Patrick Varine stories, Page 16
Native planting will help the wild to reclaim Murrysville acid mine remediation site
To a passerby, it probably looked like the volunteers wandering a soggy Murrysville meadow one morning this week were just pushing muddy sticks into the ground. In actuality, they were planting three dozen hybrid chestnut trees, part of a much larger planting that will help bring nature back to a...
Monroeville area: School board candidate forum, bingo, electric car club show, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bkikel@triblive.com. Area artists showcased in Latrobe The East Suburban Artists League show is being held at the Latrobe Art Center through April 19. An awards reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 11 at the center, 819 Ligonier...
Take aim: Gateway forms skeet shooting team
To an untrained eye, the five Gateway students working their way around a shooting arc at the Trafford Sportsmen’s Club are simply taking aim and trying their best to target the clay pigeons shooting across their field of vision. But Mike Buvalla, coach of the newly formed Gateway Skeet Club,...
Volunteers needed for Monroeville cleanup, planting projectsVideo
As spring starts to bloom across the region, Monroeville residents with a mind toward civic improvement are looking for volunteers to help welcome the season and beautify the town. For Joe Sedlak, tidying the municipality’s roads is an old habit. This year Sedlak will mark the 30th anniversary of the...
Shaler man to head jury of ‘Twelve Angry Men’
When Mark Spondike isn’t providing music education to students at Pittsburgh’s Creative and Performing Arts school, he’s appearing onstage in the region, including with the Pittsburgh Opera. Next month, he’ll have a man’s fate in his hands, as foreman of the jury in Prime Stage Theatre’s production of “Twelve Angry...
Latrobe filled with poets, poetry events throughout April
Sometimes, Sri Lanka native Indran Amirthanayagam is overwhelmed by an emotion. It could be sadness, or it could be great joy. “I want to get it out,” said Amirthanayagam, 64, of Washington, D.C., who has been writing poetry since the age of 14. “I love words. They communicate and translate...
Monroeville rehab center takes holistic approach to recovery
April 7 is not a day Patrick Yarboro is going to forget anytime soon. It’s the day in 2019 when he woke up in an emergency room — on the way to intensive care — after overdosing on the powerful synthetic opioid carfentanil. It also is his sobriety date. But...
Murrysville area: AARP driving class, pickleball classes and more
Email news briefs and event information to pvarine@triblive.com. AARP Smart Driver class The AARP will host a “Smart Driver” class from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 6 at the Delmont Public Library. Participants can refresh their driving skills, learn safe, proven driving techniques and learn about navigating roundabouts. The...
Verizon receives approval for cell tower in Murrysville
Drivers who frequent Saltsburg Road through Murrysville are likely familiar with the “dead zone,” where their Verizon call is all but guaranteed to drop as they travel between Mamont and Ashbaugh roads. Verizon expects to address that gap in coverage by installing a 125-foot tower at a property on Lasher...
Monroeville area: Skeet-shooting fundraiser, car show, egg hunt, more
Skeet-shooting club fundraiser The newly formed Gateway Skeet Club will host an April 10 fundraiser at the Trafford Sportsmen’s Club. Each team member will break clay targets for a cash donation from sponsors, and will be scored on 50 targets. Proceeds will go toward the team’s field costs, safety gear...
Foundation seeking vendors, sponsors for annual Monroeville CommUNITY DayVideo
Members of the Monroeville Foundation are gearing up for the sixth annual Monroeville CommUNITY Day, set for June 7 at the municipality’s Community Park West. “This year we’re taking it up to a new level,” said foundation President Ernie Groover. “We’ve brought on some people who’ve communicated to the community,...
Pittsburgh pizzaiolos bring home titles from International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas
The staff at Caliente Pizza and Draft House are serious about their pizza. But not so serious that one of them can’t work up an entertaining routine blending acrobatics and pizza-dough stretching. It might sound like a way to pass the time during a slow business night, but in fact,...
Free community band festival will take place in Murrysville
The 19th annual Three Rivers Community Band Festival will be held 2-5 p.m. Saturday at Franklin Regional Senior High School in Murrysville. The East Winds Symphonic Band, which founded the festival and is comprised of players from Pittsburgh and its eastern suburbs, will be joined by the Community Band South...
Italy Road in Export will get state-funded upgrades through ‘turn-back’ program
In exchange for taking over Italy Road’s maintenance from the state, Export will be able to fund some long-awaited improvements on the section of the road that lies inside the borough. “I think this is going to be a great deal for Export,” borough Solicitor Wes Long said. Council unanimously...
West Deer man charged with attacking medical staff at Monroeville hospital
A West Deer man was charged with attacking a doctor and nurse last month at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville. Gabriel A. Brewer, 34, of West Deer’s Russellton neighborhood, was taken by ambulance to the hospital on March 14 after he was found unresponsive on a bench in an Allegheny County...
West Deer man charged with attacking medical staff at Monroeville hospital
A West Deer man was charged with attacking a doctor and nurse last month at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville. Gabriel A. Brewer, 34, of West Deer’s Russellton neighborhood, was taken by ambulance to the hospital on March 14 after he was found unresponsive on a bench in an Allegheny County...
Poetry in motion: National ballroom dancing competition makes Pittsburgh swingVideo
If there’s a more enjoyable form of exercise than ballroom dancing, Joseph Britt hasn’t discovered it yet. “It’s just one of the most fun ways to be active,” he said. Britt, 20, and his dance partner, Sabina Sokol, 19, are students at Georgia Tech University and were among more than...
One for the record books? Game commission measures antlers statewideVideo
If a hunter bags just about any big game animal in Pennsylvania, game warden Zach Hay can take its measurements to see if it qualifies for the state’s record book. “I just want to see if this is bigger than the last one I got scored in 2013,” said Dave...
Monroeville police seek information on beauty shop thief
Monroeville Police are seeking information to help identify a suspect involved in a series of thefts from Ulta Beauty store. Police say the suspect, believed to be a Hispanic man in his late teen or early twenties, has been seen on camera stealing merchandise from multiple stores, including an incident...
Connellsville animal shelter finds ill puppies dumped in the woods
Two of four puppies found dumped in the woods in Connellsville on March 26 have died, according to a nearby shelter that is caring for the other two. Officials from Ninth Life Rescue Shelter in Connellsville received a call about the puppies found in the woods off Sandy Flat Road....
Police: Man fatally shot in McKeesport
County detectives are investigating the death of a man found shot inside a McKeesport home Saturday night. First responders were called to a house on the 1700 block of Abraham Street just before 10 p.m., where they found an adult male who’d been shot, according to Allegheny County Police. The...
Norwin Elks host annual Vietnam Veterans Luncheon
Robert and Joseph Tanyer weren’t even legally allowed to drink yet when the two brothers from Jeannette signed up for the Army and shipped out to Vietnam in the late 1960s. “I turned 21 while I was over there,” Joseph Tanyer said. “I didn’t think too much about it. I...
One-day closure set for Old William Penn Highway below Parkway East in Monroeville
Old William Penn Highway will be closed Monday, March 31 between Evergreen Drive and Duff Road as work crews conduct demolition work on the Parkway East bridge that runs over the road. Old William Penn will be closed from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. to accommodate the work. East of...
Westbound Route 422 reopens following fatal crash in Butler County
The westbound side of Route 422 has reopened following a fatal crash Saturday morning in Summit Township, police said. First responders were called to the highway just west of Mitchell Hill Road around 11 a.m., according to Butler County 911 officials. Ronald Litzinger, 43, of Butler, was found dead at...
Morning Roundup: Pittsburgh teen charged with robbing, assaulting delivery driver
Here are a few morning news items from across the region for Saturday, March 29, 2025. Teen charged with robbing delivery driver Pittsburgh Police arrested a teenager Thursday, charging him with assaulting a pizza delivery driver earlier this week in the city’s Elliott neighborhood. Police said Nae’Pear Clark, 16, of...

