Tyler Potts was a senior at Hopewell Area High School when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. For Potts, now 22, the diagnosis meant a change of plans. The football standout was sidelined for the Vikings' undefeated 2009 season, while he instead battled with his illness during his senior year. Cancer also meant putting his college football dreams on hold. "I dropped down to under 200 pounds—which is small for me," Potts said. "I had to start from square one. I was trying to get scholarships to go to school and play football, but no one was talking to me (as a result of the …

  1. In 2009, three million tons of glass was recovered for recycling. 2. The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can power a computer for 30 minutes, a television for 200 minutes and a 100-watt light bulb for four hours.  3. By 2013, glass manufacturers will use 50 percent recycled materials in all glass bottles. This will save enough energy to power 45,000 households each year, and keep 181,550 tons of waste out of landfills each month.  4. Bottles and jars made from glass are 100 percent recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without loss of quality.  5. For every six tons for …

Moon Area High School and Sewickley Academy students are collecting items to be sent to local military members deployed in Afghanistan.  Moon student John Bal and Sewickley Academy student Jack Matten are soliciting donations for care packages, which will be shipped to Moon Township's 303rd Army Reserve Unit, based at McGarity Reserve Center off University Boulevard.  The students hope to gather toiletries and basic comfort items for the unit. In addition, they seek to raise $1,000 to pay for shipping costs.  Collection sites are located at:  The Moon Township Public Library on Beaver Grade …

The American Cancer Society is currently seeking volunteers from the Moon and Robinson area to become “champions” who can help spread the word about a historic cancer research study.  The study is called CPS-3 (Cancer Prevention Study-3) because it’s the third of the national cancer prevention studies. Sharon Stalter, health initiatives representative, said the first, CPS-1, occurred in the 1950s and established the link between smoking and lung cancer, eventually leading to surgeon general warnings. CPS-2 examined the impact of environmental and lifestyle factors on cancer. “Pretty much …

The Moon Township Board of Supervisors earlier this week selected township residents to serve on a variety of township organizations, boards and advisory groups.  Take a look through our list to see whom the board selected during its reorganization meeting. Check back later this week for more information on Robinson committees.  Traffic Impact Advisory Committee:  Members of this newly established committee will serve two-year terms. The committee will help the township devise a transportation impact ordinance. Two vacancies remain.  The members will oversee roadway analysis studies and make …

Moon Community Access Television will offer free airtime to Pittsburgh-area nonprofits on March 15th and 16th as a part of its annual Public Awareness Weekend.  The public access channel will air a day's-worth of programming focused on Pittsburgh-area nonprofits, said Moon communications director Alexis Sergeant.  Organizations can take part in 30-minute interview segments, where they will have the chance to discuss their cause and encourage Moon-area community members to get involved.  The broadcast airs from noon to 9 p.m. March 15th and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. March 16th. MCA-TV airs on Comcast …

Moon Community Access Television will host its 12th-annual public awareness weekend this spring, according to a township announcement.  No date has been set for the two-day, 20-hour event, which features broadcasts from Pittsburgh-area nonprofits, but groups looking to participate can sign up now.  Organizations from across the region will have the opportunity to speak for 30-minute segments, educating viewers about their cause and encouraging others to take part.  Interested nonprofits can sign up by contacting township communications director Alexis Sergeant at asergeant@moontwp.com or by …

Moon Township's Impact Christian Church will bring Christmas a few weeks early to members of the community in need at its first "Operation Hope" dinner on Saturday. "We'll have turkey, ham, stuffing, pie, sort of everything you would have for a Thanksgiving dinner," said student ministry coordinator Zach Shidemantle.  Church volunteers have spent recent weeks reaching out to area food pantries, clinics and other organizations to spread the word of the event.  Shidemantle said last Christmas season, the church worked with the nonprofit Light of Life, sponsoring a clinic for the homeless in …

Want to play a bigger role in your community? Moon Township is now accepting resumes and letters of interest from community members looking to serve on various boards and commissions. Positions are available on boards ranging from the Moon Township Public Library's Board of Trustees to the new Impact Fee Advisory Committee. Those interested in becoming involved are asked to contact the township's administration at 412.262.1700 for more information and a complete list of openings.  Boards with vacancies for the upcoming year include:  Moon Township Municipal Authority: Five-year term Riverview…

  The Moon Area High School dance team will host a bake sale fundraiser tonight outside of Walmart in North Fayette.  The team will be on hand from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Walmart, located off Summit Park Drive, selling baked goods and "Dance for the Cure" bracelets.  The team is also taking part in a Akron, Ohio-based dance competition on Nov. 3, which will serve as a breast cancer awareness fundraiser. 

Sandy Hershberger, director of the West Hills Food Pantry, said 23 families applied for the first time to receive food through the pantry in September.  "That's some kind of record," Hershberger said. "It's an unusually high number for just one month."  Hershberger said as the pantry prepares to host its annual Mile of Cans fundraiser and can drive, monetary donations as the Carnot Road organization are on the decline while the number of clientele seeking services has increased.  "We see so many people who are working and just can't make it," Hershberger said.  Mile of Cans, now in its 18th …

Several Moon and Robinson-area non-profit organizations are eligable to receive extra donations from the Pittsbugh Foundation on Wednesday.  The foundation will match a pro-rated amount of all money donated to specific organizations from midnight to 11:59 p.m. Wednesday in an event dubbed "the PittsburghGives Day of Giving." Here are local entities that are eligible: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School Hollow Oak Land Trust The Verland Foundation, which maintains an office in Moon The Ohio River Trail Council, which assists in maintaining the Montour Trail Pittsburgh Botanical Garden, …

John McCarthy, a history professor at Robert Morris University, called it a remnant of World War II's American home front.  Township officials are taking steps to preserve the Mooncrest neighborhood, a 400-home cluster of adjoined brick houses off Old Thorn Run Road, and its industrial-era past.  "(Mooncrest) shows how major of a national effort World War II was," said McCarthy, who specializes in the study of urban history. "You literally had hundreds of thousands of people working in the war industry to create weapons, and places like Mooncrest are where they lived," he said.   The 42-acre …

If you haven’t yet registered to vote, get it off your to-do list now. Today is National Voter Registration Day, and thousands of local, state and national organizations have mobilized to make sure millions of people don’t miss the chance to cast their votes in this year’s Nov. 6 election.Six million people didn’t vote in the 2008 elections because they either did not know how to register or because they missed the voter registration deadline. The voter registration deadline for Pennsylvania is Oct. 9. Where can I register to vote?  You may fill out a voter registration form in person at the …

Moon officials said participation has waned in the township's latest comprehensive planning process.  "Public participation is just not as high as we'd like it to be," said township manager Jeanne Creese.  Every ten years, the township convenes a committee of residents and community stakeholders, representing entities such as the county airport authority and Robert Morris University, to map a blueprint for Moon's residential and commercial growth in the coming decade.  Moon kicked off its comprehensive planning process in April 2011, but attendance at the meetings has dwindled in recent …

The West Hills Food Pantry needs help filling backpacks for area students this back-to-school season.  The Moon-based food pantry is collecting back-to-school supplies for pantry clients in the Moon and Cornell school districts. Pantry director Sandy Hershberger said community volunteers are filling backpacks for students with pencils, notebooks and other classroom essentials.  More than 190 backpacks have already been requested for the upcoming school year and will be donated to students whose families receive services from the pantry, Hershberger said. The pantry will begin to distribute …

Zach Shidemantle said it will be an event that leaves a mark both close to home and a world away.  The Moon-based Impact Christian Church will partner with Cranberry's Discovery Christian Church to hold the Hoops for Hunger basketball tournament April 28 at Mt. Gallitzin Academy in Baden.  Discovery Christian Church will donate half of the proceeds from the event to an orphanage in El Salvador while Impact Christian will use the other portion of the funds to combat hunger in the Pittsburgh region.  "So it's going to benefit hunger causes both globally and locally," said Shidemantle, who is …

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to win a $100,000 gift to Moon public schools. Patch.com is launching a nationwide contest to find the best dressed home in its Patch communities, and the winner’s school district will receive $100,000, no strings attached.Here’s how the contest works. Today through Dec. 26, you can nominate your home by uploading a photo to the contest entry form on the site. During that same time period you and your neighbors will be able to vote for your favorite festive home. The winning entry will be forwarded to a national Patch judge who will select 24 finalists. Each…

31-year police veteran Ed Cross and his wife Linda Cross, a Moon Area School Districtteacher for more than 20 years, are at home attempting to recover after both were admitted to the hospital in September for unrelated illnesses, according to benefit organizers. Ed Cross rushed his wife of 30 years to the hospital on Sept. 24 due to complications of a possible stroke. While she was in the hospital, Ed Cross also became ill and was taken to the hospital where they found a mass growing inside his colon. The doctors found the mass was cancer. He was in and out of the hospital due to chemotherapy…

More than a month ago, Moon Area fourth-grader Stevie McCurry was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.  The disease attacks bone marrow and is rare in those younger than 40. The Brooks Elementary student is receiving chemotherapy treatment and blood transfusions at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. He will likely become a candidate for a bone marrow transplant Community members will have the opportunity to donate blood and undergo bone marrow screenings from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church at 1 Parish Place in Moon.  Interested participants can schedule an …