Patrick Varine stories, Page 22
Pittsburgh will get to see a total lunar eclipse in 2025
You can see a solar eclipse in Presque Isle this year. Unfortunately, it’ll be a partial eclipse. And it will require some travel, because it will be in Presque Isle, Maine, rather than the one in Erie. While the Erie area was the epicenter for local looks at the total...
Teen charged with assaulting Adelphoi staffer in Unity
A teen housed in one of Adelphoi’s intensive supervision homes in Unity was charged with assaulting an Adelphoi employee on New Year’s Day, police said. State police were called to the Adelphoi Sweeney Home on Mission Road on Wednesday for a report of an assault on a staff member. The...
Murrysville area: Tree recycling, comedy night fundraiser and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Rewind-Reuse manager at AAUW The American Association of University Women’s Murrysville branch will host Rewind-Reuse Center manager Val Paulisick as its guest speaker on Jan. 9. Paulisick created the center in 2019, a nonprofit business to provide a creative space for children...
Monroeville area: Chorus seeks new members, Route 22 gas line work, library programs, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bpoole@triblive.com. Monroeville Chorus seeks new members The Monroeville Chorus is seeking new members. There is no audition necessary. The chorus performs for community events and groups, hospitals and similar events. It meets for rehearsals at Hillcrest United Presbyterian Church, 1622 James...
Franklin Regional alum wins conference in 1st year as Penn State Behrend soccer coach
Making soccer memories is nothing new for Chris Ralph. The 2015 Franklin Regional graduate played soccer throughout school, continuing at Penn State Behrend. After a brief stint as an assistant coach for Mercyhurst men’s soccer, he joined his alma mater as an assistant before taking the reins this past season,...
Monroeville Mall incident shows how good intentions can spread false information
“Craziness at Monroeville Mall!!!” “Shooting at Monroeville Mall. Too many guns.” “Active shooter at Monroeville Mall in Allegheny County.” “Hearing reports that some people were trampled in a stampede.” These posts and others like them spread across social media the Sunday afternoon before Christmas, when the mall was packed with...
Extending sewage to Crabtree would need approval from Hempfield, Salem and Unity
There’s been talk of providing sewage to the Crabtree area for about two decades. The topic came up earlier this month when Salem supervisors discussed a study that explores how to bring public sewage to the neighborhood, which includes parts of Salem, Unity and Hempfield townships. Most residents of the...
Salem residents want proper permits, enforcement for concrete plant
On Dec. 18, Salem Township supervisors voted to approve the development of a storage yard and concrete batch plant for Daniels Concrete on Route 819, according to their meeting agenda. The problem with that, according to neighboring residents, is owner Jim Daniels already has developed the property and has been...
Suspect in Crafton armed robbery arrested
Allegheny County Police have apprehended a man suspected of committing an armed robbery Thursday in Crafton. Allegheny County detectives said Trey D. Bell, 30, is suspected of robbing the T-Mobile store on Foster Avenue around 7:45 p.m. Thursday evening. Police earlier put out a description of him and asked for...
Dogs left in boxes outside White Oak Giant Eagle
Two miniature pinschers were at an animal shelter Friday after they were found in taped-up boxes left outside the Giant Eagle in White Oak. “We got a call around 12:30 p.m. from a good Samaritan who saw the boxes and knew something wasn’t right and picked them up,” said Mackenzie...
On the calendar: New Year’s Eve activities followed by Jan. 1 hikes
While there’s certainly nothing wrong with winding down the year quietly at home with family or a few friends, for some of us, winding up and celebrating 2025 is the only way to go. Here are some of the ways to make that happen in and around Westmoreland County, and...
Taekwondo instructor, federal land specialist considers himself a lifelong student
By day, Jeff Horneman helps protect federal land against encroachment as a member of the Army Corps of Engineers. By night, he helps young people learn to protect themselves as a taekwondo instructor at Trinity United Methodist Church in Brackenridge. “We’re teaching kids discipline and how to grow mentally,” Horneman...
Monroeville area: Free Christmas dinner, Route 22 gas line work, upcoming library programs and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bpoole@triblive.com. Free Christmas dinner in Monroeville Christ the Divine Church, 245 Azalea Drive, Monroeville, will host a free Christmas Day dinner in their Lourdes Center this year. Dinner begins at 12:30 and will continue until 3 p.m., or until the supply...
Murrysville area: Export trail kiosk, stand-up comedy benefit shows, student band honors and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Kiosk installed at Export trailhead Officials from the Export Historical Society, J.M. Hall Junior Trust, Export Business Group and Westmoreland Heritage Trail cut the ribbon Nov. 29 on an informational kiosk placed at the Export trailhead. It includes a map of the...
Pedestrian, 2 state troopers injured in back-to-back crashes on Parkway North
After a pedestrian was struck on Interstate 279 early Tuesday morning, a passing vehicle struck the state police car that responded to the initial call, sending two troopers to the hospital, police said. State police were initially called out just after midnight to I-279 near the East Street exit at...
Pittsburgh native will portray August Wilson in 1-night-only, 1-man show
Pittsburgh actor Wali Jamal is no stranger to a one-man show. On Monday, Jamal was in Downtown Pittsburgh portraying everyone’s favorite character this time of year and meeting with children as Santa Claus at the Heinz Hall Courtyard. In January, however, Jamal, 62, of Beltzhoover will take on a character...
U.S. Senate passes bill to name Monroeville VA center after Wilkinsburg veteranVideo
The new VA center in Monroeville will be named for a member of the only all-Black unit to take part in the D-Day invasion during World War II. The Department of Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinic behind the Monroeville Mall will become the Henry Parham VA Clinic. Parham, a Wilkinsburg...
New Kensington teen boxer earns 3rd USA Boxing championship in 2 years
New Kensington’s Gea Fultz is one step closer to her dream of joining the 2028 Olympic boxing team. The 15-year-old Valley High School sophomore recently earned herself an early Christmas present with a third USA Boxing national championship title in the past three years, and has been invited to join...
Give the gift of stories with books by Pittsburgh-area authors
Curling up by the fireside with a good book is one of those wintertime idylls, and with Christmas just around the corner, why not help provide that experience for someone with the gift of a book? Here are several new books recently released by local authors. ‘The Catalysts,’...
Art therapist finds home in Greensburg’s historic Jamison Building
The Jamison Building on North Main Street in downtown Greensburg dates to the late 19th century, built in the 1890s. Vestiges of the era remain, from some of the decorative touches inside to the three heavy-duty vault doors remaining from the building’s time as a bank. Art therapist and licensed...
Murryville artist among ‘Art of the State’ winners for 2nd time
A Murrysville artist has once again earned a spot in Pennsylvania’s “Art of the State” contest, and will have her work displayed in the state capitol. Patty Kennedy-Zafred, 72, of Murrysville took first place in the annual contest’s craft division in 2022, with a piece titled “American Portraits: Harvesting Hope,”...
Salem approves 55,000-square-foot Westmoreland Food Bank expansion
The Westmoreland Food Bank cleared another hurdle on the way toward a planned expansion that will double the size of the nonprofit’s food cooler, receiving approval from Salem supervisors to proceed. “We’re expanding by about 55,000 square feet and it’s being funded through (federal American Rescue Plan) funds through the...
U.S. House bill would dedicate Monroeville VA Center to Wilkinsburg World War II veteranVideo
The recently built VA center in Monroeville may be named for a member of the only all-Black unit to take part in the D-Day invasion during World War II. If the Senate passes Rep. Summer Lee’s legislation — which was approved by the U.S. House on Monday — the Department...
New Kensington girl among Pittsburgh-area youth boxers building the region’s fighting legacy
Four years ago, Gea Fultz of New Kensington was an 11-year-old girl walking into a gym full of boys training to fight. “It was really scary at first,” said Fultz, 15, now a sophomore at Valley High School. “I felt like I had to prove myself.” The proof? In August,...
Line upgrades impact November sewage overflow in Delmont, Salem
Delmont officials made the next partial payment last week on the borough’s large-scale, state-mandated sewage project, putting just more than $267,000 toward an collection point on Christy Road and the relocation of a sewage line in Salem. The pressurized sewage line along with a gravity sewage line runs through the...
