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GOLDEN MOMENTS

Area swimmers excel at WPIAL championships. PAGE B1 ZONE 2

@SHillsAlmanac Our 49th Year

www.thealmanac.net

March 5, 2014

A sound approach to life Rusted Root’s Donovan teaches stress relief workshop By Deana Carpenter For The Almanac writer@thealmanac.net

Finding ways to reduce or relieve stress was the topic of a recent seminar at Metamorphosis wellness PHOTO BY DEANA CARPENTER center in McMurray. Jim Donovan and Ellen Ulmer during Donovan’s workshop Taught by Jim Donovan, at Metamorphasis Center in McMurrary. a founding member of

the band Rusted Root, the March 1 workshop was attended by a small group of local people. Donovan uses sound – specifically drums – to help empower people to live a better life. The five-hour training involved teaching techniques of how to energize the brain and clear the

mind, how to lessen fear and how to create deep relaxation and stress. “Jim Donovan’s Sound Empowerment Training aligns perfectly with our mission to help people live happy, healthy lifestyles,” said Melissa Migliaro, founder and owner of Metamorphosis.

Decades of service Bower Hill VFD marks 90 years of fighting fires

Donovan, who lives in Greensburg, has a master’s degree in educational leadership and is a full-time instructor at St. Francis University. In addition to his 15 years with Rusted Root, he has been teaching drumming workshops for about five years. SEE STRESS PAGE A2

Lebo approves capital projects By Deana Carpenter For The Almanac writer@thealmanac.net

By Terry Kish For The Almanac writer@thealmanac.net

This year, Bower Hill Volunteer Fire Department is celebrating 90 years of service to the residents of Scott Township. Chartered in 1924 to provide fire protection for the southern portions of the township, the fire department’s first home was on Montgomery Avenue. According to the department’s records, “The department entered service with a hand-drawn hose cart and a few hundred feet of fire hose, two hand-pumped water fire extinguishers, and some canvas coats and leather helmets, all purchased reportedly from U.S. Government World War I surplus. There were no ladders, no axes or hooks, and no pumping engine.” “Back then, you were lucky if you had a horse and a cart,” said Bower Hill VFD’s current president Rob Losekamp. Firefighting has changed drastically over the last 90 years said Losekamp, and especially during the last 10-15 years with the advent of new technology. From new equipment for firefighters, to more widespread use of smoke detectors, to changes in building SEE VFD PAGE A2

COURTESY BOWER HILL VFD

Members of the Bower Hill Volunteer Fire Department in 2004.

The Mt. Lebanon School Board of Directors approved the district’s capital projects fund budget for the 2014-15 construction season at a Feb. 24 meeting. The capital budget is in the amount of $1,614,568. A complete list of the projects is available on the district’s website, www. mtlsd.org, by clicking on the budget tab and then the capital projects list. About $127,000 in change orders for the ongoing high school renovation project were approved at the meeting. Some of the modifications included $18,991 for ductwork and boiler bypass changes, $9,206 for water line and hydrant repairs, $37,244 for drilled pier mobilization adjustments, $40,974 for site work and repairs and $19,441 for lighting, controls and power repairs.

Other business

COURTESY BOWER HILL VFD

Members of the Bower Hill Volunteer Fire Department around 1967 or 1969.

• The board approved a collective bargaining agreement for cafeteria employees. The new two-year agreement with the Mt. Lebanon Education Support Professionals (cafeteria) will become effective July 1 and run through June 30, 2016. • The high school’s band trip to Orlando, Fla., was approved and will take place March 11-16. The trip’s dates were revised, as it was originally planned for Feb. 12-17. • The board appointed Joseph T. Senko as the real estate tax collector at rate of $10,000 per year, or $833 per month.

Rema Webb comes home for Mt. Lebanon arts gala By Katie Green Editor kgreen@thealmanac.net

When it comes to success stories, Broadway star Rema Webb has penned quite the book – and the first chapter takes place at Mt. Lebanon’s Center for Theater Arts. The professional performing arts academy is where Webb Rema Webb has starred in honed her craft, before the“The Lion King,” “The graduating from St. Francis Book of Morman” and NBC’s Academy in Castle Shan“The Sound of Music Live.” non and heading to the

INDEX

Musical season

Area high schools ready for spring shows. Page A4 ©2014 Observer Publishing Company

Big Apple, where she has starred in Broadway’s “The Lion King,” “The Book of Morman” and most recently, NBC’s “The Sound of Music Live.” “I had a great mother who kept me involved in the arts, beginning when I was 6 years old,” Webb, a former CLO Mini Star, said. “Being at the Center for Theater Arts – back then it was the Mt. Lebanon Center for the Arts – helped augment that. And, it helped me as a kid who was an artist, to be around other kids who

were artists.” It was there that she took voice lessons, learned choreography and blocking, while forming lifelong friendships, such as the one she has with then student and now CTA Executive Director Billy Hartung. The school was such an important part of Webb’s upbringing, that she’s opened a similar school in New York City, On Broadway: Performing Arts Training Program. Webb says that she has more than one student that reminds

her of herself as a child. “They have this old spirit about them, it seems to come second hat to them,” she said. “They follow direction really well, they’re just natural and they’re also interested in absorbing any information we have to give to them.” Webb will return to Pittsburgh for the Center for Theater Arts annual Reach for the Stars Gala, March 7 at the Southpointe Hilton Garden Inn. She will perform a number with the students, and will be mixing

Across South Hills......... A3

Entertainment................ A4

At a Glance................... A10

Fish fries......................... A9

Classifieds.................B5-10

Opinion........................... A5

Deaths............................. A3

Religion........................... A9

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Engagement................... A3

Together.......................... A8

and mingling with guests at the patrons reception. “I’ve known Billy since we were in CLO Mini Stars together, and we kept it going at the Center for Theater Arts,” Webb said. “I was 13, maybe 15 when I met him. It’s been a long time that we’ve all been dreaming and walking this journey together.” The Patrons Reception takes place from 6:30-7:15 p.m., with cocktails and a silent auction beginning at 7 p.m. For more information, call 412-563-5080.

Rebels roar

Seton-La Salle boys and girls win WPIAL basketball titles. Page B2


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