Nov 29, 2015 5 min read

Jennifer Adamson has taken her feats of clay home.

The owner of Adamson Pottery and its offshoot business, PA Mug Co., is relocating her operations to Waynesburg. She has purchased a building at 352 Richhill St., on the south side of her hometown. Production of mugs, pots and bowls has begun following three months of renovations, and she will open for business Thursday,

Business will include pottery classes, studio hours six days a week and gallery hours for three, and on-site sales.

“It’s been fantastic. We couldn’t be happier,” Adamson said. “We have a new clientele. People can come in and make purchases, which is a big difference from before.”

She previously subleased space in a garage from Washington Community Arts and Cultural Center – a nonprofit also known as WashArts, which offered classes in a number of areas. The center, in downtown Washington, closed Sept. 15 because of a lack of finances.

Adamson did not sell merchandise there, but at several shops and markets in Western Pennsylvania. She continues to do that, and will now do it from her own space.

Mugs are her signature items, distinctive for their wide bases, tapered tops and grooves – “throw lines” for a seemingly easier grip. They come in three shapes, nine finishes and five colors. In addition to pots and bowls, Adamson also will sell personalized wedding gifts.

She and two artists in residence, both from West Virginia, comprise the staff. Adamson had only one contracted employee while at WashArts, Alex Riedel of Canonsburg. She said he purchased U Rock Music Center, at 3905 Washington Road, Peters Township, where he also teaches guitar and banjo.

Months ago, Stefan Getzik bought the CrossFit gym on Mansfield Road in North Strabane Township. He liked the building housing the gym enough to move his chiropractic offices there.

“We’ve been there about four months,” said Getzik, who launched his practice on North Main Street in downtown Washington a little more than a year ago. He said his wife, Julie, is the main owner of the gym and that he is leasing space in the building from the owner, A&S Landscaping.

The facility was known as CrossFit Invigorate until the Getziks renamed it CrossFit Washington. It is just off Route 19, across from Frankie I’s Bar & Grille.

Stefan Getzik grew up in South Strabane Township and lives there now with his wife and 13-month-old daughter, Collins. He graduated from Bishop Canevin High School, California University of Pennsylvania and Palmer College of Chiropractic.

The Marriott TownePlace Suites that Southpointe-based Horizon Hospitality LLC has topped off in Harmar Township – as reported recently in the Observer-Reporter – will be one of two TownePlace hotel projects that may open in late spring 2016.

Greg Banner, supervising engineer at Key Environmental Inc., said Forza Group of Bridgeville is working on a 100-room facility on Trich Drive in North Franklin Township. It is going up on a lot next to Advanced Surgical Hospital, near Washington Crown Center shopping mall.

When they open, the North Franklin and Harmar complexes will be the first TownePlace Suites to open in the Pittsburgh region.

A Fairfield Inn & Suites, also featuring about 100 rooms, is planned for Trich Drive as well. Banner said all permits are in place and construction likely will begin next year, with a mid-2017 opening possible.

The Government Agency Coordination Office at California University of Pennsylvania will sponsor a seminar, “How to Work with Walsh/Granite JV on the Rapid Bridge Project,” from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Dec. 8, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown, Pittsburgh.

The free seminar is aimed at businesses. The focus will be on the Rapid Bridge Project, project certification requirements for minority-owned and woman-owned businesses and bidding opportunities. Bonding also will be discussed.

Attendees must pre-register by Dec. 4. For more information or to register, contact Kate Glodek at 412-237-6098 or glodek@calu.edu.

Accustomed to a view from the top, Burns & Scalo recently was honored as Roofing Contractor Magazine’s 2015 Commercial Contractor of the Year.

The Green Tree firm was selected from 156 applicants nationwide, and is featured on the cover and in a five-page profile titled “Green and Growing in the Steel City.”

Candidates had to fulfill these standards; “residential and commercial contractors that employ industry best practices, take care of their employees, and excel at quality workmanship and customer satisfaction.”

Patrick J. McGeehan has been elected president of the Metal Powder Industries Federation. He is vice president and general manager of the Eighty Four-based specialty metal products division of Ametek Inc., headquartered in Berwyn, Chester County. He succeeds Richard Pfingstler of Atlas Pressed Metals of DuBois.