Category Archives: History

More Emergencies In Our Midst – Adventures in Notification

Posted on May 14, 2024 by John Linko

We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely. – E. … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Government, History, Internet, Local, Media, Personal, Politics, Public Safety, Schools, Security, Technology | Tagged Aleppo Township, Aleppo Township Authority, Ambridge Water Authority, Barges, Bell Acres Borough, CivicPlus, CodeRED, Crescent Township, EAS, Edgeworth Water Authority, Glen Osborne Borough, Hermitage, IPAWS, Lahaina, Leet Township, Leetsdale Borough, National Weather Service, Northside Action News, PennDOT District 11, Quaker Valley COG, Quaker Valley School District, RAVE Mobile Alert, Sewickley Borough, Sewickley Water, West View Water Authority, Wheatland, Wilkinsburg, Wireless Emergency Alerts | Leave a comment

Winter Digest – Reorganization, Resolve, Revelation…and Rachmaninoff

Posted on March 10, 2024 by John Linko

I hope you’ve had a good year thus far. Over the last few months I’ve been collecting ideas for new stories, revisiting old ones, and reviewing developments locally and elsewhere that stand to embellish both. They will make their way … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Liberties, Community, Development, Energy, Environment, Government, History, Local, Media, Money, Music, Personal, Politics, Public Safety, Schools, Technology, Zoning | Tagged Big Sewickley Creek, Big Sewickley Creek Watershed Association, DEP, Devlin Robinson, Edgeworth Borough, Elder Vogel Jr, Emily Kinkead, Hadley Haas, Harshman CE Group, Leet Township, Leetsdale Borough, PA Environmental Hearing Board, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Quaker Valley School District, Rachmaninoff, Rob Matzie, Sewickley Borough, Valerie Gaydos, William Jasper, Yuja Wang | Leave a comment

2023 Campaigns and Beyond – Quaker Valley School Board

Posted on December 1, 2023 by John Linko

Your Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while all the Company is true. – Galadriel, from The Fellowship of the Ring by … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Community, Economics, Education, Government, History, Local, Media, Personal, Politics, Public Safety, Schools, Security, Youth | Tagged Bud Smith, Edgeworth Borough, Gianni Floro, Jessica Webster, John English, Leet Township, Leetsdale Borough, Melissa Walls, Muottas, Quaker Valley GOP, Quaker Valley High School, Quaker Valley School Board, Quaker Valley School District, Sewickley Valley Historical Society, Thomas Tull, William Jasper | Leave a comment

Political Weather Alert

Posted on October 30, 2023 by John Linko

The National Windbag Service has issued a Flash Mud Warning for the greater Quaker Valley area, including Leet Township and surrounding locales. Spotters report that increased mudslinging from certain candidates for office has extended unchallenged into the local online/print media … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Community, Education, Government, History, Humor, Local, Media, Politics, Schools | Tagged Bud Smith, Carolyn Verszyla, Gianni Floro, Jessica Webster, John English, Leet Township, Martin McDaniel, Michael Molinaro, Missy Walls, Quaker Valley School Board, Quaker Valley School District, QV Strong, QV Taxpayers for Strong Schools, QVGOP, William Jasper | 3 Comments

October Shorts – Books, Babies, Backpedaling, and Basketball

Posted on October 17, 2023 by John Linko

Banned Books Week – Muted Locally? This corner has made banned books a focus, especially over the last year or so. As such, the recognition of Banned Books Week here should be of no surprise to any regular visitor. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Community, Development, Economics, Environment, Government, Growth, Health, History, Local, Media, Personal, Politics, Public Safety, Schools, Sports, Youth, Zoning | Tagged Allegheny County Library Association, Allegheny Health Network, Andy Sheehan, Ashley Birtwell, Avalon Public Library, Banned Books Week, Blacksmith's House, Buncher Commerce Park, Citizens Concerned for EMS, Edgeworth Borough, Heritage Valley, KDKA-TV, Kris Mamula, Leetsdale Borough, Leetsdale Industrial Park, Little Sewickley Creek, Miller's House, Moon Township Public Library, Norm Mitry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Preserve Edgeworth, Rize Sports, Ruth Neely, Sewickley Academy, Sewickley Public Library, Sewickley Valley Historical Society, Thomas Tull | 1 Comment

Summer Shorts: Walmart Taketh Away…and Giveth?

Posted on August 22, 2023 by John Linko

A key historical reference point in the continued opposition to the construction of a new Quaker Valley High School is the 2006 landslide at the construction site of a Walmart, on the site of the former Dixmont State Hospital in … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Development, Government, Growth, History, Local, Media, Politics, Schools, Traffic, Youth | Tagged Aleppo Township, Citizens for a Great School, Economy Borough, Edgeworth Borough, Emergency Management, Kilbuck Township, Leet Township, Ohio Township, Plum Borough, Quaker Valley COG, Quaker Valley High School, Quaker Valley School Board, Quaker Valley School District, QV Strong, Walmart, William Jasper | Leave a comment

Summer Shorts: Fifty Years Gone – What Have We Learned?

Posted on August 8, 2023 by John Linko

Everyone of us who is the parent of a teenage child understands the problems of raising children today. Every vice seems to be hurled at these youngsters. It is almost as though we are wrestling with the Devil himself. Parents … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Faith, Family, History, Local, Media, Youth | Tagged Allegheny County Police, Betty G.Y. Shields, Boy Scouts of America, Child Sex Abuse, Cynthia Dworchak, Human Trafficking, John Besong, Juvenile Runaways, Leet Township Police, Leetsdale Police, Missing Children, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Rev. John Guest, Roman Catholic Church, Sewickley Herald, St. Stephens Church Sewickley | Leave a comment

In Praise of Libraries – New Pathways vs. Old Attitudes

Posted on April 25, 2023 by John Linko

If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know that my family is rather enamored of our local library. The Sewickley Public Library is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year – my wife has held a library … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Community, Family, Government, History, Justice, Local, Media, Personal, Pittsburgh, Politics, Schools, Youth | Tagged American Library Association, Andrew Carnegie, Banned Books, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Carolyn Toth, Jessica Whipple, Judy Blume, Kathleen Madonna-Emmerling, Leetsdale Borough, Moms for Liberty, Moon Township, Moon Township Public Library, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Quaker Valley School Board, Quaker Valley School District, Sewickley Public Library | Leave a comment

Emergencies In Our Midst

Posted on March 4, 2023 by John Linko

If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four hours sharpening the axe. – Attributed to Abraham Lincoln … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Community, Environment, Government, History, Local, Media, Politics, Public Safety, Schools, Technology, Transportation | Tagged East Palestine, Emergency Management, Fair Oaks Fire Department, Justin McIntire, Leet Township, Leetsdale Borough, Leetsdale Industrial Park, National Weather Service, Norfolk Southern, Police, Quaker Valley School District, Sean Sluganski, Wildland Fire | 2 Comments

New Year Marked by Multiple Media Missives

Posted on January 17, 2023 by John Linko

The last two weeks of December were typically hectic, punctuated by the bitter cold that enveloped the Christmas holiday, and included a visit from my son, who we hadn’t seen in 4 years. He brought his new girlfriend. Some of … Continue reading →