SPRING 2014 UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY

The official publication of the School District and Township of Upper St. Clairwww.twpusc.org/magazine/usc-today-home

Spring 2014

celebrates 20 years

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2 UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY Spring 2014

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Features &Around the Township11Meet… A feature article, this issue meets special friends—Friends of the Library.

14Hard to Say GoodbyeJim O’Brien remembers Bailey.

18A Healthier U(SC)“Get Active. How?” is the statement and question of this edition’s active lifestyle feature.

38Celebrating Medallion Ball HonoreesThis year’s ball marks the 50th anniversary of a charity that inspires a lifetime commitment of volunteerism.

74The Quilter Behind the QuiltBe introduced to four USC residents who are also members of the Three Rivers Quilt Guild.

77Sleep in a Homeless Shelter?Some say “Yes” for Urban Plunge.

School District24Reflections—Believe, Dream, InspireResults of the PTA-sponsored regional and state level annual arts competition.

26“Math”letesMiddle school students excel at Calcu-Solve competition.

28Did You Know?Chemistry to cross country, read about these and scads of other subjects in our quick reference feature section.

34Hear Ye, Hear Ye!Chanteclairs host Madrigal Dinner, using student-inspired script.

Township52Volunteers Needed for the Next 75USC’s Volunteer Fire Department reaches out to the community in many ways and celebrates “75.”

54Budget NewsThe Township’s Finance Department shares “where the money comes from” and “where the money goes.”

64Sewer 101 Township engineer discusses USC’s sanitary sewer system in a multi-part series.

70Tri-Community SouthRead about our EMS’s year in review.

Guides/Directories35Celebrate!

42Pinebridge

44Home Improvement

Photo Op16Field of Dreams

CoverThe cover of UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY features USC’s Ellie Hardwick who started her journey dancing at The Thomas Studio of Performing Arts at the age of two. Ellie, along with her dance company from the Thomas Studio, were awarded the prestigious “National People’s Choice Award” this summer from the Federation of Dance and the Association of Dance Conventions and Competitions. Read featured article on pages 12 and 13.

18Veterans Monument

32Thai Exchange program

66Rec Dept. activities

78Boyce Road Gardeners

Spring 2014 • Volume 20 • Issue 1www.twpusc.org/magazine/usc-today-home • [email protected]

20 Years LOCAL


STEPHEN WEBSTER

J E W E L E R S

1775 NORTH HIGHLAND ROADPITTSBURGH, PA 15241

412.854.0310www.louisanthony.com

Louis Anthony_Stephen Webster_Jan 2014.indd 1 16/01/2014 16:59

UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY is a non-partisan Town-ship, School District, and community magazine. Political advertising and political commentary are not accepted. The publishers of this magazine reserve the right to reject advertising or articles inconsistent with the objectives, image, and aes-thetic standards of the magazine.

UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY magazine is published and mailed quarterly to residents and businesses in Upper St. Clair. Extra copies of the magazine are available at the Township of Upper St. Clair Municipal Building and Township Library. If you did not receive a copy in the mail, please call 412-833-1600, extension 2284.

Subscription InformationIf you know someone living outside the Township who would enjoy receiving UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY, please send $12 to cover mailing and handling for the next four issues with name and address, including zip code, to our address listed above. Add $10 to cover international mailings.

The next issue of UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY will be the summer 2014 issue and will be published in May 2014. Articles that were submitted but not published in this issue are on file for consideration in upcoming issues. Articles and announcements may be sent to:

EditorUPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY1820 McLaughlin Run RoadUpper St. Clair, PA 15241

or email UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY at [email protected].

Article InformationEditor-in-Chief Linda Dudzinski

phone: 412-833-1600, extension 2681

Advertising InformationOffice Manager Colleen DeMarco

phone: 412-833-1600, extension 2284fax: 412-851-2592

Ad file submission: [email protected]

Website www.twpusc.org/magazine/usc-today-homeEmail [email protected]

UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY is a not-for-profit community magazine that is dedicated to promoting the Township and School District of Upper St. Clair by recognizing the gifts and contributions of the people who live and work here. This year, we celebrate 20 years of publication.

The 77th issue of UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY magazine is made possible through the combined resources of the staff and volunteers of the Township and School District of Upper St. Clair. Thanks are extended to the staff and volunteers for their enthusiasm and efforts on this continuing project.

The award-winning, official publication of the School District and Township of Upper St. Clair

PublishersMatthew R. SerakowskiTownship Manager

Dr. Patrick T. O’TooleSuperintendent of Schools

Steering Committee Mark S. Mansfield, Assistant Township ManagerPaul K. Fox, School District Representative

Editors and StaffLinda M. Dudzinski, Editor-in-ChiefTerry Kish, Associate EditorColleen DeMarco, Office ManagerDorothy Clark, Graphic DesignerAlison Hess, Marketing ExecutiveLynn Dempsey, Advertising ExecutiveNeena Jacob-John, Advertising ExecutiveLaura Whitcomb, Advertising Executive

Thank you to our volunteer contributors this issue:Dan Barr, Jeff Blunkosky, Cindy Brophy, Bob Bruno, Terri Ellsworth, Dina Fulmer, Terry and Trish Gensler, Amie Guarino, Wayne Herrod, Heather Holtschlag, Jessica Kester, Hannah Lane (YWG), Dr. David Limauro, Ben Nadler (YWG), Jim O’Brien, Ruthann Omer, Helen Palascak, Dr. Eric Reitz, Joseph Rongaus, Ron Sarrick, Gary Schafer, Dave Scott, Mary Lynne Spazok, Dr. Beth Troy, Sydney Turnwald (YWG), and Marilyn Walsh.

Young Writers Guild (YWG) promotes and encourages young writers in the Upper St. Clair School District to provide articles of interest for this community magazine.Email [email protected] to find out how your student can contribute.

The 77th issue of UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY is a joint publication of the Township and School District of Upper St. Clair. © Copyright 2014. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of this magazine, in print or web version, in whole or in part, without the express written consent of the Editor is strictly prohibited.

UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY1820 McLaughlin Run RoadUpper St. Clair, PA 15241Phone: 412-833-1600, extension 2284Fax: 412-851-2592Email: [email protected]

Township : 412-831-9000School District: 412-833-1600Printed by Knepper Press2251 Sweeney Drive, Clinton, PA 15026-1818724-899-4274Design by DMC Design412-824-7844 • www.dmcdesign.com

Summer 2014 edition deadlines have passed.Fall 2014 edition deadlines:

Articles—June 19Advertising—June 23

Board of School Directors Township Board of CommissionersLouis P. Mafrice, Jr., President Robert W. Orchowski, President, Ward 3Frank J. Kerber, Vice President Russell R. Del Re, Vice President, Ward 5

Amy L. Billerbeck Nicholas J. Seitanakis, Ward 1Barbara L. Bolas Rex A. Waller, Ward 2Buffy Z. Hasco Mark D. Christie, Ward 4

Harry F. Kunselman Glenn R. Dandoy, At LargeLouis M. Oliverio Daniel R. Paoly, At LargeAngela B. PetersenRebecca A. Stern

UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY steering committee and staff members include Mark Mansfield, Paul Fox, Linda Dudzinski, Terry Kish, Colleen DeMarco, Dorothy Clark, Alison Hess, Lynn Dempsey, Neena Jacob-John, and Laura Whitcomb



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Matthew R. Serakowski Dr. Patrick T. O’Toole

TODAY, the award-winning, official publication of the School District and Township of Upper St. Clair

Township of Upper St. Clair412-831-9000 • Fax: 412-831-9882Website: www.twpusc.orgEmail: [email protected]

Sincerely,

Matthew R. SerakowskiTownship Manager

Upper St. Clair School District412-833-1600 • Fax: 412-833-5535Website: www.uscsd.k12.pa.usEmail: [email protected]

Sincerely,

Dr. Patrick T. O’TooleSuperintendent of Schools

A Spring Note from the Publishers

www.twpusc.org/magazine/usc-today-home [email protected]

Spring is here, and so is the spring edition of our community magazine—UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY!With 20 years of publication under our belts, our magazine has reached a milestone and continues with its

strong sense of community and focus on Upper St. Clair (read article on page 10).Our magazine consists of three primary sections to help you learn about the community in which you live.

Two of the sections—Township and School District—are very useful for all our residents and share information in a way that no other publication can. Our third section—Around the Township—prints heart-warming, personal, and informative stories written by and for our residents, including recurring feature articles like “Meet…” “Traveling with TODAY,” “A Healthier U(SC),” and “From Here” to name a few. Maybe you have an idea for a feature article that you would like to read or write about. Let us know!

Complementing our editorial is our advertising, which approximates one-third of our magazine’s total pages. In the featured advertising guide sections, we provide clients an opportunity to share their breadth of knowledge and write about specific and emerging topics in their industries. In this issue, we feature two guides—Celebrate! (pages 35-39) and Home Improvement (pages 44-51)—where you can find advertising information and learn more about the what, how, when, where, and why of a project you might be considering.

What’s keeping you from finding out more about your community… our community? Pick up this issue of UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY and begin to read and learn more about our local government, our schools, our neighborhoods, our neighbors. Always lots to share, we really do enjoy sharing it with you!

And while you are noticing that the days are continually getting longer and temperatures are rising, search also for some other early signs of spring—birds’ chirping, emerging flowers through frozen, snow-covered ground, and blooming trees—nature’s way of saying “Wake up!” These signs suggest summer isn’t far behind. Happy spring!

A new arrival to Boyce Mayview Park, see The Outdoor Classroom calendar of events on page 73.

McLaughlin Run Road in full bloom


Gilfillan Farm Open HouseSponsored by the Historical Society of Upper St. Clair

USC Community Day - Saturday, May 17, 2014House 12-3 PM • Barn Yard 12-4 PM • Scarecrow Unveiling 1 PM

1950 Washington Rd. Pittsburgh PA, 15241 (Please use the Orr Road parking lot)

Guided house tours · horse drawn wagon rides children’s craft · beekeeping demonstrations

farm animal petting zoo and more!

Help us celebrate Community Day 2014 by submitting your best ideas forour Annual Scarecrow Contest and our next USC Today Magazine Advertisement!

For more details on deadlines and prizes, or to submit your ideas,contact the Historical Society of Upper St. Clair

412- 835-2050 · [email protected] · www.hsusc.org · www.facebook.com/HSUSC

Happy birthday, UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY magazine! Twenty great years! We are so proud of the contributions of our magazine staff, volunteer writers, photog-raphers, and advertisers who have made the award-winning “official publication of Upper St. Clair” a high-quality showcase of our community’s arts, culture, history, businesses, schools, and government.

—Dr. Patrick T. O’Toole, Publisher/Superintendent of Schools

Over the past ten plus years, editor-in-chief Linda Dudzinski has done a masterful job quarterbacking various volunteers and part-time staff, always striving to improve the quality and content of each and every edition of the magazine.

—Matthew R. Serakowski, Publisher/USC Township Manager

The pooling of resources of the School District and the Township of Upper St. Clair, as well as the outstanding business support, has allowed the magazine to get important community messages in the hands of our residents in an appealing, interesting-to-read format. This support sustains our publication at no cost to taxpayers and also allows the magazine the opportunity to assist commu-nity programs and projects, including offering an annual Journalism book scholarship.

—Mark S. Mansfield, Township Representative/Steering Committee/

Assistant USC Township Manager

UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY, our com-munity magazine, has brought us together in this community. It has helped us celebrate our successes and all of the high spots, and some of the not-so high spots, that we shared together on our journey. Part of our journey defines the culture we honor in Upper St. Clair. That culture can be seen everyday, in every game, at every concert, and forever in the eyes and smiles of the 4118 children who think of our schools as the genuine life of our community.

I am just as proud of our magazine as I am of our schools. This quarterly periodical has proven what we always knew: Upper St. Clair is a wonderful place to grow up and an equally pleasant place to live and raise a family.

—Dr. William Pope/Retired Publisher/ Former Superintendent of Schools

With the emergence of technology such as the telegraph, fax machines, and now the Internet, letter writing has become obsolete and many people opt to send electronic cards and correspondence to save time, money, and resources.

Other easy methods of keeping in touch have materialized in recent years, including online social networks such as MySpace and Facebook, blogging, SMS, and Twitter. But even though many of us have built their ev-eryday use into our busy lives, it just isn’t the same; the joy of receiving a hand-written let-ter or card or the UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY magazine has remained for the past 20 years, and for 20 more!

I am so proud to have played a part in creating “the magazine” for Upper St. Clair!

—Thomas Labanc, retired USC School District Representative/Steering Committee/Social Studies Curriculum

Leader and Teacher

They said it could not be done. Naysayers predicted a project of this magnitude could not be sustained. They suggested that this would require massive numbers of voluntary contributions and the work of countless vol-unteers. After the initial excitement, interest would wane and the well of articles, photo-graphs, and artwork would run dry. How could we ever maintain two decades of a joint partnership and spirit of cooperation between township and school district governments? How could a high-quality 80- to 100-page magazine outlast its competitors and be self-supportive and funded without tax revenue?

Well, “they” were wrong! With the gener-osity, dedication, focus, leadership, and talents of current part-time staff—editor-in-chief Linda Dudzinski (14 years), associate editor Terry Kish (11 years), office manager Colleen DeMarco (11 years), marketing executive Alison Hess (5 years), graphic designer Dorothy Clark (6 years), advertising executives Lynn Dempsey (18 years), Neena Jacob-John (2 years), and Laura Whitcomb (1 year), and many volunteer helpers along the way—these selfless citizens have inspired greatness and shown their true love of USC and service to our community through the magazine.

Why don’t you get involved in contributing to UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY? Please join us for another 20 years of successful sharing. We pledge our continued commitment to make the award-winning, “official publication of the School District and Township of Upper St. Clair” meaningful, helpful, enlightening, and entertaining to all residents, hopefully exceeding your expectations in the realization of our core goals for the magazine:• Publication of current issues, news, pro-

cedures, and policies of the Township and School District

• Portrayal of the Upper St. Clair commu-nity, showcasing the breadth and diversity of its residents and businesses

• Continued development of new partner-ships and collaborations

• Documentation and communication of the art, culture, and history of Upper St. Clair

• Continued development of regular volun-teer contributors to magazine

—Paul Fox, School District Representative/Steering Committee

The official publication of the School District and Township of Upper St. Clair

www.twpusc.org/magazine

Spring 2013Yes, it’s concrete... by StoneMakers of Western PA

20 Years and Going Strong

Summer 2013

Upper St.Clair’s Community Day Issue

celebrates our military personnel and USC Veterans Monument Park.

The official publication of the School District and Township of Upper St. Clair

www.twpusc.org/magazine/usc-today-home



the Friends of the Library

There is nothing better than good friends, and our Township’s library has a group of individuals con-sidered to be very special friends—the Friends of the Library of Upper St. Clair.

Upper St. Clair Library director Helen Palascak said, “The Friends’ purchases throughout the years support library activi-ties in many areas—from helping to fund new furniture to covering the costs of special programs for kids, especially summer reading. The Friends have also been a major supporter of our Use, Share, Technology @ USC Library initiative.”

Organized in 1957, the Friends of the Library of Upper St. Clair became a non-profit corporation in 1988, with the sole purpose of supporting the library through fundraising activities. In addition to providing funding support for special library programs, they also purchase non-budgeted equipment, furniture, and materials to enhance the library experi-ence for all patrons.

You can find great book bargains every day in the Friends’ sales areas on both floors of the library. The children’s floor case has a variety of gently-used materials with a wide range of reading levels, from board books to teen fiction. The Friends’ market place on the adult floor houses a selection of materials in very good condition, and the rounder on the adult floor has a large collection of paperback novels and non-fiction titles. Paperbacks in the rounder are priced at either $1 or $2 each, depending on the book size. Materials are individually priced and may be paid for at the circulation desk on that floor.

The annual Friends’ book sale last May was a great success. With the hard work of the volunteers, this wonderful community event raised more than $9000 to support the library.

Says Helen, “The significant amount of money raised demonstrates how much the USC community values library services. They are Friends in spirit and in deed. Their positive energy uplifts us all.”

So what exactly do the Friends do? Some of their activities include:

• Collecting, sorting, and pricing materials donated during the monthly collection.

• Planning and conducting the annual book sale—scheduled this year for May 7-10.

• Choosing, pricing, and stocking the Friends’ bookcases in the library for ongoing sales.

The Friends participate in USC Commu-nity Day by sponsoring a booth with sale books and gifts for new members. They also publish a periodic newsletter.

Governed by a 17-member board of di-rectors, each serving a three-year term, the Friends’ current directors are Susan Bernard, Jan Brody, Penny Caswell, Elyse Clearfield, Debra Conn (treasurer), Walter Jeffery (president), Kim Kanik, Robin Lange, Mary Leonardi, Morris Lindsay, Sally Ondrejko (sec-retary), Mark Puskar (vice president), Terry Rhodes, Ron Saut, Carol Shields, Al Steele, and Kathy Wolf.

Walter said that he’s been a Friend for so long that he can’t exactly remember when he started! “Twenty years ago, I wandered into a book collection and volunteered for one ses-sion. I’ve been here ever since.”

Explaining that Friends volunteers can volunteer as much or as little as they wish, Walter said that the group is looking to expand its membership, the first step in an active recruitment campaign. “We need volunteers, especially younger members,” said Walter. We’ve lost members who are aging or who have moved away.

Walter said any USC library supporter can belong to the Friends by either picking up a membership form when at the library, by completing the form found on page 59, or by printing out and completing the form found on the library’s website. Membership is renewable on an annual basis and the minimum contri-bution to join is $5. Completed forms, with donation, can be dropped off at any library circulation desk or mailed to:The Friends of the Library of Upper St. Clair1820 McLaughlin Run RoadUpper St. Clair, PA 15241

A Friend will call you to discuss volunteer opportunities. For more information, email the Friends at [email protected].

“We’re easy,” said Walter. “Come when you can.” n

Want to donate books or help with the book collection?The Friends have begun collecting books for the 2014 sale and can use help during the first

Saturday book collection. If you can spare a couple of hours on the first Saturday of each month leading up to the May sale, leave your name and phone number at the library’s main desk and

you will be contacted by a Friend.

Meet…

A Process to RememberThe Thomas Studio of Performing Arts revamps the way its dancers create and learnJillian Londino, TSPA alumni, USCHS 2010


The Troupe of The Thomas Studio, on the set of Obsessions

Times they are a changin’ in the world of dance, but not in the ways you might think. When dancers walk into The Thomas Studio of Performing Arts, they can expect not only to be taught a variety of classical and contemporary dance techniques which are then pieced into an eclectic work of choreography, but they are also given the creative freedom and encouragement to explore their own choreographic talents.

While the entire staff of educators at The Thomas Studio prides themselves on engaging students’ creativity through a proper un-derstanding of dance technique, the lead of this artistic movement comes from the studio’s innovative artistic director Jessica Spencer. Jessica, a 1993 USC graduate and 2006 USC Arts Hall of Fame inductee, oversees the instruction and curriculum of the studio’s entire student body of more than 1000 dancers, including the award-winning, competitive dance company. Through teaching foundational principles of body alignment and placement, Jessica has worked to shift her dancers’ focuses away from the always changing craze of what’s hot and new in the dance competition circuit and towards embracing the process of how their bodies create movement, encouraging their ability to produce eloquent, collaborative works of choreography.

For some dance instructors, the concept of allowing students to become involved in the production of choreography would be

taboo, but for Jessica, she described it as “a remarkable process” and one in which she is always “surprised to see what direc-tion, different from [her] own, the students choose to take the movement.”

Most recently, her collaborative choreographic efforts were highly celebrated when the U.S. Federation of Dance Competitions bestowed the 2013 People’s Choice Award to the dance company’s eldest group, the Troupe, for its piece entitled Obsessions.

Recognizing the “exceptionally creative and fearless” nature of the dancers in the Troupe (according to Jessica), she set aside time during weekly classes for the dancers to work together, video, and experiment with each other’s movement ideas on a custom-made prop designed by the girls. Working through a six-week process, Obsessions became a mix of contemporary movement and acrobatic skills designed by Jessica and the Troupe.

“They presented ideas that popped into their minds. They took turns trying movements and then built off of each other’s suggestions in such a democratic, adult-like manner. Their coop-eration and enthusiasm completely humbled me as an instructor,” reflected Jessica, as she recalled the artistic process behind Obsessions as being “one of the best collaborations in which I have ever taken part.”

At the forefront of this collaborative process were four Upper St. Clair High School stu-dents—Elisabeth Beall, Ellie Hardwick, Alyssa Bradley, and Erin Koller. Ellie and Elisabeth are members of the school’s 2014 senior class, and both dancers have trained at the studio for a number of years. They have gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of themselves through dance that has helped them in count-less other areas of their lives.

For Ellie, her uninterrupted 15 years of dancing at The Thomas Studio has enabled her to grow up with unparalleled support for her artistic and choreographic passions, and has inspired her to pursue a dual degree in dance and education at George Mason University.

“Growing up with dance in my life has given me the opportunity to experience rejection, competition, hard work, and success—experi-ences that help every kid become an adult. The way staff members show such dedication and love for what they do everyday inspires us as dancers to find what we really want in life, whether it’s with dance or something else. Jess has allowed us the creative freedom to interpret our individual styles and artistic choices into our own dances, and she has provided me the opportunity to explore my own choreography in recent years. With a constant element of trust, her ability to let go and give us a chance to create on our own has allowed us to grow and become confident and passionate about what we do.”

With plans next fall to move onto a “new USC”—the University of South Carolina—Elisabeth sees the way dance has helped her land a spot in her future alma mater’s Honors College for a degree in international business.

“Through our dance Obsessions and other improvisational com-binations that we have worked on in class, the dancers in my group and I have all gained more self-esteem and learned how to voice our opinions while, at the same time, listen to those of others. With Jess’ support, we have had the opportunity to add our own artistic views. This is an experience many dancers our age cannot say they’ve had. We’ve had countless brush burns and accidental slaps, and we even managed to break the dance prop, but, overall, to be part of this col-laborative choreographic process was such a positive and rewarding experience.”

While the unanticipated nomination from the Federation of Dance Competitions for the 2013 People’s Choice Award—which the Troupe later won by a nationwide, popular vote—was excit-ing and appreciated, Jessica and the staff of The Thomas Studio have always maintained dance competitions as a presence in the dance company’s curriculum for an opportunity to obtain critique and performance experience, not as a means to be recognized by awards. Looking back on the Troupe’s success in 2013, she proudly notes, “These kids have had the opportunity to perform in two really interesting pieces this past year. Not following trends. Not just executing tricks.”

The other piece that Jessica believes to be a special work of choreography was set by TSPA alumni and former member of the internationally-renowned Parsons Dance Company, Lauren Garson. Bringing in a member so established in the concert dance community not only provides dancers with an unforgettable experience, but also helps the dancers stay away from “synthe-sized dance” repertoires that she too often sees studios confining themselves to, repeating the same five or six trendy steps in all of their choreographies. Although most of the dancers grew up with Lauren as one of their instructors at The Thomas Studio, the experience of working with her as a professional choreographer was an inherently different learning experience, and one that earned the group numerous accolades and comparisons to danc-ers in professional, concert companies.

Even with the compliments of artistic integrity for her older dancers, Jessica notes that helping her younger dancers to further their knowledge of the professional dance industry—not just the world of competitive dance—is “difficult as kids are becoming increasingly dependent on social media, which is oversaturated with videos and images of competitive dancers from around the country.” She also notes, however, that it is her “job as an educa-tor to ensure that students at The Thomas Studio develop a broad understanding of the full spectrum of the dance industry, includ-ing both commercial and concert dance performers.”

Fortunately for the budding artists at The Thomas Studio of Performing Arts, their personal connections to studio alumni who have been accepted into some of the nation’s top university dance programs and retain successful careers in the professional ballet, concert dance, and commercial dance worlds will provide them with infinite sources for their own inspirations. n

Conveniently located at 111 Washington Avenue in Bridgeville, for more information regarding classes or to audition for the dance

company, contact The Thomas Studio of Performing Arts at 412-257-2000 or visit www.thomasdance.com.


Jessica Spencer

Ellie Hardwick

Elisabeth Beall


Hard to Say GoodbyeStory and photos by Jim O’Brien

A woman recognized me as we were about to enter our automobiles in adjoining parking spaces at Giant Eagle in Bethel Park. “You’re the writer,” she said. “I read your column for many years and enjoyed reading about your family.” I thanked her for her kind comment.

“I feel like I know your wife, Kathie; and you have two daugh-ters, I believe, Sarah and Rebecca.” I nodded with a smile.

“How’s Bailey?” she asked.Bailey is my Rebecca’s dog. I had to smile again. I had written

a column for 18 years in the South Hills weekly newspaper The Almanac, but discontinued that about seven or eight years ago. It pleased and surprised me that the woman remembered Bailey.

“She’s gotten old,” I said. “She’s 15 now, old for a dog. But, she’s hanging in there, like us.”

Every one year of a dog’s life is about the same as seven years of a human’s life, so Bailey was about 105. When we last visited Rebecca in Los Angeles this past August, we noticed some changes in Bailey.

She was not able to go on the usual long walks that we once enjoyed. We’d walk a mile to a Starbucks to enjoy a cup of coffee and the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. People would pass by our outdoor patio table and pet Bailey. Moving at a slower pace these days, she was still as loveable as ever.

Rebecca loved Bailey and called her “my baby.” They were the best of companions. Bailey outlasted several of Rebecca’s boyfriends. One of those boyfriends—Jason Cate—gave Bailey to Rebecca as a gift when she was a senior at Ohio University.

Kathie and I recall the first time we met Bailey. A dark little fur ball, Jason had rescued her from a dog pound. For Rebecca, Bailey was the best gift in the world. Putting more structure into her daily student routine, she would wake up early to take Bailey for a walk and feed her. Rebecca developed a schedule that worked well for the both of them.

Bailey, a show-stopping Chow Chow mix, with a purple tounge and a plume for a tail, had a hint of Golden Retriever.

As I awoke on a Wednesday in early October; my stomach began churning as soon as my feet hit the floor. Feeling uneasy, I thought, about the Pirates’ playoff game that night in St. Louis. Game number five, it was the deciding contest for the National

League playoffs. I was not optimistic. I thought we needed to win the previous game in Pittsburgh to elimi-nate the Cardinals from the competition. I didn’t like our odds against their ace Adam Wainwright at Busch Stadium. My ill feelings turned out to be correct.

A neighbor and friend, Ken Codeluppi, called me on Wednesday morning to invite me to meet him for lunch. We said we’d meet at TGI Friday’s in Bethel Park, not far from where I met that woman that day in the Giant

Eagle parking lot. I arrived earlier than Ken and took a table. No sooner had I sat down than my cell phone rang. It had to be Ken or Kathie because they are among the few who have my number.

It was Kathie. “I have some bad news for you,” said Kathie. “Bailey died earlier this morning.”

Now I was convinced that the Pirates were in trouble. This was not going to be a good day. I listened to what Kathie said, but I didn’t want to hear it. When Ken came into the restaurant with his usual big smile and hardy greeting, I was sitting there near tears. I not only felt bad about Bailey dying, but I also knew how much she meant to Rebecca, and that hurt me even more.

In her apartment in the Woodland Hills section of L.A., Rebecca heard Bailey’s whimpering in the night. Leaving Rebecca’s bedroom where she normally slept, Bailey retreated to the kitchen. Rebecca checked on Bailey several times that night, going into the kitchen to sit with and comfort her.

In the morning, Rebecca called Bailey’s veterinarian, who scheduled an emergency visit. Rebecca called a friend at her California Pizza Kitchen Restaurant, a husky fellow, and asked if he would come help her carry Bailey, who weighed close to 60 pounds, to her car.

At this point, Bailey was breathing, but completely unrespon-sive. Rebecca went out on her patio to get some fresh air and clear her mind. When she returned to the kitchen, Bailey had died.

Rebecca has been living in Southern California for about ten years. Before that, she lived in Columbus, and Kathie and I would get Bailey for a few months each winter. I never had a dog of my own, but Bailey was my dog during the winter. During that time, I enjoyed taking Bailey on walks. She loved the winter snow, the deeper the better. And she loved to run in the fields and in the backyard. She would run in circles and zig zag in our backyard, barely missing a tree that once stood there.

I took her for the last ride of the Drake trolley near my home. I can picture her sitting in the streetcar, aware of her surround-ings and looking proud; she knew she was the only dog that wasn’t a working dog or a blind-assistance dog that got to ride that streetcar.

I picture her in the front seat of my car, riding shotgun and sticking her face out the window… a strong breeze blowing back her hair and ears. I couldn’t ask for better company.

Bailey gave unconditional love to all who knew her. When Rebecca posted pictures and the news of Bailey’s passing on Facebook, about 40 friends responded with notes of condolences and praises for the dog they knew and loved.

To the end, Bailey looked after Rebecca. She died on the first of two days that Rebecca took off from work. Rebecca was in her apartment rather than at her restaurant when Bailey was in

Bailey and Rebecca O’Brien were the best team.

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distress, and Bailey died in her own home, in her own comfort zone, with Rebecca there.

Bailey was cremated, and when Rebecca came home for the Christmas holidays she brought with her a box filled with Bailey’s ashes. I dug a hole in our backyard, right below the bird house. At Rebecca’s request, we held a little ceremony at the grave site. She knew I had buried a Russian dwarf hamster named Moe and a turtle named Frankie in our backyard with proper hon-ors. “I thought we should have some kind of ceremony,” said Rebecca.

I’ve thought a lot about Bailey the last few months. I’ll be watching a sporting event on TV and Bailey will come to my mind. Her images come and go. The sad-ness rushes over me, but then I’ll smile when I remember something cute or funny that she did.

I know it’s difficult for Rebecca to re-turn to her apartment after a day of work and not find Bailey waiting there to greet her. We will miss her again the next time Kathie and I travel to LA to visit Rebecca.

At first, Rebecca discarded many of the things that belonged to Bailey. She didn’t want reminders that would make her feel sad. But then, she retrieved some of the colorful scarves that Bailey would so proudly wear around her neck. “I’m saving them for my next dog,” said Rebecca. “It will be nice for my next dog to have them.”

Bailey was the best dog ever. It was dif-ficult to say goodbye. Losing her, to me, was greater than any season-ending loss in the world of sports. n

Bailey and Kathie O’Brien go for a ride.

Field of Dreams… and of a PlaygroundStory and photos by Wayne Herrod

The Miracle League organiza-tion and Upper St. Clair Township have again joined forces to enhance life in the Township. Spearheaded by the dreams and goals of Township manager Matthew Serakowski and residents Sean and Mandi Casey (and many more), a playground at USC’s Miracle League field will be built this summer. Tied to the Miracle League program, the approved playground will be an all-accessible playground for the entire community. At approximately 10,000 square feet, it will be situated behind the Miracle League field and resemble the

outline of the Pittsburgh skyline of build-ings and bridges, just like at PNC Park, when you look at it from the ball field.

This playground has been in the plan-ning stages since the completion of the ball field in 2012. With almost $500,000 of the playground project’s $750,000 price tag secured, groundbreaking will begin this spring. Many companies and individuals have opened up their hearts and wallets to progress this project forward, includ-ing Highmark, FedEx, the Casey Family Foundation, Neishloss/Fleming, Howard Hanna, Allegheny Regional Asset District, Benchmark Financial, and Eat’n Park.

The park is being designed as an all-accessible playground, created for kids of all ages and abilities. Sean Casey is par-ticularly excited about it. Maura Rodgers, executive director of the Miracle League,

said that Sean is fired up about seeing this project through to its completion, where it will create a community gathering place for everyone. Sean and his wife, Mandi, have a simple philosophy—to make a positive difference.

There’s a saying that people are remem-bered for what they leave behind. The Caseys will be forever remembered not only for who they are, but also for what they are leaving behind for all to enjoy for untold years to come. n

To bring this project to fruition, the project needs your help with two things—volunteers and donations.For more information on how you can help, visit www.miracleleaguesouthhills.org. Corporate and

individual sponsorships are greatly appreciated.

Activity at USC’s Miracle League field during a Halloween

celebration this past fall



TheChicken

or the Egg?Mary Lynne Spazok

Celebrate Gilfillan Homestead’s “egg”stravaganza on Upper St. Clair Commu-nity Day, Saturday May 17. Featured at the side porch will be festive crafts of eggs, hens, chicks, and roosters! The rooster is thought to bring good luck, health, and prosperity. So, don’t pass up a chance to bag some “egg”stra good karma.

Life on a farm evokes images of serenity—a tranquil existence of grazing cattle and golden sunflowers swaying in the breeze. At the first flicker of daylight, the crowing rooster is Mother Nature’s alarm clock. The rooster is a flamboyant noble bird that rules his domain. Counterpart mother hen has pecked the earth around farms from sea to shining sea. The more hours of daylight, the more eggs she will lay. Well-adjusted chickens are not loners, but clever and charming. Communal creatures, they are devoted to their peeps. Believe it or not, they mourn lost flock members includ-ing human keepers who leave for extended periods. If their human caretaker returns after an absence, the flock can be a moody brood, flaunting their disdain.

Clutch couples and their chicks feed, rest, and roost together as well as enjoy dust baths, a gratifying social activity. Chickens groom their plumage with pulverized earth, never water. Vital to their health, this process aids in the removal of lice, flies, and fleas.

The egg is a cook’s best friend. Eggs are deli-cious in their own right! After all, who doesn’t love a fluffy omelet or creamy eggnog? One of nature’s most healthy foods, an egg contains essential nutrients, with 13 vitamins and miner-als, including the important vitamins A and D. The yolk is what gives the egg its nutritional punch. Its protein is particularly valued by veg-etarians. Low in calories, one large hard-boiled egg has just 77 calories. If you’re watching your cholesterol or fat intake, consider substituting egg whites for some of the whole eggs in a recipe. Chickens produce the bulk of eggs sold and consumed throughout the world. There is no doubt as to the importance of the egg in our diet. Seeking menu variety? Expand your horizons and experiment with duck, geese, quail, and even ostrich eggs. Ostrich… now that’s a gigundo omelet!

The long awaited question: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? An age-old co-nundrum, generations remain perplexed. In spiritual terms, the chicken and egg debate is unscrambled. It was on the Fifth Day of Creation Week that God created “every winged fowl after [their] kind” (Genesis 1:21) He blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and mul-tiply.” For the chicken, this meant lay eggs. Problem solved.

Conversely, the evolutionist asserts that chickens evolved from other kinds of birds, although which ones remains unclear. It wasn’t flightless birds that gave rise to chickens; they are thought to have descended from birds that could fly, but lost this ability through mutation. The origin of contemporary birds is shrouded in mystery. Leading bird expert, UNC’s professor emeritus Alan Feduccia, a paleornithologist specializing in the origins and phylogeny of birds, proclaims with humor, “The origin of birds is still up in the air.”

Mark your 2014 calendar for Saturday, May 17 to include a visit to the “egg”stravaganza at Gilfillan. Beginning at noon, hens, roosters, chicks, and plenty of whimsical eggs will be waiting for you. Chicken humor is a must, so don’t forget to bring a “yoke!” n

Chick-fil-A South Hills is a patron of the Gilfillan side porch craft. Marketing director Kristen Zamborsky states, “Why not? After all, our cow mascot encourages everyone to

‘Eat Mor Chikin.’ Chick-fil-A cares about the greater community. We are always looking for new ways to partner with local businesses, schools, and organizations.”

Chick-fil-A s tr ives to be the destination in the South Hills for great food and hos-pitality. Various act ivi t ies in-

clude Tuesday Family Night, which allows families to gather for food and fun. Besides a creative craft, young diners enjoy free dessert! Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are Spirit Nights for schools, churches, and clubs, with 15% of earned revenue going back to the group. Another family-style highlight is the annual “Breakfast with Santa Cow.” Philan-thropic undertakings include Operation Troop Appreciation, SHIM School Supply Drive, and Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Gifts. Since 1990, more than 100 million boys and girls in more than 130 countries appreci-ate the generosity of the shoe box tradition. Thanks to our local Chick-fil-A, crafters receive goodie bags and chances to win Chick-fil-A gift certificates.

Q. Why did the chicken join the band?A. Because he had the drumsticks!

COLLABORATIVE DIVORCEResolution in a private conference room not a public courtroom

To learn more about the collaborative divorce process, contact any one of the professionals below for a free thirty minute consultation.

Patricia Wozniak Henk Collaborative Attorney

[email protected]

Pittsburgh, PA

Carole Kunkle-MillerCollaborative Coach

[email protected]

Paula HopkinsCollaborative Attorney

[email protected]

Pittsburgh, PA

Patricia and Paula have sole, independent practices and do not practice together as a law firm. Carole is a psychologist and has a separate practice of psychological services.

TODAY Giving Campaign for Veterans Monument

UPPER ST CLAIR TODAY’s Veterans Monument 2013 yearlong giving campaign officially ended on December 31. The campaign, established to address the need for a perpetual maintenance fund for the Upper St. Clair Veterans Park, was successful on many levels.

The latest list of donors is shown below and a complete list of all donors was presented to the Township’s Board of Commissioners for historic preservation. We, at TODAY, are grateful for those who donated and especially thank Mary Lynne Spazok for sharing the idea and inspiration for this wonderful community-involved project.

You can still give! Contact [email protected] to find out how. n

What if someone told you that you could burn calories simply by cleaning your house, walking the dog, or dancing? Would you be more inclined to play a game of tag in the backyard with your children if you knew you could burn off the calories from dinner? Does this sound too good to be true? It’s not. Read on.

“All of these types of activities are great ways to stay active, but are often overlooked as sources of activity,” said April Jackson, an Upper St. Clair resident and co-founder of Sweat Everyday, LLC, a company that helps clients identify their goals for living a healthy lifestyle and de-velops a plan to help them achieve their goals. “I personally keep a set of weights in the laundry room and will often do sets of exercises in between folding clothes. Or, I will do an exercise such as calf raises while in the kitchen cooking dinner. There always is a way to incorporate a workout into your daily routine!”

The decrease in the death rate from colon cancer is one of the true suc-cess stories in modern medicine. Despite this, colon cancer will still be diagnosed in approximately 140,000 people and kill more than 45,000 in the U.S. annually. Because of screening measures, especially colonoscopy, which can detect and remove pre-cancerous polyps from the colon, this deadly disease can be prevented. The death rate from colorectal cancer has decreased significantly in the last 30 years. There has been a two percent decline in colon cancer per year for the last 15 years in the U.S. (SEER database, Nation Cancer Institute). Colon cancer is a slow growing cancer, and there is a 90% survival rate if it is caught early. More importantly, this common cancer is also largely preventable. While the benefits of colon cancer screening are

Donor(s) In Recognition ofSophea Chapas William John Chapas, ArmyGreg Christiansen family Ernest Brookfield, USAF, Major

Robert Christiansen, USAF, MajorFox, Paul & Donna All USC military personnel—

active, retired, and deceasedFrancis Fox, ArmyJames W. Way, ArmyLloyd W. Way, Army

Carolyn Graham Thomas Graham, ArmyRichard P. Gross Colonel Charles A. Gross, Judge Advocate Colonel’s Corps

Emil C. Gross, Army Signal Corps, 1st SgtHoenig, John & Diane Gus Nicholas, Army

Fred Scherrer, ArmyJaffee, Ann-Marie, Danny & Robby Roger J. Cocchia, NavyNancy Y. Polachek & family Wm. C. Polachek, Jr., NavyTodaro, Carl & Cheryl Timothy Gamache, Navy, Commander

Christopher Todaro, USAF, MajorKathleen Shephard, USAF, Technical Sgt

Deborah Williams Roy H. Werner, Army Corps of Engineers, WWII

Shown are people attending the Veterans Day ceremony, held on November 11, 2013, at the Upper St. Clair Veterans Monument. The

inaugural dedication ceremony was held November 11, 2011.

A Healthier U(SC)Get Active! How?Heather Holtschlag

When is it Too Much of a Good Thing?Decoding the Differing Options on Age Cut-off for ColonoscopyDr. David Limauro


The primary—and most fun—way of including some exercise into your life is to do things that you like. Jackson said that using this approach may make a person more motivated and willing to do it.

“Do things like dancing, swimming, walking or speed walking, hiking, martial arts, skating, ice skating, roller blading, playing tennis, or biking,” she suggested. “Through Sweat Everyday, we place a lot of value on community and the support you gain from joining a group sport or team. Oftentimes, if you are playing with a group or partner, you may feel more accountable and will perhaps accomplish more.”

Other surprising ways that individuals can burn calories in-clude doing dishes, which can burn about 160 calories per half hour; putting laundry in the washer, then dryer and folding it can burn more than 200 calories; and grocery shopping with a cart for just 30 minutes can burn about 130 calories.

“Every time you get off your ‘tush’ and get on your feet, you can count that toward your calorie burn!” Jackson explained. “Try wearing a calorie monitor throughout the day to actually see how many calories you burn and then compare that to how many calories you consume. Hopefully, you burn more than you consume!”

According to Jackson, who has been a fitness trainer and in-structor for more than ten years, a person should aim for about 30 minutes of activity a day. This could include crunches and push-ups when the commercials come on during your favorite television show or by taking the stairs instead of the elevator. “Once you open yourself to the possibilities of ‘sweating’ everyday,

whether inside or outside of the gym, many creative possibilities will present themselves.”

And though exercise is crucial to living a healthy lifestyle, all of that activity may be for naught if you do not maintain a good diet, as well. “Eating right is a huge component of being healthy and active,” Jackson noted. “In addition, be mindful to not sit all day, but rather stay up and about, which can go a long way toward being healthy. But do take time to relax. Relaxation is very important, as is finding your spiritual balance, which helps the soul and mind, where many diseases actually begin.”

Jackson said she recommends that a person begin incorporat-ing more activity into his or her life by setting reasonable goals. She suggested that by simply writing down an intention of be-coming more active, fit, and balanced will give that goal energy. “Ask yourself, ‘Why is this important to me? Do I want to have more energy to play with the kids? Do I want to look better in my clothes?’ Whatever the motivation, make sure to be honest with yourself and remind yourself why you are making these efforts so that they can be sustained for the long term.”

From there, Jackson recommends searching for things you enjoy and keeping it real. For instance, if you do not like to run, it’s probably not a good idea to set a goal to run a marathon or even to force yourself to go out for a run. Instead, do something you know you already like, or experience something you have never tried before to perhaps discover new interests. And, be sure to celebrate what you accomplish. “An intrinsic or extrinsic reward can go a long way.” n

impressive, there is also little doubt that our population is living longer than we did decades ago. This can lead to difficult ques-tions regarding when to stop doing screenings for colon cancer for older individuals.

Colonoscopy, which is done for colon cancer screening, usu-ally starts at age 50 for average risk individuals. If no polyps are found and the preparation is good, then subsequent exams are recommended to take place every ten years. The long interval between exams is suggested because colon polyps generally grow quite slowly, taking ten years or more to grow into full blown cancer. But if a screening colonoscopy is done every ten, at what age should we stop doing them?

This is a difficult question and one that comes up often in my practice. Unfortunately, the issue has been confused by several medical societies and organizations taking different stances on the subject. For instance, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force issued a statement in 2008 which opined that routine screening colonoscopy should stop after age 75. The American Gastroenterological Association on the other hand is opposed to giving age cut offs and points out that colon cancer increases sharply with increasing age, with more that 40% of colon cancers diagnosed after age 75 (Zauber, Medscape). The American Cancer Society and the U.S. Multi-society Task Force (made up of GI, surgical, and radiology societies) have guidelines that recommend to “Discontinue screening when the individual’s life expectancy is less than ten years.” They have said that if we stop screening at age 75, we will miss many otherwise preventable cancers.

Some have stated that these groups are making a self-serving

argument because their members stand to gain the most financially from continuing to do screenings. Others fear that guide-lines simply represent a form of healthcare rationing and are highly skeptical of large panels telling them when to stop receiving any kind of healthcare. Although there is no absolute consensus, I am certain that additional studies will be undertaken in the future to look into this hot-button medical issue.

So the question remains: when is it time to discontinue screening colonoscopy in adults? Personally, I do not believe in withholding screening based on a set chronologic age cut off. Rather, I think we should look at each patient individually and make screening decisions based on a person-to-person basis. I try to balance the risks of colonoscopy in seniors with the ben-efits of helping them avoid this potentially devastating cancer. It should also be noted that when we are talking about screening, we are talking about doing exams for people with no symptoms. Those adults with symptoms such as bleeding, abdominal pain, or changes in their bowel habits should see their physician and undergo an evaluation immediately. n

Dr. David Limauro is a Board Certified Gastroenterologist in private practice serving patients in the South Hills and city of Pittsburgh,

including St. Clair and UPMC Mercy Hospitals and South Hills Endoscopy Center in Upper St. Clair. See ad on page 1.

Dr. David Limauro


Sock monkey, the Tribune Review’s Pittsburgh Penguins mascot that is often spotted at familiar locations, was recently sighted hanging out with UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY while lounging in the re-cord-setting minus 9-degree temperatures on January 7, 2014.

While you don’t have to endure frigid temperatures to be included in this feature section of TODAY, you do have to take along our community magazine to memo-rialize your travel adventures. n

A hay ride? Always a fun-filled way to travel… especially with Upper St. Clair’s official community magazine—UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY. While a local activity at Bounty at Boyce Mayview Park this past fall, hay rides take us back in time to simpler days of old, where laughter and good times abound. n

Wayne Herrod and The Washington Wild Things mascot enjoyed a beautiful day at the Bounty at Boyce Mayview Park Fall Fest, carrying with them a copy of TODAY. Wayne travels many distances (even to his hometown of USC) with The Wild Thing, promoting the Frontier League’s Washington Wild Things professional baseball team. n

Traveling with TODAY

Traveling with TODAY

UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY is proud to travel with you, too! Read the follow-ing criteria to find out how.• Clear, close-up photo of USC

resident(s) holding his or her TODAY magazine.

• Digital photo or hard copy 35mm accepted. ‣ For digital, attach jpg (at least 300 dpi) and send via email, including required information (see below) in the body of the email.

‣ For 35 mm, attach post-it to back of hard copy photo, listing the required information (see below).

• List name(s) of resident(s), group, and specific photo location.

• List objective of visit—leisure, vol-unteer, career, etc.

• Include email address or phone number should further contact be necessary.

• Deliver one 35 mm photo with details to the USC Township recep-tionist in an envelope marked “USC TODAY,” or

• Email one digital photo with details to [email protected], with “TODAY” listed in subject line.

Note: Submitted photos and information for this feature section will remain on file for upcoming editions until published.


Sock monkey, lounging with TODAY

The hay ride was a popular venue at this past fall’s Bounty at Boyce.

Wayne Herrod and the Washington Wild Thing, incognito


Dear Outreach,Our son stays up late many nights on his computer. When he’s not

on the computer, he’s texting. He can’t put down his phone long enough to have a simple conversation. How should we set limits on this use?

Worried Parent

Dear Worried Parent,Today’s youth are digital natives who are immersed in media.

Most teens own a cell phone and report texting as the preferred method of communicating.

Social networking sites such as Facebook feed into teens’ need to be social, stay connected, show creativity, communicate, and try out new roles and ideas; however, teens can easily overuse or misuse technology. It’s important that parents set structure, enforce consequences, and use their best communication skills with their teens when addressing these concerns.

Have an open conversation about online dangers, Internet safety, and what is okay to post. Teens typically feel safe and may not see the need to protect themselves online. They feel they have anonymity and can escape into a world where everyone is their “friend” or “buddy.”

Have a family meeting to discuss concerns with their use of technology. Below are some guidelines to help keep your children safe and to control their electronic use:• Keep the computer in a common living area.• Set time limits or certain times of the day that technology

may be used.• Be clear about which sites, downloads, chat rooms, etc., are off

limits and the consequences for breaking those rules.• Parental access to randomly check their online content should

be a condition to be on these sites.If you need more support, contact Outreach 412-561-5405 or

[email protected]. n

Outreach Teen & Family Services is a nonprofit, confidential counseling service, offering counseling and educational programs to

teens and parents that are affordable, accessible, and discreet, within a welcoming, supportive environment.

Transitions

www.shighley.howardhanna.com

HighleyDedicated

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23 YearsSusan HighleyABR, CRS, SRES

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412.833.3600 ext 268Cell: 412.889.1214

Hilton Garden Inn Completes Renovations

A recently completed renovation project at Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh/Southpointe known as “Project Grow,” which began in February 2013, has transformed the hotel lobby into a garden party atmosphere. The idea was to encourage guests to use the space more by creating the feeling of being outdoors.

“The Hilton Garden Inn pavilion has been completely re-imagined. The idea was to transform the lobby into a place of interaction and relaxation for our guests,” said Paul Bazzano, executive vice-president of Operations Millcraft Hospitality.

With the new renovations completed, Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh Southpointe now has a more open and attractive flow to the lobby, achieving a welcoming environment to meet, eat, read, or lounge comfortably. Check it out!

The Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh/Southpointe originally opened its doors October 2001, serving and increasing the area’s hospitality industry. n

Upper St. Clair School District*Date indicates expiration of term.

Amy L. Billerbeck412-833-2712

2015*

Angela B. Petersen412-831-7182

2015*

Buffy Z. Hasco412-833-5712

2017*

Barbara L. Bolas412-833-9841

2015*

Louis P. Mafrice, Jr.President

412-851-06222017*

Rebecca A. Stern412-220-0745

2015*

Louis M. Oliverio724-941-4584

2015*

Frank J. KerberVice President412-833-4873

2017*

Harry F. Kunselman412-851-1115

2017*

The 2014 regular meetings of the Upper St. Clair Township Board of

School Directors are held at 7 p.m. on the fourth Monday of

each month at the Central Office Board Room, unless otherwise noted. No regular meeting is

scheduled for July.

Board of School Directors

*Date indicates expiration of term.

School District Detailed Monthly Calendar—Visit www.uscsd.k12.pa.us.


SD

Fort Couch Designated as LEED Certified Building Fort Couch Middle School has been officially designat-

ed as a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building and has been awarded a LEED Certification at the Silver Level by the U.S. Green Building Council. This desig-nation represents about $605,740 in PlanCon reimbursement to Upper St. Clair School District from the Pennsylvania Department of Education over the 30-year life of the bonds. Fort Couch and Boyce Middle Schools are among the first LEED-certified public schools in Allegheny County. Boyce received its designation in October 2013.

The LEED certification is the result of exemplary environmen-tal, energy, and sustainable design performance of the building and its site. The categories of the LEED certification for Fort Couch include high-performance for its Sustainable Site, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation, including utilization of the school as a teaching tool for environmental learning.

In September 2008, the USC school board recommended establishing a LEED study committee, chaired by board member Rebecca Stern. This committee served as a vehicle for local busi-ness and professional leaders to lend their expertise towards the USC middle schools renovation project.

“Our USC school board members were driving forces in mak-ing the LEED certification happen and they should be proud. In addition to the financial benefits, it sends a great message to the students and the community about social responsibility, sci-ence, and the benefits of a quality learning environment,” stated Dr. Patrick T. O’Toole, USC Superintendent of Schools.

The USC board of school directors, administration, staff, and its team of professionals, including the architect (McLean Architects LLC), engineers (CJL Engineering), construction man-ager (P. J. Dick Incorporated), contractor (Gurtner Construction Co., Inc.), and commissioning agent (ARAMARK) are proud to be part of the LEED team that made the LEED certification of Fort Couch Middle School a reality.

The Fort Couch renovation project began in 2007 when the USC board of school directors gave approval to begin conducting public meetings, community forums and workshops, and Act 34 hearings to discuss facilities renovation options for Boyce and Fort Couch Middle Schools. The project was approved in August 2009 and completed in January 2012. n

Fort Couch Middle School


SD

USC Placed on Honor Roll

Funfar—One of “40 Under 40” Best Teachers

Benjamin Edwards Recognized by National Forensic League

Upper St. Clair was selected among 477 districts in the U.S. and Canada as earning a place in the fourth annual College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Honor Roll. School districts were selected for simultaneously increasing access to AP course work while increasing the percentage of students earning scores of three or higher on AP exams. Increasing both of these factors is the ideal scenario for a district’s AP program because it indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically prepared students who are likely to benefit most from rigorous AP course work.

Inclusion on the fourth annual AP District Honor Roll is based on the examination of three years of AP data, from 2011 to 2013, for the following criteria.

• Increased participation and access to AP by at least four percent in large districts, at least six percent in medium districts, and at least 11% in small districts;

• Increased or maintained the percentage of exams taken by African American, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native students, and;

• Improved performance levels when comparing the percent-age of students in 2013 scoring a three or higher to those in 2011, unless the district has already attained a performance level at which more than 70% of its AP students are scoring a three or higher.

Upper St. Clair High School has achieved honor roll status for the last three consecutive years. n

Upper St. Clair High School mathematics teacher Michael Funfar has been recognized as one of the 40 Most Influ-ential Teachers Under 40 in America by Veritas Prep, one of the nation’s largest SAT prep providers. This list recognizes some of the most innovative and passionate young teachers who make a positive difference in the lives of American students.

Funfar was recognized for his creative instructional methodol-ogy and commitment to student leadership development. He is dedicated to helping students discover the value of mathematics in everyday life and empowering them to take ownership for their learning. “I am always looking for ways to make mathematics more accessible for my students and to build meaningful real world connections with the material,” he says.

Beyond his work in the classroom, Funfar sponsors the student mentor program at Upper St. Clair High School and is a facilitator in the summer leadership academy. The leadership academy, a 2013 National School Board’s Association Magna Award winner, empowers student leadership at all levels, including personal, organizational, and global.

“Michael Funfar is one of our many talented and passionate teachers at Upper St. Clair. He is a very positive influence for our students,” stated Dr. Patrick T. O’Toole, Superintendent of Schools.

Veritas Prep solicited nominations for this award directly from students. Ultimately, 40 nominated teachers from across the United States stood out for their passion, innovation, and effectiveness in teaching.

“Many of us can remember that one teacher who just com-pletely changed the way we looked at the world,” says Chad Troutwine, co-founder and CEO of Veritas Prep. “As we reviewed the nominations that came in, it was clear that all of these teachers fit that description. We were amazed by the passion that teachers such as Michael exhibit, and we are proud to make him a part of our very first ‘40 Under 40’ list.” n

Upper St. Clair High School social studies teacher Benjamin Edwards has earned the distinction as a second dia-mond coach in the National Forensic League, the honor society for middle and high school speech and debate. Edwards, who earned 3132.90 points this past October, will receive special recognition at the National Forensic League National Speech and Debate tournament in Overland Park, Kansas, this coming June.

A diamond award recognizes a professional career that com-bines excellence and longevity. The League provides diamond awards based on coach points received. Coaches receive one-tenth of the points earned by their students and one-tenth of the points earned as a student member of the League. After a minimum of five years as a League member, a coach who attains 1500 points is awarded a first diamond; he or she receives a second diamond for 3000 points, a third for 6000 points, and so on. Five years must pass between each diamond award.

“Our students are very fortunate to have Benjamin as their forensics coach,” stated Dr. Patrick T. O’Toole, Super-intendent of Schools. At the Catholic Forensics League Grand Nationals last school year, the penultimate competition of the season which includes thousands of students from across the country, two USC students advanced to the top 48 in the nation in Oratory and Oral Inter-pretation, and one student achieved the highest national placing of any USC student with a sixth place in Lincoln Douglas Debate under his guidance.

Bejamin has been a teacher at USC High School since September 2011 and has been the school’s forensic coach since August 2001. n

Benjamin Edwards

Michael Funfar

Congratulations to all our Reflections participants! This year, USC students K-8 submitted 87 entries, demonstrating artistic quality and creative interpretation of the theme Believe, Dream, Inspire. The top five entries from each school in each arts area/division moved on to the Council Level of judging, where the divisions are combined across USC schools. The following represents the best of USC, which moved on to the PTA Region 3 Level of judging for all of Allegheny County.

PTA Regional 3 LevelDivision: Primary (K-2)Yog Trivedi (Streams)–

Literature/The Astronaut, winnerSarah Spencer (Streams)–

Photo/Fishies and Crabs, winnerLibby Eannarino (Baker)–

Visual Arts/Believe Dream and Inspire with Books and Reading, first

Sydney Zottola (Streams)– Visual Arts/Butterfly Garden, second

Yog Trivedi (Streams)– Visual Arts/The Astronaut, third

Division: Intermediate (3-5)Olivia Gnad (Eisenhower)–

Dance/Believing is Key, winnerRicha Mahajan (Boyce)–

Literature/A School with a Difference, first

Dev Patel (Baker)– Literature/Believe In Yourself, Dream Big, Inspire Someone, second

Shana Reddy (Streams)– Literature/Believe, Dream, Inspire, third

Kahra Loding (Boyce)– Music/A Song for All, winner

Luka Misic (Eisenhower)– Photo/The Future of the World is in Their Hands, first

Sara Hess (Boyce)– Photo/New Heights, second

Victoria Semenov (Streams)– Photo/Soar Toward Your Dreams, third

Sadhika Yanamadala (Boyce)– Visual Arts/Make Your Mark, first

Lucy Volpatt (Baker)– Visual Arts/Animal Rescue, second

Anna Rush (Boyce)– Visual Arts/Eagle Catches Fish, third (tie)

Antara Cleetus (Boyce)– Visual Arts/The Third Eye, third (tie)

Division: Middle/Junior (6-8)Arushi Verma (Fort Couch)–

Dance/Living the Dream, winnerSamual Reeder (Fort Couch)–

Film/Live Your Dream, first

Anika Sinha (Boyce)– Film/Simple Pleasures in Life, second

Ariana Gnad (Fort Couch)– Film/The Shoe Dance, third

Kriti Shah (Fort Couch)– Literature/Piano Competition, first

Ahiri Ghosh (Boyce)– Literature/Believe, Dream and Inspire!, second

Hannah Trivedi (Fort Couch)– Literature/ My Dance Teacher, third

Robbie Halpner (Fort Couch)– Music/Telephone Tell-A-Friend, winner

Kelsey Riemer (Boyce)– Music/Reassurance: A Song of Hope, winner

Abby Riemer (Fort Couch)– Photo/The Meeting of the Rivers, first

Ariana Gnad (Fort Couch)– Photo/Markered Flower, second

Julia Conlon (Fort Couch)– Photo/Whispers Within, third

Samuel Ramos (Fort Couch)– Visual Arts/Knowledge, first

Laura Lapham (Fort Couch)– Visual Arts/What is a Tree?, second

Mikhail Skriabin (Fort Couch)– Visual Arts/Music Passion, third (tie)

Maggie Bryant (Fort Couch)– Visual Arts/Green Thumbs Grow Up, third (tie)

Division: Special Artist (K-8)Joe Lapham (Fort Couch)–

Photo/A Love Letter, winner

Note: Entries noted as “winners” automati-cally advanced due to fewer than four entries

in that particular arts area/division.

Soar Toward Your Dreams, Victoria Semenov

Green Thumbs Grow Up, Maggie Bryant

The Third Eye, Antara Cleetus


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BELIEVE, DREAM, INSPIRE

Reflections 2013—

BELIEVE, DREAM, INSPIRE


SDPennsylvania State Level

The following are the USC students who advanced from the regional level to the Pennsylvania state level of competition. First place Pennsylvania winners will advance to the National Reflections contest. An update will follow in the summer issue of TODAY.

Division: Intermediate (3-5)Richa Mahajan (Boyce)–Literature/A School with a Difference, firstVictoria Semenov (Streams)–Photo/Soar Toward Your Dreams,

secondLuka Misic (Eisenhower)–Photo/The Future of the World is in

Their Hands, thirdAntara Cleetus (Boyce)–Visual Arts/The Third Eye, first

Division: Middle/Junior (6-8)Arushi Verma (Fort Couch)–Dance/Living the Dream, secondSamual Reeder (Fort Couch)–Film/Live Your Dream, firstAriana Gnad (Fort Couch)–Film/The Shoe Dance, secondRobbie Halpner (Fort Couch)–Music/Telephone Tell-A-Friend,

secondJulia Conlon (Fort Couch)–Photo/Whispers Within, thirdMaggie Bryant (Fort Couch)–Visual Arts/Green Thumbs Grow

Up, firstLaura Lapham (Fort Couch)–Visual Arts/What is a Tree?, second

Division: Special Artist (K-8)Joe Lapham (Fort Couch)–Photo/A Love Letter, first

The Future of the World is in Their Hands, Luka Misic

What is a Tree?, Laura Lapham


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Early in October, the tables in the Boyce Nutrition Center were packed with eager problem solvers as over 150 fifth and sixth graders took the Calcu-Solve selection test.

This test of 30 non-routine word prob-lems was used to select the Boyce Middle School 2013 Calcu-Solve team. Earning top scores and a spot on the team were sixth graders Vivek Babu, Claire Chen, Jason Choi, Katie Hobart, Avaneesh Rade, Aleksa Rodic, Riwk Sen, and Braden Yates, and fifth graders Christian Chiu, Harrison Chui, Jonah Murray, and Henry Zou.

represent that school, including Taim Aizooky, Kevin Chen, Ariana Chiu, Jack de la Parra, Sam Ding, Sahil Doshi, Matt Higgs, Meghan Joon, Dina Leyzarovich, Serena Luo, Sean Martin, Mallika Matharu, Vikram Reddy, Kriti Shah, Spencer Miller, and Abbie Wagner.

These students practiced vigorously for two months, solving intense problems involving pattern recognition, geometric figures, and much more.

The November 21 competition started with a team question where the students had to find the 500th term in the sequence. Then, each team split up and the students had to solve seven individual questions. The teams came back together for the last question and the competition finished with a 17-way tie! Seventeen students had per-fect scores and went on to a sudden-death tiebreaker round. Of these 17, four were from Fort Couch: Kevin Chen, Sam Ding, Matt Higgs, and Spencer Miller. n

On November 22, under the direction of their coach and math resource teacher Kathy Hoedeman, these 12 students trav-eled to Duquense University for the annual 5/6 Calcu-Solve competition. Sponsored by

the Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3 and the II-VI Foundation, this year’s contest hosted 396 students on 99 teams from all over the county. Upper St. Clair School District helped out by providing 16 Boyce student council “ambas-sadors” led by sixth grade homeroom teacher Justin Gremba and 12 USCHS students who, with the help of gifted coordinator and teacher Tim Wagner, did the scoring for the competition.

After all the problems were solved and points tallied, one of the Boyce

teams came out on top with 140 points out of a possible 150. Congratulations to “Hashtag Two” and members Jason Choi, Katie Hobart, Jonah Murray, and Braden Yates for their first place finish. In addition, Braden Yates individually won second place and Jason Choi took home an honorable mention.

At Fort Couch Middle School, stu-dents took the CalcuSolve qualifying exam in September, with the 16 stu-dents who scored highest chosen to

The Boyce Calcu-Solve team The Fort Couch Calcu-Solve team

Braden Yates

Fort Couch second place team members Spencer Miller, Kevin Chen, Jack de la Parra, and Sahil Doshi,

with their coaches.

“Math”letes Perform at Calcu-Solve

Boyce’s first place team members Katie Hobart, Jason Choi, Braden Yates, and Jonah Murray

As individuals, Kevin Chen placed first, Sam Ding placed second, and Spencer Miller earned an

honorable mention for finishing in the top ten.

whs.org whs.org

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Bone Density TestingCT Scan

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(blood and urine testing)

Boyce Celebrates Random Acts of Kindness WeekThis past November 18-22, Boyce Middle School

celebrated Random Acts of Kindness Week, an international cel-ebration dedicated to reminding students about the importance of doing kind acts for others. Thousands of schools all over the world participate each year.

Students participated in a kindness activity during guidance class, and throughout the week students were challenged to do at least one kind act for a classmate, a Boyce staff member, a fam-ily member, and their community. Each classroom had a Special People Performing Random Acts of Kindness board. Students and teachers wrote on Post-it® notes kind acts that they witnessed.

In addition, students and their families collected over 200 winter clothing items. These items were donated to SHIM, which,

in turn, distributed them to local needy families. There was a school-wide Thanksgiving food drive, with each class donating specific food items. Complete Thanksgiving meals were made and delivered to needy families in the South Hills area.

After Halloween, all students were asked to bring in their extra candy, and thousands of pieces of candy were donated. Sixteen boxes of candy were sent to our military serving overseas, accom-panied by notes of thanks written by the students. The remaining candy was delivered to local needy families and the Washington County Outreach center.

To wrap up the week, Bubba, from the 100.7 Morning Show, spoke at a student assembly about continuing to do acts of kindness. n

Boyce teachers in their “Kindness Counts” t-shirts


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SDDid You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know?

Cross CountryThis past October, the USCHS cross country team hosted

a guest speaker via video chat with two-time Olympian Elva Dryer. Some of Mrs. Dryer’s credentials include competing in three USA Olympic Trials, winning the Division II cross country championship two times, winning the Division II 3000 meters four times, and finishing sixth overall in the women’s ING New York Marathon. Dryer spoke with the cross country student-athletes about the life path where running took her. Additionally, she fielded questions about her career, tips for mental preparation for “big races,” dealing with injuries, and how to progress as a runner.

At the WPIAL championships at Cooper’s Lake this past fall, USC qualified two individuals for the state championship. Freshman Sarah Martin and senior James Smith finished in the top 15 as individuals in the AAA races to earn the right to represent the WPIAL at the PIAA cross country championships in Hershey. This is the first year in the past ten that USC cross country qualified more than one PIAA athlete.

Montage Takes First PlaceCongratulations to the 2013 USCHS staff of the

Montage literary arts magazine for winning first place with special merit in the American Scholastic Press Association competition. The fourth year in a row that the Montage has won first place, this is the first year the magazine has won top honors (special merit). In addition, Abby Hill won the Outstanding Art award for her painting “Ocean.”

Editors for the 2013 Montage were Anna Rosati (editor-in-chief), John Benhart (literary editor), Sarah Collins (assistant literary editor), Liam Klutch (layout editor), Alaina D’Aloiso (art director), Sarah Seitanakis (assistant art director), and staff members Brooks Wilding, Mary Kate Kauffelt, Morgan Collins, Sarah Meiman, Sam Schiffman, Mattie Graniger, Kelly Conner, Becca DeGregorio, and Christina Park.

High AspirationsUpper St. Clair High School junior Ananya Cleetus has been

selected as a winner of the 2014 National NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing. She is being recognized by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) for her computing-related aspirations and for her demonstrated outstanding aptitude and interest in information technology/computing, solid leadership ability, academic history, and plans for post-secondary education. More than 2300 students applied for the award this year.

In honor of her achievement, NCWIT will present Ananya a $500 check and an engraved award, as well as an award for the school to acknowledge her accomplishment. In addition, she and one parent are invited to attend the Bank of America Technology Stars of the Future Showcase and Awards Ceremony being held this March in Charlotte, North Carolina. Publicly recognized, she will be awarded with a laptop computer at the event.

As an Aspirations award recipient, Ananya is eligible to launch her own program for Middle School girls through the AspireIT Middle School Outreach program if she has an idea for which she would like to apply for funding.

Model UNSpecial congratulations are extended to sophomores Gaurav

Bhushan and Ben Spock who were recipients of the Clarke Thomas Memorial Award for best position paper, a first place award at the Model United Nations Competition. Gaurav and Ben wrote from the perspective of Germany as they served on the World Health Organization committee.

Chem FestForty Boyce and Fort Couch Middle School students attended

ChemFest— a celebration of National Chemistry Week—this past October. With dozens of hands-on exhibits and demonstrations presented by local companies, the students enjoyed discovering everyday uses for chemistry. The students created fruit batteries, UV active bracelets, and homemade electromagnets and also had a chance to experiment with chlorophyll, learn how we use coal for energy, and much more. Additionally, the students i n t e r a c t e d with industry professionals w h o w o r k in the STEM f i e l d s o f s c i e n c e , t e c h n o l o g y, engineering, and math.

Left to right are Ben Spock and Gaurav Bhushan

With the award certificate, are left to right, front row: Sarah Seitanakis, John

Benhart; back row: Sarah Meiman, Kelly Conners, and Liam Klutch

Montage cover


SDDid You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know?Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know? Did You Know?

PMEAFourteen USCHS students successfully

auditioned for the PMEA District 1 Chorus Festival that was held at Shaler Area High School this past January. Guest conducting the festival was Robert Kurth, Director of Choirs at Duquesne University. The USCHS students were joined by singers from 80 area school districts in the three-day event that culminated with an evening concert. The USCHS students, taught by high school choral director Lorraine Milovac, (in alphabetical order) are Brevin Banton, Lindsay Buono, Morgan Hogenmiller, Megan Jones, Hannah Lane, Garret Liebel, Noah Manalo, Benjamin Nadler, Mariya Savinov, Brianna Spilsbury, Jonathan Summers, Isabel Tarcson, Michael Unghajer, and Morgan Wangler.

Bus Driver Scholarship for USCHS SeniorReturning this year is the $500 USC Bus Driver scholarship.

Available to any USCHS senior, applications are on hand at USCHS Guidance or request one from any bus driver. A written essay about a personal experience of “riding a USC School Bus” is required. Applications must be turned in by Wednesday, April 30 to USCHS Guidance or given to any bus driver. The winner will be announced at the USCHS awards ceremony on May 28.

“SCAD”s of TalentCongratulations to Anna “Scout” Rieder, IB Visual Arts

student, whose photograph “Overcast” made it to the finals in the Savannah, Georgia College for Art and Design “SCAD Challenge.” An annual event, these highly competitive art challenges provide winners with a chance to receive a scholarship to the college. Anna’s image can be seen at www.scadchallenge.com/finalists/photography_challenge_entry.

Arts Workshop Held at USCHSThis past November, the IB Visual Art class at the high school

attended an in-school workshop conducted by local watercolor artist Nancy Deckant, who teaches locally at CCAC, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and Touchstone Center for Crafts. Students watched a demonstration and attempted their own watercolor paintings.

Jonah Murray, geography bee winner

Geography bee finalists

USCHS PMEA students

Where in the World?The island of Corsica, which lies south

of the Ligurian Sea, is part of what country? Answer: France.

This was the final question in the 2014 National Geographic Bee held at Boyce Middle School in January. The fifth and sixth grade students answered questions on topics, including U.S. cities, world geography, and historic places.The six finalists were Vivek Babu, Sam Dvorin, Richa Mahajan, Jonah Murray, Ben Nelson, and Zachary Smith. Jonah Murray, a fifth grader, came in first place. The bee was conducted by Susan Fleckenstein, gifted teacher, and Boyce principal Amy Pfender.


SDBoyce and Fort Couch, Once Again, Are “Schools to Watch”

Boyce and Fort Couch Middle Schools have been re-designated as Donald Eichhorn “Schools to Watch” for the third time. Both schools received their first “Schools to Watch” award in 2008 and were re-designated in 2011 and 2014.

The mission of the Pennsylvania Don Eichhorn Schools: Schools to Watch Program is to assist Pennsylvania middle grades schools build capacity and recognize schools achieving academic excellence, based on 37 rigorous criteria established by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform.

A Pennsylvania Don Eichhorn School is a school that is consci-entiously moving to meet fully the nationally endorsed criteria for high-performing middle schools, one that has made marked prog-ress in meeting all of the criteria, including measurable gains in the academic achievement of all students over time. The program seeks to recognize a small number of diverse, high-performing, growth-oriented middle grades schools to demonstrate what all middle grades schools are capable of achieving.

Pennsylvania Don Eichhorn Schools are high-performing schools with middle grades that demonstrate:

•Academic Excellence. They challenge all students to use their minds well.

•Developmental Responsiveness. They are sensitive to the unique developmental challenges of early adolescence.

•Social Equity. They are socially equitable, democratic, and fair and provide every student with high-quality teachers, resources, learning opportunities, and supports. They keep positive options open for all students.

•Organizational Structures and Processes. They are learning organizations that establish norms, structures, and organiza-tional arrangements to support and sustain their trajectory toward excellence.“I congratulate John Rozzo, Supervisor of Middle Level Educa-

tion; Joseph DeMar, Fort Couch Middle School principal; Amy Pfender, Boyce Middle School principal; and Erin Peterson, Middle School assistant principal, for receiving this re-designation and for continuing to provide academic excellence for our middle school students,” stated Dr. Patrick T. O’Toole, USC Superintendent of Schools. n

Ike Crawl participants

Eisenhower Elementary Walks a MileStudies indicate that active students do better than

their more sedentary peers. Regular physical activity has been shown to increase concentration and attention, improve atten-dance, and increase academic performance. Physically active lifestyles also lead to lower rates of childhood obesity and related conditions.

With that in mind, last year, Eisenhower physical education teacher Carol Olack decided to start Fitness Friday so that the entire student body could start their day by exercising together via their classroom TVs. This year, to kick-off Fitness Friday, the Ike Crawl came to fruition.

During a morning this past October, the whole school, including staff and administra-tion, left the building and walked one mile through the neighbor-hood. The classroom teachers accompanied their group of students, with Carol Olack leading the group and Mark Miller, school principal, following at the end. The Upper St. Clair police were on hand, leading and tailing the group with their lights flashing to make sure everyone was safe. Parents and younger siblings were invited to participate.

The same day, Eisenhower students increased their cardio activity again by participating in Jump Rope for Hearts. With heart disease continuing to be our nation’s number one killer, Jump Rope for Hearts is a great way to encourage students to take care of their hearts through physical activity, while making a difference in the lives of others.

With parents turning the ropes, each grade jumped for one hour. Teachers joined in and jumped for the last ten minutes of the session. This year’s “Red Out” event had teachers sporting

“Get Fired Up” t-shirts. The total amount of money raised was a record $8184,

which exceeded last year’s drive by approximate-

ly $3000. Thank you to all who

volunteered e i t h e r b y t i m e o r donation! n


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Munch at LunchFor several years, fourth graders have had the oppor-

tunity to join Book Munchers, a lunchtime book club designed to promote independent reading for pleasure. Hosted by Stream Elementary enrichment resource teacher Mary Quinn, the Book Munchers select a title to read on their own outside of school. Mrs. Quinn often steers the selection to include books that are part of a series, so that if the book captures a student’s interest, there are other titles to enjoy. Ideally, the book has not been made into a movie, which has been increasingly challenging. Students

select a day to meet and then during lunch, students eat and talk about the book. It is a great opportunity for students to share opinions, ask questions, compare and contrast texts, and explore genres they might not select on their own.

The Upper St. Clair Township Library, with the help of librarian Sheri Huffman, has been an integral part of Book Munchers since its inception. Once a title has been selected, Ms. Huffman arranges for multiple copies of the book to be available at the children’s desk for check out. Ms. Huffman has also been an excellent resource for titles that the fourth graders might enjoy. While many students do use a library copy, families have tapped into other resources as well, downloading the titles for students to read on the mobile devices, listening to copies of the text as an audiobook, and even finding graphic novel versions of the book to make the text more accessible.

The students who participate in Book Munchers are also in-volved in other aspects of the Streams school community. They have been part of the PTA-sponsored “Snuggle Up and Read” night as bedtime story readers to younger students and have had their own projects included in the Silent Auction outreach project.

This year’s Book Muncher group got off to a great start, with over 30 students participating in two different lunchtime meetings to discuss Anthony Horowitz’s Stormbreaker. Inspired by a recent visit at Fort Couch, the next book chosen was Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events: A Bad Beginning. The Book Munchers are looking forward to continuing an exciting year of eating and reading together. n

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Members of the Streams Book Munchers enjoy lunch and literature.

More than Words—My Summer in ThailandSydney Turnwald

Every year in late April, Upper St. Clair is visited for five weeks by students from some of the best schools in Thailand. The students take classes at USCHS, visit local sites, and generally immerse themselves in American culture. In addition to their very busy schedule, the Thai students also prepare for an end of the trip performance highlighting some aspect of Thai culture to share at USC’s annual Thai Night Gala. This program is an exceptional addition to Upper St. Clair schools.

This past summer, three other USC students (Erica Choung, Shivani Gosai, and Mary Kate Kauffelt) and I visited schools in Bangkok that the Thai students attend. The three-week trip was to include a two-week English teaching assignment. However, the trip proved to be a testament that, when traveling, one must remain flexible. A few weeks before we left for Bangkok, we learned that the Thai schools would be having exams during our time there. This change of events meant that we would assistant teach less and take more local field trips.

Prior to leaving for the trip and based upon my prior experi-ences with the Thai exchange students, I thought I knew what to expect on my trip. But I was surprised by the extent of the Thai generosity when we visited their home country. Gift giving is very important to Thai people, and they certainly extended many gifts to us. The best gift, though, was their openness to and their gracious acceptance of us.

During our first week, we stayed at Vijiravudh College, an all-boys boarding school. While there, we noticed the amount of respect Thai people have for tradition and history. The school, based on the English boarding model, was established by King Rama VI more than 100 years ago. A very cool campus, there was lots of traditional Thai architecture. We experienced all sorts of exciting local excursions, including watching the school rugby teams compete in the championship, visiting a nearby zoo, and a trip to the Grand Palace.

We also spent time getting to know some of the Vijiravudh students. We toured their campus, and it was fascinating to learn about their school. A lot of emphasis is placed on the hierarchy system. The school is divided into different houses, and each house has approximately seven senior prefects. These prefects have almost complete rule over the younger boys. If a senior asks a younger boy to get something for him, he is obligated to do it. I found it very interesting that this school has such a distinct class hierarchy, while USC discourages this type of behavior. Being a boarding school, Vijiravudh students also have a very structured

daily schedule. Their entire day, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., is planned—a very different concept from the more flexible schedules of USC students.

The following week, we stayed in the condo of our program coordinators, Luck and Jerry Groves, and visited two more schools, Satit Kaset and Satit Chula, which have student exchange programs with Upper St. Clair. The day we visited Satit Chula was the day of the candle procession. This religious tradition involves students parading through the streets behind a large candle, help-ing to prepare the monks for their long stay in the temple. The elaborate parade included costumed students, floats, and a march-ing band. During the parade, the Satit Chula students sang and danced. Having the energy of an American football game, it was even more fun. Even though we really did not understand what was happening, we had a great time and kept up with the forward movement of the people. When we returned to the school, the ceremony became more somber and the monks arrived to receive their gifts. Never witnessing this type of ceremony before, I felt fortunate to have been able to join in.

The rest of the day we spent learning about different aspects of Thai culture, and we participated in traditional Thai dance classes, worked on crafts, and visited classrooms. The students gave presentations in English about traditional Thai things and we shared information about traditional American things. There were times the Thai students didn’t quite understand what we were saying. For instance, when describing Thanksgiving, we mentioned eating turkey. However, turkeys do not exist in Thailand and it was difficult for the Thai students to fully under-stand our Thanksgiving food tradition. One of us drew the image of a turkey on the chalkboard using the hand outline technique, and after seeing this drawing the Thai students seemed to better understand our explanation of Thanksgiving. It was then that I realized things seeming so natural and normal to me may really be very strange and foreign to someone else.

The rest of our days at Satit Kaset and its associated univer-sity, Kasetsart, were spent in much the same manner. We learned more about Thai traditions and about Thai cooking. The Dean of Education at Kasetsart hosted a special cooking class, where he cooked for us and for some university students. Eating the food may have been the highlight of my day.

USC students with Thai students at Satit Chula

USC students in Thai costume at Thai classical dancing at Satit Kaset


SD

Twice as NiceWhat’s better than winning one state championship?

Winning back-to-back state championships!USCHS’s boys’ soccer team had a sweet finish to their season as

they savored their second straight PIAA title, beating Conestoga Valley, 4-0, in the Class AAA final on November 16 at Hershey Park Stadium. Scoring for the Panthers were Dom Caruso, Doug Hapeman, Joel Hart, and Troye Kiernan, with as-sists from Garrett Blake, Hart, and Shayne Sibley.

The Upper St. Clair’s boys’ soccer team also won back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004, which places them fourth on the all-time PIAA soccer championship list.

Not only did the boys’ soccer team score on the field, they also scored in their charitable efforts. Throughout the fall soccer season, the team raised funds by collecting pledges and subse-quent donations for every goal that they scored during the regular season. The proceeds of this fundraiser were equally distributed

among the boys soccer boosters and the Light of Life Rescue Mission in Pittsburgh. This past December in the high school nutrition center, the boys bagged more than 500 lunches for Light of Life and presented this organization with a check from the fundraiser. n

At Kaset, we observed more classes and got to help teach. The English of these fourth and fifth graders was impressive. I had a hard time remembering to slow down, use small words, and engage the students. One lesson focused on things that are bad for your health and another focused on animals and emotions. I liked how the classes were not just about learning English as a foreign language, but rather as a means of communication. The teachers achieved this goal by teaching meaningful lessons while speaking English, not just teaching rote vocabulary. I liked this approach and believe it reinforced speaking the language.

During the final week of our adventure we each lived with our host families (even our teacher, Ms. Wolf, stayed with a host fam-ily). At first, I was a little nervous to leave my group and go with my host family. My family threw me a large dinner party when I arrived. Everyone in the family and extended family came. The meal was traditional Thai food and included Tom yum soup, Thai fried eggs, and desserts. By the end of the meal, I was pleasantly full and definitely feeling more comfortable with my host family.

Although each host family sent their child to the same school (Satriwithaya), no one’s house was near any other, unlike the close homes in suburban USC. While my host’s house was closest to the school, it was still a good half hour drive to get there. The other girls had drives of about an hour. Once we left the school for the evening we didn’t see our fellow Upper St. Clair travelers until the next day. An important aspect of our trip, it caused us to become more immersed in our host families’ lives.

During our time with the host families we continued with our group activities, but we also did some ac-tivities solely with our host families. One day, my host family took me to a floating market, where we took a boat ride. It was the first time on my trip that I felt like I was in a completely different world. Though my host family spoke limited English, I still felt like we bonded. Communicating

is so much more than merely words, and I think that was one of the biggest lessons I learned.

During our last weekend in Thailand, we went with our host families to Pattaya, a beach located about two hours from Bangkok. The water was warm and gentle and we went banana boating, which was a lot of fun. Falling off was easy, but getting back on was quite another story. At the end of the day and with the sun slowly setting, I realized that my time with my Thai friends would soon be over.

It was sad to think about leaving, but we had shared a wonder-ful three weeks. I strengthened relationships that I had started during the Thai students’ trip to Pittsburgh last spring and I de-veloped some new friendships. While I still communicate with my Thai friends using today’s technologies, it’s not quite the same as being with them. I hope to one day travel again to Bangkok. My three-week adventure to Thailand opened my eyes to a world outside of Upper St. Clair and how others live.

I hope others can take advantage of this student exchange program at USC by being an ambassador or hosting a Thai student or maybe even making the journey to Thailand. Believe me, it’s worth it! n

The boys soccer team presents the check to Light of Life Rescue Mission.

The daughter of Ron and Michelle Turnwald, Sydney is a USCHS senior. See page 6 for

information about Young Writers Guild (YWG).

Visiting Kanchanaburi War Cemetery at the bridge of the River Kwai

USC students teaching class to fifth graders at Satit Kaset


SD


SD

This past fall, USCHS boys’ golf team won the PIAA Class AAA champi-onship. This win followed the team’s 18th WPIAL championship celebration.

Grant Engel, a senior, won the PIAA Class AAA boys’ individual golf champion-ship title. With this victory, Grant became the third PIAA boys’ golf champion in his-tory to hail from Upper St. Clair.

Impressive for sure, but equally as impressive is the team’s performance off the course. In 2011, USCHS boys’ golf team captain Tim Novic started “Birdies for a Cause” to raise money for a specific charity through donations or pledges for every birdie earned during the competi-tive season. In 2012, the team continued the tradition and raised $3400 for Tim’s

charity. This past year, a new cause was selected and together the varsity and JV teams raised $8288 for colorectal cancer, pledging money for each regular season birdie.

In the presentation of the check to Allegheny General Hospital for Colorectal Cancer Research and Awareness, Grant said that Coach Todd Flynn has always impressed upon the boys that “what you do off of the course is far more important than what you do on the course.”

Varsity team members include Grant Engel, Thomas Steve, Corey Wilding, Patrick McDonnell, Nelson Zacur, Louis Olsakovsky, Zach Barone, Austin Cassidy, Brooks Wilding, and Jackson Sandusky. n

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! A Madrigal DecreeHannah Lane and Ben Nadler

Every year, the Upper St. Clair High School Chanteclairs host the Madrigal Dinner—a dinner theatre set in medieval times—at Westminster Presbyterian Church. Extremely uninteresting to a group of students to stand up and sing, then sit down while the audience eats, the task of writing a comical, current, and witty script is left to the choir students. This year, we were given this task.

Now, as most madrigal dinners go, humor and fun are the key ele-ments to the skit. In this case, not only did we want an amusing skit, but we wanted an amusing story, as well. We wanted to incorporate the U.S. government shutdown in some way, but we were well aware that we would have to approach the subject delicately. So, instead of approach-ing it head-on, we came up with the idea that the medieval government was shutting down due to a social media crisis (yes, our “worst enemy” was Twitter)—the citizens of the town spent too much time on their electronic devices, which prevented them from doing their jobs properly. This subject was something we knew all kids and parents could relate to. With our main plot in mind, we then focused on a series of events and the characters we would need for the skit.

We began with the traditional opening for the dinner: the King’s opening monologue. From there, we developed characters and motives

based on the overall plot. To make the audience laugh, we needed char-acters with funny quirks who not only spoke Olde English, but who also furthered the plot. We introduced each character in a creative way by incorporating the next character into the preceding dialogue.

The Madrigal Dinner is split by meals with respective songs. First is the Wassail, then the Boar’s Head, followed by the Flaming Pudding and concluding with My Friends We Now Must Leave Thee. Each song and meal signaled the end of a section of the skit. Keeping up with all the jokes could be confusing, though we seemed to find a way to string it all together. A most difficult thing was making sure that each character had equal speaking time.

The script took approximately 13 hours to write. All in all, it must have turned out OK, because—as rumor had it—it was the best script in years!

Writing this script was a wonderful process for us, and we are es-pecially grateful to have had this opportunity to write together as best friends. A sophomore and a senior, half of our writing team will be leav-ing for college this coming fall, but there will surely be more astounding scripts to come from new writers. n

Hannah Lane, senior, USCHS Since the beginning of her high school career, Hannah has participated in the PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educator’s Association) choirs. She auditioned into the PMEA State Choir her sophomore year and went on to participate in the NAfME (National Association for Music Educators) All-Eastern choir her junior year. She attended the NAfME All-National Choir in the beginning of her senior year. Hannah participated in

the Upper St. Clair choirs all four years of high school, including the Women’s Choir, Clarion Choir, Pantheon Choir, and the Chanteclairs. Last year, Hannah portrayed Reno Sweeney in the school’s musical production Anything Goes, and, this March, Hannah plays Sylvia in the school’s spring musical performance All Shook Up.

Last summer, Hannah attended the Carnegie Mellon University pre-college program with an intensive in musical theatre. Outside of high school, Hannah has been assistant director for Westminster Presbyterian Church’s Cherub Choir for six years. Hannah will attend college this fall and major in musical theatre. She plans to pursue her craft and perform for the rest of her life. n

Ben Nadler, sophomore, USCHS A sophomore, Ben participates in the Pantheon choir, Chanteclairs, and Men’s Ensemble. He also sang with the PMEA (Pennsylvania Music Educator’s Associa-tion) Honors Choir and is excited for his first year in the PMEA District Choir. Last year, Ben portrayed Moonface Martin in the high school musical Anything Goes and was Grandpa in this year’s fall play You Can’t Take it With You. This spring he plays Jim Haller in the

school’s spring musical performance All Shook Up.Outside of school, Ben participates in shows at Little Lake Theatre

and South Park Theater. He has spent seven summers with South Park Children’s Theater. In addition to his acting experience, Ben sang with the Jr. Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh for three years and formed a film production club at USCHS. He hopes to pursue writing novels and screenwriting for television. Maybe someday he’ll end up adapting his own novels for the big screen. n

Boys’ Golf Team Doubles Efforts

Members and coaches of the USCHS boys varsity and JV golf teams present a check to Allegheny General Hospital

for Colorectal Cancer Research and Awareness.

See page 6 for information about Young Writers Guild (YWG).


Celebrate!Celebrate Creatively When Seniors are InvolvedMarilyn Walsh, Baptist Homes Society

Baptist Homes owns and operates two senior living communities, Baptist Homes in Mt. Lebanon and Providence Point in Scott Township. Its mission of quality, individualized care includes

making sure that each resident’s special celebrations—whether it’s birthdays, anniversaries, or other accomplishments—are recognized. See ad for Baptist Homes/Providence Point on page 2.

Leona Cimino, with Amy Angotti, celebrated her 100th birthday at Baptist Homes this past year. Family, staff, and friends were on hand to sing,

share cake, and celebrate.

Baptist Homes celebrates Mother’s Day with a fun “Queen for the Day.”

The ladies, including Mrs. Kruhm, are given manicures, makeovers, mini-massages, and a photo opportunity.

As children, we revel in celebrating birthdays, firsts (i.e., the first day of school), and holidays. Celebrations are good for our wellbeing because they provide an opportunity to acknowledge our accomplishments. Consciously and sub-consciously, they mark the things we have done on our journey through life. When we neglect to celebrate accomplishments, we run the risk of taking things for granted and minimizing how special and unique we are as individuals.

Older adults often shrug off celebrations. They say they don’t want friends or family to fuss. National holidays are just another day. They’ll tell you major events such as surgery or a move from their home is nothing.

Yet, the staff at Baptist Homes Society, which has been pro-viding care for seniors for more than a century, recommends celebrating seniors’ milestones just as you would anyone else’s. Appropriate celebrations boost a person’s wellbeing and add joy and comfort to one’s life.

Age, health status, and other circumstances may play a role in how we celebrate, so here are some ideas intended specifically for seniors:• Keep it simple. Just a visit will do. Bring a cupcake, candle, and balloons on a birthday. Create

laughter by singing “Happy Birthday” at the top of your lungs. Bring a framed photo or a card.• Special remembrances. Seniors love picture books and sharing memories. Gather photos

from past birthdays or events and put them in a scrapbook with names and dates. If they’ve moved, help recreate home on a wall or corner of their new apartment or home. Add photos or sentimental decorations.

• Gather cards. A great way to recognize any milestone. Send a request to friends and family asking them to send you a greeting for the senior in your life. When you’ve collected all the cards, wrap them in a gift box and present them on the senior’s special day. Stay and read them or, depending on how many cards are received, schedule weekly visits to accomplish that task.

• Celebrity status. Community newspapers often feature stories about seniors. Contact your local newspaper. Provide a photo and brief bio about the senior in your life. When the article appears, present it to your loved one in a frame. Most likely, they’ll also receive phone calls and notes from neighbors and friends who’ve seen the piece.

• Skype away. So many of us have iPads and other mobile devices. But to the elderly, these can seem like magical tools. By scheduling an hour for friends and family to call the senior in your life on your mobile device, you can create a little magic.

• Share video hour. This isn’t time to nod off in a movie. Select short documentaries or scenic films that have some significance to your loved one (e.g., a DVD tour of Ireland, baby animals, favorite entertainers from years gone by). The idea is to open up conversation, start a sing-a-long, and inspire reminiscences.Any celebration based on giving time

and getting personally involved with an elderly friend or loved one is a valuable gift to give. n


Celebrate!

See ad for Louis Anthony Jewelers on page 5.

Americans are generous and contribute billions of dollars to charity each year, using a variety of methods. One creative way of gifting is through a donor-advised fund, a separately identified fund or account that is maintained and operated by a section 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

Donor-advised funds, which offer immediate tax benefits, are becoming an increas-ingly attractive option for individuals, families, and organizations looking for alternatives to direct giving or private foundations. With more than $25.2 billion in assets and over 152,000 account holders in 2009, according to the National Philanthropic Trust, donor-advised funds are the fastest growing charitable giving vehicle in the U.S.

Resources:1. http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/15-fascinating-facts-about-smiling/#YShZlAD7fJz1Lj4g.99

2. http://www.holidayinsights.com.See ad for Orthodontics by Drs. Reitz and Troy on page 43.

Celebrate Dental HealthDr. Eric Reitz and Dr. Beth Troy

What comes to mind when you hear the word “celebrate”? A party, a high-five, and definitely, a smile! As orthodontists, we share smiles with our patients daily and know that a healthy mouth is a reason to celebrate.

Most people seek orthodontic treatment simply to straighten crooked teeth, mak-ing their appearance more attractive. Having straight teeth, however, provides an ideal healthy, functional, esthetic result that will remain stable throughout your life. Orthodontic treatment ensures that each tooth has an exact location in the mouth where it is in harmony with the lips, cheeks, tongue, and other teeth. When this equilibrium is established, the teeth will function together properly.

Here are a few fun facts that are sure to make you smile… and celebrate good dental health, too!

Smiles are contagious: In a study conducted in Sweden, people had difficulty frowning when they looked at other subjects who were smiling, and their muscles twitched into smiles all on their own.1

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.—Phyllis DillerFebruary 17 is National Acts of Kindness Day2

Smiles relieve stress and boost your immune system/mood: Your body im-mediately releases endorphins when you smile, even when you force it. Even if you are in a bad mood, a smile can instantly lift your spirits. This sudden change in mood will help you feel better and release stress.1

If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love.—Maya AngelouFebruary 28 is National Tooth Fairy Day2

Smiling is a universal sign of happiness: While handshakes, hugs, and bows all have varying meanings across cultures, smiling is known around the world and in all cultures as a sign of happiness and acceptance.1

A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.—William Arthur WardJune 15 is Smile Power Day2

Smiles are the most easily recognizable facial expression: People can rec-ognize smiles from up to 300 feet away, making it the most easily recognizable facial expression.1

You’re never fully dressed without a smile.—Martin CharninOctober 3 is World Smile Day2

Smiles are more attractive than makeup: A research study conducted by Orbit Complete discovered that 69% of people find women more attractive when they smile than when they are wearing makeup.1 n

Give Creatively with Donor-advised Funds

The Roaring 20s InspirationAmie Guarino, Louis Anthony Jewelers

Everything Art Deco dazzles this season, and jewelry is getting some major attention. Designers are seeking major inspiration from the remake of the Great Gatsby and the allure of the roaring twenties; the “age of wonderful nonsense” continues to stir and shape modern culture.

The 1920s saw females in a new role. Flappers broke gender barriers with their feisty attitudes and groundbreak-ing styles. These ladies were bending rules long before modern day rebels, including Madonna. Corsets were tossed and locks were chopped as a state-ment of liberation. The fashions of the

era required new and different embellish-ments. Low cut necklines and shorter sleeves gave way to necklaces and brace-lets being the defining jewelry look, with brooches also being popular. Long strands of pearls or beads were favored, along with geometric shapes. Carved jade, coral, and onyx were also all the rage due to archeo-logical discoveries in Egypt at the time.

During this time, wearing jewelry as decoration was considered an art, espe-cially in the upper class circles. Trends were often set by the well-to-do and were then observed and reported, much like the red carpet rituals of today. The trickle down effect was in full force and the advances in synthetic materials were booming. Jewelry, fine or fashion, became a significant acces-sory of the decade.

The 1920s era reveled in confidence and shifting attitudes, and aided in bring-ing jewelry to a broader audience, which resonates to this day. n


Celebrate!

Check out Facebook.com/Stonepeppers for weekly updates and specials!

n Gourmet Burgersn Bountiful Chopped Saladsn Brick Oven Pizzasn Local and Craft Beersn Fresh, Quality Ingredientsn Food, Friends and Fun!

2 Convenient LocationsUpper St. Clair 1614 Washington Rd. • 412-854-4264 Mon-Sat: Open at 11am • Sun: Open at noon

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As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, we offer both investment advisory and brokerage services. These services are separate and distinct, differ in material ways and are governed by different laws and separate contracts. For more information on the distinctions between our brokerage and investment advisory services, please speak with your Financial Advisor or visit our website at ubs.com/workingwithus. UBS Financial Services Inc., its affiliates, and its employees are not in the business of providing tax or legal advice. Clients should seek advice based on their particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. ©UBS 2013. All rights reserved. UBS Financial Services Inc. is a subsidiary of UBS AG. Member SIPC. 31.20_Ad_7.5x4.375_PR0319_RonJ

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31.20_Ad_7.5x4.375_PR0319_RonJ.indd 1 3/20/13 4:36 PMDonor-advised funds are usually offered by foundations, mutual

fund groups, other financial firms, and universities, that often partner with a charity on the offering.

By working through the public charity administrating the donor-advised fund, donors make irrevocable contributions to the fund, which then invests the money in an account the donor creates from a list of different mutual funds. Individuals can contribute to the account cash or appreciated assets, such as securities, cash, or real estate.

Next, the donors make a recommendation, if they choose, on the grants the fund will issue to charity. The donor can also specify that the income and/or principal from the fund be available for distribu-tion to charity.

While donors can recommend which charities should receive contributions, the fund makes the actual grants. This provision is often included in the gifting agreement and offers protection from gifts being allocated to inappropriate charities at the behest of the donor.

Benefits of donor-advised fundsThe benefits donors receive from using donor-advised funds in-

clude the ability to donate a wide variety of assets, an immediate tax deduction, flexible grantmaking, and the opportunity to create a leg-acy. The charitable assets can also be passed on to future generations to oversee and/or can be given directly to charitable organizations.

Another advantage of donor-advised funds is that the donor does not incur the cost of establishing and administering a private foundation, making donor-advised funds appealing for people giving

Continued on page 81

Celebrate!

Keeley Carson Julia Ferry Hannah Fowler Mary Frac Kylie Fultineer

Marissa Behun Sophia Benoit

A Helping Hand, A Willing HeartThe Volunteer Gift—Author Unknown

A helping hand, a willing heart,Sometimes that’s all it takes–

A simple gesture on someone’s part,But what a difference it makes.

That’s just the kind of gift you give,Over and over each day,

And we’ll always be glad that you’veChosen to live in such an unselfish way.

Honoree presented by Cardinal Donald Wuerl

Honoree photos courtesy of Ron Richards Photography, Oakdale

Article provided by Mary Lynne Spazok


Just four years ago, 21 young women from Upper St. Clair became mem-bers of Pittsburgh’s St. Lucy’s Auxiliary to the Blind, whose goal is to inspire a lifetime commitment of volunteer service. As high school freshmen at Seton La-Salle, Shadyside Academy, and Upper St. Clair High School, they pledged to gain cultural and vocational experience through 150 hours of personal challenge. The auxiliary honors these qualified candidates with the Joan of Arc Medallion. Over this past year in 2013, honorees fulfilled their personal promise, celebrated at St. Lucy’s summertime picnic, relished Bishop David Zubik’s (Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh) ceremonial high tea, and, finally, rehearsed the coterie waltz in preparation for the 50th Medallion Ball held this past November. Presiding over the ball were Bishop Zubik and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., who helped celebrate and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ball.

A St. Lucy volunteer appreciates that positive determination affords a worthwhile sense of achievement. Success achieved through positive life skills validates that future aspirations can be realized.

Congratulations to the 2013 Medallion Ball honorees, their families, friends, and mentors. Steadfast in kindness, faith, and courage, their helping hands and willing hearts merit these stellar young women the Joan of Arc Medallion for exemplary service. The entire community of Upper St. Clair is very proud of all of you!

Escorts of the Upper St. Clair honorees, listed in alphabetical order, are Jared Aiello, Jordan Brown, Dominick Caruso, Louis Collins, Adam D’Angelo, Ryan Dudzinski, Joel Hart, Ian Holub, Brennen Kelly, Troye Kiernan, Patrick Lersch, Connor McCormick, James Miller, Jacob Puccetti, David Rice, Alex Rogers, William Ross, Samuel Russell, Noah Schuler, Thomas Steve, and Harrison Teel. n

Celebrating Medallion Ball Honorees—50th Anniversary

Celebrate!

Haylee Gans Gillian Giba

Celia Gisleson Eleanor Hardwick

Brigid Kennedy Hannah Newman Constance Raftis Jenna Ravasio Megan Reilly

Kendall Robinson Jordan Ryan Haley Schepis Jordan Selep Megan Short


CFUSC raised $90,000 for the purchase and installation of the acoustic shell on the USC Theater stage.

Through your support YOU have made it possible

for us to meet the CFUSC mission of

creating a sense of community through enhancing the quality of life for all

the people of Upper St. Clair.

With the Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra donating a portion of their profits from their concert series in the USC Theater, and funds raised in the community, an $80,000 Steinway Concert Grand Piano was acquired for the USC Theater stage. In addition to its in-house use by USC students, the ACOUSTIC SHELL and CONCERT GRAND PIANO have made the Theater the prized and appreciated venue for such organizations as the River City Brass Band, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Orchestra, Pittsburgh Civic Orchestra, Pittsburgh Suzuki Institute

and the South Hills Junior Orchestra.

CFUSC funded a grant of $10,000 to assist in the completion of handicapped facilities at Casey's

Clubhouse Miracle Field.

In addition to funding the Pennsylvania flagpole, letters of support from CFUSC were provided to help enable the township to receive a $100,000 grant for the Veterans Park, through the Community Infrastructure & Tourism Fund of the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County.

THANK YOU!

The COMMUNITY FOUNDATION of UPPER ST. CLAIR appreciates the generous support of the community, and these are a few of the major projects the Foundation has been able to undertake over the years:

The 2011 and 2012 Galas raised $135,000 for the Arts, Education and Athletics in our schools.


Q: How much of the tax obligation can be

applied to EITC?A: A local business organization accrues the

public relations benefits of supporting

education by participating in the EITC

program without incurring additional cost;

participation is a reinvestment of resources

that were already allocated to tax expense. A

business will be approved for a tax credit

equal to 75% of its contribution up to a

maximum of $300,000 per taxable year. The

tax credit may be increased to 90% of the

contribution made, up to a maximum of

$300,000 per taxable year, if the business

agrees to provide the same amount of

contribution for two consecutive tax years. Q: When is the deadline to

apply for EITC and

where to apply?A: The DCED allocates tax credits on a first-

come, first-served basis. Typically, EITC

applications are due on July 1st. Businesses first

in line with their applications and allocation

requests will be able to contribute to their chosen

educational program. Educational Improvement

Tax Credits are awarded to the extent that such

tax credits remain available for the fiscal year in

which the application is made. A company

applies to participate by completing a one-page

application form. Contact the Community

Foundation or the School District to obtain

information about how easy it is to turn tax

dollars into education contributions. Or, if you

prefer, the form is available by calling the

Department of Community and Economic

Development (DCED) at (717) 787-7120 or

online from the EITC page of www.newpa.com.

On the EITC page, find information and an

application by clicking EITC Business

Guidelines.

Q: How does EITC help USC?

A : T h e i n n o v a t i v e e d u c a t i o n

programs of the Upper St. Clair

School District that could potentially

b e n e f i t f r o m “ t a x c r e d i t

contributions” include the Leadership

Academy, the Outdoor Classroom,

Gifted Education, STEM Laboratory

Research Partnersh ip , the IB

Program, and the 21st Century Schools

Initiative. Entities eligible to apply for EITC

are operating businesses authorized to do

business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

that are subject to the following taxes:

Corporate Net Income Tax, Capital Stock

Franchise Tax, Bank and Trust Company Shares

Tax, Title Insurance Companies Shares Tax,

Insurance Premiums Tax, or Mutual Thrift

Institutions Tax.

A PAINLESS WAY TO SUPPORT EDUCATION IN USC ~Turn Your Tax Dollars into Education Contributions

As a business owner, you can fund education in USC with a

portion of your Pennsylvania state tax obligation through EITC

Q: What is EITC? A: A business can fund

education rather than pay a percentage of its

state taxes through Pennsylvania’s Educational

Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program. A

business makes a contribution to an EITC-

registered education improvement organization,

in this case the Community Foundation of

Upper St. Clair, designated for an innovative

educational program of the Upper St. Clair

School District, and in return the state

Department of Community and Economic

Development (DCED) gives the business a tax

credit equal to a percentage of the contribution.



S O MU C H TO O F F E R . . .Office hours are Monday through Friday.

Evening appointments are available.

Our primary goal is to give your child positive memories that instill

lifelong hygiene habits.

1580 McLaughlin Run Rd Pittsburgh PA 15241

412-257-1150

4000 Waterdam Plaza McMurray PA 15317

724-942-4840

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724-695-0133

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www.pinebridgecommons.com Leasing Opportunity (412) 220-9288

Pinebridge CommonsMcLaughlin Run Road at Lesnett Road

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Welcome ~ Melissa D. Michel, MSCP, NCC, LPC

The Chief Partners Piccolina’s Restaurant

Design Image Salon, Joe Ruffalo Pgh. Stone & Waterscapes

Emma’s Market & Deli, Inc. Questa Petroleum Co.

Peter Gialames & Associates Randal Agency, Allstate Ins.

Interior Designs/Furnishings Eric J. Reitz DMD &

by Mary Kay Chaffee Beth Troy, DMD

Jennings & Co., CPA Richardson Family

Jimcor Associates, Inc. Cindy Brophy, State Farm Ins.

Timothy Kerr, DMD & Suburban Dry Cleaners

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HOME IMPROVEMENT

Professional Tips on Window and Door ReplacementDave Scott, Owner, Scott Bros. Windows and Doors

Window replacement can play an integral role in updating any home. Quality windows not only significantly improve a home’s energy efficiency, but when chosen carefully and installed professionally they also enhance the architectural design of a house, increase the home’s esthetic daytime lighting, reduce exterior maintenance, and generally increase a home’s value.

Window shopping, however, can be a trying time for many consum-ers, especially considering the number of choices, widely varying price ranges, and conflicting sales pitches. Use these window shopping tips to simplify the process:• Work with a specialty window contractor who does this type of work

on a daily basis and who can assist you in making the best decisions on products and installation for your home. Choose a contractor that is local to the area, works in your neighborhood, and has good references.

• Choose high quality windows with reliable warranty. The windows Scott Bros. recommends and installs primarily are Andersen® and Marvin® products—wood windows offering a maintenance-free vinyl-clad or extruded aluminum-clad exterior with the beauty of a natural wood or painted interior finish to match any décor. Both manufacturers also offer vinyl-wood or fiberglass composite window lines that are a good option at a mid-price point. Composite windows are considered to be a consistently higher quality product than vinyl.

• Choose windows with Low-E glass for maximum energy efficiency. Low-E glass features transparent metallic coatings that can significantly reduce heating and cooling costs year-round. These Low-E windows have another considerable benefit customers want: they reduce fading on furniture, flooring, and window treatments caused by sunlight.

• Select energy-efficient windows that require minimal maintenance. A wood window with a vinyl-clad exterior provides maximum en-ergy efficiency, low maintenance, and the beauty of a natural-wood interior finish.

• Increase your home’s curb appeal. Remove unsightly storm windows and eliminate the need for exterior maintenance caused by peeling paint and weathered caulking. Consider installing a feature window, such as a bay or bow, and adding window accessories. A feature win-dow not only floods a room with natural light for you to enjoy, but also adds a design element that can pay off significantly should you decide to sell.

• One of the most popular window accessories are grilles. Grilles are available in different styles and designs and include installation on the exterior or interior, or inserted between the panes of glass. Another beautiful window enhancement is a stained glass panel.

• Obtain customer references. Most reputable contractors have a list of references in your area that will provide you with valuable insight about the company you will be working with on your project. Don’t hesitate to ask for references, and then call them.

• Final tip from Dave, “plant your corn early!” n

Dave Scott, a long-time resident of the Upper St. Clair area and owner of Scott Bros. Windows and Doors, has served this community and all

of South Hills with quality window and door sales, installation, and service for more than 30 years. See ad on this page.


HOME IMPROVEMENT

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HOME IMPROVEMENT

Choose the Right Loan for Home ImprovementAs surely as the trees start sprouting leaves and the flow-

ers bloom, homeowners’ minds start racing with all the great home improvement projects they can get done as winter turns to spring. From a new kitchen to a new spa-like bathroom, from a backyard oasis to a finished basement, the project list is limited only by one’s imagination… and budget.

Many homeowners look to the value already in their homes to help finance these projects, but it’s hard to know where to start when looking at financing options.

Generally, there are two major types of products offered by banks throughout the region. Both a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and home equity term (HET) loan offer possible tax advantages and the opportunity to borrow up to certain percentage (typically 85%) of the market value of your home. But there are definite differences between the two offerings.

“When the need arises for access to funds, check and compare the different ways to borrow these funds,” says Vince Cassano, as-sistant vice president, manager of residential and consumer lending for Brentwood Bank. “You should look at the overall cost to obtain the money needed, including the rate, fees, and minimum payment requirement.”

A HET is designed to meet one-time fixed expenses, offering a fixed payment and a fixed term of up to 15 years. A HELOC is de-signed to meet ongoing expenses and you only pay on the funds you actually borrow. A HELOC is typically a variable rate; however, some lenders, including Brentwood Bank, also offer a fixed rate option.

“If you are borrowing for a specific project or purchase, consider

choosing the HET loan with a set repayment plan that includes monthly principal and interest with a payment that fits into your budget,” Cassano said. “For a short-term need for funds, choosing the HELOC with an interest-only payment will allow for lower pay-ments until your cash flow allows you to pay down the principal.”

“For example, if you are looking at remodeling the kitchen, building a deck, or finishing the basement, you should probably look at a home equity term loan,” Cassano continued. “But if you are thinking about a series of projects, a home equity line of credit may be your best solution.”

When comparing home equity products, Cassano said the three things every consumer should look for are the term and rate of the loan, closing costs, and any pre-payment penalties. “You should also always check with your deposit bank and then perform your due diligence to see what the competition is offering,” he added. “And always read the fine print on any financial offering.”

When paying off a home equity loan or line of credit, the most important thing is to have a plan in mind before even applying for a loan.

“Let your equity work for you, and explore your options to see what works best,” Cassano added. n

Brentwood Bank offers a variety of products for its customers with competitive rates, no annual fees, and no pre-payment penalties. Call

the customer service center at 412-409-9100, x 145, email [email protected], or visit Brentwood Bank, at the corner of

McMurray and South Park Roads. See ad on page 2.


HOME DESIGN CENTER

P R E M I E R

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Call [email protected]

HOME IMPROVEMENTSpring is the SeasonLet spring 2014 be the season to update your outdated kitchen and bathTerri Ellsworth, Premier Home Design Center

Spring is known as the season of new beginnings, so it’s the perfect time of year for the start of your kitchen and bath renovation project. In my 22 years as a kitchen and bath designer, I have found that spring, of all the seasons, is when homeowners seem most excited about the prospects of renovating their living spaces. There isn’t as much anxiety associated with hard deadlines of project completion for a particular holiday season, so it is a bit more relaxed time of year for planning a larger remodeling project. As we breathe a sigh of relief that another holiday season is behind us, we look forward to the season of spring and all its new beginnings.

While the kitchen may be the largest and costliest indoor renova-tion project, followed closely by a bathroom, these are known to be wise investment projects. I refer to them as investments because, if executed correctly with smart design and quality materials, includ-ing attention to detail in labor and installation, your new kitchen or bath will look timeless and hold its value for many, many foresee-able years to come. If you’ve ever sold a home or shopped for a new home, you already know that these are the two rooms that prospec-tive buyers check out first. These two rooms are the ones with the most personality.

Personality in your kitchen and bath can be achieved through design scheme, material selection, color palette, and accessorizing, while complementing adjacent rooms in the surrounding areas of your home so that they flow. Whether your personal style is tradi-tional with raised panel or inset style doors, transitional style with a

Shaker style door, or more contemporary with a slab style door, you will find all of these and more in your choice of wood species and finishes ranging from oak, hickory, maple, cherry, and alder to the more exotic woods at Premier Home Design Center. Finishes range from natural to stains and painted, with glaze accents and applied mouldings, if desired. Countertop selections range from hi-definition laminates with upgraded edge profiles for the more budget-friendly renovations to the desirable stone countertops in granites, marbles, and quartz materials. And finally, your personality can really shine in what I like to call the “jewelry” for your kitchen and bath in your sink, faucet, and hardware selections. The backsplash in your kitchen is another area that can be personalized to bring forth your individual style. Tile backsplashes have come a long way in recent years with beautiful glass, stone, and porcelain offerings in a wide array of selections and color palettes.

If this is your season to renovate your kitchen or bath, visit Premier Home Design Center in Bridgeville for floor to ceiling reno-vation products and personalized help with your project. Welcome spring! n

Premier Home Design Center’s hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with evening and Saturday hours available by

appointment. Call the showroom at 412-276-5650 for an appointment. See ad on this page.


Hunter Douglas offers stylish options for every décor.

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HOME IMPROVEMENT

Stay Stylish Indoors and OutdoorsTerry and Trish Gensler, Preferred Drapery and Blinds

Bring your outdoor living space to life by choosing stunning fabrics with the strength to withstand the elements of all of life’s moments. Be brave. Use neutral upholstery outside. Using such fabrics allows you to add your own flair and change colors and styles with ease by using varying accessories, includ-ing pillows, throws, and shade structures. Creating a transitional space with drapery can tie together your indoor and outdoor style. The use of sheers, canvas, or decorative patterns will make your design flow from one space to the next. Functional and stylish, patio shades can add a layer of light control to make covered spaces even more comfortable. Consider exterior roller shades to protect your porch from unwanted sunlight. Light filtering natural textures are the perfect touch for your indoor and outdoor spaces.

Invite the light, not the heat or cold in your indoor/outdoor living space with insulating fabric shades. When planning your outdoor space, keep in mind the look of the nearest indoor room. A similar style and palette will ensure a smooth transition from indoors to out. For ease, convenience, and taking it all it at once, choose a one-stop source for all your interior design and home décor needs, including custom widow shades, shutters, draperies, bedroom ensembles, and much more.

As the only showcase showroom for Hunter Douglas in the South Hills, Preferred Drapery and Blinds offers a wide vari-ety of Hunter Douglas fashions, including customer favorites

Duette® Honeycomb Shades, Silhouette® Window Shadings, and Luminette® Privacy Sheers in hundreds of choices for color, texture, fabric, and function. As a motorized shading system specialist, Preferred Drapery and Blinds owner Terry Gensler will design a stylish look coupled with innovative technology to help you save energy and create the look you want with the conve-nience of wireless, remote/key pad, or wireless tabletop controls.

Explore the ever-changing market with an expert to help you best find custom window treatments that not only complement your décor, but enhance it. Choosing a store with local flair will set you on the right path for today’s trends and innovations, while being mindful of the climate that affects our indoor and out-door living spaces. Get started today on your stylish search! n

Independently owned and operated, see ad for Preferred Drapery and Blinds on this page.


HOME IMPROVEMENTThe Live In KitchenBob Bruno, Vice President, Certified Home Remodelers

Today’s kitchens serve as more than just places to cook dinner. Modern kitchens are becoming more often the home’s central gathering place, an area where families socialize and spend time together as much as where they actually sit down for meals. Kitchen makeovers continue to be one of the most popular home remodels in the business for just this reason. From cabinetry to countertops, there’s a plethora of kitchen designs available to make sure your kitchen makeover not only updates your kitchen space, but also makes your life easier and more enjoyable at the same time.

Selecting the proper products for your kitchen makeover that will add value and lasting beauty to the room, as well as absorb the wear and tear of today’s “live in kitchen” is essential.

Why only update kitchen cabinets and appliances, when you can re-envision the entire space? A kitchen remodel is usually the most expensive investment that can be made to a home, so it should be done with the thought of never doing it again. Quality cabinets made of all wood construction, stone countertops, hard surface flooring, and the latest appliances will stand the test of time. Building an eat-in kitchen that includes a dining bar and area for a kitchen table is a great way to adapt your kitchen to meet the current trend of the kitchen as the heart of the home. If you’re looking for something more quaint, how about a kitchen nook?

Installed in an area with large windows that overlook wonderful outdoor views of your garden or nature, a kitchen nook is a great place to sit and chat with family members, or just relax to enjoy your morning cup of coffee.

Open concept kitchens have become increasingly popular. Many homeowners are doing away with the formal dining room. This entails removing walls to create a grand kitchen that can be used every day, as opposed to a formal dining room that gets limited, occasional use. However, consulting with a professional remodeler is advisable before removing walls, due to structural, electrical, and HVAC concerns.

Of course, these ideas are just scratching the surface of the endless possibilities. From kitchen entertainment centers to custom lighting, there is a limitless number of possibilities when it comes to kitchen design. If you’re thinking about a kitchen remodel, talk to a kitchen remodeler or kitchen designer about helping you come up with the perfect design to update the kitchen space in your home. These professionals live, eat, and breathe kitchen design. If you’re looking to get the most out of your new kitchen, these experts are the first ones to call for advice and consultation. n

See ad for Certified Home Remodelers on this page.


HOME IMPROVEMENT

Your ChoiceRemodeling current home vs. building newJeff Blunkosky, President/Owner, Pittsburgh Stone and Waterscapes, LLC

It’s no secret that now more than ever, home-owners are investing money in their home, realizing that a safe investment is in their homes to better suit their family’s needs. What we are seeing recently is that families are outgrowing their current homes and decide to either expand their living space in their current residence or build new. The problem many South Hills (and some North Hills) families face when building new is that land is hard to find and it is costly. Additionally, we hear from our customers that they do not want to leave neighborhoods they love, they don’t want the headache of going through new construction, and they are uncertain of what lifestyle changes a move will cause. The alternative is to remodel their current home, but where to start is the question.

For more than 30 years, homeowners have come to Pittsburgh Stone and Waterscapes to help them design, plan, and construct custom outdoor living projects to suit their lifestyles. As a result of additional service demands from our customers, Pittsburgh Stone and Waterscapes has developed additional re-sources to accomplish all of our customers’ needs in one place and has partnered with Prime 1 Builders (home remodeling and additions), Professional Pool Services (pool installation and maintenance), and The Fireplace and Patio Place (BBQ, kitchen components, patio furniture, fireplaces, and accessories) to work

collaboratively in providing our customers the best options and resources for their projects.

This partnership of these four well-established companies provides customers throughout the greater Pittsburgh area many options for designing, planning, and constructing expansive projects, which include landscape, excavation, outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, waterfalls/ponds, patios, driveways, pools, hot tubs, home additions, interior remodeling, outdoor pavilions, patio roofs, and more.

Finding groups of companies that work together is nothing new. However, the way our group approaches its customers and projects is very personal. We take a serious approach in the pre-liminary stages of the project to walk our customers through the process before they make a commitment to work with us. We then place emphasis on the proper design and planning strate-gies among our group to suit our customers’ current needs and consider their needs years down the road. Through experience, we are proud to say that by the time our customers sign a project contract with us, they are confident of knowing exactly what they are investing in and what their expectations are. n

Pittsburgh Stone and Waterscapes at 1580 McLaughlin Run Road, can be contacted at 412-319-7524, Mon-Fri, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Visit www.pghsw.com. See ad on page 43.


HOME IMPROVEMENTWays to Prevent Water Damage

A pipe bursts, a hose blows, or a steady drip goes unnoticed for months. Whatever causes a leak, it usually results in a messy, costly problem. In fact, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety reports the average cost of a plumbing failure is more than $5000 after an insurance deductible is paid. A leak detection device can be your first line of defense against water damage in your home. Here’s a look at what’s available:•Passive systems are alarm-only detectors. They are relatively inexpensive and should be placed near

appliances and fixtures that use water, in the basement, and in other areas where you may have a concern about leaks. The units emit a loud noise or whistle when a leak is detected. Typically battery-powered, they are portable and require no hard wiring, so they’re ideal for do-it-yourselfers.

•Appliance leak detectors are connected to specific appliances that could leak, such as a washing machine or a refrigerator with a water dispenser. These detectors also issue an alarm, but because they turn off the water to the appliance when a leak is detected they are considered “active” leak detection systems. Some appliance leak detectors can be installed by a homeowner, others may require profes-sional plumbing assistance for best results.

•Whole-house leak detection systems provide widespread protection. A shut-off valve is installed on the main water line; the system’s primary unit is typically hard-wired to an electrical source to power the valve. When a leak is detected, the sensors transmit an alert to the main unit, which shuts off the water to the entire house. Moisture-sensing technologies for these systems vary by manufacturer and generally are either internal components of the shut off valve or external moisture sensors that are installed at all appliances and fixtures where leaks can occur. Sophisticated systems can be connected to a home security or fire alarm system and can be programmed to send an electronic message about the leak to you or to a security company. Plumber contractors often install whole-house systems.

In addition to installing leak detection devices, be on the lookout for potential water problems around the home and if you suspect a problem, contact a plumber to check your pipes, fittings, and water pressure.• Pay attention to damp or discolored areas under sinks or near refrigerators and around bathroom fixtures.• Look for rust on the exterior or base of a water heater.• Replace hoses on the washing machine every three to five years as part of a proactive maintenance plan.• Investigate musty smells in the basement or near

water fixtures.• Clean and test your sump pump periodically. n

Article provided by Cindy Brophy, State Farm® agent. See ad on page 42.

412-308-6146www.stonemakerspittsburgh.com

If you can dream it… We can build it

Relax outdoors with family and friends

Rex A. WallerWard 2Day 412-831-9000Evening 412-854-50652017*

Russell R. Del ReVice President,Ward 5Day 412-831-9000Evening 412-287-90762015*

Daniel R. PaolyAt-LargeDay 412-831-9000Evening 412-862-59952017*

Glenn R. DandoyAt-LargeDay 412-831-9000Evening 412-944-39572015*

Mark D. ChristieWard 4Day 412-831-90002017*

Robert W. OrchowskiPresident, Ward 3Day 412-831-9000Evening 412-854-18682015*

*Date indicates expiration of term.

Nicholas J.SeitanakisWard 1Day 412-831-9000Evening 412-220-44342015*

Township Commissioners


TVolunteers Needed for the Next 75 Dan Barr, Vice President, USCVFD

When I sat down to write this article for the spring issue of TODAY, 2013 was coming to a close.

The Upper St. Clair Volunteer Fire Department and Santa Claus just fin-ished visiting every neighborhood in the Township. A fun time event for the vol-unteer firefighters, they get a chance to say “hello” to the many friends they may not have seen for a while. For many of our residents, this is the only time of the year they have to say “thank you” to the fire department for providing a service that volunteers have provided to Pennsylvania communities since 1736, when Benjamin Franklin organized the first fire department in history. Since then, communities have been protected by neighbors who want to help neighbors in their time of need.

The year 2014 marks a milestone for the Upper St. Clair Volunteer Fire Depart-ment. Chartered in 1936, the department is celebrating 75 years of service to the residents of Upper St. Clair. Some residents mistakenly assume that our Township is protected by paid personnel. The reality is that we are 100% volunteer! From the chief of the department to the junior firefighters who are just starting out, all of our mem-bers volunteer their time to help others.

As you can imagine, it is hard for all our members to remain active in the depart-ment. Studies have shown that the average length of service by a new member joining the fire department to be seven years. We are fortunate to have a few active members who have more than 40 years of service.

I am a transplanted firefighter with 34 years of combined service to the four dif-ferent communities in which I have lived. I’ve found volunteering with the fire de-partment a rewarding way to give back to my community. I have seen a lot of things in my time serving as a firefighter—some things that wake you up at night and some things that put a smile on your face think-ing about them.

The one thing I have always enjoyed is the brotherhood of my fellow firefighters across the country. I can go to a conference in Indianapolis and start a conversation with a firefighter from another state and laugh with them as if we have known each

other for years. The job we do in Pennsylvania is the same as it is in California. Firefighters have training standards designed by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), which guide training across the country. We also have the same manpower issues in Pennsylvania as do our brothers nationwide.

This year will mark a year of market-ing the volunteer fire department to our fellow residents as a place to come and give back to your community. We need your help to maintain adequate levels of trained firefighters. It takes about two years to train a firefighter, making him proficient in all the necessary fire-fighting tasks. Fire departments across the country are asking volunteers to make this long-term commitment.

Fire departments hate to see firefight-ers leave their ranks. The down-turned economy over the past several years has had a direct negative impact on fire service vol-unteers. We are noticing that many young families are either two-income families or one of the two adults work the hours of two jobs. The Pennsylvania State Firemen’s Association recently received a $137,000 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to study staffing in Pennsylvania.

The study found that volunteer fire-fighters in Pennsylvania decreased from 300,000 in the 1970s to 90,000 in the ’90s. Pennsylvania Fire Commissioner Ed Mann estimates that in 2013 there were only 50,000 volunteer firefighters in the Commonwealth. People surveyed for this study said they did not volunteer because “they were unaware that their fire de-partment needed help.” Other common responses included “no one ever asked” and “I thought they were paid.”

If you are considering volunteering your time, please know that your help is truly needed! Help the USC Volunteer Fire Department reach its future staffing needs so that we can help our neighbors in their time of need. n

For more information on volunteering with the USCVFD, call 412-835-0660.The USC Volunteer Fire Department is planning several events this year in honor of its 75th anniversary. Look for more information on the department’s website at www.uscvfd.org, its

Facebook page, and in future issues of TODAY.


T

All business regarding the operation of the Township is conducted at the regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners. Citizens are invited to comment on any Township matter. Complete Board minutes can be found at the Upper St. Clair

Township Library or on the website at www.twpusc.org. For more information, call 412-831-9000.

www.twpusc.org

•TheBoardofCommissionersmeetsat7:30p.m.intheMunicipalBuild-ing.TheregularpublicmeetingisheldthefirstMondayofthemonthintheBoardMeetingRoom.Theinfor-mationalandgeneralaffairsmeetingisheldthelastMondayofthemonthintheBoardMeetingRoom.

•ThePlanningCommissionmeetsthethirdThursdayofthemonthat7:30p.m.

•TheParksandRecreationBoardmeetsattheC&RCthefourthTuesdayofthemonthat7:30p.m.,nomeetinginDecember.

•TheZoningHearingBoardmeetsthefourthWednesdayofthemonthat8p.m.

•TheCivilServiceBoardmeetsasneeded.

•TheBuilding/FireCodesAppealsandAdvisoryBoardmeetsasneeded.

•TheLibraryBoardmeetsasneeded.

2014 Township of Upper St. Clair Meeting Dates

September 3, 2013Approximately 24 people attended.

The Board• Adopted Bill No. 20-13 Re. PLC13-0014–Chipotle Grill Outdoor Dining–Conditional Use

Approval.• Adopted Bill No. 18-13 Re. PLC13-9901–Amendment to Chapter 99 of the Code of the

Township entitled “Public and Private Improvements” to revise figures within Section 99.5 entitled “Illustrations.”

• Adopted Bill No. 19-13 granting Conditional Use Approval Re. PLC13-0006–Siena at St. Clair for a Mixed Use Development on property located at 1800 Washington Road zoned SB District and Low Intensity Residential District owned by 1800 Washington Road As-sociates, LP.

• Adopted Resolution No. 1572 granting Preliminary Land Development approval Re. PLC13-0017–Siena at St. Clair, subject to certain conditions.

• Adopted Resolution No. 1573 to establish a public hearing on Monday, November 4, 2013, on the proposed amendment to Chapter 130 of the Code of the Township entitled “Zoning” to rezone property owned by 1800 Washington Road Associates, LP, located at 1800 Washington Road, from SB District to Special Business–Mixed Use District.

October 7, 2013Meeting canceled.

November 4, 2013Approximately 46 people attended.

The Board• Adopted Resolution No. 1574 to approve and submit to the Pennsylvania Department of

Environmental Protection a Planning Module for land development for Siena at St. Clair as a revision to the official sewage facilities plan.

• Continued Public Hearing Re. PLC13-0020–Bedner Estates PRD Phase 1 Amended Final Approval to the Regular Board Meeting on December 2, 2013.

• Continued Public Hearing Re. PLC13-1302–Zoning Map and Text Amendment for Rezoning of 1800 Washington Road from Special Business District to Special Business District–Mixed Use Special District to the Regular Board Meeting on December 2, 2013.

• Adopted Resolution No. 1575 regarding the Addendum to the Municipality of Bethel Park Sewage Conveyance Agreement.

• Closed Public Hearing Re. 2014 Proposed Budget.

Approval of ContractsFleet Vehicles• Woltz & Wind Ford, Inc. Heidelberg, PA (1) 2014 Ford Escape SE 4x4 (Public Works) ...................................................$23,865 (1) 2014 C-Max Hybrid 4-Door Hatchback SE..................................................$23,730Equipment• E. H. Griffith, Inc. Pittsburgh, PA (1) 2013 Toro Groundsmaster 3100D Mower ..............................................$31,801.64 With Cutting Units, Lift Arm Kit, Basket Kit, Tipper Kit, and 400 Hour Maintenance Kit Less Trade-In for 2005 Toro Reelmaster 3100D Triplex Mower .......................($6,000) Total cost .......................................................................................................$25,801.64

The Honorable U.S. Circuit Judge D. Michael Fisher swears in the three recently elected Township of Upper St. Clair Board of Commissioners during the evening of the January 6, 2014, board meeting. Left to right are Mark Christie (re-elected), Rex Waller (elected), and Dan Paoly (re-elected). Highlights of the January 2014

board meeting will appear in the summer 2014 issue of TODAY.

Highlights of the Board of Commissioners’ Meetings

December 2, 2013Approximately 36 people attended.

The Board• Adopted Bill No. 21-13 Re. PLC13-0020 Bedner Estates PRD Phase 1 Amended Final

Approval.• Adopted Bill No. 22-13 Re. PLC13-1301–Zoning Map and Text Amendment for Rezoning

of 1800 Washington Road from Special Business District to Special Business District–Mixed Use Special District.

• Adopted Bill No. 23-13 Re. PLC13-0021–Castrodale Residence–Single Family Dwell-ing–Conditional Use.

• Adopted Bill No. 24-13 Re. Adoption of the 2014 Annual Budget.• Approved the following appointments and reappointments to the following Boards and

Commissions: Term ExpiresBoard/Commission Name December 31Building & Fire Codes Appeals and Advisory Board Michael McDonnell 2016 James Sampey 2016Civil Service Board P. J. Murray, III 2016Library Board Robert Ontolchik 2016Parks and Recreation Board Roger Hartung 2016 Kelly Bakayza 2016Planning Commission James Sekela 2017Zoning Hearing Board Dwight Ferguson 2016Youth Steering Committee Gary Seech (4) (two- or four-year term, as listed) Geralyn Austin (4) Jeff Krantz (4) Debbie Piecka (4) Robert Plummer (4) Stacie Sebastian (2) Mike Burch (4) Tina Florkowski (4)

Approval of Contracts• Waste Management Pittsburgh Garbage and Recycling ................................................................ 2014 ........ $1,152,507 2015 ........ $1,174,863 2016 ........ $1,203,498 2017 ........ $1,234,272 2018 ........ $1,265,046 5-year Contract Total ........ $6,030,186• Glassmere Fuel Service, Inc. ....................... OPIS Daily Pittsburgh Average Index Plus Curtisville, PA Fixed Margin on gasoline and diesel fuel of Gasoline and Diesel Fuel w/ $.0194/gallon and w/ winterized multiplier winterized multiplier for Diesel Additive for Diesel Additive of $.0325/gallon• Knepper Press Corp. Clinton, PA TODAY magazine .................................................................... 76 total pages = $11,000 84 total pages = $11,300 88 total pages = $12,500 92 total pages = $12,850 96 total pages = $13,800 100 total pages = $13,600• USDA Wildlife Service Raleigh, NC Special Use Culling Permit/ .......................................................Not to exceed $37,500 Prescribed Activities

Operating Expenditures SummaryFor the 2014 Budget, overall General Fund operating expen-

ditures have increased by $183,313, or 1.29% from 2013 budget amounts. This has occurred through a combination of the fol-lowing reasons:• Full-time non-contractual personnel salary and wages in-

creases are projected at 2.5%.• Police Officers contract has a set hourly wage increase of 2.5%.• Public Works contract has a set hourly wage increase of 2.5%.• Health insurance costs are budgeted to increase by 5%.• For 2014, the pension Minimum Municipal Obligation (MMO)

for the Police is $232,406 and $357,195 for Public Works employees. This is a net decrease of ($49,372), or (7.7%) from 2013.

• Workers’ compensation, life insurance, and long-term disabil-ity premiums are budgeted to remain at 2013 levels for 2014.The 2014 budget will maintain the General Fund Balance

at a level necessary for the Township to maintain its AA+ bond rating. n

Capital Projects Fund

The Capital Projects Fund will be funded by an operating transfer from the General Fund and the Fund Balance, which is estimated to be $4,017,662 at the end of 2014, up from the 2013 Budget projection of $3,316,683.

Department of Finance


T2014 Budget Highlights For more information, visit www.twpusc.org.

General Fund Budget OverviewIn preparation for the 2014 Township of Upper St. Clair

budget, staff continued with the streamlined, focused approach established in past years. The use of departmental budget work-sheets featuring trend analysis and inflation statistics allows staff to more accurately predict future budgetary expenditures. Department directors were provided the opportunity to respond to the departmental budget worksheets with an acknowledgement of the projections or a justification for a change in budgetary numbers. After preparing any proposed changes, staff met with individual departments to discuss both operating and capital budget requests. This process yielded a slight increase in the 2014 Budget Operating Expenditures for the General Fund of 1.29% from the 2013 budget.

Where the Money Comes FromThe 2014 major operating revenues are real estate and earned

income taxes. The balance of operating revenue comprises other taxes and other revenue. Other taxes include real estate transfer, public utilities, sales and use, and local services taxes. Other revenue consists of licenses and permits, fines, fees, rental and service agreements, investment earnings, recreation fees, and other non-tax revenue.

General Fund revenues are projected to increase from 2013 bud-get amounts of $18,837,461 to $19,909,614, or 5.69%. The increase in General Fund revenue is mainly due to the effect of an increase in projected collections of real estate tax (2.77%), an increase in projected earned income tax (8.66%), and an increase in projected local option sales tax (6.43%). The real estate tax rate will remain at 3.83 mills and the earned income tax rate will remain at 0.80%. The General Fund is projected to be at $3,313,486 Fund Balance, or 16.4% of estimated 2014 General Fund revenues.

Where the Money GoesThe 2014 projected operating expenditures will increase from

the 2013 budgeted amount of $14,235,984 to $14,419,294, or 1.29%. The increase of $183,313 is primarily due to personal services increases.

The primary programs of the Township are Public Safety, which includes the Police, the Volunteer Fire Department, Animal Control, and Public Works. These programs represent 65.1% of the Operating Budget.

The remaining difference of projected revenues over operating expenses of $5,490,320 will be used to fund the Debt Service Costs for 2014 of $1,146,498 and operating transfers of $4,343,822.


Major Revenue Sources

2013 2014 Increase Percentage Budget Budget (Decrease) Change

General Fund Appropriations by Major Programs

2013 2014 Increase Percentage Budget Budget (Decrease) Change

2013 and 2014 General Fund Budget

Real Estate Tax $7,572,189 $7,781,700 $209,511 2.77%Earned Income Tax 7,548,350 8,202,090 653,740 8.66%Local Services Tax 250,000 265,000 15,000 6.00%Real Estate Transfer Tax 850,000 875,000 25,000 2.94%Public Utilities Tax 22,000 22,500 500 2.27%Local Option Sales & Use Tax 451,000 480,000 29,000 6.43%Licenses and Permits 151,525 151,525 - 0.00%Fees and Fines 489,700 524,200 34,500 7.05%Rental Income 80,900 80,900 - 0.00%Investment Earnings 3,500 3,500 - 0.00%Service Agreements 209,887 208,826 (1,061) -0.51%Other Non-Tax Revenue 845,960 934,373 88,413 10.45%Recreation Fees 362,450 380,000 17,550 4.84%

Total Revenues $18,837,461 $19,909,614 $1,072,153 5.69%Fund Balance - - - 0.00% Total Major Revenues $18,837,461 $19,909,614 $1,072,153 5.69%

General Government $1,604,461 $1,690,248 $85,787 5.35%Public Safety 5,078,789 4,845,638 (233,151) -4.59%Community Development 570,128 602,053 31,925 5.60%Public Works 4,370,459 4,539,684 169,225 3.87%Refuse Collection 1,168,000 1,192,225 24,225 2.07%Recreation & Leisure Services 503,320 527,969 24,649 4.90%Library 821,554 876,427 54,873 6.68%Unallocated Insurance Costs 119,270 145,050 25,780 21.61% Total Operating Expenditures $14,235,981 $14,419,294 $183,313 1.29%Operating Transfers 3,433,181 4,343,822 910,641 26.52%Debt Service Payments 1,168,299 1,146,498 (21,801) -1.87% Sub Total $4,601,480 $5,490,320 $888,840 19.32%Total Appropriations $18,837,461 $19,909,614 $1,072,153 5.69%Fund Balance - - - 0.00% Total Major Programs $18,321,224 $19,909,614 $1,072,153 5.69%

Continued on page 56

Boyce Mayview Community & Recreation Center (C&RC) FundProjected Revenues

•MembershipRevenue:Current membership demographics show members are made up of 67% residents and 33% non-residents. Assuming no increase in membership rates for July 2014, the Township has projected an overall increase of 2.5% in membership revenue from 2013 estimated revenue.

•GeneralFundAppropriations: For 2014, the General Fund will appropriate $1,194,519 for debt service costs (see below) associated with the construction of the C&RC building. The General Fund will also contribute $444,000 in additional funds to support the common area operations of the C&RC.

•OtherRevenue: Facility rental revenue and program rev-enue have been estimated at $81,000 and $393,000, respectively for 2014.

•TotalMemberships: Total annual memberships are pro-jected to reach 3100 by the budgeted year end 2014. The total percentage of memberships is estimated to be 67% residents and 33% non-residents.

Projected Expenditures• Personal Services: Personal services have decreased

($24,987), or (1.3%), from 2013. This is mainly due to a decrease in full-time wages associated with a decrease in demand for fit-ness services. The corresponding revenue for these services has decreased, accordingly.

•ContractualServices: Contractual services expenses have increase by $15,990, or 1.5%, from 2013.

•Commodities: Projected to increase by $20,500, or 9.1%, in 2014 due to increases in supply costs.

•DistributedCosts: Distributed costs include information technology costs and depreciation costs on all equipment.

•CapitalTransfer:There is an estimated capital transfer of $731,007 to the C&RC Capital Account for future capital funding needs of the C&RC. n


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Sanitary Sewer Fund

The sewer user fee multiplier rate has been set at 2.25 in 2014, based on a 17% increase from ALCOSAN in 2014 and a collection rate of 90%. In 2014, sewer processing fees and EPA Administrative Consent Order expenses are projected at $2,818,000 and $770,000, respectively. The projected net assets at the end of 2014 are $840,341. n

2014 Upper St. Clair Township Sewer User Multiplier Rate

The Township of Upper St. Clair hereby gives public notice to all Township sewer users that ALCOSAN raised its usage fees and service charges by seventeen percent (17%) for 2014, and the Sewer User Multiplier rate used to calculate the Township’s cost reimbursement was set at 2.25 for 2014.

At the present time, the Township of Upper St. Clair contracts with Jordan Tax Service to provide the billing and collection of its monthly sewer user fees. All prob-lems or concerns encountered with a sewer bill should be referred to Steven Williams of the Township’s Finance Department at 412-831-9000, extension 234, or by email to [email protected]. n

2014 Earned Income and Net Profits Tax Rate Notice and Payment Schedule

The Township of Upper St. Clair and the Upper St. Clair School District hereby give public notice to all earned income and net profits taxpayers of the Township that Act 32 of 2008 now governs the collection and distribution process of the Earned Income Tax in every taxing jurisdiction in Pennsylvania, except for the City of Philadelphia.

The Township of Upper St. Clair and the Upper St. Clair School District reside in the newly formed Southwest Allegheny County Tax Collection District. Jordan Tax Service, Inc., whose main office is located at 102 Rahway Road, McMurray, PA 15317-3349, has been named the earned income tax collector for all taxing entities within

this district. Under Act 32, all employees must register and have withheld by their employer the earned income tax at the rate of the municipality and school district in which they reside. For 2014, the Earned Income and Net Profits tax rates of the Township and the School District are 0.80% and 0.50%, respectively, of taxable income as defined by Act 32 of 2008. Thus, the total USC taxpayer’s rate for 2014 is 1.30%.

All unincorporated business owners of Upper St. Clair Township and School District are also taxed upon the net profits from their business at the same aforemen-tioned rate and remit their 2014 tax liability quarterly to Jordan Tax Service according to the following schedule:

Date .....................Tax PeriodApril 15, 2014 .........1st quarter 2014 Tax Estimate dueJune 16, 2014 ..........2nd quarter 2014 Tax Estimate dueSeptember 15, 2014 ...3rd quarter 2014 Tax Estimate dueJanuary 15, 2015 .........4th quarter 2014 Tax Estimate due

This notice also reminds all taxpay-ers that 2013 USC-40s will be audited by Jordan Tax Service through a com-parison of data shared by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. This information is usually shared with the taxing entity approximately two years after a return has been filed. Tax notices assessing the additional tax and underpayment penalties and interest will be sent to any taxpayer that has understated his or her income. n

2014 Real Estate Tax Notice and Payment ScheduleThe Township of Upper St. Clair and

the Upper St. Clair School District hereby give public notice to all real estate tax-payers of the Township of the payment schedule of each taxing body for the year 2014.

Township Real Estate Tax Schedule for 2014Date Tax PeriodMay 1 ........................................Tax bills mailedMay 1–June 30 .......................... 2% discountJuly 1–September 2 .................. Face AmountSeptember 3–December 1 ......... 10% penaltyDecember 2 .............................. Lien date

As of the date of this notice, the 2014 Township millage rate is 3.83 mills of the assessed valuation of your property. If new reassessment valuations are ordered to be used by Allegheny County, the 2014 mill-age rate will be adjusted accordingly.

School District Real Estate Tax Schedule for 2014 Date Tax PeriodJuly 1 ........................................ Tax bills mailedJuly 1–September 2 ................... 2% discountSeptember 2–October 31 .......... Face amountNovember 1–December 1 ......... 10% penaltyDecember 2 .............................. Lien date

Upper St. Clair School District will adopt its real estate tax millage rate for the fiscal year 2014-15 at the June 2014 School Board meeting.

All taxpayers are responsible to see that their property is properly assessed and taxed and to ask for appropriate tax bills if they have not received them by mail. No appeals will be granted due to a taxpayer not receiving a real estate tax bill.

Only payments received in the tax office or postmarked by the tax period due date will be given the two percent discount or avoid the ten percent penalty. n


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New Neighbors in USCGary Schafer, Parks and Forestry Administrator

New homes in USC Township for our winged friends have arrived! The Township teamed up with Common Ground, a sustain-able agriculture and education nonprofit organization, to participate in their Barn Owl Recovery Network (BORN) program. Through BORN, the Township has received five barn owl boxes. The boxes have been installed overlooking meadows throughout Boyce Mayview and Gilfillan Parks. These boxes were installed to attract the barn owl (Tyto alba) due to the bird’s decline in southwestern Pennsylvania. Once common in our region, no resident barn owls have been found west of Bedford County since the 1980s. Identified as a tier 5 maintenance concern on Pennsylvania’s Wildlife Action Plan, the bird is a fairly secure species, but the Pennsylvania biological survey recommends some level of manage-ment attention. To help better understand this bird, Pennsylvania Game Commission officials are seeking information on barn owl sightings.

Barn owls stand about ten to 15 inches tall and have a wingspan of 40 to 48 inches. They have a distinctive long heart-shaped facial disk, a nearly pure white to dusky breast with small spots, small dark eyes, and have a hissing or scream-like call. They can nest in cavities of large dead trees or rock crevices, but most often in barns, silos, abandoned buildings, or nest boxes. The barn owl feeds primarily on rodents, with an average family of barn owls consuming up to 3000 rodents during the course of the breeding season.

In addition to the barn owl boxes, four bat boxes and one eastern screech owl box at Boyce Mayview Park have also been installed.

With the decline of bats due to WNS (White Nose Syndrome), local scouts have provided the Township with bat boxes to help increase the bat population. Most likely to at-tract little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus), these boxes were strategically placed in areas that would best serve as an inviting place for the bats to take up residence. Often seen at dusk, these bats can devour about half of their body weight of flying insects each night. During hibernation periods, December through March, please do not disturb their nests. Disturbing the roost during hibernation can prematurely deplete the bat’s reserved energy.

A gift to The Outdoor Classroom, the eastern screech owl box was installed along Old Farm Road Trail overlooking Deer Meadow, a prime habitat location for the bird. The eastern screech owl is approximately seven to ten inches long, and weighs up to eight ounces. The owl has feathered ear tufts and large yellow eyes. Typically in our area, the eastern screech owl is usually red/brown in color; however, it is also possible for it to be dull gray. At night, maybe on a Moonstruck Full Moon hike with The Outdoor Classroom (see calendar on page 73), listen for the distinctive monotonic trill, soft low hoots, or the screech that gives this winged friend its name. n

Common Ground partners with local municipalities, along with other community groups and nonprofits, to strengthen the local food system

through sustainable farming, educational programming, and social outreach. Visit www.growgathergive.org. For another article on barn owls

that appeared in a past issue of TODAY, see summer 2013 edition, page 24.

Meet Dr. Grant Evans843‐785‐4396 (Office)

614‐314‐6074 (Cell)[email protected]

Realtor®

•Your Pittsburgh Connection to Hilton Head Island•Pitt Graduate and Born and Raised in Pittsburgh•Bought and/or Sold Over $25 Million over Last 10-12 Yrs.•Referring Agents Will Be Compensated

Barn owl Photo by Mark Browning

Barn owl boxPhoto by Sue Myers

Mt. Lebanon RecReation centeR

Newly Remodeled Swim CenterAttention Upper St. Clair Residents

Newly Remodeled Swim CenterOpening in June with Something for Everyone

Call the Recreation Center at 412-561-4363 for times and ratesOr visit us online at www.mtlebanon.org

*Individual & Family Season Swim Passes Available Pool Open Noon–8 P.M. Daily

(tentatively set to open on June 15, 2014)

• Zero Depth Entry

• Climbing Wall

• 2 New Slides Children’s Play Features

• Renovated Bath House


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2014 Author LuncheonMothers & Daughters

April 6 1 p.m.St. Clair Country Club

This year, the library is pleased to welcome Lori Jakiela, author of the Pittsburgh-based memoir The Bridge to Take When Things Get Serious.

The Bridge to Take When Things Get Serious is a delightful and darkly comic memoir. After working as a flight attendant for seven years (documented in her very funny memoir Miss New York Has Every-thing), Lori left New York to come home to Pittsburgh and help with her ailing widowed mother. While her mother kills snakes with a broom, Lori struggles to find a new life as she goes back to sleeping in her childhood bed. There are unexpected losses, new loves, and a realization of what family means. This is a story of all mothers and daughters, of joys and sorrows, and the love we carry in our hearts.

Lori now directs the writing pro-gram at the University of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, and teaches at Chatham College. In addition to her memoirs, she has published books of poetry. She is mar-ried and the mother of two children.

You can purchase copies of Lori’s books after the luncheon.

Don’t miss out. Tickets are on sale now through March 31. Get yours today!

From Lori’s Blog… Stuff I write, Stuff I like

Writ ing for me, when I ’m trying hardest to get it true, is a lot like ceiling-staring at 3 a.m. Ceiling-staring’s what I do when I can’t sleep because I worry everyone I love will die and then I will die and before that happens the roof will collapse and the oven will explode and so on.

“You worry l ike a tooth less o ld woman,” my mother used to say, but I was much younger then. Now I worry that my worries match my age and I grind my teeth in my sleep. None of my teeth would be worth anything at Cash for Gold.

Visit http://ljwritesbooks.com/2013/11/.

Upcoming Adult ProgramsThursday, March 20: A Gathering of Authors, sponsored by Word Association Publishers of TarentumMonday, April 21: Rain Barrel Workshop, presented by Pennsylvania Resources CouncilThursday, May 1: 20th Century Architecture in Pittsburgh, presented by Pittsburgh History and Landmarks FoundationMonday, May 12: Laughing Yoga, presented by David Russell

Programs begin at 7 p.m. For more information and to register, call the library.

Lori Jakiela


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Upgrading Library Circulation System—March 22-24

All libraries in Allegheny County are upgrading to a new circulation sys-

tem early this year. There is an internal upgrade for staff; you will not experi-ence any changes to the library’s online catalog when it is finished.

Upper St. Clair Library will remain open regular hours during this work with limited services.

Dates of limited service:• Saturday March 22–Monday, March 24

What you WILL be able to do:• Internet computers will be available.• Printing, copying, scanning, and fax-

ing will be available.• Materials can be checked out. You

MUST have your library card to checkout. (These transactions will be uploaded when the system is rebooted.)

What you WILL NOT be able to do:• The online catalog will be unavail-

able both at home and in the library.• No holds can be placed online.• Nothing can be renewed.• No fines can be paid online or

in the library.• Returned materials cannot be

checked in. (We will hold returns and check them in when the system is rebooted.)

The library staff thanks you in advance for your understanding and patience during this upgrade process.

Cozy and ComfyThe Cozy Corner on the adult floor was recently updated with new furniture, courtesy of the

Friends of the Library. Comfortable chairs fill the space in a lovely, quiet area with a great view of the changing seasons. The chairs with tablet arms are favorites of laptop users.

A Musical EveningTwo Upper St. Clair residents who are members of

the Pittsburgh Symphony recently spent an evening of music and conversation with library patrons. First Violinist Ellen Chen-Livingston shared highlights

of her fascinating career as an orches-tra musician. Ellen performed some of her favorite pieces of music to everyone’s delight. Assistant PSO con-ductor Fawzi Haimor answered questions on the inner workings of the symphony and discussed how the musicians and conductors interact to create the magic we hear when the symphony plays.

From the Director’s Desk

Heard of Hoopla? Zinio? Freegal? Overdrive?These are actually new library resources. Our collection is expanding

from traditional, physical items to electronic products that you can access and download anywhere you have Internet access and a digital device, such as a computer, tablet, or smart phone. While these e-resources were only three percent of the library’s total circulation in 2013, they are certainly the future and are products that once you try, you will like!

So what are they?Hoopla offers library patrons free streaming downloads of movies and

music. The collection includes over 9000 movies and TV episodes. Over 125,000 full music albums are available.

Zinio is an online magazine subscription service. Download selected magazines to your personal device to read. (A feature I particularly find use-ful are advertisements with hyperlinks. One click and you are shopping!)

Freegal music allows library patrons to download three free songs per week. No loan periods, No DRM. It’s yours for as long as you want to keep it in your playlist. The Freegal app is free from the iTunes store.

Overdrive is the main provider of library e-books for loan. Search the catalog and download books right to your e-reader or tablet device, anytime, anywhere you have an Internet connection.

Your library truly is “up” when you are! But don’t worry, the printed books, audio books on CD, movie DVDs, and music CDs are still here. Stop by the library today, pick up an item or two, and get the brochure which fully explains these new electronic resources. To get you started, ask the library staff.

See you soon,Helen Palascak, Director of USC Township Library

Shutterstock

Gloria Mou, Director of Musician and Community Engagement Programs,

Ellen, and Fawzi.

Enjoying refreshments after the performance

Kids & Teens


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Dear Librarian,I’ve heard that the library has iPads that kids can borrow. Can you

tell me how that works?

Interested Parent

Dear Parent,We have four iPads that are available for use on the children’s floor of the

library. If you would like to borrow one for you and your child to use, make

sure you bring your driver’s license with you. You can use the iPad on the

children’s floor for one hour.

• TheiPadsareloadedwitheducationalapps.Foryoungkids,

you’ll

findalphabetandlearn-to-readapps,matchingandnumberap

ps,

andsensoryapps.• Thesensoryappswereselecte

dbecausetheyarealsorecommended

forspecialneedschildren,especiallychildrenwithASD.

• Theappsforolderchildrenareafunwayforkidstolearnab

out

themselves and their world.

• Kidsofallageswillenjoyplayingwiththeinteractivebooka

pps.

Try them out the next time you’re in the library. The iPads cannot be

reservedandareunavailablewhenbeingusedforlibraryprog

rams.

Sincerely,Deb Conn, Your Librarian

P.S.TheiPadsweremadepossiblebydonationsfromtheComm

unity

FoundationofUpperSt.Clair,TheFriendsoftheUpperSt.Cl

airLibrary,

andadonationbyUSCresidentPaulaHolmes.

Upcoming Kids Classes—Spring 2014

The library’s popular classes for kids will be returning this spring! Registration for all classes began Wednesday, March 12 at the library. Classes will begin the week of March 31 and run for five weeks, conclud-ing the week of April 28. All library classes are free of charge and classes are limited by size to ensure quality programming. For complete program information, visit the library or check the library’s website at http://www.twpusc.org.

Babies & ToddlersChildren ages 4 to 24 months with a caregiverMondays or Tuesdays, 10 a.m.

Twos & ThreesChildren 2 to 3 ½ years of age with a caregiverTuesdays, 11 a.m.; Wednesdays, 10 or 11 a.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m.

Threes & MeChildren 3 years of age with a caregiverMondays, 11:15 a.m.

Pre-School StorytimeChildren 3 ½, 4, or 5 years of age who are ready to spend a half hour on their ownThursdays, 1:45 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. or 1:45 p.m.

Math MitesChildren 4 and 5 years of age who are not yet attending kindergartenWednesdays, 1:15 or 2:15 p.m.

Library Explorers: Explore the Earth & SkyChildren who are currently in kindergartenTuesdays, 10 a.m. or 1:45 p.m.

Book Trek: Super Science FunChildren in grades 1 through 4Tuesdays or Wednesdays, 4 p.m.

Weekend Fun at the LibraryThe library will again be hosting craft weekends this year, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, spring, and Mother’s Day. Look for more information at the library.

USC Township Library Hours Monday–Thursday, 9:30 a.m.-9 p.m.

Friday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.The library is closed Sunday, April 20 for Easter.Outside book and video return available 24/7.

www.twpusc.org 412-835-5540

UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY would like to recognize and con-gratulate the 30 citizens who took part in the 2013 Citizens’ Police Academy offered this past fall. Sponsored by the Upper St. Clair Police Department, this free academy helps participants

understand and appreciate the workings of police enforcement, tactics, and the law. Be on the lookout for the application for the October 2014 academy in the fall edition of TODAY. Residents and employees of Upper St. Clair are invited to apply. n

New For 2015—Automated Recycling Collection

Automated recycling collection will start in Upper St. Clair in the second quarter of 2015. Automated collection is an advanced system of collecting recyclables in a standard sized wheeled-cart toter that allows a specially-designed truck to lift the carts with a mechanical arm without having the truck driver or assistant leave the truck. This type of system delivers uniform service, which improves the visual appearance of a street and is safer for the truck driver and any assistants.

The 65-gallon recycling toters, which will be provided to Township residents, will double the capacity of the current containers, encouraging more participation by residents and re-ducing the need for using multiple containers. This new service also makes it easier to recycle cardboard boxes, as it eliminates the hassle of having to cut up the boxes. The Township is re-viewing options for providing additional recycling capacity for those families regularly generating greater volume than can be handled by the 65-gallon toter. The anticipated increase in the rate of recycling will help reduce waste going to landfills; thus helping the Township control costs in future years.

Several other South Hills communities will be implement-ing this type of collection as well, including neighboring Peters Township and Scott Township. In the North Hills, several communi-ties have implemented automated recycling, including Hampton, Ross, and O’Hara. n

Municipal Rain Garden Coming Our WayGary Schafer, Parks and Forestry Administrator

In the near future, Upper St. Clair Township will be installing a rain garden, thanks to a financial contribution from the Allegheny County Conservation District.

This rain garden will be constructed near McLaughlin Creek off McLaughlin Run Road close to the Municipal playground and the Township library. Approximately 2300 square feet of the surface parking lot and sidewalk collecting precipitation will drain to this rain garden before entering the creek. This garden will assist in reducing asphalt and automobile petroleum pollutants, including nitrates and phosphates, as well as help to control winter de-icing materials from entering into the creek.

The garden will consist of native perennials, shrubs, and trees. A convenient seating wall for visitors will face McLaughlin Creek for those to enjoy watching and listening to Mother Nature. Ad-ditionally, a picnic table and seating area will be installed for a great place to have a snack and relax.

A sign will be installed to explain the components and func-tion of the rain garden, as well as to thank the Allegheny County Conservation District for its generous grant to turn this idea into a reality. This sign will aide in educating patrons of the library or the Municipal playground about the rain garden and can be used as an example for future developments. n

USC Citizens’ Police Academy 2013 graduates, front row, left to right, are Dick Cortes, Bill Keck, Bruce Ambrose, David Williams, Rene Williams, Mary Ann Belles, Morris Lindsay, Doris Lindsay; middle row: Ann-Marie Jaffee, Sam Trentadue, John Baumiller, Morgan Kommer, T.A. Ward, Donna Roberts, Pamela Khalili, Daneen Calhoun, Carol Bass, Glen Avick, Frann Wilson, Lisa Churchill, Lieutenant John Sakoian; back row: Chief Douglas Burkholder, Larry Wilson, Fred Rudolph, Ryan

Fleischer, Jim Roberts, Gerry Bass, Marge Jacobs, Rich Jacobs, Jerry Cordis, Theresa Feeney, Scott Churchill

USC Citizens’ Police Academy Class of 2013


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current new


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412-429-2122www.pghma.com

Join us in March for our

Open House, March 22nd, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. at our Carnegie location

Pre-Twinkle Camp, March 29th, 2:30 p.m.at our Carnegie location

Sustainability and Your Part in Its SuccessRon Sarrick, Buildings/Grounds and Sustainability Administrator

It’s springtime of the New Year and time to check in on the resolutions that we’ve made for ourselves. I hope that you did not forget to add a personal calendar reminder for the Township’s E-cycling program for collection of all electronic equip-ment (anything with an electrical cord) on the second Saturday of each month. If you forgot, no harm; just highlight the calendar now! You are encouraged to bring your batteries, as well as electric/electronic items, to the e-cycling event. Remember that the Township’s contractor, JVS Environmental, will accept only one TV per vehicle per event. JVS also accepts dorm-size refrigerators and dehumidifiers, with a $15 charge for freon removal of each item.

The Township, with the assistance of JVS, has provided a great service to the Upper St. Clair community. However, e-cycling is only successful because of your participa-tion. You have embraced the recycling effort to the tune of more than 125,000 pounds of collected electronic equipment in 2013. Together, we have refrained from placing 60,053 pounds of televisions, 13,860 pounds of computers, 9,763 pounds of moni-tors, and 41,440 pounds of miscellaneous electrical equipment in a landfill—a very commendable effort from our community!

Appropriately called “America Recycles Day,” November 15 of each year is a na-tional day concerned with recycling efforts and education. While still in front of your calendar, please highlight this day on your 2014 calendar, as well. An opportunity to spread good news about recycling, you can also become involved by creating or spon-soring a recycling event within your social group or at your workplace.

Go to the website www.americarecyclesday.com to find more information regarding FAQs and events, along with some oc-casional free handouts that help spread the good word about recycling. But, you really don’t need to wait for November

to make that extra effort to recycle. Start today and make an effort to consider how to better recycle. Create a list of items that you normally recycle and compare it to the list of items that can be recycled in USC. Find that informa-tion in the Township’s annual “Trash and Recycle Information Guide” mailed to all residents this past December.

National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day was celebrated in our area this past fall when Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities fourth annual Odyssey Day was held on Friday, October 11 at the Community College of Allegheny County West Hills Center in Oakdale. Continuing to expand and improve each year, this year’s event showcased approximately 40 alternatively-fueled vehicles and included more than 35 vendors. The vehicles included bikes, cars, trucks of all sizes, buses, and cabs. The event continues to grow locally as interest in alternative fuels takes center stage, especially with the possibilities regarding Marcellus Shale in our region. Electric vehicles were also well represented and manufactured cars from Ford, Chevy, Nissan, and Tesla were available for public viewing. For more information about alternative fuel, visit http://www.pgh-cleancities.org.

Sustainability has become a hot-button topic in the world of business, government, and education. It is not by accident that its popularity has grown over the past several years. Sustainability presents a more acceptable environmentally-friendly lifestyle for all to embrace now and in the future. It is because of our environment, social choices,

and the economy that Upper St. Clair is proving to be among the mu-nicipal leaders in sustainability. With the help of our partner, Sustainable

Pittsburgh, commitment by our local officials, and you, the Township residents, Upper St. Clair Township has joined seven of its community neighbors in attaining the status of Gold Certification in Sustainability. For more information about the certification process, visit the Sustainable Pittsburgh site at www.sustainablepittsburgh.org. n

Recycling information was available at Bounty at Boyce Mayview Fall Fest.

Five Star Realtor 2011, 2012 & 2013

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Sewer 101 Ruthann L. Omer, P.E., Township EngineerDo you know what a sanitary sewer is? Do you get your

monthly sewer bill and wonder “what am I paying for?” In this article, we’ll explore basic information about a sewer system, wet weather issues, and provide you with definitions to help you bet-ter understand your Township’s system and structures. In future editions of TODAY, we will review what sewers are and delve deeper into how they affect you. Topics included are:• Basic sewer knowledge, definitions, and wet weather issues.• ALCOSAN and its history. Who are they and why do we need

them?• Consent order, feasibility study, operation and maintenance

(O & M). What has been going on with the sewers and how the Township has remained and is remaining in compliance.

• Municipal projects in the future and what you can do.Let’s get started with an overview of basic sewer knowledge,

definitions, and wet weather issues.

Basic Sewer KnowledgeYour house or building has a private sewer lateral that is

connected from your plumbing to the Township’s sanitary sewer collector system. The system could be on any side of your struc-ture, in the street, or on the side or back of your property. The collector system then connects into an interceptor sewer, or a trunk sewer, which then flows to the Allegheny County Sewer Authority (ALCOSAN) point of connection, and then ultimately to the ALCOSAN treatment plant.

The Township of Upper St. Clair owns and operates a sanitary sewer system for its residents and has maintained the system over the years. In the future, the Township of Upper St. Clair, along with adjoining municipalities and ALCOSAN, will be involved in multiple sewer projects costing millions of dollars due to overflows and changing regulations.

DefinitionsFeasibility Study–Report required under the Township’s

Consent Order that details projects by identifying if the system has the capacity to handle the flow and conducting alternative analysis to determine which remedies can be constructed and are affordable to the region.

Basin–Area of land where surface water from rain and melt-ing snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin is where the waters join another water body, such as a stream or river (i.e., Chartiers Creek Basin, Saw Mill Run Basin, Upper Mon Basin, and Upper Allegheny Basin).

Closed Circuit Televising (CCTV)–Television system in which a camera is placed into a sewer segment and an image/video is created, showing the status of the sewers and the pos-sible need for repairs.

Point of Connection (POC)–Point where the municipal-owned sewers connect to an ALCOSAN-owned sewer.

Sewershed–All contributing sewers flowing to a specific point (i.e., POC, interconnection, meter).

Lateral Sewer–Privately-owned sanitary sewer line that collects sewage from a residence or commercial building and distributes it to a municipal-owned sewer (collector).

Collector Sewer–Municipally-owned sewer line that collects the flows from many laterals and carries them to an interceptor or trunk sewer.

Trunk Sewer–Very large sewer line that collects the flows from many collector lines and carries them to treatment facilities (does have lateral sewer connections).

Interceptor Sewer–Very large sewer line that collects the flows from many collector and trunk sewers and carries them to treatment points (does not have lateral sewer connections).

Groundwater Infiltration (GWI)–Rainwater which infiltrates the soil and finds its way into the sanitary sewer system. This can take up to several days to occur.

Inflow–Rainwater which enters a sewer system through cracks in pipes, at joints, or manhole covers. This happens instanta-neously during a rain.

Interconnection–Location where the Township of Upper St. Clair’s system flows into an adjoining municipality or that mu-nicipality flows into the Township.

Manhole–Access structure built over a sewer of any kind for maintenance and repair.

Overflow–Sewer lines designated exclusively for sanitary sew-age which can become overloaded with inflow and infiltration during a rain. When sewers are overloaded, raw sewage exits the system through manholes, floor drains, and permitted constructed overflow structures along the rivers.

Source Flow Reduction–Removal of known areas of inflow and infiltration through a series of small construction projects.

Surcharge–Sewer becomes overloaded from the inflow and infiltration, but does not overflow.

Wastewater Treatment Plant–Facility built to treat sanitary sewage through various processes to allow the water to be dis-charged to rivers.

Wet Weather IssuesIn the 1950s, the Pittsburgh region had the highest disease

rate in the county. At that time, government officials began build-ing regional sewer systems and the ALCOSAN treatment plant. Overflows were designed and permitted within the system. An overflow is used when the sewer system cannot handle the flow and the wastewater is diverted through the overflow pipes directly into the river instead of flowing to the ALCOSAN treatment plant. ALCOSAN, over the years, has done an excellent job of treating the wastewater and staying in compliance with government agencies.

Fast forward to today. Times have changed. Our area has developed tremendously since the ’50s and the overflows are negatively affecting our way of life and the environment in the following ways:• Impedes regional economic development• Violates current environmental standards • Directly affects Allegheny County’s primary source of drink-

ing water• Results in river advisories for more than half of the 140-day

recreational seasonAll of the above situations have caused municipalities, in-

cluding the Township of Upper St. Clair, and ALCOSAN to look at their system and determine what can be done to eliminate or reduce overflows.

The next segment of “Sewer 101” will appear in TODAY’s summer 2014 edition and discuss ALCOSAN. n


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[email protected]

• Top Producer• National Sales Excellence Awardee• Residential Relocation Specialist• Listing Leader and Sales Leader

412-833-3600 ext. 226412-833-3600 ext. 226

Maureen CavanaughMaureen Cavanaugh

TOP PRODUCER

Year after year, home after home, Top Producer, National Sales Excellence, Listing and Sales Leader, Residential Relocation Specialist 30 year USC Resident — I live here and work here... There is no better place!! Just look at my sold listings, the proof is in the performance!

Let me put my experience to work for you in getting your most valuable asset sold in the shortest period of time at a price that will be competitive and aggressive. Our award winning schools, state of the art recreation center, access to major highways and a vibrant downtown make Upper St. Clair a great place to call HOME!!

Sanitary Sewer Backups AND your

homeowner’s coverageThe Township maintains over 158 miles of

underground sewer lines. There is no way to predict when the next sanitary sewer backup will occur. And while only a handful of our residents experience a significant sanitary sewer backup each year, we know that when it does occur, it is a distressing situation. It can be even more devastating if a resident is not insured for losses—losses that can easily run into tens of thousands of dollars.

Sewer Backup InsuranceHomeowners can alleviate possible sewer-

related damage expenses by contacting their property insurance provider to verify that they have sewer backup coverage. Most homeowners’ insurance poli-cies do not automatically include coverage for these occurrences. Given the potential for significant loss, it would be advisable for homeowners served by a public sewer system, particularly those with finished basements, to obtain some level of coverage.

Lastly, if you experience a floor drain backup or otherwise suspect a sanitary sewer problem, contact the Township’s Public Works Department immedi-ately at 412-831-9000, extension 271.

Flood ProtectionFlooding and other surface drainage prob-

lems can occur well away from a river, lake, or ocean. When you are looking at a property, it is always a good idea to check possible flood hazards. Be aware:

• The force of moving water or waves can destroy a building.

• Slow moving floodwaters are forceful enough to knock people off their feet or to float a car.

• Water-soaked contents, such as carpeting, upholstered furniture, and mattresses often suffer irreparable damage and may have to be disposed of after a flood.

• Some items, such as photographs and heir-looms, may never be restored to their original conditions.

• Floodwaters are not clean; they carry mud, disease, farm chemicals, road oil, and other nox-ious substances that are serious health hazards.

• The impact of a flood (cleaning up, mak-ing repairs, and suffering personal losses) causes great stress to you, your family, and your finances.

Township Flood ServicesUpper St. Clair participates in the

Community Rating System, which is a program of providing flood hazard information and services.

The first step to protect your home from flood damage is to assess the flood hazard. A complete Flood Protection Library, including flood maps and flood protection references, is available at the Upper St. Clair Township Library. The Depart-ment of Planning and Community Development, located in the Municipal Building, can provide more information, such as depth of flooding above a building’s first floor, location of floodplains, past flood problems in the area, and tips on how to select a contractor. For your safety, Upper St. Clair regulates all construction and development in floodplains to ensure that buildings will be protected from flood damage.

What You Can DoThe Township’s efforts depend on your coop-

eration and assistance. Here is how you can help:• Do not dump debris of any kind into

creeks, ditches, ravines, or streams. Dumping is a violation of Chapter 83 of the Township Code. Even grass clippings and branches accumulate and plug channels, causing danger during rains.

• If your property is next to a creek or ditch, keep the banks clear of brush and debris. The Township has a response program to help remove major blockage such as downed trees.

• If you see evidence of dumping of debris in creeks or ditches, contact the Public Works Department or the Department of Planning and Community Development.

• Always check with the Department of Planning and Community Development before

you build, alter, grade, or fill on your property. A permit may be needed to ensure that projects do not cause problems on other properties. If you are in a floodplain, special building codes may apply. The Community Development Department personnel will walk you through any application and answer your questions.

If you see building or filling without a Town-ship permit posted, contact the Department of Planning and Community Development at 412-831-9000.

Flood InsuranceIf you do not have flood insurance, talk to

your insurance agent. Homeowners’ insurance policies typically do not cover damage from floods. However, because the Township of Upper St. Clair participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, local residents can purchase a separate flood insurance policy. The Township has received a lower rating of a seven out of ten, which provides for a 15% reduction in insurance. It is backed by the federal govern-ment and is available to all residents, even for property outside of a floodplain.

Any property is subject to flooding. Surface water can accumulate from heavy rain, melt-ing snow, a broken water main, or a ruptured swimming pool. Insurance agents may require photographs of the front and back of your house, an elevation certificate (if you are in a flood-plain), a completed and signed application, and a check for the first year’s premium. For sample flood insurance applications, visit the Flood Protection Library in the Township Library.

Stormwater Information The Township maintains a National Pol-

lutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit as mandated by the EPA. This program places requirements on stormwater discharges associated with construction activities and dis-charges for municipal storm sewers. There are projects that the Township has undertaken to protect our streams and waterways from hazard-ous discharge. Be sure to check the Township’s website on a regular basis for updates on Storm-water Management and Flood Protection and the steps the Township is taking to meet the federal requirements in order to keep Upper St. Clair a safer place to reside.

Community DevelopmentCommunity Development

This information is published annually as a part of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating System recertifi-cation and is also available on the Township website at www.twpusc.org.

USC Recreation and Leisure Services


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Youth Division (through age 10):1st place: Katherine Swiech, Turkey

cupcakes2nd place: Madison and Sydney Fisher,

Pumpkin cupcakes3rd place: Jude Pagliai, Owl cupcakes

(gluten-free)Junior Division (11-17):

1st place: Allison Seeton, Turkey cake2nd place: Lauren DeShields, Pumpkin

Spice cake3rd place: Becca Swiech: Mini Pumpkin

Rum cakeAdult Division:

1st place: Nicole Shoemaker, Fall Park2nd place: Joyce Cloherty, Pumpkin roll3rd place: Melissa Ansell, Apple Cranberry pie

A Special Thank You to Our Judges:• Chef Crystal Baldwin, Market District• Vivian Criner, FACS teacher,

Boyce Middle School• Jessica Culicerto Gombar, Owner,

The Pie Place• Daniel Paoly, USC Township Board of

Commissioner

Thank You to the Bounty’s 2013 Patrons

Achieva, Bedner’s Farm &

Greenhouse, Brown’s Orchard & Cider,

Community Foundation of Upper

St. Clair, Dawson’s Orchards,

Ed Palascak, Giant Eagle Market

District, Gilfillan Farm, Jim Jenkins

Lawn & Garden, King Arthur Flour,

Lowe’s, Simmons Farm, Simply

Whimsical, Soergel Orchards,

The Fresh Market, Tom Brown, Inc.,

Trax Farms, USA Pan, and Whole

Foods Market nSee 2014 USC Community Day Kids Baking

Contest information on page 68.

Baking Contest Results

The fifth annual Bounty at Boyce Mayview Park Fall Fest was held this past November. Families from all over the South Hills came to plunge with the pumpkins, take aim with apple sling shots, enjoy a hay ride, and create fun seasonal crafts. Visitors also enjoyed cooking demos, tasted apple cider, and listened to live music while eating lunch from their favorite food truck. Thank you to all of our volunteers, staff, judges, vendors, and generous patrons!

FitnessFall/Winter Fitness Wrap Up

The C&RC at Boyce Mayview Park of-fers a number of exciting annual holiday programs and classes that are always sure to be fun and provide a great workout at the same time. Listed below is a recap.

Thanksgiving Spin-a-thon: A new tradition was started this past year with the first annual Thanksgiving Spin-a-thon led by cycle instructor Mike Lloyd. Par-ticipants got the chance to “spin” off some of the calories they consumed the Friday after Thanksgiving. Three half-hour ses-sions ran back-to-back from 12:30-2 p.m. The class was free with a three-can goods donation which was collected and given to the SHIM (South Hills Interfaith Ministry) food bank.

Zumba Jingle Jam: The C&RC’s Group Exercise department was happy to host a holiday Zumba dance party called Zumba Jingle Jam on Saturday, December 14. The class was free of charge with the donation of a toy for Toys for Tots. Every-one wore jingle bells!

Very Merry Mix: The C&RC’s Very Merry Mix workouts take place on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve each year. These annual holiday workouts have become a tradition at the C&RC for members and their friends and families. This class takes three favorite group ex-ercise classes—Boot Camp, Cycling, and Kettlebell—and puts them into an hour-and-a-half workout. The class was free with a three-can goods donation which was given to SHIM.

H.A.P.P.Y. New You: The H.A.P.P.Y New You wellness program completed another successful year! This program is designed to help participants stay healthy, active, positive, and productive all year long. Over the course of eight weeks, participants were introduced to a variety of exercise equipment and exercise classes. Additionally, participants received guidance and small group workouts from fitness coaches, as well as nutritional sem-inars provided by a registered dietitian.

The Winter Wellness Dash One-mile run/walk: The cold weather did not stop families and friends from participating in the Winter Wellness Dash one-mile run/walk. New this year, was the crazy hat contest. Many participates donned awe-some winter hats as they walked or ran the one-mile course throughout Boyce Mayview Park. A great way to start the New Year, post race participants were invited into the C&RC to warm up with a complimentary massage.

Get Ready for Summer with Spring Training!

Calling all recreational athletes! Put on your game face and get ready to train for your next summer event. Whether you’re preparing for an obstacle race or a trip to the beach, Spring Training will provide you the necessary challenges to allow you to progress to a higher fitness level. This four-week program will benefit any individual who has been currently exercising, but needs that extra push to obtain his or her goals.

**Registration opens 8 a.m., Saturday, April 26 and closes 9 p.m., Friday, May 9.Day/Dates: Saturday, May 17–Saturday, June 13Opening meeting will be Saturday, May 17, 9:30-10:30 a.m.Time: Meeting times vary through-out the program.Age Requirement: AdultFee(s): $50/member; $95/non-member

AquaticsThis year, the American Red Cross will

celebrate 100 years of teaching children and adults to learn to swim. The C&RC is proud to be an authorized provider of the American Red Cross Parent & Child Aquatics, Preschool Aquatics, and Learn-to-Swim programs. Certified instructors teach both group and private lessons year-round to individuals as young as six months of age through adulthood. It’s never too soon or too late to start swimming! n

www.twpusc.org412-221-1099


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Community ProgramsFun, Fitness, and Sports

Developed to help parents promote a healthier and more active lifestyle for children, Fun, Fitness, and Sports is a one-of-a-kind class offered at the C&RC for children ages four to six years old. With a bit of direction and positive encouragement, young sports stars practice listening, following directions, and learning sportsmanship while partaking in fitness, games, and sports activities. Some examples include soccer, baseball, basketball, floor hockey, balloon volleyball, relay races, obstacle courses, tum-bling, and fitness activities.

Classes are available year-round and taught by Ralph Schmidt “Coach Ralph,” B.S. in health and physical education, ACE Personal Trainer, and married father of two boys. View the Community Recreation Guide for class dates and times. n

Fitness Job PostingThe Township of Upper St. Clair is seek-

ing Personal Trainers and Pilates Reformer Instructors for the C&RC Fitness Depart-ment. Responsibilities include the creation and instruction of personal fitness training programs, Pilates Reformer classes, and trainings for C&RC customers.

Send resume and cover letter to:Township of Upper St. ClairAttn.: Fitness Supervisor1820 McLaughlin Run RoadUpper St. Clair, PA 15241

USC Recreation and Leisure Services


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USC Community DayRun For Fun Registration Form

Name ____________________________________________

Age as of May 17, 2014 ____________ Sex ___________

Address __________________________________________

Telephone Number ________________________________

Email (optional) ___________________________________

T-shirt sizes: Child’s q S q M Adult’s q S q M q L q XL q XXL

$12—Run for Fun and T-shirt, $5—Run for Fun race onlyMake checks payable to:

Upper St. Clair Community Day

Return this form by May 1, 2014 to:The Community & Recreation Center

1820 McLaughlin Run Road, Upper St. Clair, PA 15241

CONSENT RELEASE FORM: I agree to hold the Township of Upper St. Clair, the Community Day committee and volunteers, and/or any employees thereof harmless and blameless for any accident or injury which may occur while participating in the Run for Fun.

_________________________________ ______Signature Date

(Parent/Guardian if Under 18 Years of Age)

Kids!!

11th Annual USC Bake-OffCOMMUNITY DAY – May 17th, 2014

Sponsored byColdwell Banker Real Estate Services

Show your culinary creativity!Prizes awarded to 3 winners in each

of the following categories plusa grand prize of $100!

Most PatrioticMost Original

Favorite TV Show, Movie or BookEntries will be judged on appearance, not taste, but

must be edible. Pre-registration required.

For more info or to register call: Marian McGinley 412-833-5405, ext. 204

Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker© is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.

Annual Egg HuntSaturday, April 5

Mark your calendars for the Township’s annual Easter Egg Hunt, scheduled for Saturday, April 5. Fun ac-tivities for the kids begin at 10 a.m. with the egg hunt beginning approximately one hour later. Sponsoring this year’s event will be the USCHS Interact Club and the Bethel St. Clair Evening Rotary, with the assistance of the Recreation De-partment. Check the Township website at www.twpusc.org for more information about this family-fun event!

Upper St. Clair Community DaySaturday, May 17

Save the date for USC Community Day! See Run for Fun registration form on this page. Look for more information coming in the summer 2014 issue of TODAY. Booth applications, parade entry forms, and activity registration forms are available at the Community & Recreation Center on Mayview Road.

Arts & Chocolate SpectacularSaturday, April 26

Join the Recreation Department at the C&RC for its annual Arts & Chocolate Spectacular where families can enjoy performances by local

amateur performing artists, walk through the choco-late gallery, create some art projects, and taste and purchase a variety of sweet treats from local vendors!

I n t e re s t e d i n p a r-ticipating as a performer or vendor? Contact the Recreation Department at 412-221-1099 for more information.

Save the Dates!

United Senior Citizens of USCSeniors at Leisure

Every Thursday afternoon, seniors can do something fun! All activities are held at the C&RC, but USC residency or C&RC membership is not required. All activities are free, but reservations are requested.

Brain Fitness (1:30-3 p.m.)–first Thurs-day of the month.

Art Experience (1:30-3 p.m.)–second Thursday of the month, with profes-sional artist Rikki Walsh.

Movie Matinee (12:30-3 p.m.)–third Thursday of the month, with a pizza lunch included.

Game & Card Club (1:30-3 p.m.)–fourth Thursday of the month. We supply the tables and snacks, you sup-ply the fun.

Seniors in MotionThe following classes are free for Silver Card holders. Register at the C&RC administration window or control desk.

Water Walking is a great alternative for anyone who frequently walks indoors or outdoors. This class uses a variety of aerobic movements to push against the water’s natural resistance.Time/Place: Mondays, 9-9:30 a.m. in

the aqua resistance channelThursdays, 6:30-7 p.m. in the aqua re-

sistance channel

T’ai Chi is an ancient form of exercise that unites your mind and body while using ancient principles in a series of movements.Time/Place: Mondays, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

in Studio 1 at the C&RCWednesdays, 11 a.m.-noon (Intermedi-

ate) in Studio 1 at the C&RCWednesdays, noon-1 p.m. (Beginner) in

Studio 1 at the C&RC

Boomer Boot Camp is a modified cir-cuit class for cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength.Time/Place: Mondays and Thursdays,

12:30-1:30 p.m. in the gym at the C&RC

Senior Fit is a training class designed to increase stamina, strength, range of motion, and muscular flexibility in a fun and safe environment.Time/Place: Tuesdays and Thursdays,

11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. in Studio 2 at the C&RC

Zumba Gold is a great aerobic workout inspired by Latin dance rhythms.Time/Place: Wednesdays, noon-1 p.m.

in Studio 2 at the C&RCFridays, 11 a.m.-noon in Studio 2 at

the C&RC

Older Adults1952 was a very busy year!

• Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne of the United Kingdom.

• An American in Paris won Best Picture award.

• Hill Gail won the Kentucky Derby.• Dragnet premiered on NBC.• Mr. Potato Head was introduced.• The NY Yankees won the World

Series … again.If you were one of the 3.9 million

babies born in the U.S. in 1952, or if you remember any of the events listed above, then you are eligible to join the United Senior Citizens of Upper St. Clair. This organization is for USC residents, age 62 and older. The group was first chartered by the Township commissioners more than 35 years ago and remains a vibrant organization today.

The group meets almost every Wednesday for lunch and a program, usually at the Recreation Center on McLaughlin Run Road. Recent programs of interest have included musical perfor-mances, presentations on new Medicare laws, and an art history lecture. There are day trips, parties, and much more!

Want to learn more? Call the Township’s older adult coordinator at 412-221-1099, extension 603.

Gold CardOffered by the USC School District to residents

age 62 and older. Card admits holder to School District drama and musical performances, athletic events, and other events free of charge. Applica-tions taken at School District reception desk at 1820 McLaughlin Run Road.

*Silver CardOffered by USC Township to residents age 62 or

older. Card admits holder to the Municipal three-hole golf course, outdoor tennis facilities, Community & Recreation Center specified programs, and other activities designated and sponsored by the Township of Upper St. Clair. Applications are available at the Community & Recreation Center at Boyce Mayview Park.

ACCESS 65 PLUS is a shared-ride trans-

portation service program for senior citizens age 65 and older. Contact Amy Kerman, Upper St. Clair Township older adult coordinator, at 412-221-1099, ext. 603, for information about this program and for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Senior Citizen identification card for the Port Authority Transit (PAT) system.

Contact the Township’s Older Adult Coordinator

412-221-1099

Resources for Seniors

Celebrating Milestone Birthdays

(March, April, and May) Betsy Krebs Joan Kotzuk Garrit Butter

Flo Kenny Betty Stearns John Kotzuk


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The C&RC offers a full range of fitness and aquatics classes and personal training.

Membership is $32/month for a senior resident.

Pickleball PlayThe hottest racquet sport around,

it’s the perfect activity for those ages 50 and above. Wear your sneakers, comfortable clothing, and come join the fun. Beginners are welcome.Time/Place: Tuesdays 1:30-3 p.m. in the C&RC gymFees: $25 for a ten-session punch card; $3 drop-in rate per session.


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Tri-Community South EMS had 6576 EMS responses in 2013, a decrease of 476 calls

from 2012, reversing a two-year upward spike in call volume. Non-emergency transport calls

decreased to just 37 for the year, 27 trips fewer than in 2012, con-tinuing a downward trend because of the increasing restrictions that insurance carriers place upon non-emergency transports by ambulance. Since entering service on December 31, 1977, Tri-Community South has answered over 160,000 emergency calls and has done over 21,000 non-emergency transports. In 2013, about 71% of all patients received advanced life support treat-ment. About 71% of all responses resulted in the transportation of a patient and 82% of all transports were to either St. Clair Memorial Hospital or Jefferson Regional Medical Center. About 4% of all calls are referred to mutual aid from surrounding services and about 3% of Tri-Community South’s responses are to provide mutual aid to these same services. All of these percentages are consistent with those from past years.

TCS employees and volunteers provided stand-by medical coverage to 397 school district and community gatherings in 2013, totaling over 755 staff hours. TCS staff members also teach CPR and first aid, totaling in excess of 450 staff hours in 2013. Tri-Community South remains among the busiest community training centers in the American Heart Association’s Northern Atlantic region, with more than 10,000 people trained annually. Every TCS employee is a CPR instructor.

Every employee and volunteer of Tri-Community South’s staff also puts many hours each year into continuing education. In 2013, TCS employees again accumulated more than 500 hours of con-ed. Each paramedic attends at least 18 hours of instruction per year and each EMT must attend 24 hours in two years. Every TCS employee exceeds these requirements, most by a generous margin. All of Tri-Community South’s paramedics were recertified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support in 2013.

The system’s six ambulances traveled a combined total of 107,043 miles during the year, a decrease of 7391 miles from 2012. At the end of the year, the combined fleet mileage for the ambulances was 321,701. The system’s support vehicle and response vehicle now have a combined fleet mileage of 73,151, making the total fleet mileage 394,852. Three ambulances were replaced in September 2013. No ambulances are due for replace-ment in 2014.

Tri-Community South’s staff remained unchanged in overall strength in 2013. The field staff consists of the director, five su-pervisors, 16 full-time employees and six part-time employees. The staff is stable and experienced, and the average full-time employee has 17 years of service with the system. An administra-tive and billing office staff of three supports the field operations. Contrary to the trend in EMS, retention of employees has not been a problem for Tri-Community South, but with one-third of the full-time and supervisory staff at 20 years of service or more, the system is interested in recruiting the next generation of providers.

In January, another Tri-Community South employee was recognized for his service by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. At the Emergency Responder recognition ceremony and dinner on January 18, 2013, Tri-Community South EMT and CPR Instructor John D’Angelo, PhD, received a proclamation from the state house honoring his service to the

Commonwealth. John has served with Tri-Community South since June 2003, starting as an EMT. He has gone on to be the system’s most active CPR instructor, in a system that trains more people in CPR than any other agency in Pennsylvania.

During the week of May 19-25, Tri-Community South EMS observed National Emergency Medical Services Week. On Thursday, May 23, Tri-Community South celebrated the week with its 16th annual golf outing at Lindenwood Golf Club. The proceeds from the event benefit the community education pro-grams of Tri-Community South.

In anticipation of National Emergency Preparedness Month in September, Tri-Community South EMS personnel participated in a joint training session with USC Police and USC Volunteer Fire Department on preparedness for Law Enforcement and Public Safety Response to All Hazards: Natural or Human Caused Disas-ters. The session was held on August 28 at the USC fire station. The two-and-a-half-hour course covered issues of personal com-mand; ethical conduct; situational awareness; incident command and management; active shooter incidents; school, commercial and workplace violence responses; and improvised explosive de-vices. In subsequent weeks in September, many of Tri-Community South’s staff participated in active shooter training scenarios with the Upper St. Clair Police Department.

Once again, a Tri-Community South EMS employee was hon-ored by the Pennsylvania EMS Provider Foundation as a recipient of the Stars of Life award. This year, Shawn McDermott received the award at the seventh annual Pennsylvania EMS 9/11 event in Hershey on September 11. The Stars of Life awards are given to EMS providers who particularly exemplify the “efforts and im-portance of the job our everyday heroes provide to the residents of this Commonwealth.” Shawn was among the 14 recipients of the award for 2013, and is the seventh Tri-Community South EMS employee to receive the award since it was established in 2007.

Tri-Community South EMS was again a part of the influenza vaccination program in Allegheny County. TCS paramedics ad-ministered 580 vaccines to the residents of Bethel Park, South Park and Upper St. Clair between September 26 and October 25, 2013, as part of the Mon River Fleet initiative. The initiative began with a clinic at the South Park Township Community Center, followed by similar clinics at the Bethel Park Community Center and the Upper St. Clair Community & Recreation Center. The effort continued throughout October, when Tri-Community South staff visited some of the major residential care facilities in the area and called on the homebound residents of the communities to administer the vaccines.

In December 2013, Tri-Community South received its recogni-tion at the Master level in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s EMS for Children Voluntary Recognition Program. The EMSC program is a multi-level system of recognition for EMS agencies


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Waiting for the AmbulanceYou have called an ambulance for a loved one in your house-

hold who is sick or hurt. You have made the loved one as comfortable as possible, and, at this point, you believe that all you have to do now is to wait. This is a common assumption, because most people have not been trained to prepare correctly for an ambulance visit.

Contrary to what most people believe, a person’s responsibili-ties do not end with the 911 call. If everyone’s primary objective is the best possible patient care, then other responsibilities must be met. These responsibilities include ensuring that the medics have convenient and safe access to the patient, aiding the medics in assessing the patient, and keeping distractions to a minimum.

The following is a list of things that can be done to meet these responsibilities:

1. Clear all steps and pathways leading to the patient, both inside and outside, of all objects and debris.

2. Put dogs and cats in a closed, separate room.3. If it is night, turn on outside lights and make sure the

patient area is well-lit.4. Keep distractions to a minimum by turning off TVs, radios,

and other noisy appliances.5. Have either a list of the patient’s medications or the medi-

cations themselves present.6. Gather relevant medical history, including hospital stays,

family doctor name and phone number, and allergies.7. Gather relevant personal information, including Social

Security Number and birth date.Completing as many of these items will go a long way to en-

sure that each patient receives the best possible care, which is the ultimate goal of the EMS responder. n

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throughout Pennsylvania, with recognition awarded for com-pliance with basic equipment standards, ChildLine background clearance for all personnel, advanced pediatric education for providers, and community outreach programs. The applica-tion for recognition was submitted to the state in August 2013. In September, the system’s records were reviewed by the Emergency Medical Service Institute (EMSI), and the vehicles were inspected for compliance with the equipment stan-dards. As a result of the inspections, Tri-Community South was awarded recognition at the highest, Master, level. As of December 5, 2013, TCS is one of only 19 EMS agencies in the state to be recognized at this level.

For 2013, the system was again fully self-supporting, with all income coming from the annual subscription drive, user fees, and third-party reimbursements, with some equipment purchases supported by the state’s EMSOF program and other grants. No municipal tax monies were used to support the system and Tri-Community South received no money from the Local Services Tax levied by municipalities on people employed in the community. This is particularly remarkable given the lackluster economy, the continuing rise in system expenses, further cuts in reimbursement by Medicare and other insur-ers, and the poor response by the residents to the subscription drive. In 2013, fewer than 28% of the households in the area (7569 of 27,057) contributed to the subscription drive. n

For more information on Tri-Community South, to register for a CPR class, or for any other questions on emergency medical services, call Tri-Community South at 412-831-3710, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.

to 4:30 p.m. or visit the website at: http://www.tcsems.org.

www.TheOutdoorClassroomPA.org

Oh to Be a Kid Again! Jessica Kester, Program Manager, The Outdoor Classroom

OK, so truthfully there are many folks who would say that I never did grow up and that my current job is more like one extended hike. However, I do yearn for the days of old when I didn’t have a care in the world. Back when my daily itinerary consisted of making mud pies, damming up the shale driveway at my aunt’s house, and making “witch’s brew” out of milkweed seeds, goldenrod flowers, a stray earthworm, and some creek water with my cousins. Can you remember the long heated debates focused around which animal the newest passing cloud resembled most, or hanging upside down on the swing set, running through the fields and staying out until dark?

As I look forward to the warmer months of summer and the giggles of glee that accompany our summer camps, I stop to wonder if today’s children will have the same fond memories of nature as they age. Will their childhood thoughts be of wriggling worms and croaking frogs or simply of tiring schedules driving here and there and the levels completed on their favorite video games?

The Outdoor Classroom has come a long way since its birth in 2004, and as we progress through our ten-year anniversary, I take pride in the smiles and squeals of joy that I hear outside my office window. Each time a child holds a creature for the first time, each time I hear “Mom, guess what we found today?”

or “Can I come to camp again, Daddy?” I smile and know that what we do here is worthwhile and is making a difference in so many lives. If you haven’t had the chance to read Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods, I would highly recommend it as a good beach book this summer. Take the time to remember your child-hood—the good memories that you have—and try to share those memories with your children or grandchildren.

Of course, we all know that Grandpa had to walk to school up hills both ways in the snow carrying his shoes so they wouldn’t get ruined; but did you also know that he used to fish in the neighborhood pond with a stick and some string? That Grandma used to play

in the hay-f ie ld and jump into the creek with all her clothes on? Or that Mom and Dad used to ride their bikes all day until the street lights came on and then hurry home so not to be late for supper? I’m encouraging everyone to schedule some time on one of our wet, spring days, turn off the electronics, and share these wonderful thoughts and memories with the children in your life. You never know what spark your adventurous youth will ignite in a small child’s eye. And whether you’ve ignited that spark or need a little help from the untamed forests and meadows here at The Outdoor Classroom, we look forward to seeing you and your child on the trails this year.

Just in case you need help finding your child’s spark, we’ll provide the guidance at these fun programs that are great for audiences of all ages! See calendar on page 73. n


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www.TheOutdoorClassroomPA.org

March 2014

16 Moonstruck Full Moon Hike

23 EcoHiking Talk n Walk

29 Twinkles at Twilight

April 2014

12 Wetland Wonders (students, grades 1-5)


26 Trash & Treasures Geocaching

27 Spring Birding 101 Talk n Walk

May 2014

3 Flowers & Caches Geocaching

3 Mom & Me Geocaching 101

10 Spring Migratory Bird Count

10 Spring Flowers— Saturdays Outdoors Hike

10 All About Birds Day (students, grades 4-12)


17 Fun with Essential Oils (family friendly)

Summer Camp Dates!

Bullfrogs & Pollywogs (ages 2-4) Wednesdays. July 9, 16, 23, 30, and August 6

Jr. Naturalists (ages 4-6) June 23–27

Eco Kids Camp (ages 7-10) July 14–18

Seasonal Science (ages 8-12) July 28–August 1

Bounty at Boyce Mayview Fall Fest Wins Gold!Jessica Kester, Program Manager, The Outdoor Classroom

Did you separate your compost, recycling, and trash during this year’s Bounty at Boyce Mayview Fall Fest? We did! And thanks to our combined efforts, the Fall Fest won its second Gold award level from the Zero Waste Pittsburgh’s ZIP Certification program. Thanks to the Fall Fest participants, the staff, and volunteers from the Recreation & Leisure Services Department, the Community & Recreation Center, and The Outdoor Classroom, our festival had a diversion rate of over 99%,

meaning we sent over 99% of the waste created throughout the day to either compost or recycling facilities instead of into overflowing landfills. Things like the pumpkins, hay, and cornstalks were all composted for a combined weight of over 13,400 pounds of compost.

Watch for more signage and a new goal for this coming year’s event. With your help we’ll put the Boyce Mayview Park on Pittsburgh’s map for going green! n

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Bonnie Detwiler

A raffle quilt, based on the year’s theme, is designed and made annually by members of the guild. A drawing is held at the end of the show. Chance tickets are available for purchase through members and at the show.

Around the Township


TThe Quilter Behind the Quilt

Ever wondered who creates these beautiful works of fabric art? It might just be a neighbor of yours. Several members of the Three Rivers Quilt Guild (TRQ) live in Upper St. Clair. Coming from varied backgrounds, they share a common interest in creating quilts. The guild holds an annual quilt show at which over 120 quilts are displayed. This year, the show will be held at the IBEW Circuit Center 5 Hot Metal Street in the Southside of Pittsburgh, March 27-29. A judged and juried show, it draws quilters and visitors from all over the tri-state area. The exhibit of quilts is visually exciting for anyone who enjoys fiber arts, color, and design! Read on to see who you might know.

Jan Burke worked for 25 years at CONSOL Energy, first at the company’s Upper St. Clair location and then at its headquarters in Southpointe. When she retired, Jan col-lected and used signatures of some of her many CONSOL co-workers and board mem-bers, including CEO and Chairman of the Board Brett Harvey, in a quilt. Including patches from the hats of 13 CONSOL mine locations and groups with which she assisted over the years for computer issues, it took a year and a half to design and piece the top of the quilt that incor-porates 302 signatures and patches. With another 90 hours spent to machine quilt on her long-arm quilting machine, this special, personalized quilt measures 79" by 90.5".

Today, Jan volunteers as the Three Rivers Quilters quilt show registrar and enjoys being able to quilt almost every day in retire-ment. Jan is a proud third-generation quilter. The simple quilt frame that her grandmother and mother hand quilted on in their home in Kentucky over 80 years ago now hangs in Jan’s Upper St. Clair home.

Lila Mason has been a longtime member of the TRQ and is an extensive traveler. Two of her quilts were created by her for the annual “challenge” that the guild presents to its members: create a small quilt based on some aspect of the theme of each year’s show. Lila created “Tesselations,” and “Celebrations” quilts for challenges of previous years. This year’s show theme is “Leave.”

I n a d d i t i o n t o quilting, Lila loves pho-tography and is an avid knitter. She spends as much time as possible with her grandchildren and participating in oth-er family activities.

Patty Schreiber’s “Flying Bananas” quilt was entered in last year’s show. All of her work—cutting, designing, hand piecing, and quilting—is done by hand. Patty has been a member of the guild for 25 years and has worked and volunteered in many capacities. She has chaired and co-chaired the TRQ show for seven years and is the coordinator of the raffle quilt for the 2015 show. She has won multiple awards at local shows and has had two quilts displayed in the Inter-national Quilt Show in Houston, Texas. She coordinated a booth and the quilt that was made for the Three Rivers Art Festival office and helped with quilts that were made for the Ronald McDonald house and displayed at the 2013 TRQ show. Patty is co-founder of Quilt Pittsburgh, a website for local quilters, and lives in Upper St. Clair with her husband and son.

Joan Temple has lived in Upper St. Clair for 33 years. A former elementary school teacher for Keystone Oaks, she has extensive knowledge of quilting that she gained through travel to many national quilt shows and attending classes. Joan has had quilts shown at the American Quilting Society in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Paducah, Kentucky. She spends most of her free time on quilts, with emphasis on hand applique and hand quilting, recently leaning toward making story quilts. Several years ago, her “Sunbonnet Sue is a Real Quilter” won a Viewer’s Choice award at Quilt Odyssey. She and her husband share their home with two rescue dogs, a lab and a Westie.

Mary Smith is a new member of Three Rivers Quilters. She and her husband moved to Upper St. Clair in 1989 from Northwest Indiana to work for U.S. Steel. An I.T. project manager, she retired in 2009 to enjoy golf, cooking, and, of course, quilting. After buy-ing a new sewing machine in 2011, Mary was encouraged by the owner of Sew Much Fun that her middle school and high school sewing skills would be the basis for her to complete a quilt. She completed her first quilt in 2012 and entered it in the TRQ show.

Her neighbor, Jan Burke, encouraged Mary to take a Saturday Sampler Class at Quilter’s Corner. Mary became a member of TRQ in 2012 and has worked at the quilt show in many capacities. She is amazed at the quality of teachers and speakers that the guild attracts each month. Through the guild, Mary has had the op-portunity to share her passion for quilting. After her first quilt, she has since made several baby quilts, multiple table runners, and designed and made an Oklahoma Sooners lap robe for her brother. She does custom embroidery on her sewing machine and has designed and embroidered logos and quilt labels for herself and friends. Quilting has opened new doors for her retirement. n

Three Rivers Quilters is a non-profit organization that promotes the art of quilting through special programs, classes, and charitable projects.

For more information about guild membership, programs, and volunteer opportunities that are offered, visit http://www.threeriversquilters.org/.For information about the March 27-29 show, contact Camille Autieri

at 412-279-7751 or Pat Griffith at 412-854-2010.

CONSOL quilt

Flying Bananas

An original from Lila

Happenings!Happenings!


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Art Show and SaleVisit the Fine Art Show, now through

Sunday, March 23, at Mt. Lebanon Galleria to view original artwork from members of the Upper St. Clair League for the Arts and the area’s Art Leagues Group. Original art will be displayed, judged, and available for sale during mall hours.

Annual Orchid ShowThe Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania (OSWP) will hold its annual orchid

show on Saturday, March 15, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, March 16, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. at the Phipps Garden Center, 1059 Shady Avenue (off Fifth Avenue). Admis-sion is free and the public is invited.

The theme of this year’s show is Orchids, the Gems of the Plant World. Their beauty will entice you and illustrate how easy it is to become hooked on orchids. The show will include orchid exhibits, free educational seminars, plant raffles, and sales by vendors from all over the eastern U.S.

As a special attraction each day, a series of free education classes and lectures will be offered to the public, highlighting orchid growing tips followed by a question-and-answer session.

OSWP members will be wearing “Ask me about orchids” buttons and will help to answer your questions.

Band Festival Celebrates Tenth AnniversaryThe tenth annual Three Rivers Community Band Festival will be held on Saturday,

April 26, 2:30-5 p.m. at Upper St. Clair High School, with theatre doors opening at 1:45 p.m. The concert brings together three of the best community bands in Western Pennsylvania, plus an all-new festival band. The premier band festival was held ten years ago on April 4, 2004, at the USCHS Theatre and has since been held at this same location every year thereafter. WQED-FM’s Jim Cunningham returns this year as the program host.

The Three Rivers Community Band Festival continues to be a showcase of the many musically-talented individuals in the region, and the concert promises a med-ley of music to appeal to a wide range of musical tastes. Community Band South represents the South Hills communities. This brass, woodwind, and percussion band of over 80 members is co-directed by Dean Streator, former teacher of Instrumental Music at Bethel Park High School, and James Bennett, retired Director of Bands and Chairman of Fine Arts at USC School District. Since its first concert on December 14, 1987, this band has performed an average of 15 concerts a year.

Also participating is the East Winds Symphonic Band, founding band of the festival, and the Mon Valley Community Band, the regional guest band from the Charleroi/Monessen area. The fourth band, the “ultimate community band,” com-prises musicians from more than 50 community bands in Allegheny County and ten other counties in the region. They will perform selections under the baton of guest conductor Don Wilcox, professor emeritus at West Virginia University and WVU’s director of bands for 35 years.

Festivalgoers are in-vited to enjoy free light refreshments after the con-cert and meet and greet the musicians. Admission is free; contributions are appreciated.

Spring Craft FairSaturday, March 29, 9:30 a.m. to

3 p.m., is Primetime’s annual spring craft fair. Held at The Christian Life Center at Christ United Methodist Church, 44 Highland Road, Bethel Park, 58 tri-state crafters will be there offering hand painted items, dried and silk floral arrangements, candles, jewelry, wood-working, pet items, and much more!

Wide aisles, plenty of parking, and no admission fee are great reasons to spend an hour or spend the day. Lunch and refreshments are available throughout the day and a silent auction will also take place. Proceeds benefit Prime Time Adult Care.

Free Income Tax Assistance—VITAVolunteer Income Tax Assistance

(VITA) will be available at The Bible Chapel, 300 Gallery Dr. McMurray, now through Tuesday, April 15. Regular hours: Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. No appointments; walk-ins only.

Volunteers will assist taxpayers with Federal, Pennsylvania, and local wage tax returns and real estate/rent rebate and PACE applications. Bring W-2s, 1099s, (e.g. interest and dividend statements, social security, and pension statements), totals of itemized deductions (e.g. medi-cal, taxes, charitable), and social security cards for you, your spouse, and your dependents. Bring copies of your 2012 federal and state tax returns, real estate tax receipts, and receipts for large pur-chases, such as cars. For direct deposit of refund, bring bank account and routing numbers. Bring proof of identification for yourself and your spouse.

For more information, visit www.oswp.org.

For more information, visit the web site at www.ewsb.org/festival.Questions? Call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. Do not call The Bible Chapel regarding VITA.

Jim Bennett conducting Community Band South

Prof ileson People with a USC Connection

Know of a resident to profile? Send information to: Editor, UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY, 1820 McLaughlin Run Road, Upper St. Clair, PA 15241 or [email protected]


Anthony DeRubeis received distinction as Cadet of the Year for Civil Air Patrol Squadron 602. Having been in Civil Air Patrol for ap-proximately four years and working his way to Cadet First Lieutenant, Cadet DeRubeis is currently a cadet recruiter and Deputy Cadet Com-mander. Active in leadership training, he attended Basic Encampment in 2010, Leadership Development Course in 2011, and staffed an Encampment as a public affairs officer in 2012.

Currently, Cadet DeRubeis attends Point Park University for Intel-ligence and National Security and Army ROTC at Pitt. Cadet DeRubeis hopes to join the Army and, eventually, the CIA. In his spare time, Cadet DeRubeis enjoys running, biking, hiking, filming, airsoft, snowboard-ing, and traveling. His favorite color is pink, and his most satisfying feeling in life is when he sees his Cadets succeed.

Civil Air Patrol Squadron 602 has been active since 1941, support-ing the Air Force in its missions and providing a quality Cadet program for young adults ages 12 to 21. The Civil Air Patrol is the United States Air Force (USAF) Auxiliary that performs search and rescue for the USAF, as well as teaches aerospace and leadership in its cadet program.

Bailey Fialkovich, USCHS freshman, was selected to compete in the Queen of Diamonds Showcase North at Kent State University this past January. Now in its 19th season, the QDSN is part of the Queen of Diamond’s Showcase events which are the largest fastpitch softball showcases of their kind in the U.S. and attracts athletes from more than 30 states across the nation and two Canadian provinces.

Along with its little sister showcase, the Queen of Diamonds South, which is in its eighth season, these showcases receive more than 2000 applicants from which 264 athletes are chosen. Athletes apply to these events and are selected based on criteria, including ability, potential, academics, graduation year, coaches’ requests, and referrals.

Bailey plays short stop, center field, and second base for the Pittsburgh Shock.

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To learn more, contact Cadet DeRubeis at [email protected]. Squadron 602 meets on Tuesday evenings, 6:30-9 p.m., at the

Allegheny County Airport.

Margaret Pollock, chief financial officer of the Emmaus Community of Pittsburgh, was named a CFO of the Year Finalist 2013 by the Pittsburgh Business Times. Margaret was honored at an award ceremony last November at the Omni William Penn Hotel. The CFOs of the Year are selected yearly by the Pittsburgh Business Times to honor chief financial officers who have displayed exemplary performance in the area of corporate financial stewardship. Nominees come from for-profit, non-profit, and publicly owned companies from a variety of industries.

Margaret was nominated on the basis of her dedication, visionary leadership, contribution to the organization’s growth, unwavering commitment to the mission of Emmaus, and volunteer work in the community. She has been CFO at Emmaus, an organization serving individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism, for six years. She worked in other areas of the organization before moving to the com-pany’s financial department. Since Margaret became CFO, Emmaus has tripled its operating budget, expanded its programs, and launched new services.

When asked what advice she would give another CFO, Margaret’s focus on her mission was clear: “Work for an organization that aligns with your personal values. Surround yourself with coworkers you believe in—both as people and as contributors to the organization’s mission. And, most definitely, enjoy the routine, but expect the unex-pected,” she said.

Kathy Parry, local author and food coach, is passionate about food. Real food. She helps others understand what real, whole foods are and how they affect health and vitality. Raised by parents who grew a garden full of vegetables, Kathy has long embraced a whole food diet. Food has the power to transform health, and Kathy wants to share her love of eating whole, real foods.

With degrees in business and food management, Kathy set out to change the world of food, but first trained bankers. Kathy discovered her love for standing up in front of people as she developed and deliv-ered training programs for a super-regional bank in the South. After leaving the world of banking, Kathy jumped at the chance to get back to her real passion and she began to sell imported and specialty foods. This immersion into food fueled her desire to encourage others to eat real food. And soon, those others she was encouraging came in the form of four children.

But, it was child number four that changed the way Kathy viewed food. After a tumultuous six months of not knowing why her child, who had daily, uncontrolled seizures, was not thriving, Kathy finally got answers. Merritt Joy was diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease. Her cells didn’t metabolize food properly. Kathy spent the next several years becoming an expert in cellular function. Now 12 years later, Merritt Joy has never been hospitalized or suffered from any of the debilitat-ing viruses the doctors feared. She is highly disabled, but very healthy.

While Merritt’s condition could have been the flat tire that ruined Kathy’s food journey, it instead became the impetus for the passion that takes her and others to places of great health and vitality.

Kathy Parry—Your Real Food Coach is Kathy’s speaking and coach-ing business. She helps others through corporate wellness programs, event and keynote speaking, and college and association programming. To learn more and to view information about Kathy’s new book release The Ultimate Recipe for an Energetic Life, visit www.kathyparry.com.

Anthony DeRubeisBailey Fialkovich Margaret PollockKathy Parry


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The Urban Plunge is coordinated by the Center for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame in cooperation with the Notre Dame Alumni Club of Pittsburgh. For more information,

contact Teresa Hagan, 412-334-6457, [email protected] or Melissa Marley Bonnichsen, Notre Dame Center for Social Concerns, at 503-704-4590 or [email protected].

Sleep in a Homeless Shelter? USC grads take “Urban Plunge” to learn about poverty in Pittsburgh

A night in a homeless shelter doesn’t sound like a choice many of us would make. But Rachel Szucs and Patrick Myron, both 19 and graduates of Upper St. Clair High School, spent two nights in a Pittsburgh homeless shelter in January.

Rachel and Patrick were two of nine students who took an “urban plunge” in Pittsburgh to have a first-hand look at urban poverty. The current University of Notre Dame students were part of the university’s Urban Plunge program, a 48-hour, one-credit winter break seminar that allows undergraduates to do direct service, discuss social jus-tice issues with local agencies, and speak directly with those afflicted by urban poverty.

Patrick, a 2013 USCHS grad and a freshman engineering major at Notre Dame, said he participated in the program to learn how he could help. “I decided to participate to discover the reasons causing the urban poverty cycle,” he said. “I wanted to find out about local opportunities to help the less fortunate in our city.”

Rachel, a 2012 USCHS grad and a sophomore accounting and psychology major at Notre Dame, said the trip was an intense learning experience. “We visited an extensive list of sites around the Pittsburgh area and many other groups came to talk with us,” she said. “I felt that we learned a lot about the efforts in Pittsburgh to reduce urban poverty.” The students visited the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, Jubilee Soup Kitchen, Crossroads Foundation, Gwen’s Girls, and other city service providers.

“Many people chose to share their stories with us,” Rachel said. “The clients at most places just need resources and some extra help with finances and motivation. But oth-ers shared their history of drug use and struggles with addiction and mental illness.”

This year’s Pittsburgh Urban Plunge, however, one of approximately 40 in the nation and in its 36th year, posed an unusual challenge: record-breaking frigid temperatures. In fact, the dangerously low temperature and windchill on January 7 meant some of the sites on the Urban Plunge agenda were closed.

“For us, it meant a little bit of hassle with rescheduling and cancellations,” Rachel said. “But for the people who use these services on a regular basis, it was obviously a bigger deal. It reminded us that we are lucky to be in the posi-tion that we’re in.”

Melissa Marley Bonnichsen, coordinator of the program for Notre Dame, said nurturing this understanding is one of the goals of the program. “Typically, cities are places that we go for sports events, shopping, or work,” Marley Bonnichsen said. “But there is another side to American cit-ies. The Urban Plunge is the students’ chance to learn about poverty in their own hometowns and put faith in action.”

Coming from Upper St. Clair, Rachel said the plunge did give her a new perspective on the city. “There’s a huge contrast between going downtown for a game or a concert or a perfor-mance and living in the city in poverty,” she

said. “Before the plunge, I had only been exposed to one of these sides.” But Rachel said the other side is closer than most people think. “The shelter where we stayed was a few blocks from Consol Energy Center, and I’m sure that very few people who go there know where it is,” she said. “I didn’t. I think it’s important for us to be aware of the struggles of our own city.”

Rachel now encourages others to take a closer look at urban poverty. “It’s something you need to experience,” she said. “Homelessness has a stigma. But there’s nothing scary about someone who needs help.” n

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Rachel Szucs prepares lunch at Jubilee Soup Kitchen.

In Memory and In Celebration at GilfillanMary Lynne Spazok

Boyce Road Gardeners

Brian McGuire, dutiful caretaker of “Chuck, the Bull,” is sad to announce that Chuck, age ten, is no longer at the Gilfillan farm. In April 2013, Chuck was dashing eagerly across the pasture and took a bad tumble. Chuck resided at the farm for a decade and grew to be a whopping 2500 pounds. Each USC Community Day he looked forward to attentive visitors massag-ing his curly cocoa and white trademark muzzle. A favorite treat was sweet alfalfa. Endearing, one would be hard pressed to find a more good-natured Hereford.

Of British origin, the Hereford evolved from the native red cattle of Western England. In 1817, Henry Clay imported the first three Herefords to the United States. The Herefords were quickly absorbed into the general cattle population. Their popularity is due to an innate adaptability as they are extraordinary foragers and dili-gent caretakers of their lineage. Today, Herefords popu-late cattle pastures worldwide.

It is with great excitement that the farmstead welcomes Max, a big boy of almost two, weighing in at a spritely 1500 pounds and growing! Max is a Hereford offspring of the 4-H (Head, Heart, Hands, and

Health) system and was recently awarded “Best in Show” at the Washington County Fair. Max is polled, which means he is without horns. With his easy-going nature, some attest that he’s Chuck’s twin!

On Saturday, May 17, noon to 4 p.m., stop by Gilfillan farm’s pasture to welcome Max. The Orr Road garden entrance is gen-eral parking, while handicapped accessible parking is available at the Orr Road upper lot. Tour Margaret Gilfillan’s 19th century residence, create a whimsical craft, and discover the magic of

honey bee hives.Contentment is about life’s simple pleasures.

Be sure to visit the Gilfillan Homestead, where happiness and hospitality thrive in the simplest of forms. n

Boyce Road Gardeners is look-ing forward to the 2014 gardening season. The gardens, which are located in Boyce Mayview Park at the Southeast corner of the park at Boyce and Morton Roads, are the oldest community gardens in Allegheny County. With an active and hardy group of organic gardeners, the

gardens will begin its year with an infor-mational organizational meeting in April for all those who are interested.

Weather dependent, the gardens are usually ready to plant in mid-April. Mid-July welcomes a visit from Sandy Feather of Penn State Extension to assess individual concerns of the gardeners. The highlight

of the gardening year, mid-August brings the highly anticipated and fun garden fair and picnic.

Membership is $5 and plot rental is $15 for each 40-by-40-foot plot, which may be shared by more than one person or family for an additional $5. Information can be obtained from Jerry Kender by calling him at 412-221-3118. Though space is limited, a few plots are usually available. n

Chuck

Max

To the FarmHorses, Herefords, cows that moo,

Chickens, roosters, piglets too.Bees a buzzin’, that’s their song,Ducklings quacking all day long.All these creatures you can see

At Community Day, USC!


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Managing Your Health and Maintaining an Active LifeWhat: Self-management workshop for older adults (65+)Location: Providence Point in the South Hills, 500 Providence Point Blvd.Dates: Six consecutive Fridays, April 25-May 30. Must attend all sessions.Time: 2-4:30 p.m.

Background:In a Stanford University study, people who participated in this type of program

demonstrated significant improvements in exercise, cognitive symptom manage-ment, communication with physicians, self-reported general health, health distress, fatigue, disability, and social/role activities limitations. They also spent fewer days in the hospital and trended toward fewer outpatient visits and hospitalizations.

Topics Covered:• Techniques for dealing with frustration, fatigue, pain, isolation• Appropriate exercises for strength, flexibility, and endurance• Appropriate use of medications• Communicating with family, friends, health professionals• Nutrition• Evaluating new treatments

Workshop participants receive the companion book Living a Healthy Life with a Chronic Condition and all graduates receive the relaxation CD “Time for Healing” as a gift. Light refreshments are provided.

To RSVP or receive more information, contact Providence Point Wellness Director Fabi Cheistwer at 412-489-3596. n

For more information on participating in any of Coldwell Banker’s events, call 412-367-3050. For more information about Coldwell

Banker Real Estate Services, visit www.Pittsburghmoves.com.

CHINESE ACUPUNCTURE& HERBS CENTER

Back/Neck PainHeadaches/Migraines Anxiety/DepressionIVF/IUI SupportFacial RejuvenationWeight Control

412-563-3328Mt. Lebanon Professional Building

20 Cedar Blvd., Suite 301Mt. Lebanon, PA 15228

www.pittsburghacupuncture.com

We are honored by the trust and confidence our

patients have in us

Xuan Maggie Liu, L. Ac, Cheng Charlie Yang, L. Ac

• LICENSED ACUPUNCTURISTS•Trained in China

A Very Giving Group To celebrate the holiday season and give back to the com-

munity in which they live and work, the agents of the South Hills Office of Coldwell Banker Real Estate Pittsburgh hosted a holiday breakfast this past December benefiting Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

Guests enjoyed the musical stylings of the Top 21 chorus from Bethel Park High School, and special guests included former Wish kid Zack Abel, representatives from Make-A-Wish and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, and the man with the bag himself, Santa.

Over 300 guests enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, silent and Chinese auctions, a 50/50 raffle, and remarks from the charitable organizations.

Wish kid Zack was among those who spoke, and his mom, Natalie, said, “The event was fantastic! It was so nice to see such tremendous support for Make-A-Wish. The event was very well organized and the amount and quality of the auction items were remarkable. I’m glad to see events such as this one that help raise awareness.”

Coldwell Banker Real Estate Pittsburgh holds numerous events each year in support of Make-A-Wish. In 2013, Coldwell Banker’s efforts raised more than $100,000 used to grant at least 25 wishes for kids fighting life-threatening illnesses in our local area. In the years since Coldwell Banker began supporting Make-A-Wish, their efforts have granted over 100 wishes.

Other events throughout the year include Shopping Extravaganza, Night at the Races, and Bowling for Wishes. The fourth annual Golf Classic benefiting Make-A-Wish takes place on Monday, May 5 at Diamond Run Golf Club. n

412-445-6264 Cellwww.lynndempsey.com

[email protected]

ExperiencedProfessionalHardworkingKnowledgeableAccessibleFree Home Analysis

Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned And Operated By NRT LLC.

http://www.facebook.com/LynnDempsey.ColdwellBanker

5 Star Real Estate Top Agent Awardby Pittsburgh Magazine - 2010 - 2014

Top 50 AgentREALTOR®

Lynn DempseyUpper St. Clair Resident

St. Clair Hospital’s New Urgent Care

Preventing Falls in the Home

Physicians at St. Clair Urgent Care began seeing patients Monday, January 13 when it opened its doors for the first time inside St. Clair Hospital Outpatient Center at Village Square, 2000 Oxford Drive in Bethel Park.

Conveniently located on the east end of Upper St. Clair Township’s border, St. Clair Urgent Care is fully staffed by board-certified physicians, Rachel L. Schroer, D.O., Matthew S. Cooper, D.O., and Ediri A. Montoya, M.D.; registered nurses; radi-ology technicians; and patient registrars. St. Clair Urgent Care is designed to treat injuries or illnesses requiring immediate care, but not serious enough to warrant a trip to St. Clair Hospital’s emergency room.

Typical patients at Urgent Care are seek-ing treatment for sprains, strains, lacerations, fractures (which can be splinted on-site), colds and flu, si-nus and ear infections, sore throats, and urinary tract infections. St. Clair Urgent Care also offers a lab, including urine analysis and rapid strep testing, X-rays on site, flu vaccinations, and sports physicals.

Most patients are examined, treated, and on their way within the hour. St. Clair Urgent Care fills many commonly prescribed medications on-site. All major insurances are accepted.

A key advantage to St. Clair Urgent Care’s location inside the hospital’s Outpatient Center at Village Square is that Urgent Care patients can easily access the center’s diagnostic ser-vices, if necessary. The Outpatient Center itself, conveniently located off Fort Couch Road near South Hills Village mall and across from St. Thomas More Church, provides easy access for Upper St. Clair Township residents. Patients at the Outpatient Center and the new St. Clair Urgent Care enjoy free valet parking be-tween 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Patients and visitors at the Outpatient Center and St. Clair Urgent Care can pur-chase breakfast and lunch items at the new Café 4, which is located adjacent to the main entrance to St. Clair Urgent Care. It is open during regular business hours on weekdays. n

A fall is the most common cause of acci-

dental death in the home, and 50% of all falls occur in

the home. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 26,009 Americans died in 2010 as a result of a fall in the home. The most common consequences of home falls not resulting in death are hip fractures and traumatic brain injuries, both of which can rob a person of his or her ability to live a full life. Also, one-third of those 65 or older will fall every year, and the risk of falling increases dramatically for each decade of life.

Tri-Community South believes that we must begin a program of prevention in order to reduce injuries and deaths. We can all take the following steps to make our homes safer for everyone, but especially for our senior citizens:

1. Replace unsafe railings and bannisters both inside and outside the home.

2. Make sure stairways, both inside and outside the home, are brightly lit.

3. Remove slippery throw rugs, espe-cially around stairways.

4. Remove all items from steps and hall-ways.

5. Store often-used items on easier to reach lower shelves of cabinets.

6. Install grab bars near showers, tubs, and toilets.

7. Place non-slip mats in tub and shower areas.

8. Use brighter bulbs near stairs and high-traffic areas.

9. Wear shoes with non-skid soles inside the house.

In addition to making our homes safer, we can also significantly reduce falls by improving our own physical health. For

example, joining an exercise program such as Tai Chi or water aerobics will increase strength and improve balance and flex-ibility. And, since poor vision can lead to falls, regular vision check-ups will help to reduce the possibility of accidents.

Finally, be aware of the side effects of the prescribed medications that you or a member of your family are taking. If diz-ziness is one of these side-effects, then perhaps the time that the medication is taken can be changed to be closer to a person’s bedtime, where the likelihood of activity is lessened.

Members of Tri-Community South hope to work with residents of the lo-cal communities it serves to reduce the number of injuries caused by falls in the home. n

St. Clair Urgent Care is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on major

holidays) seven days a week, 365 days a year. No appointments necessary.

Phone:412-942-8800. St. Clair Hospital is an independent, acute care facility with 550 physicians and more than 2230 employees.

See St. Clair Hospital ads on pages 3 and 84.

See TCS “Year in Review” article on page 70.

Patient registrar’s desk and portion of waiting room at St. Clair Urgent Care at St. Clair Hospital Outpatient Center

located at Village Square, Bethel Park

One of eight St. Clair Urgent Care examination rooms, the facility also has a large procedure room and X-ray room.


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412.303.8771 collegenannies.com/southhillspa

Flexible Childcare + Tutor Solutions.

Happy Children. Successful Students.Stronger Families.

550 Sleepy Hollow Road, Mt. Lebanon, PA 15228412.563.2858

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less than $1 million. Many donor-advised funds require a minimum contribution of $5,000 or $10,000, and some funds may require a larger upfront contribution, whereas a private foundation can cost $500,000 or more to establish.

Since the contributions are being made to a public charity, the donor receives an immediate tax deduction, including a deduction for a cash donation of up to 50% of the donor’s adjusted gross income (AGI), or a deduction for securities and other appreciated assets of up to 30% of the donor’s AGI. Moreover, donors can avoid capital gains taxes on gifts of appreciated property and estate taxes, helping the investment in the fund grow tax-free.

When contributing assets to donor-advised funds, a donor can potentially give more to charity and pay less in taxes. The following example demonstrates the tax and giving advantages of contributing appreciated assets to a donor-advised fund. In this example, $100,000 in long-term appreciated securities is being donated with a cost basis, or original purchase price, of $30,000.

If the donor sells the securities and donates the cash proceeds to charity, he or she will be subject to a capital gains tax of 15% of $70,000, or $10,500. That leaves the charity with $89,500 of the se-curities’ value. But if the donor contributes the $100,000 of securities directly to a donor-advised fund, the charity receives the full amount of the donation. To receive the tax deduction in that year, the donor must issue the gift by year end.

Possible drawbacks of donor-advised fundsDonor-advised funds do come with some limitations, including

the loss of complete control over the workings of the fund. And while the donor may provide suggestions about the distributions the institution makes from the fund, the recommendations are only advisory. While not obligated to do so, most suggestions are followed by the administrating charity.

In contrast, donors in private foundations can create their own board, choose investments from across the financial industry, and give equally to foreign and domestic charities.

Other potential limitations of donor-advised funds include man-agement fees and the minimum investment requirements associated with the contribution. While fees are low (management fees are typically less than one percent plus other expenses associated with the investments), they should still be considered by potential donors.

Are donor-advised funds the right vehicle for you to use when considering your charitable giving?

Contact a financial advisor, who may be able to provide you with more information on how a donor-advised fund might help you in your strategic philanthropy. n

Give Creatively with Donor-advised Funds Continued from page 37

Disclaimer: This material is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used or relied upon, by any taxpayer for the purpose of (i)

avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or tax-

related matter(s).As a firm providing wealth management services to clients, UBS

Financial Services offers both investment advisory and brokerage services. Visit www.ubs.com/workingwithus for more information. UBS

Financial Services Inc. is a subsidiary of UBS AG. ©2011 UBS Financial Services Inc. Member SIPC. See ad on page37.

For information and a 2014 application, contact the USCHS guidance office or visit

www.twpusc.org/magazine/usc-today-home.

Return completed applications to USCHS guidance office by Monday, April 28 for

scholarship consideration.

Offers Journalism/Communications Book Scholarship

real people. real results. get real with Jen.

Jen DahlemHoward Hanna Real Estate Multi Million Dollar Producer5 Star Agent - Pittsburgh Magazine

412-287-2117 cell412-276-5000 [email protected]

La MaisonGarnett Livingston, Personal Chef

Custom Dining &Small Event Catering

In The Privacy Of Your Home412.608.2266

[email protected]

Advertiser PageAdvertiser Page

*The above advertisers, who are advertising in this issue, have contributed their support for a minimum of 38 issues. Thank you.

The staff of UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY wishes a prosperous 2014 to our wonderful advertisers who have supported our publication for 20 years. We couldn’t do it without you!

Upcoming guides for the Summer 2014 issue include

Dining, Home & Garden, and Summer Activities.

Advertise in

the official publication of the School District and Township of USC

... and your local connection!

A. Petrelli & Sons, Inc. ......................................................................... 48* Angelo Associates, Inc. ........................................................................ 46* ARAMARK ............................................................................................ 31 Arbor Tree Specialist, Inc. ..................................................................... 45 BISTECCA - STEAKHOUSE - WINE BAR .............................................. 39 Brentwood Bank ..................................................................................... 2 Brookside Lumber ................................................................................ 50* Calabro Tire & Auto Service ................................................................. 21 Certified Home Remodelers .................................................................. 49 Chinese Acupuncture & Herbs Center, LLC .......................................... 79* Coffey Contracting Company ................................................................ 51* Coldwell Banker Real Estate, Inc. Corporate ................Back outside cover* Coldwell Banker–The South Hills Office .........................Back inside cover Coldwell Banker–Lynn Dempsey .......................................................... 79 College Nannies + Tutors ..................................................................... 81* Cupelli & Cupelli, Drs. ......................................................................... 73 D&M Chiropractic & Therapeutic Rehab, Inc. ....................................... 77 Davey Tree and Lawn Care .................................................................... 50

* Deckmasters Technologies Incorporated .............................................. 46 “Dirt” Dugan Landscaping, Inc. ............................................................ 51 Don’s Appliances ..........................................................Front inside cover Executive Home Maintenance Service ................................................... 45 Extended Day Services ......................................................................... 25 Historical Society of Upper St. Clair ....................................................... 9* Howard Hanna–Maureen Cavanaugh ................................................... 65 Howard Hanna–Jen Dahlem ................................................................. 81 Howard Hanna–Bob Ellison .................................................................. 77* Howard Hanna–Susan Highley ............................................................. 21* Howard Hanna–Diane Horvath ............................................................. 31* Keller Williams–Sandy and Marshall Goldstein ................................... 63* Kerr Family and Cosmetic Dentistry ..................................................... 42 La Maison, Chef Garnett Livingston ...................................................... 81* Louis Anthony Jewelers .......................................................................... 5

* Manalo, Larry E., D.M.D. ...................................................................... 43 Mt. Lebanon Montessori School and Academy .................................... 81 Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center ............................................................ 57 Northwood Realty Services–Bonnie Detwiler ........................................ 73 Orthodontics by Dr. Reitz & Dr. Troy ..................................................... 43 Patricia Wozniak Henk, Attorney; Carole Kunkle-Miller, Phd.; Paula Hopkins, Attorney ......................... 17 Pediatric Dentistry South ...................................................................... 42* Piccolina’s Restaurant ........................................................................... 43* Pinebridge Commons Associates ......................................................... 42 Pittsburgh Music Academy ................................................................... 63 Pittsburgh Stone & Waterscapes, LLC .................................................. 43 PNC Investments–Thomas Walker ......................................................... 7 Preferred Drapery and Blinds ............................................................... 48 Premier Home Design Center ............................................................... 47 Premium Properties of Hilton Head ...................................................... 57 Providence Point, a Baptist Homes Society Community .......................... 2* Prudential Preferred Realty Rt. 19 South................................................ 15

RE/MAX Premier Group–Susanne Wagner ........................................... 25* Rusmur Floors ...................................................................................... 83* St. Clair Hospital .............................................................................. 3, 84* Scott Bros. Windows and Doors ........................................................... 44* Sesame Inn ........................................................................................... 35 South Hills Endoscopy Center ................................................................ 1 South Hills Orthopaedic ......................................................................... 9* State Farm Insurance–Cindy Brophy .................................................... 42 StoneMakers of Western PA ................................................................. 51 StonePepper’s Grill ............................................................................... 37 The Orthopedic Group ...................................................................... 7, 71* The Thomas Studio of Performing Arts ........................Front cover, 12, 13 UBS Financial Services, Inc. ................................................................ 37 Washington Health System ................................................................... 27* Wellington Real Estate–Patty Thomas & Rebecca Lutz ......................... 11

What They SaidDave Scott, owner of Scott Bros. Windows and Doors, a reputable provider of window and door installations to the Upper St. Clair community for more than 30 years, says,

“The TODAY magazine provides us the opportunity to become a household name; residents think of us when looking for a specialty window and door company for their needs.”

Advertiser Index www.twpusc.org/magazine/usc-today-home Spring 2014

20 Years LOCAL



Carpet n Area Rugs n Hardwood n Laminate n Vinyl n CeramicBridgeville (Main location – 52 years of quality) 500 Station Street n 412.221.6366 n www.rusmurfloors.comHours: M, W, Th 9:00 am - 9:00 pm n T, F, Sat 9:00 am - 5:00 pm n Closed Sunday Live here? So do we! Moon n Murrysville n North Hills n Whitehall

PA Contractor’s License #1961

You Stand on Our Good Name Every Day.

Family Owned.Community Focused.


Coldwell Banker real estate serviCes

Global Connections. Local Traditions.

The South Hills Office412-833-5405 • 1630 Washington Rd, Pittsburgh PA 15241

Hope Bassichis

Lynn Dempsey

Barbara CusickAnita CragoJack & Joanne Benson Noel Bliman

Leigh HarkreaderJanine GuthrieGenie GoodingJohn Geisler Nancy Heffernan

Jane KrauthKathi KernanSue KelsoJudy Hlister Sydnie Jones

Maria & Joe Lane,Rebecca Lane Selko

Diane Snyder

Kathy SekerasJulie Leslie Arlene Murray

Mary Torchia Marian McGinleyManager

Mary Ann WellenerCarmela Viviano Jim Walsh

© 2014 Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker® and the Coldwell Banker logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

Heather Orstein

Valerie Akerlow

Hedy Krenn

Ron Loncharich

ECRWSS* CARRIER ROUTEPOSTAL CUSTOMER

Upper St. Clair, PA 15241

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PaidPittsburgh PA

Permit No. 206

This magazine was printed on recycled paper.

1820 McLaughlin Run RoadUpper St. Clair, PA 15241

COLDWELL BANKERwww.PittsburghMoves.com

Check out these fabulous Upper St. Clair area homes!

Peters Township Office412-831-5555 • 3244 Washington Rd,

McMurray PA 15317

South Hills Office 412-833-5405 • 1630 Washington Rd,

Pittsburgh PA 15241

Spacious colonial with an open floor plan. Formal living & dining rooms. Family room fireplace, den/loft with skylights, 1st floor laundry and Florida room with spacious deck. Paul Gupta 412-833-5405

Located on 1.3 acre cul-de-sac, park-like lot. Spacious colonial with 4 bedrooms, 2+1 baths, family room fireplace, game room, party sized deck and more.Monica Mahla 412-831-5555

Spacious split entry colonial featuring 4 bedrooms, 3 full baths, family room, game room fireplace and great yard. Walk to play ground and shops. Kathi Kernan 412-833-5405

Wonderful 4 bedroom, 2 full and 1 half bath two story colonial. Large island and pantry in kitchen. Family room fireplace and built-ins. Game room and lovely screened porch! Suzanne Sala 412-831-5555

Move-in ready. Charming, spacious colonial featuring 4 bedrooms, 2 full and 1 half bath.1st floor family room, equipped kitchen, neutral décor and 2 car garage! John Butera 412-833-5405

Lovely cape cod with updated hardwood, carpet, kitchen and baths. Features 3 bedrooms, 1st floor master, bonus room and deck overlooking pool! Kathi Kernan 412-833-5405

Tudor beauty! 2 story entry with 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, den, loft or 5th bedroom. Master with luxury bath, gourmet cherry kitchen, family room and game room wet bar. Hope Bassichis 412-833-5405

Stone, custom built contemporary in Trotwood Acres with quality throughout. Family room loft and fireplace. 4 bedrooms, 2 full and 2 half baths. Lower level game room. Jack & Joanne Benson 412-833-5405

© 2014 Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate Services fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker® and the Coldwell Banker logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

Spacious 2 story with equipped island kitchen, family room fireplace, game room, 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. Cathedral sun room with skylights overlooking fenced yard. Jean Seiler & Hope Bassichis 412-833-5405

Elegant colonial! Governors drive, southern style front porch, updated kitchen and lots of hardwood. 5 bedrooms, 4+1 baths, den, family room, game room and screened porch. Jim Walsh 412-833-5405

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Not Sure Which Way to Go When Pricing Your Home? Let Us Help.

There are many factors to consider when pricing your home. Should you price higher than recent sales to capitalize on a hot market? What’s the price of similar homes in your area? Pricing your home correctly can mean a faster sale and more income for you. Instead of guessing, consult a real estate professional who has access to market statistics, a list of similar properties for sale and an analysis of recent sales. Coldwell Banker agents have all of that information and much more, and they use the most powerful technology tools on the market today to price your home right and get it sold. When it comes to pricing your home, trust a real estate professional who can help show you the way. Trust a Coldwell Banker Agent.

Yes! I would like a free analysis of what my home could be worth on today’s market!

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Address

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Best way to contact me is:

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©2013 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC. 54502 08/13

Not Sure Which Way to Go When Pricing Your Home? Let Us Help.

There are many factors to consider when pricing your home. Should you price higher than recent sales to capitalize on a hot market? What’s the price of similar homes in your area? Pricing your home correctly can mean a faster sale and more income for you. Instead of guessing, consult a real estate professional who has access to market statistics, a list of similar properties for sale and an analysis of recent sales. Coldwell Banker agents have all of that information and much more, and they use the most powerful technology tools on the market today to price your home right and get it sold. When it comes to pricing your home, trust a real estate professional who can help show you the way. Trust a Coldwell Banker Agent.

Yes! I would like a free analysis of what my home could be worth on today’s market!

Name

Address

City State Zip

Best way to contact me is:

Phone

Email Address

Best time of day to contact me is:

Morning Afternoon Evening

©2013 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC. 54502 08/13

Pricing your home correctly can mean a faster sale and more income for you.

Coldwell Banker agents have the valuable market information you need to price your home right, and they use the most powerful

technology tools available to get your home sold.

When it comes to pricing your home, trust a real estate professional who can help show you the way.

Trust Coldwell Banker.

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SPRING 2014 UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY