The ladder truck for Murrysville Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 is affectionately referred to as “Diane.”
But firefighters will have a new “woman” in their lives when August 2022 rolls around. Murrysville council approved the $1.5 million purchase of a new 2022 Sutphen aerial platform truck.
“Sutphen met our need and the community’s needs the best,” said No. 1 Chief Brian Synan. “It’s the same truck we have currently, only a little short than what we’ve got right now.”
“Diane” is about 20 years old, and the truck is approaching the end of its useful life. Synan noted that it does have between $150,000 and $200,000 in potential salvage value.
Jason Cato | Tribune-Review
Roger Kennelly, 76, of Irwin helps remove American flags along Route 22 in Murrysville on Nov. 6, 2019. The flags were displayed for Tuesday’s election by Murrysville American Legion Post 711.
Submitted photo | Mac McKenna
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Editor’s note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature that aims to let our readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make them a better place, who have interesting stories to tell or who the community feels deserve “15 minutes of fame.” If you would like to nominate someone as a Neighbor Spotlight, email Neighborhood News Network Editor Katie Green at kgreen@triblive.com.
Patrick Varine | Tribune-Review
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Murrysville council will take public comment March 3 on what could be its first tax increase in 13 years.
The public hearing will explore a proposal to double earned-income taxes from the current 0.5% to 1%.
“This goes back to our fiscal analysis and the need to identify alternate revenue sources,” Chief Administrator Jim Morrison said at council’s Feb. 3 meeting. “Our original projection was to start doing that in 2023; then covid came.”
Morrison said earned-income tax has become a major revenue source for the municipality.
Patrick Varine | Tribune-Review
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Ron Suvak, principal at Franklin Regional Senior High School, said his goal for 2021 was simple: To ensure students’ second semester experience is better than the first, educationally, socially and emotionally.
Suvak presented school board members with the results from a recent survey of high school students, focused on their experience in the district’s hybrid education model, in which separate groups attend two days per week in person, learning online the other three days. On Wednesdays, all students learn online while the building undergoes a full cleaning.
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As Christine Michaels, CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ Keystone Pennsylvania chapter, prepares for the group’s first virtual conference on Friday, she can’t help but think of her own family.
This year’s conference, “Closing the Gap: Prioritizing the Needs of Traumatized Youth,” will focus on the impact that the covid-19 pandemic is having on children and adolescents. Michaels has seen it firsthand.
“I have a granddaughter who’s a teenager,” she said. “Before the pandemic, she was a straight-A student. She has some difficulties with anxiety and has gone to counseling, and had a horrible time with remote learning.”