P-G: Mt. Lebanon yogurt shop opening a bittersweet journey

Middle-schooler Sammie Gorecki is a self-described frozen yogurt expert.

At the opening of Yogli Mogli, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop on Washington Road, she dug into a deep cup of yogurt with ample toppings and gave it a thumbs up, saying it offers more flavors and more toppings than other shops she's frequented.

"It's amazing," the 11-year-old said, with a bit of chocolate smeared on her chin. "I love it."

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• www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/mt-lebanon-yogurt-shop-opening-a-bittersweet-journey-654544 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

P-G: A newsmaker you should know: Mt. Lebanon teen's vision hits big screen

Christopher Kelley may be only 18, but the Mt. Lebanon resident already has written and directed a feature film.

Mr. Kelley started writing "Let Me Down Slowly" the summer after finishing his freshman year at Mt. Lebanon High School. By the time he was done filming the screenplay in January, he had tacked onto his name the titles of editor and director in the film credits, which he hopes may roll on a screen at either the Sundance or Slamdance film festivals.

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• www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/a-newsmaker-you-should-know-mt-lebanon-teens-vision-hits-big-screen-654179 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

P-G: $6 million goal urged for Mt. Lebanon schools

A fundraising consultant has recommended that Mt. Lebanon School District embark on a $6 million capital campaign to raise $3 million for the high school renovation project and establish another $3 million in endowments.

The district, however, does not have enough support to raise $15 million, the original target that Pursuant Ketchum studied while soliciting feedback from the community this summer, according to the company's analysis.

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• www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/6-million-goal-urged-for-mt-lebanon-schools-654177 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

The Almanac: Autumn of '92 a special time for Lebo girls soccer

Forget the Summer of 42 or the Summer of 69. The Autumn of 92 proved a hit for Mt. Lebanon High School as its girls' soccer team climbed the charts. The Blue Devils produced a 23-3-1 record, complete with a WPIAL runner-up trophy as well as their first and only state championship.

Something more, however, propelled 17 of the team's original 22 members, including coaches, to reunite last weekend. They came from as far away as England, Chicago, Colorado and Virginia to celebrate that accomplishment on Nov. 21, 1992 when Molly Bushman as well as Heather Border scored goals and assisted each other's tallies during Lebo's 2-1 triumph against Villa Joseph Marie in the PIAA Class AAA finals played at Shippensburg University.

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• www.thealmanac.net/alm/sportstory11/09-19-2012-soccer-reunion-w-pics (The Almanac)

Fire Apparatus Magazine: Case Study: Mt. Lebanon (PA) Fire Department Implements Motion Tablet PCs

A major functional area for Mt. Lebanon Fire Department is its Fire Prevention & Life Safety Education division, which includes inspections and reinspections of all occupancies in the town, such as residential dwellings, businesses, restaurants, churches, schools and nursing facilities.

During inspections, firefighters were required to fill out paper forms and inspection checklists as well as take notes by hand. Once back at the stations, administrative assistants would input the information into a database via FIREHOUSE Software’s Occupancy, Permits and Inspections module; and type up violation reports, which were printed out for the firefighters’ review and approval before being mailed to the business owner. If errors were found during the review process, the administrative assistant would correct the report and resubmit it for the firefighter’s review. If a firefighter went off duty, it meant additional delays to the review process.

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• www.fireapparatusmagazine.com/articles/2012/09/mt-lebanon-pa-fire-department-implements-motion-tablet-pcs.html (Fire Apparatus Magazine)

P-G: Mt. Lebanon police mourn loss of police dog Sundi

Just a few months after they hit the road together, Mt. Lebanon police Officer Michael Smakosz and his partner, Sundi, found themselves in a basement of a home looking for drugs.

Sundi quickly nosed out some cocaine on a table, and later, kept leading his partner back to the same spot.

"I started to get frustrated with him," Officer Smakosz said, skeptical Sundi just wanted a reward.

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• www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/mt-lebanon-police-mourn-loss-of-police-dog-sundi-653827 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

The Almanac: Lebo harriers runners-up in classic

Mt. Lebanon earned runner-up laurels in both the girls' and the boys' competition during the Red, White & Blue Classic held at Schenley Park.

Jillian Hunsberger and Seamus Roddy finished fourth overall, covering the 3.1-mile cross country course in 18:30 and 16:06 respectively.

Morgantown won the girls' Division A championship with 67 points while the Lebo ladies notched a 75 team score.

Julie Kocjancic and Audrey Gordon placed in the top 10 for the Blue Devils. Kocjancic secured sixth place with an 18:47 time while Gordon was eighth in 19:04.

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• www.thealmanac.net/alm/sportstory11/09-12-2012-cross-country (The Almanac)

P-G: PSSA results come up short in Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park

Two school districts in the southern suburbs are pointing to positives after disappointing state test score results: Mt. Lebanon for its high school, which failed to make adequate yearly progress, and Bethel Park for the district as a whole, which missed the mark on graduation rates and high school math scores.

The preliminary PSSA results first released to school districts this summer show Mt. Lebanon met graduation and reading targets districtwide. But it fell short in math at the high school because of low scores among its special education students.

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• www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-south/pssa-results-come-up-short-in-mt-lebanon-bethel-park-653167 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Trib: Prospect watch: Mt. Lebanon’s Tyler Roth a jack of all trades

6-foot-2, 180 pounds, QB-DB-P, Mt. Lebanon

Tyler Roth is comfortable with the football in his hands. It’s just a matter of college coaches determining whether he is at his best throwing it, catching it or punting it.

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• www.triblive.com/sports/hssports/2501589-74/roth-football-insider-lebanon-tyler-basketball-blue-coaches-devils-junior (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Trib: Mt. Lebanon developer may avoid repaying tax-aided loan

Developers who hoped to build luxury condominiums in Mt. Lebanon are short nearly $2 million for repaying tax-backed loans and could stick Pennsylvania taxpayers with the bill, officials say.

Downtown-based Zamagias Properties planned the $42.8 million Washington Park project for the corner of Washington and Bower Hill roads and Mt. Lebanon municipal and school district officials agreed in 2007 to a tax increment financing plan, or TIF, that allowed Zamagias to borrow money to buy the land and plan for construction. Part of the money from property taxes on the condos would go into a fund to repay the loans.

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• www.triblive.com/home/2547227-74/lebanon-zamagias-tax-loan-tif-debt-million-money-project-developer (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

The Almanac: Mt. Lebanon's healthy lunches earn awards

Students in the Mt. Lebanon School District are eating some of the healthiest school lunches in the country. All seven elementary schools in the district were recognized Sept. 7 with the HealthierUS School Challenge Bronze Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

On hand to present the awards to each school principal was Dr. Janey Thornton, Department of Agriculture deputy under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services. Also at the event, which was held at Jefferson Elementary school, Thornton presented the district with a check from the USDA for $3,500 - $500 for each of the seven schools winning the award.

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• www.thealmanac.net/alm/story11/09-12-2012-ML-healthy-lunches (The Almanac)

P-G: Mt. Lebanon field hockey team hopes to return to the playoffs

It's been awhile since Mt. Lebanon High participated in the WPIAL Class AAA field hockey playoffs.

The Blue Devils didn't make the semifinals in 2011, and they also were missing from the postseason in 2010 and 2009. The last time the Blue Devils were in the postseason was in the 2008 when they dropped a 3-0 decision to eventual WPIAL champion Norwin.

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• sportstown.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/mt-lebanon/33567-mt-lebanon-field-hockey-team-hopes-to-return-to-the-playoffs (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)