethlisberger, was named the first place winner in the Annual Alliance Against Drugs Poster Contest. Additionally, Colton Gill, Elyse Mastrostefano, Alyssa Mehlhorn and Tony Sorce were also named as finalists.
North Allegheny Senior High School’s Air Force Junior ROTC Program has earned a National Distinguished Unit Award for the academic year 2007-08.
The North Allegheny School District has named Brian R. Miller to the position of assistant superintendent of curriculum.
North Allegheny Intermediate High School 9th grade team placed 2nd out of 26 competing schools in Pennsylvania and 15th nationwide at the 2008 Knowledge Master Open Spring Competition. Team members consisted of: Kostya Borisov, Bryan Caswell, Jason Chen, Steven Cunningham, Marina Fang, Richard Gayler, Adam Majewski, Anusha Nagabandi, Nikki Olson, Ben Peters and Rona Sun.
Beth Leckey, a music teacher at Carson Middle School in the North Allegheny School District, has been recognized with an Apple Award by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National State Teacher of the Year program.
Zach Hull, a first year teacher at Marshall Middle School in the North Allegheny School District, won the National Council of Teachers of English Leadership Development Award for Pennsylvania.
Judy Braden, Marshall Middle School council advisor and guidance counselor, was recognized as Advisor of the Year in the middle school division for District 3 of the Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils.
Kristin Silbaugh has been appointed to the position of assistant principal for Ingomar Middles School in the North Allegheny School District.
The Western Pennsylvania Librarians Association awarded Pine-Richland Middle School principal Dr. Kathleen Harrington with the WPSLA Advocate of the Year Award.
The National Council of Teachers of English Promising Young Writers Program recognized two Pine-Richland Middle School students as Outstanding Writers in 2008. They are Brandon Glass and Jonathan Marks. Other runners up for the recognition include: Annaliese Milano and Rachel Baur.
North Hills Senior High School was awarded the SANS 2008 SANSSpace™ Technology Grant, which will infuse the latest technologies into the school’s world language program.
The North Hills School District welcomed three new elementary principals to its administrative staff, l to r: Frank C. Brettschneider (West View), Lindsay B. Hauck (Seville) and Joseph W. Pasquerilla (Northway).
Two McIntyre Elementary students earned top honors in the 2007-08 Pennsylvania Archaeology Month Essay contest, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Archaeological Council. Abby Lucas earned first place honors and Anthony Sciulli finished third.
Three Fox Chapel Area High School students earned high marks on the 2008 National Latin Exams. They include: Andrew Zinn, Philip McGrath and Leslie Weaver.
Four Fox Chapel Area School District publications received national awards in the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) 2008 Publications and Electronic Media Contest.
Hartwood Elementary School in the Fox Chapel Area School District has been awarded a Highmark Healthy High 5 School Challenge grant of $10,000 to implement a program aimed to be proactive in addressing the issue of bullying. The program will focus on the ways that students can help create a caring community and also raise their own self-esteem, as well as the self-esteem of one another.
The Dorseyville Middle School Honors Band in the Fox Chapel Area School District won awards at the 2008 Music in the Parks Festival. The band placed first in the AA Division and also earned a rating of “Superior,” the highest rating possible.
The Fox Chapel Crew Women’s Lightweight 8+ captured eighth place in the USRowing Youth National Championship against a field of sixteen of the country’s best club and high school crews.
Pace School, a private school that serves children in grades K-9 with emotional challenges or autism, has announced the opening of a new program to serve families and school districts in the Butler County area. The new school is located in Valencia and is slated to open in September.
Heritage Valley Sewickley School announced its Nursing Class of 2008 graduates: Christopher Bedford, Dawn Bellotti, Mary Belahlavek, Amanda Bombiani, Tracy Bowers, Cassandra Clark, Faith Colley, Shelly Conroy, Megan Cook, Abigail Creese, Sonya Davis, Natalie Delo, Sheila Goosby, Stephanie Lucas, Jennifer Lucci, Cynthia Mathews, Sarah Matous, Ryan Morgan, Audra Pazul, Kristen Plutko, Danielle Reel, Luanne Romantine, Sharise Salafranca, Stacy Shetler, Kathleen Smith, Melissa Snouffler, Nicole Spagnolo, Heidi Stripp, Marie Wilson, Kristi Young and Sharon Young.
Business Spotlight: The Mahfood Group LLC
By Janice Lane Palko
When it was discovered this past winter that many of the toys imported from China were contaminated with lead, the public was outraged and rightly so. But there may be an ever greater threat lurking closer to home. In fact, the soil on which our homes rest could be cause for concern.
“Many residential developments, schools and playgrounds have been built on land formerly used for farming,” said John J. Mahfood, president of The Mahfood Group, an environmental consulting firm headquartered in Bridgeville. “Historically, when land is converted from agricultural to residential use, it’s common to find traces of pesticides, herbicides, lead and arsenic in the soil.” These chemicals should be addressed by environmental professionals but are most often overlooked by homeowners and land developers. Such oversights can lead to hidden health risks.
Exposure to these chemicals can be hazardous to anyone, but especially children. Children are more susceptible to these soil-related issues, as their bodies are smaller and still developing. Also, children tend to spend a significant amount of recreation time outdoors, resulting in recurrent exposure to potentially contaminated soil.
Older homes not associated with farmland may be at risk as well. “Who really knows what the previous owner did or dumped on the property? Everyone knows about the dangers of interior lead-based paint, but if the previous owner used lead-based exterior paint, there may be some residue in the soil,” Mahfood said.
The Mahfood Group’s Healthy Roots Project promotes education of this under-the-radar topic and offers solutions for homeowners and builders. The Mahfood Group’s soil quality assessment and remediation services can limit chemical exposure and create peace of mind. “We can do pre-build analysis before a residence is constructed, and we can also do post-build on older homes. Obviously, remediation work is easier to address and less costly to do before a structure is built on the soil,” Mahfood said.
In addition to the Healthy Roots Project, which was initiated in 2007, The Mahfood Group offers a variety of environmental and management services for clients in a wide variety of industry segments. It is The Mahfood Group’s mission to bring together the many environmental disciplines to perform “Green Development.”
For more information on The Mahfood Group and the Healthy Roots Project, visit the website at www.themahfoodgroup.com or call 412-221-5056.
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