An Army wife who's originally from Monroeville strives to leave a positive mark on the communities of each duty station where her husband serves. Nicole Childs started free yoga classes on a base in New York and helped injured soldiers with their recovery. She created a community of military wives and families at a base in Italy. At her current station in San Antonio, Texas, she's volunteering with the PTO at her children's school. And she just finished a master's degree from Penn State. Childs is among the military spouses whose contributions, support and sacrifices are acknowledged each year on Military Spouse Appreciation Day, the Friday before Mother's Day. This year's observance is Friday, May 10. "I like to say, 'do good, be good,' because selfless service has always been really important to me," said Childs, a 2007 graduate of Gateway High School. "How can I make a difference? How can I leave where we're stationed better than when we arrived?" Childs' husband, Ben, is stationed at Joint Base San Antonio. Prior to this assignment, they had stations in Fort Meade, Maryland; Vincenza, Italy; two different ones at Fort Drum, New York; and Fort Huachuca, Arizona. They have two children, ages 3 and 5. As a military spouse, she is holding down the fort at home. "Service members work long hours. They work all day, five or more days a week. They go away on training," she said. During their first assignment at Fort Drum, she was going through training to become a yoga teacher. A requirement was to teach yoga for free to any Department of Defense cardholder, and she offered to teach at a gym on base. The first ones to take the lessons were soldiers who had been injured. They told her how much it had "opened up their minds," she said. "I loved it, it was a big hit, and it was wonderful to help people," she said. In Italy, Childs started a pre-natal yoga workshop for pregnant women and was a leader for a soldier and family readiness group to bridge the gap between the units and families. "We built a lot of community, and the people are still friends," she said. "It makes your heart happy." She began her master's degree studies, in human resources and employment relations, online through Penn State World Campus during their time at Fort Meade, Maryland, in 2021. She chose that field because she liked working with people and helping people. Plus, she thought the degree would help her make a difference, which has always been her mantra. Childs had a newborn at the time and remembers doing her course work after the kids were asleep. It made for long nights, but she had the support of her husband and was determined to succeed. In San Antonio, she is the president of her children's Montessori school PTO. Through her service, the PTO has raised money to renovate a butterfly greenhouse, sponsor students so they could attend an outdoor school, build an accessible walking path on the school grounds, and a grant program the teachers can use to apply for materials they need. Her sense of selfless service extended to her schooling, too. She was involved in the Penn State World Campus military service organization and its chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management, or SHRM, a national HR association. Now that she has graduated with a master's degree, she will complete a fellowship through Hiring Our Heroes, a nationwide initiative from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to help service members and their spouses find meaningful employment in the civilian workforce.

A sports training facility in Plum is growing again. Joe Fischetti hopes to move his family business, GAMA Sports Training, into a 27,000-square-foot home in September. The new building would be at the end of Sheena Drive, a dead-end road off Davidson Road, where GAMA currently is housed in a

A Clairton man accused of shooting a person during a drug deal in Mount Oliver in April was arrested Wednesday night in Plum. Plum police arrested Dorian Randell Ingram, 29, after an anonymous woman said she saw him at a residence in the 100 block of Unity Center Road. The

Sensory deprivation, a state in which one is deprived of sensory inputs, is a unique experience aiming to induce deep relaxation and mental clarity. Contrary to the initial presumption that it coul...

Three local students are headed to the Gene Kelly Awards at the Benedum Center in downtown Pittsburgh on May 25,2024. The Gene Kelly awards are an annual awards show highlighting excellence in high school musical theater. The students attend Westinghouse Arts Academy which is a tuition free public charter school. Jocelyn Emrock from the Apollo Area is a senior dance major at Westinghouse Arts Academy. Grace Visconti and Marley Shick are freshmen musical theater majors at the school. Westinghouse Arts Academy was nominated for 8 Gene Kelly Awards for their 2024 production of CHICAGO- TEEN EDITION. 2024 GKA Nominations: Best Musical (Budget III)Best Supporting Actress (Addy Janicki)Best Vocal Ensemble (Budget III)Best Dance Ensemble (Budget III)Best Student OrchestraBest Lighting Design (Budget III)Best Costume Design (Budget III)Best Crew/Technical Execution Westinghouse Arts Academy is currently accepting new student enrollments for the upcoming school year. Programs available include Musical Theatre, Dance, Vocal, Theater Arts, Studio Arts, Visual Arts, and Instrumental Music. You can sign up for tours and additional information at the link below. https://westinghousearts.org/admissions/ Photo credits

The Plum School District is preparing to bid farewell to nearly two dozen employees with more than 550 years of combined service to the district. The district plans to honor its 22 retirees with a reception beginning at 6:30 p.m. May 28 at the high school library. It will be

Choosing a reputable karate school is a critical step for anyone looking to begin or continue their martial arts journey. In a discipline steeped in tradition, respect, and self-improvement, findin...

Like many residents of Oakmont and Verona, Colin Wiehagen would like to know what is going on with Cribbs Field. Wiehagen, an Oakmont resident who works in Verona, has children who use the fields for baseball and softball. The fields, where some of his fondest memories were made, have seen

Each of the items for sale in Meredith Hedeen's New Kensington gift shop has a story behind it. They come from all over the world: hand-painted ceramics made in home studios in San Juan de Oriente, a town in Nicaragua; hand-sewn goods made by a seamstress at a cooperative workshop

Visiting a museum can be a captivating and educational experience for homeschoolers, offering a unique opportunity to enhance their learning outside the traditional classroom setting. With the righ...

Fox Chapel lefty Jeremy Haigh worked fast, threw strikes and sometimes bopped along to Plum’s walkup songs.

The U.S. Golf Association is, technically, a charity. According to a ProPublica investigation, the U.S Golf Association has assets valued at $791 million. In 2022, the organization had $223 million in revenue and $263 million in expenses, leaving it $28 million in the hole. Those expenses included 10 people making

Everyone dreams about their perfect wedding day and has a vision of what their big day will look like. Who will be standing there beside them what season it will be and what their venue will look l...

For the second straight year, the battle for a Section 1-5A baseball title is coming down to the final section series of the regular season.