Patrick Varine stories, Page 12
Monroeville area: Barbecue fest, blood drives, Revolutionary War service, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Convention center events The following events are scheduled at the Monroeville Convention Center, 209 Mall Plaza Blvd.: • June 14: Steel City Xpo car show. For more, see SteelCitySociety.com. • June 27-29: Pittsburgh BBQ and Band Fest. For more, see PittsburghBBQandBandFest.com. •...
USGA’s course maintenance teams work all night to ensure a pleasant U.S. Open experience
Leighton Schwob, the U.S. Golf Association’s U.S. Open Championship director of operations, wishes he had a little more darkness to work with. “Too much land, not enough night,” he said of the daily — or in this case, nightly — maintenance of public areas at Oakmont Country Club. One doesn’t...
Make sure to bring a healthy appetite to the U.S. OpenVideo
Should you be eating a Philly cheesesteak for breakfast? It’s a culinary debate for the ages. Dick Atzeni of Sligo, Clarion County, and his granddaughter, Hannah, certainly weren’t against it, as they chowed down on their sandwiches around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the U.S. Open in Oakmont. Atzeni has been...
Local artists will decorate Liberty Bell replicas for nation’s 250th anniversary
Pennsylvania’s plans for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States in 2026 include placing replicas of the iconic Liberty Bell — decorated by local artists — in all 67 counties, including two in Westmoreland. A replica bell also will be placed at Point State Park in Pittsburgh....
Monroeville VA clinic will host town hall meeting, resource fair
The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System will host a Veterans Town Hall and Resource Fair on Wednesday at its Henry Parham VA Outpatient Clinic in Monroeville. Veterans, their families and the public are invited to attend to learn about programs and services for veterans. The fair will be from 1-2 p.m....
Consistent rain this spring has some local farmers frustrated
A rainy day is not always good news for Hempfield farmer Neil Palmer. “This is a time of year when we want to be out frequently doing tillage, planting, seeding, cultivation, all of that,” said Palmer, who has sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, onions and cabbage planted. “When we’ve got consistent...
Murrysville and Export assess damage from weekend storm, flooding
Friday’s downpour generated so much stormwater that it destroyed a culvert built by Murrysville public works crews along Lyons Run. “Forty-eight tons of R-7’s and asphalt are now somewhere else,” Murrysville Public Works Director Bill Paiano said in a memo to town officials in his initial assessment of the damage...
Veteran fan, former Oakmont caddie offers suggestions for fans attending U.S. Open
Derek Gionta has seen the U.S. Open both inside and out. That’s because, in addition to attending multiple opens over the years, the 44-year-old Monroeville resident also was a caddie at the Oakmont Country Club during his high school and college days. “My brother was already doing it when I...
U.S. Open offers fans full plate of culinary options at Oakmont Country Club
As soon as the U.S. Open’s final putt is sunk, Susan Lacz starts thinking about the next year’s tournament. Lacz is CEO of Ridgewells Catering in Maryland, the United States Golf Association’s longtime catering partner for the event. She’s one of the people in charge of making sure hungry U.S....
Former Franklin Regional, North Allegheny basketball coach was ‘dedicated to excellence’
Robert Greenleaf’s slogan with his Franklin Regional basketball team was “Dedicated to Excellence.” And the longtime educator and basketball aficionado lived the motto in all aspects of his life, friends and family said. “He was well-known and well-loved,” said Bob Bozzuto, who worked with Greenleaf in both the Franklin Regional...
Blight fight bill would create statewide database of scofflaw property owners
Absentee and out-of-state property owners who acquire real estate as an investment might have little interest in their tenants or the quality of their homes. State Rep. Brandon Markosek, D-Monroeville, said such a site can impact an entire neighborhood if it isn’t addressed quickly. His House Bill 1062, which passed...
Murrysville area: Music night in Delmont, Mary Todd Lincoln presentation, blood drives, more
Email briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Music night at Newhouse Park The Delmont Recreation Committee will host a night of music, food and fun June 26 at Newhouse Park. The event will run from 6 p.m. to dusk and will feature music by The Phisbins, food from Cousins Maine...
Pennsylvania sues USDA over $13M program cut
Pennsylvania officials filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the termination of the federal Local Food Purchasing Assistance program, which would have provided $13 million this year to directly support more than 180 Pennsylvania farmers and more than a dozen food banks. Some of that support went...
Write-in candidates will play a role in Delmont, Murrysville council elections
Write-in votes will play a role in the 2025 general election for members of Murrysville and Delmont councils. In Murrysville, incumbent Republican Jamie Lingg did not receive enough votes on the GOP ballot, but, according to unofficial results from the county election bureau, she received 54 Democratic write-in votes. That...
Monroeville area: VA town hall and resource fair, Patton Street road work, upcoming blood drives, more
Veterans town hall, resource fair The VA Pittsburgh Health Care System will host a veterans town hall and resource fair June 11 at the Henry Parham VA Outpatient Clinic in Monroeville. Veterans, their families, stakeholders and the public are invited to take part in both events. The resource fair will...
Businesses take advantage of opportunity as vendor partners for U.S. OpenVideo
Bob Rivers can’t wait for golf fans to try his coffee at the U.S. Open. The owner of National Grind Coffee & Tea Shop in Ellwood City has good reason to be excited for the event. As a vendor partner with the USGA, Rivers anticipates doing a full year’s worth...
Former Jehovah’s Witness sentenced for child sexual assault
A Butler County man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for sexually assaulting a pre-teen child, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said. Shaun Sheffer, 47, of Harmony was found guilty in January of three counts each of rape and indecent assault, including assault of a person less than...
Export family creates trust to fund new borough building
A family with Export roots wants to build the borough a new municipal center to host council meetings, provide offices for borough officials and create community meeting space. Two generations of the Orlic family have called Export home for much of their lives. Brian Orlic, of Penn Township, has worked...
Man fatally shot during gunfight in Lawrenceville
The man who was shot dead in an alleged gunfight outside a Lawrenceville gas station early Tuesday evening in Pittsburgh has been identified. The Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office identified the victim as Michael Ehlinger, 56, of Pittsburgh’s Stanton Heights neighborhood. TribLive news partner WTAE reported that two men were...
Historic Salem park seeks donations to offset storm damage, celebrate 80th anniversary
While other families were grilling in the park for Memorial Day, Anita Jackson-Lowe was looking for ways to clean up her park. Jackson-Lowe is president of the Fairview Park Association, a nonprofit that owns the historic Salem property that was once home to the state’s first and only Black-owned amusement...
Q&A: New Stanton musician sounds taps at great-great-grandfather’s grave
Josiah Inghram joined the 130th Pennsylvania Regiment in the fall of 1862, at the age of 17. He trained in Harrisburg under Col. Henry Zinn and was quickly ordered to Antietam, where his regiment saw its first combat during the Civil War. More than 160 years later, his great-great-grandson Jay...
Pittsburgh police: School van driver faces DUI charges after leaving crash scene
A school van driver was arrested by Pittsburgh police on Friday afternoon after they say he fled the scene of a crash with a half-dozen children in the van. Pittsburgh Public Safety officials said an initial report came in describing a collision on the north side of the 16th Street...
Construction work begins at intersection of routes 380, 286 in Murrysville
Delayed construction work at the intersection of Route 286 and Saltsburg Road in Murrysville, near the Plum border, began Thursday, Plum officials said. Canonsburg-based Olympus Energy funded temporary traffic improvements last year as part of its Hermes fracking well pad project, built nearby on the Murrysville-Plum border off Logan’s Ferry...
Murrysville area: Robotics presentation, trail festival and more
Robotics team presentation The Franklin Regional FRobotics team will be the featured presenters at the next Mother of Sorrows “Boomers & Beyond” speaker series on June 10. The FRobotics team has been competing against teams from the U.S. and across the globe as part of the FIRST Robotics Competition, founded...
Monroeville police seek Derry woman facing hit-and-run, drug charges
Monroeville police are looking for a Derry woman who skipped court hearings after a 2023 drug arrest. Leann M. Wechtenhiser was taken into custody after a November 2023 crash near the U-Haul store on Route 22 in Monroeville. Police responded to a call for a rear-end crash, and discovered that...
