Patrick Varine stories, Page 11
Police: Security video shows Monessen man kicking, choking and dragging dogs around yard
A Monessen man and woman are in jail after police received more than 50 videos from a neighbor, many of which show the man kicking, choking, dragging and throwing his dogs around the yard as they yelp and scream in pain, according to police. Douglas J. White, 27, and Mackinzie...
East Suburban Artists League marks 60th anniversary
The first East Suburban Artists League show took place in 1965, in an empty storeroom next to the old Murrysville A&P store. Local developer Orin Sampson donated the storeroom and some 4-by-8-foot boards to display paintings. With the first ESAL show taking place on a freezing cold weekend in late...
Dog tag flag memorial will be on display in early July at Flight 93 park
Patriot Park, at the northern boundary of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, will host a veterans memorial exhibit featuring an American flag created from more than 7,000 military dog tags and 50 gold stars. The Veterans and Athletes United Fallen Heroes Global War on Terror Memorial Flag...
Murrysville area: Mary Todd Lincoln presentation, etiquette speaker and more
Mary Todd Lincoln presentation The Delmont Historical Preservation Society will host a July 12 presentation on the life of Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of President Abraham Lincoln. JoAnn Peterson will present a first-person historical performance at noon in the Delmont Presbyterian Church’s Carson Hall, 101 Church St. in Delmont. There...
Monroeville area: Park block parties, free food distribution, more
Block parties Monroeville’s Recreation & Parks Department will host block parties this summer where residents can relax, enjoy food and talk with their local officials. They will take place July 17 at Overlook Park, 522 Thomas St., with Ward 1 Councilman Joe Hyzy, and Aug. 12 at Monroeville Community Park...
Monroeville updates convention center, prepares for summer road program
Monroeville officials are updating the Monroeville Convention Center, after purchasing it in 2024, and most of the work is being paid for with grant funding. “We recently installed five new rooftop air conditioning units for about $485,000, and that’s the only thing we’ve paid for as far as improvements,” Councilman...
Local veterans inducted into Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s ‘In Memory’ program
Several local veterans were inducted into the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund’s “In Memory” program during a mid-June ceremony in Virginia. Thirty soldiers from Pennsylvania were part of a group of 770 inducted during a ceremony held June 14 at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Va. The ceremony...
Norwin School Board members critical of removal of archived YouTube videos
A Norwin School Board member and several residents are questioning the removal of archived school board meeting videos from the district’s official YouTube page. Administrators were not able to provide a specific reason at this week’s school board meeting why several livestreamed recordings of 2024 school board meetings — and...
Norwin approves tax hike and $39.5 million bond issue for high school projects
Norwin School District property owners will see a 4.67-mill tax hike for the 2025-26 school year, following a 5-4 school board vote Monday night to approve the budget. The budget projects expenditures at $95.48 million, but anticipates revenue received at only $93.35 million. The tax hike is the maximum allowed...
Power restored to Scottdale, East Huntingdon, Monessen residents
With power out Monday in the Scottdale, East Huntingdon and Monessen areas, local emergency management coordinators opened up cooling centers. West Penn Power had reported more than 3,000 customers without power in Scottdale and the surrounding area, and more than 900 without power in Monessen as of 8:30 p.m. Monday...
18-year-old dies from wounds in Crafton Heights shooting
A 18-year-old man has died following a shooting Monday afternoon in the Crafton Heights neighborhood in Pittsburgh. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Isiah Brewer. Police were called to the intersection of Middletown Road and Runnymede Street just before 3:45 p.m., according to city public safety...
Recovery from flood damage still a work in progress in Murrysville area 2 weeks after storms
Tim Wagner Sr. of Murrysville is disassembling a treadmill in his house to see if he can get it working again. The exercise equipment is in his basement, which was flooded after an early June storm parked itself over his neighborhood along Hills Church Road. In the immediate aftermath of...
Franklin Regional will take over management, maintenance at Murrysville’s Haymaker Park
Haymaker Park in Murrysville is old enough that baseball legend and Western Pennsylvania native Honus Wagner once played there. “It was here way back when they were planting the trees for the ‘Murrysville’ tree sign that overlooks the field,” said Charles Conway of Murrysville, a board member with nonprofit Communities...
Monroeville native goes from Glamour Shots to glamorous clients
If you grew up in the 1980s, the brand name Glamour Shots probably conjures a very specific — and colorful — image in the mind. For Monroeville native Brett Freedman, the overly rouged cheeks and popping lipstick in classic Glamour Shots photos were part of the inspiration that led him...
TribLive Taste Test: Utz Lemonade potato chipsVideo
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But life did not give us lemons here at the TribLive Taste Test. Instead, it gave us Utz Limited Edition Lemonade potato chips. In all respects except the obvious one, these are just like any other potato chip. Very similar in fat content,...
Mt. Lebanon poet, artist earns spot in ‘Art of the State’ gallery in Harrisburg
Marilyn Narey’s main challenge in preparing her entry for Pennsylvania’s “Art of the State” contest was that she could only submit one piece, instead of the full series from which it originates. In addition to her work as a visual artist, the Mt. Lebanon resident is also a poet, and...
Franklin Regional hikes taxes by 4 mills for 2025-26 school year
The Franklin Regional school board approved a final 2025-26 budget with a 4-mill property tax hike. The board unanimously OK’d a final budget at its June 16 voting meeting. The $71.25 million budget has a $671,000 deficit, covered with $147,000 from the district’s technology fund balance, along with approximately $525,000...
Murrysville area: Alzheimer’s fundraiser, farmers’ market, live music and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Ginny’s Carniv-Alz The Alzheimer’s Association will host an afternoon carnival June 29 in Murrysville as part of its “The Longest Day” initiative. “The Longest Day” is a campaign the association undertakes annually during the summer solstice, the day of the year with...
A long goodbye: For U.S. Open crew, the show starts when the golf endsVideo
For Leighton Schwob, operations director for the U.S. Open, last week’s golf tournament technically could be considered a lull in his work schedule. Sure, there was overnight maintenance on the course and pedestrian pathways, and the rainy weather exacerbated things somewhat. But Schwob’s small army of staff, contractors and vendors...
Monroeville area: Blessing of the Pets, summer music camp, barbecue-fest and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Hillcrest United Presbyterian events Hillcrest United Presbyterian Church will host the following upcoming events: • Blessing of the Pets, 10 a.m. July 6, held in a tent outside the church. Participants are encouraged to bring lawn chairs. Pets must be on a...
Ride-share drivers getting plenty of work on the streets of Oakmont
Heather Copenhaver’s first 24 hours as an Uber driver went pretty darn well. “I’m averaging about $32 per hour,” said the Fox Chapel resident. She was among hundreds — if not thousands — of ride-share drivers shuttling U.S. Open fans in and out of Oakmont throughout the week. “I started...
Oakmont native returns to U.S. Open, 72 years after caddying for Ben Hogan’s 1953 victory
Carl Nasse was 10 when he began working as a caddie at Oakmont Country Club in the late 1940s. Just a few years later, a 15-year-old Nasse found himself walking the Oakmont course as Ben Hogan’s caddie when the Texas-born golfer won the 1953 U.S. Open Championship. Nasse was paid...
U.S. Open interns get a crash-course in planning, executing a major sporting event
For a college sports management major, practical experience doesn’t get much better than working a major American golf championship where 200,000 people are expected to come through the gate. So when Dakharee Mann’s professor texted him last fall about the U.S. Golf Association’s Pathways internship program at the U.S. Open,...
How they track the flight of golf balls at the U.S. Open for TV viewers, spectators on siteVideo
When a golfer at the U.S. Open tees off, in less than one second the members of the NBC Sports broadcasting team know where the ball is headed, how far it will go and where it will land. That’s great for viewers watching at home, who see a comet-like streak...
Foresters: Spread of beech tree leaf disease ‘concerning’
Pennsylvania naturalists are keeping an eye on a disease that has been killing beech trees in the eastern U.S. for more than a decade, but has begun spreading more rapidly in the past three years. Beech leaf disease is believed to be caused by a particular type of nematode, which...
