Penn-Trafford Star category, Page 3
No. 1 Penn-Trafford fends off challenge from scrappy Moon in Class 5A 1st round
Sometimes the littlest play turns out to be the play of the game. Penn-Trafford junior catcher Mackenzie Cox made three such plays Monday in the WPIAL Class 5A first-round game at West Mifflin. Cox laid down a perfectly executed squeeze bunt that ignited a four-run second inning and then made...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of May 11, 2025
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Chalfant Shawn Sciotti sold property at 205 Highland Ave. to DLG Management LLC for $10,000. Churchill Timothy Debor sold property at 2410 Collins Road to Robin Michele Sheffey for $198,000. Edgewood Tiffany GP Inc. sold property at 415 Edgewood Ave. to Jacob Galanter and Mev Howison for $185,000....
For American Gold Star Mothers, Mother’s Day holds extra meaning
Kathleen Hanley sits on a red folding chair among the rows of headstones that stand in perfectly aligned rows at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies in Cecil. She doesn’t notice the sounds of cars rushing by on the highway or the funeral processions driving through. She is focused on...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Distance runner Jake McGhee turns in record performance
Penn-Trafford senior Jake McGhee turned in quite a performance at the 51st annual Baldwin Invitational. McGhee won prestigious McKinney Mile, and he broke the Penn-Trafford school record in the process. He won the marquee race named in honor of Baldwin’s former coach. McGhee won in 4 minutes, 15.71 seconds. Norwin’s...
Penn-Trafford lacrosse teams finish strong
Penn-Trafford boys lacrosse coach Charles Hach said he did not know what to expect this season after graduating 16 seniors. “We were rebuilding, and our goal was to make the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs,” Hach said. “We exceeded my expectations by finishing third. Now that we are in the playoffs...
Penn-Trafford School Board tasked with closing $400K budget deficit
Property tax bills could increase by about $80 per year in Penn-Trafford School District following preliminary budget approval by a divided school board this week. But the tax hike would still not be enough to cover the more than $400,000 deficit in the district’s 2025-26 budget, business manager Brett Lago...
Trafford man gets at least 16 years for fatal Homewood shooting
A Trafford man will serve at least 16 years in state prison after he was sentenced Thursday for killing a man he said was his friend. Christopher Papalia, 33, was found guilty by a jury of third-degree murder on Feb. 7. According to the criminal complaint, Pittsburgh police were called...
Penn-Trafford School Board candidates run unopposed; police chief runs for spot
Four candidates — three incumbents and one newcomer — will run for the four available seats on the Penn-Trafford School Board this spring. Region II incumbents Bryan Kline and Richard Niemiec, along with Region III incumbent Toni Ising, will seek another four-year term. Penn Township Police Chief John Otto is...
Safety first: 4 Postal Service carriers lauded for 30 years of safe driving
Four U. S. Postal Service carriers at the Monroeville Post Office entered elite company Wednesday. They each have served more than 30 years without getting into a preventable crash on their routes. It’s a rare feat, accomplished by only 2.5% of all letter carriers, said Ted Lee, representative for the...
Penn-Trafford keeps composure to pull away from Franklin Regional
Three things put Penn-Trafford to the test in its series opener against rival Franklin Regional. The Warriors’ stomachs could have been — maybe should have been — in knots. First, there was a two-run homer that trimmed their three-run lead to one in the fourth inning. Then came a self-inflicted...
Man jailed after stolen car burned in Trafford
A Delmont man was arrested Sunday on police accusations that he stole a car in Trafford and set it on fire near railroad tracks, according to court papers. Steven Ray Flenner, 35, was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $50,000 bail on charges of reckless burning, risking catastrophe,...
Penn-Trafford notebook: Top track performers rank among WPIAL’s best
Here is a list of some of Penn-Trafford’s top track and field performers and how they rank in the WPIAL this season. The top 24 advance to WPIAL individual championships May 14 at Slippery Rock. Some of the standout performers are Jack McGhee (800, 1600 and 3200), Ekulous Lett and...
Girls flag football could be coming to Penn-Trafford
Is flag football coming to Penn-Trafford? If the powder puff games April 25 were an indication, there is a chance the sport will be sponsored by the school district in the future. It was a test run that was a complete success. “It was a big hit,” Penn-Trafford athletic director...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of May 4, 2025
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Chalfant Emily Hilliard sold property at 148 Brighton St. to Mark Bailey for $10,000. Churchill Gregory Rudman Jr. sold property at 3755 E Rural Court to Johnston Jake LLC for $94,188. Edgewood Thomas Kempen sold property at 168 Gordon St. to Timothy Beasley and Jessica Richmond for $249,000....
Penn Borough man accused of setting fire to his home
A Penn Borough man was charged Tuesday after he was accused of setting fire to his own home about a week prior, according to court documents. Andy J. Broadway, 43, is charged with three counts of arson and other related offenses in connection with a fire that damaged his Victor...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of April 28, 2025
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Chalfant Ashley Morcheid sold property at 120 Shadeland Ave. to Sam Pascal II for $59,250. Churchill Carrington Mtg Services LLC sold property at 1648 Jamestown Pl to Meir Atais for $200,000. Edgewood Mary Patricia Conway sold property at 858 E Hutchinson Ave. to Hilarie Alberico for $362,500. Maureen...
Thrower Logan Kerstetter, runner Jake McGhee win county titles for Penn-Trafford
Penn-Trafford senior Logan Kerstetter walked away from the Westmoreland County Coaches’ Association Track and Field Championships on April 24 with three medals and an MVP award in the field events. The reigning WPIAL Class 3A javelin champion won the javelin for the second consecutive season, earned a silver medal for...
Defending WPIAL champion Penn-Trafford ‘starting to jell’ as postseason nears
As the weather heats up, so is the Penn-Trafford baseball team. The Warriors (10-5, 6-2) were in a three-way tie for second place with Franklin Regional (10-3, 6-2) and Latrobe (9-4, 6-2) in Section 1-5A, a game behind Plum (12-2, 7-1). Most section teams have four games left with a...
Manor church aims to build community connections through free cooking lessons
Basic knife skills, baking and stove-top cooking are among the topics Manor’s Refuge Church plans to cover in its latest community outreach program. The church, located along Broadway Avenue, is launching a series of free cooking lessons to teach community members how to prepare healthy meals for their families. The...
Penn Middle students bring cult classic film turned musical ‘Mean Girls Jr.’ to stage
Penn Middle School student Felice Hutchison has learned there is more to the movie-turned-musical “Mean Girls” than the title may imply. Hutchison is one of dozens of Penn Middle students who have rehearsed since November for their performance of “Mean Girls Jr.,” slated for April 25 to 27 in the...
Fresh off winning Wildcat Invitational, Penn-Trafford boys qualify for WPIAL team playoffs
Penn-Trafford track and field coach Eric Reger knew winning Section 1-3A would be tough, but earning a third consecutive berth in the WPIAL boys team playoffs was a possibility. The Warriors successfully achieved a berth in the postseason by defeating Hempfield, 80-70, to improve to 5-1 in the section. The...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of April 20, 2025
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Churchill Estate of Daniel Marsh sold property at 116 Merrie Woode Drive to Savebah Khan and Hafsa Samit for $279,900. Edgewood William Leary sold property at 183 Lloyd Ave. to Matthew and Zoe Goldfarb for $310,000. Lauren Skrabala sold property at 404 Railroad St. to Cameron McCormick and...
Penn-Trafford baseball uses extra-base hits to sink Hempfield in nonsection matchup
Oftentimes, Penn-Trafford’s approach is to move baserunners over, create opportunities and scrape runs together, one at a time. The small-ball formula can look clinical when this baseball team does it. It worked out well last spring when the Warriors won a WPIAL championship. The Warriors, though, were in the mood...
Community comes together to pay for new $255K playground at Trafford Elementary
Students and parents flocked to Trafford Elementary School April 5 to celebrate completion of a new $255,000 playground. The former playground was about two decades old when it was torn down in 2023 due to safety concerns. District officials said the stairs and decking of the playground presented a tripping...
Penn-Trafford softball cools off Franklin Regional in 1st-place showdown
Pitcher Allyson Paulone wasn’t overpowering, but she didn’t have to be. She didn’t get too excited or nervous because, well, that just isn’t her style. The even-keeled Penn-Trafford sophomore trusted her defense to make plays and the offense to keep hitting Monday in a first-place softball matchup in Murrysville. It...

