the almanac A P R I L 21, 2024
SOUTH HILLS COMMUNITY NEWS
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10 years of hope and healing Face2Face Healing celebrates milestone with Bloomin’ Butterflies fundraiser By Katherine Mansfield Staff writer
mansfield@observer-reporter.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF KAREN SCUILLI
A woman receives a Face2Face Healing care package at Shadyside Hospital. “Just handing someone the patient care package and just seeing their reaction, it’s difficult to put into words. I put myself in that place; I get tears in my eyes. I just remember how special it is to have kindness from a complete stranger,” said Karen Scuilli, founder.
Karen Scuilli was a single mom and full-time registered nurse pursuing her doctorate when, in 2012, she was diagnosed with stage 4 parotid gland cancer. “I was working full time, going to school part time and taking care of my son. It felt like my life was all organized; the puzzle fit. It’s like this bomb blew up the pieces to my puzzle,” Scuilli said. “I imagined myself climbing the corporate ladder at Highmark, and growing and expanding in that way. I had to restart my life. I had to figure out, how do I move for-
“My scars are visible. Other people’s scars are hidden. Everyone has a story or everyone’s carrying something,” said Karen Scuilli.
ward? You never know where your path’s going to lead.” Her path led, by way of intense treatment, to the founding of
Face2Face Healing, a nonprofit that creates community for those with cancer or other conditions that cause an altered self-image through outreach, advocacy, activity, resources and education. This year marks one decade of Face2Face Healing creating connections and spreading hope throughout the greater Pittsburgh region. “When I survived, I just said, ‘OK, what do you (God) want me to do?’ What was interesting to me is how different things were for me when I was trying to climb the corporate ladder,” Scuilli said. Climbing the corporate ladder was difficult; when she started focusing her time and energy on the nonprofit, “doors just opened,” she marveled.
Face2Face Healing offers free services to all cancer patients and disfigurement patients, from case management, including help navigating what Scuilli calls the “medical maze,” to counseling with a certified clinical psychologist and support groups, to massage and reiki. The nonprofit also offers financial support and provides those undergoing treatment with personal care packages, which are filled with lotions and lip balm, puzzle books and peppermints, journals and wireless earbuds – everything one might need during hospital stays or on treatment days. SEE HEALING PAGE A5
Somber snapshot This ferris wheel was photographed in 2016 in the abandoned Pripyat Amusement Park near Chernobyl. The amusement park was built to celebrate May Day in 1986, but it never opened due to the Chernobyl disaster.
Sara Schneider, Memory Care coordinator at Friendship Village of South Hills, is all smiles while posing for a photograph with Justin Watson while wearing one of his Super Bowl rings.
Friendship ring
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MICHAEL HARITAN
Peters Township photographer to present rare view of Chernobyl nuclear disaster
Watson makes super impression during visit By Eleanor Bailey The Almanac
ebailey@thealmanac.net
By Paul Paterra Staff writer
ppaterra@observer-reporter.com
A local photographer who’s made multiple trips to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant site in the will share his images and video captured there during a program at Peters Township Public Library. Michael Haritan of Peters Township has conducted extensive research into the 1986 catastrophe at Chernobyl. HIs findings will be shared as part of the program, “Chernobyl: Causes, Cover-up and Consequences,” from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 24. “It’s a brief presentation of the three categories,” Haritan said. “That accident left a mark on the entire world as far as thinking about energy sources or resources and being responsible to the environment in case of catastrophe.” Haritan’s presentation includes personal photos and video captured during visits to the site in Ukraine in 2016 and 2018. They provide haunting documentation of the disaster site, a psychiatric institution and an orphanage, giving audiences a rare view of the disastrous event, along with the place and the people who once worked and lived there. SEE SOMBER PAGE A2
Decades after Chernobyl’s nuclear disaster, a community of babushkas remains, despite the severely contaminated ground, mandatory evacuations, governmental objections and the deaths of many fellow “self-settlers.”
UPPER ST. CLAIR Barbara Bolas honored by Pa. School Boards Association PAGE A4 What’s happening, B3
SPORTS South Fayette dominates Almanac girls basketball team PAGE B1 Real estate transactions, A4
For a day, Chiefs Kingdom dominated Pittsburgh Nation when Friendship Village of South Hills painted the town red as it welcomed Kansas City wide receiver Justin Watson to celebrate his most recent Super Bowl victory. A South Fayette High School graduate and Bridgeville native, Watson was in town April 16 to visit his grandmother, Ginny Hughes, and her friends in the assisted-living community. They dined on authentic Kansas City BBQ, participated in a Q&A and received autographs. During the private and intimate event, Watson even allowed them to try on his Super Bowl rings, much to their delight. “Wow,” said Sara Schneider. “(The ring) is heavier than I thought. It’s beautiful.” “Super heavy,” added Meghan Ziegelmeyer, a vice president of sales for health services for the company that owns Friendship Vil-
A relaxed Justin Watson answers questions at Friendship Village of South Hills.
lage. “I never had that much bling on a finger before.” Ziegelmeyer added, “It was so wonderful for Ginny to have this memory with her grandson. For all of our residents to enjoy and to celebrate in the success of the Watson family was amazing.” Remarkable, indeed, is Watson’s story. At age 28, he is already a three-time Super Bowl champion. He helped the Chiefs win their second-straight NFL title on Feb. 11, 2024, when they edged San Francisco, 25-22, in overtime at Allegiant Stadium in Nevada. SEE WATSON PAGE A2
SIGHTS & SOUNDS Ohiopyle designation celebrated PAGE B3 Classifieds, B4-6