FREE Direct Mail Community Publication Allegheny West M agazine Montour School District News Page 29 Serving Ingram, Kennedy, Pennsbury, Robinson, Thornburg and Montour School District One of 4 Editions Serving 16 Airport Area Communities www.awmagazine.com Volume 17, Number 100 September/October 2020 Montour Edition ALSO: Educators pen children’s book on difficult subject Coraopolis war memorial reaches completion Remembering Sgro’s Montour Goes Back to School! PLUS: Area siblings retire from lifelong airline careers September/October 2020 • www.awmagazine.com • 34 • Allegheny West Magazine • September/October 2020 P. O. Box 220, McDonald, PA 15057 Phone: 724.673.3161 E-Mail: info@awmagazine.com www.awmagazine.com WE PROUDLY SPONSOR AND SUPPORT: A variety of community, school, and nonprofit organizations in our coverage areas of Cornell, Moon, Montour, and West Allegheny. We are committed to recycling our used and leftover products. We encourage our readers to be responsible and dispose of this magazine when finished enjoying it. Consider passing it along to someone else, or placing it in your neighborhood recycling bins. Thank you in advance for doing your part for our earth. Hughey Publications, LLC also publishes the Moon edition of Allegheny West Magazine, the Cornell edition of Allegheny West Magazine and the West Allegheny edition of Allegheny West Magazine. MEMBER “GOOD NEWS ALWAYS, MAILED & DELIVERED FREE, EVERY TIME” Allegheny West Magazine - Montour, is an all positive, good news publication mailed free into the homes and businesses of the Montour School District communities of Robinson, Kennedy, Ingram, Pennsbury, and Thornburg to connect communities, promote people, heighten awareness about the richness of the airport region, and build pride in the western suburbs of Allegheny County. Allegheny West Magazine Now in Our 21 st Year Proudly Serving the Airport Area PUBLISHER AND EDITOR Doug Hughey WRITERS Jill Bordo Pat Jennette GRAPHIC DESIGN Sarah Kizina WEBMASTER www.ddswebdesign.com CONTRIBUTORS Pam Iovino Anita Kulik Joe Kulik FOUNDING PUBLISHER Pat Jennette Dear Readers, Thank you for picking up our September Montour edition of Allegheny West Magazine. I hope you are continuing to stay safe and well. Though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect us all in so many different ways, there is still plenty of good news to report on in the Montour community. Starting on page 8, we’re bringing you news from our readers, including the latest on Ashley Marina, local officials recognizing Ricci’s Sausage, a new exhibit at the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden and more. On page 12, we’re bringing you an update from the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce and, on the following page, a story about area educators who have penned a children’s book on a very difficult subject. Unfortunately in our day and age, it’s one that must be addressed. On page 14, our publisher emeritus Pat Jennette writes about three area siblings who recently retired from American Airlines with a combined 137 years with the company. Then read about the new war memorial in Coraopolis on page 16 and get the latest news out of Montour School District on page 29. Read how the district prepared for students to return, get caught up on fall sports and more. Look for our next edition in November. In the meantime, I hope you will continue to stay safe, positive and resilient. From the Publisher Allegheny West Magazine-Montour Edition is published in January, March, May, July, September, and November, six issues a year, Hughey Publications, LLC, P. O. Box 220, McDonald PA 15057. Mailed and distributed free to residents and businesses in the Montour School District. Extra copies available at municipal offices, schools, libraries, stores, advertisers, hotels, and businesses. Available by mail subscription for $15 annually. Story ideas welcomed. Community events and announcements from non-profit groups must be received by the 15th of the month prior to publishing date. Announcements are limited to 30 words and must include a contact phone number. Reproduction of any artwork, photographs, or copy prepared by Allegheny West Magazine is strictly prohibited without written consent of Hughey Publications LLC. Copyright 1999-2020 Allegheny West Magazine. All rights reserved. Views and opinions expressed by contributors and/or advertisers are the responsibility of the contributors and not those of the publisher of Allegheny West Magazine. Doug Hughey, Publisher/Editor Montour Edition September/October 2020 ~ Volume 17, Number 100 ABOUT THE COVER Columns { }Contents - Locally Sourced - Chamberlink - Around your Town - Robinson Township Historical Society - Legislative Update - Your Schools - Robinson Township Library - Firebeat 8 12 13 17 24 26 27 38 13 14 16 17 29 - - - - - Educators pen children’s book on difficult subject Area siblings retire from lifelong airline careers Coraopolis war memorial reaches completion Remembering Sgro’s Montour School District Newsletter Montour welcomed back students, both in person and online, Sept. 1. Pictured are (clockwise from top left): students in Juliana Carr’s second grade classroom (first two pictures); students getting off the bus in front of Montour Elementary School; and Gina Ligouri taking a selfie with faculty and her in-person and virtual students at the high school. For more on Montour, including how the district prepared for students to return and a fall sports preview, see page 29. PHOTOS SUBMITTEDSeptember/October 2020 • www.awmagazine.com • 5Heritage Valley Health Heritage Valley Health Richard Redlinger, Jr., MD, RPVI, FSVS is joining Heritage Valley Multispecialty Group Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery located on the first floor of Heritage Valley Beaver hospital. Dr. Redlinger will begin seeing patients in July. Dr. Redlinger is board-certified in general and vascular surgery. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in vascular and endovascular surgery. His clinical practice includes open surgical and endovascular (minimally invasive) treatment of aneurysms, carotid artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, and dialysis access. Dr. Redlinger earned his medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine and subsequently completed his internship and residency in general surgery and fellowship in vascular surgery at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He joins Edward Villella II, MD, who specializes in Endovascular & Vascular Surgery, and Dinesh Bhaskaran, MD, who specializes in Heart and Lung Surgery, in the HVMG Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery practice. Dr. Redlinger is accepting new patients. To make an appointment, call (724) 773-8289. Heritage Valley welcomes new physicians Heritage Valley Heart & Vascular Center in Beaver welcomes Stephen D’Auria, MD to their location in Beaver at 605 Sharon Road. Dr. D’Auria specializes in advanced interventional cardiology will begin seeing patients in July. Dr. D’Auria is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease. Dr. D’Auria completed his undergraduate at Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and went on to complete his Internal Medicine Residency, an Advanced Interventional/Structural Cardiology Fellowship as well as a Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology Fellowship at UPMC. Dr. D’Auria is a member of the medical staffs at Heritage Valley Beaver, Heritage Valley Kennedy and Heritage Valley Sewickley and is accepting new patients. To make an appointment, call (724) 773-4502. Dr. Richard RedlingerDr. Stephen D’Auria 6 • Allegheny West Magazine • September/October 2020Heritage Valley Health Heritage Valley Health September/October 2020 • www.awmagazine.com • 7%Locally SourcedLocally Sourced Ricci’s receives proclamations from Lamb and Kulik CONTENT SUBMITTED The 18th annual Tour the Montour bicycle ride, customarily held in September with hundreds of riders on the Montour Trail, will this year be a virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic. Through Sept. 30, cyclists are encouraged to ride the mileage that they would have ridden in the Tour the Montour. Tour distances are six miles (the family fun ride), 12 miles, 15-24 miles, 44 miles and 62 miles (a metric century). “Any mileage. Any time,” says tour director Patricia Friedsam. “As many stages as you want, or all in one bike ride. Anywhere - this year’s tour is not restricted to just the Montour Trail. Ride alone, or ride with friends, six feet apart. Use a stationary bike if you choose. Just celebrate the fact that, in the midst of a pandemic, we can still be outdoors.” Participants will receive a commemorative t-shirt and have a chance at winning a premium prize, which includes a two-night stay at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, a complete cycling kit from Aero Tech Designs of Coraopolis and gift cards from SweetWater Bikes in Ambridge. After completing their tour, participants are encouraged to post photos and ride descriptions on the Montour Trail Enthusiasts Facebook group. Since the tour is virtual, registration is available online only. Register at: bikereg.com/tour-the-montour-trail-ride. Friedsam, who is also a Montour Trail Council board member, notes that during the week of the scheduled ride, from Sept. 13 to 19, out-and-back turnaround signs will be posted along the trail to mark official distances. The Tour the Montour is the 31-year-old Montour Trail’s signature fundraising ride, attracting about 500 participants in 2019. This year’s title sponsor is FedEx Ground. The Montour Trail is a multi-use, non-motorized recreational pathway around Pittsburgh, extending 60-plus miles in Allegheny and Washington counties. It is the nation’s longest suburban rail- trail and was named by the Commonwealth as Pennsylvania’s Trail of the Year in 2017. Tour the Montour 2020 fundraising bicycle ride goes virtual Ricci’s Sausage received proclamations from Congressman Conor Lamb and state Rep. Anita Kulik in August. The proclamations recognize the family-owned business, which operates storefronts in Robinson and Kennedy townships, as it celebrates its 75th anniversary. Ricci’s was originally founded by Stella and Ernest Ricci, Sr. in their McKees Rocks home. The couple opened a grocery store on Island Avenue in 1945, where they sold Italian meats, groceries and, of course, their homemade sausage. Ernest passed away in 1968 but Stella continued to run the business until she passed away in 1994. Today, Ricci’s is run by Ernest B. Ricci and his father, Ernest Ricci Jr., his mother, Lillian, and a few employees. The family members are the second and third generations to continue operating the business. They also continue to use the same mix of spices that Ernest Sr. brought over from Sulmona, Italy. Each batch is still hand stirred in the family’s traditional gray pot. Each week, they make roughly 5,000 pounds of sausage and also sell prepared foods such as cooked sausage, stuffed sausage rolls, meatballs and banana peppers. Last year, an episode of “Meat Pittsburgh” filmed by WQED- TV’s Rick Sebak featuring Ricci’s won an Emmy Award. The show won the award for Best Lifestyle Program at the Mid- Atlantic Awards Ceremony in Philadelphia. For a time, the statue sat in Ricci’s Kennedy Township location, where customers could see it in person. Over the years, Ernest B. Ricci has also made appearances on KDKA Radio “QED Cooks.” Congressman Conor Lamb and state Rep. Anita Kulik present Ernest Ricci Jr., Lillian Ricci and Ernest B. Ricci with proclamations recognizing Ricci’s Sausage’s 75th year in business. 8 • Allegheny West Magazine • September/October 2020%Locally SourcedLocally Sourced For now, at least, Ashley Marina Yankello, 12, of Kennedy Township, won’t be going onto the next round of “America’s Got Talent.” At the end of July, Ashley was informed of the news by the show’s celebrity judges in a televised segment. In that segment, Howie Mandell tells Ashley that the decision wasn’t unanimous and, after informing her, all four of the judges appear upset. “That’s so hard,” judge Sofia Vergara can be heard saying afterward. Normally, Ashley would have performed in the second round of the show but that round was cancelled due to COVID-19. Instead, the judges decided who made the cut to the third round themselves. Ashley earned her spot in the second round back in March and her appearance later went viral, not only for her performance but also for how well she bounced back after being shut down twice by executive producer Simon Cowell. Her clip became the fifth highest trending video on YouTube and her appearance is currently the 34th most viewed “America’s Got Talent” video of all time on the platform. It has approximately 60 million combined views across multiple platforms and the story of her appearance was picked up by national news outlets including Billboard, The Huffington Post and People. During a special 15th anniversary edition of “America’s Got Talent” on Aug. 4, Ashley was shown multiple times. Usually, “America’s Got Talent” allows a contender who didn’t make it into the semi- final round to return as a wild card. Currently, Ashley is way ahead in wild card voting at talentrecap.com, where she has 56% of the votes. According to the website, the show is rumored to be bringing back two wild cards but COVID-19 may complicate that. While preparing for her second round appearance, Ashley wrote the song “Pity” about her experience performing on the show. She has also created a music video of herself performing the song, which can be viewed on YouTube. Ashley is believed to be just the second solo act to make it onto “America’s Got Talent” from the Pittsburgh area. The first, Jackie Evancho, performed on the show a decade ago. Over 100,000 acts applied for the show across the world this year. To vote for Ashley, search for “wild card” at talentrecap.com. Medical experts from St. Clair Hospital and Mayo Clinic will host a free virtual town hall on Zoom to answer the community’s questions on the COVID-19 pandemic. The town hall will take place Sept. 30 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event is being moderated by KDKA-TV Health and Medical Editor Maria Simbra, M.D. It will feature St. Clair physicians Stephen M. Colodny, M.D.; Chief of Infectious Disease, John T. Sullivan, M.D., MBA; Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, and Family Medicine/Primary Care physician Ruth Christoforetti, M.D.; as well as Mayo Clinic physicians Stacey Rizza, M.D., FIDSA, Executive Medical Director for International Academic Affairs; and Andrew D. Badley, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Molecular Medicine, Chair – Molecular Medicine. The virtual town hall coincides with St. Clair’s fourth anniversary as a member of the exclusive Mayo Clinic Care Network. For more information, including how to participate in the town hall, visit stclair.org. Ashley Marina Yankello performs in March on “America’s Got Talent.” St. Clair to host Zoom session on COVID-19 CONTENT SUBMITTED Nixed from next round of “AGT,” Ashley Marina still has lots of fans September/October 2020 • www.awmagazine.com • 9Next >