Wednesday, May 9, 2012
After Dormont Council rejected plans for a skate park plan, Mary Pitcher has approached another community with the idea.
Could a skatepark be coming to Scott Park? A Scott resident, who tried to have a skatepark in Dormont only for it to be rejected there, is now pushing for it to be built in the township or other South Hills communities. But the township commissioners are uncertain about the funding plan and want to know a lot more about the concept before even discussing it. The township was approached recently by Mary Pitcher, who wants to build the skatepark as a way to remember two of her sons after they drowned in July 2008 while at a reservoir in the Allegheny National Forest. The family originally lived in Dormont, but Pitcher has relocated to Scott Township. Dormont Park appeared to be the prime location for the skatepark, but the council there …
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Council voted Monday not to move forward with an ordinance that would have approved a previous motion in favor of the park.
Dormont Council voted Monday not to move forward with the Pitcher Park Memorial Skate Park project. Monday’s agenda included an item to advertise an ordinance that would have approved the April 5, 2010 motion the previous council passed in favor of the park. The 2010 motion resulted in a detailed memorandum of understanding. However, borough solicitor John Rushford said the former council did not follow proper procedure, voiding both the 2010 motion and the MOU. During the public comment session at the beginning of the meeting, Pitcher Park Foundation President Mary Pitcher said her understanding after speaking to Rushford was that the borough—not the Pitcher Park Foundation—had made a mistake in the process. “We just don’t understand how …
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The borough likely will not be liable for expenses incurred by the Pitcher Park group, according to solicitor Deron Gabriel.
Dormont officials have received a legal opinion regarding the borough’s motion to approve a multi-use park and how Pitcher Park could be affected. Earlier this month, discussion at a council meeting turned to Pitcher Park after the organization’s president, Mary Pitcher, told council she planned to take legal action against the borough if it attempted to terminate the contract for Pitcher Park Memorial Skatepark. The contract included a Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2011, which was publically released in January. To determine what the borough was legally allowed to do regarding the contract, council asked borough solicitor Deron Gabriel to research the matter. Attached to this article as a PDF is the document detailing the …
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Before making any decisions regarding the park, President Bill McCartney said council will seek further legal advice.
Conversation at Monday’s Dormont Council meeting turned to Pitcher Park, after Pitcher Park President Mary Pitcher addressed her concerns that council might revoke plans for the project. Pitcher told council her organization “materially relied upon the promises made by Dormont Borough Council,” through a vote in April of 2010, and the subsequent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2011. The MOU was a topic of conversation at the Jan. 31 meeting, after the document was publically released and several council members said they were unaware of its existence. “If the borough of Dormont attempts to terminate the contract, Pitcher Park Memorial Skatepark, in accordance with the law, will seek damages due and seek an …
Friday, November 11, 2011
Part III of a three-part series examining both the pros and cons of Pitcher Park, the proposed Dormont skateboard facility.
On July 15, 2008, former Dormont resident Mary Pitcher lost two of her four sons in a drowning incident at a reservoir in the Allegheny National Forest. The young men, Stephen Pitcher, 19, and Vincent Pitcher, 21, who grew up in Dormont, were avid skateboarders. As a memorial to the two lives lost, their mother, now a resident of Scott Township, approached Dormont Council about establishing a skateboard park and raising the money for its construction. Since then, the proposed facility has been fraught with controversy. This three-part series will look at existing skateboard facilities in other municipalities, as well as examine the views of those opposed to the creation of one in Dormont—and those who feel it would be an asset to the …
Monday, November 7, 2011
Part I of a three-part series examining both the pros and cons of Pitcher Park, the proposed Dormont skateboard facility.
On July 15, 2008, former Dormont resident Mary Pitcher lost two of her four sons in a drowning incident at a reservoir in the Allegheny National Forest. The young men, Stephen Pitcher, 19, and Vincent Pitcher, 21, who grew up in Dormont, were avid skateboarders. As a memorial to the two lives lost, their mother, now a resident of Scott Township, approached Dormont Council about establishing a skateboard park and raising the money for its construction. Since then, the proposed facility has been fraught with controversy. This three-part series will look at existing skateboard facilities in other municipalities, as well as examine the views of those opposed to the creation of one in Dormont—and those who feel it would be an asset to the …
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Wind and weather issues made set up anything but a breeze.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
- Zandy Dudiak
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Saturday, October 22, 2011
Dormont Dungeon will open Monday night, Oct. 24, and remain open nightly through the week after weather-related issues hampered volunteers setting up the Halloween attraction. Mary Pitcher, who runs the Dormont Dungeon as a fundraiser for the proposed Pitcher Park skateboard park, had hoped to get the event up and running by Friday, but after the weather failed to cooperate again on Thursday, she finally made the decision to wait until Monday to open the Dungeon's doors. The event was set to run from 7 to 11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 20-23 and Oct. 27-30 at the corner of Banksville Road and Dormont Avenue. Now, it will be open from Monday, Oct. 24 through Oct. 30. Admission is $5.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Once commonplace, McCoy pottery has gained popularity among collectors.
Having been produced in Putman, Zanesville and then Roseville, Ohio, from 1848 to the early 1980s, Pennsylvania is a great place to find pieces of "the real" McCoy Pottery. In the early 1970s one could look in any garage, at an estate sale or under a table in a box at a flea market and buy a piece of McCoy for 25 cents for a planter to $5 for a cookie jar. Now however, these pieces have moved from under the tables onto the tables at antique shows and into collectors' shelves proudly on display. McCoy pottery started with the W. Nelson McCoy company in 1848 by producing crude stoneware in the form of crocks and jars. Initially they produced these items for local farmers but soon realized they could ship them down rivers to the South on …
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Dormont Antiques Exchange owner Mary Pitcher shares her love of antiques. And if you've got a question on something's value, she'll try to answer it.
I can "blame" my Mother for becoming involved in antiques and collectibles. Her love and fascination with history and unique items trickled down to me at a very young age. Initially, I admit, at 5 years old, she had to drag me to antique shows, bribing me by giving me a couple of dollars to buy little bisque/china, German/Japanese dolls. These dolls fascinated me as I found that during the late 1800s to the early 1900s, this was what little girls just my age played with. I scoured each show looking for that special little doll and the dealers of course wouldn’t sell it to me until I listened to all of their stories. Also while searching, I would see things that were used in the past and always asked questions about them. In a way, I …
Peter Whitley
1:56 pm on Friday, April 27, 2012
This freezing is easily prevented when the regular park patrons and maintenance departments are communicating. The presence, or absence, of a water fountain nearby can impact the maintenance load. Without a water fountain, skaters will need to pack in their own hydration. It seems to take about 6 Gatorade bottles to fill up a normal trash can, so having a water fountain is terrific. During the … more ›