Patrick Varine stories, Page 37
Police charge Pittsburgh man with Reserve bank robbery
A Pittsburgh man has been charged in connection with a May 16 bank robbery in Reserve, according to Allegheny County Police. Detectives had been investigating a robbery at Dollar Bank on Mount Troy Road. Through multiple surveillance videos, images of the suspect fleeing the bank and witness interviews, police were...
New traffic signals set to launch at Routes 286 and 380 in Murrysville
Temporary traffic signals are being installed where Route 380 and Golden Mile Highway meet, but the permanent improvements proposed for the intersection have a Murrysville family upset. Canonsburg-based Olympus Energy is funding traffic improvements as part of its Hermes fracking well pad project, being constructed nearby on the Murrysville/Plum border....
‘Music of the Heart’ showcases nonprofit’s music therapy clients
Katie Harrill has seen what music can do for people’s social and emotional states. As the supervisor of the Creative Arts Program and one of many music therapists at Wesley Family Services, Harrill has extensively worked with clients across various developmental stages. Despite the program’s inception 23 years ago, she...
‘Quiet Epidemic’ delves into chronic Lyme disease
Pennsylvania has had the unfortunate distinction of leading the nation in Lyme disease cases for 11 of the past 13 years. The tick-borne illness can be difficult to diagnose, and the vice president for the PA Lyme Disease Network said multiple mild winters are not going to help. “We continue...
Murrysville area: Trail poker run, theatre guild scholarships, glass recycling and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Theatre guild students earn scholarships Senior members of the Franklin Regional Theatre Guild were presented recently with $500 scholarships. Crew member Emie Ayres plans to attend Penn State University; actor Charlotte Pokol will attend the University of Tennessee; crew member Mary Taddonio...
Monroeville area: Plant sale, history speaker series, music camp, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bpoole@triblive.com. Plant sale on June 2 The Garden Club of Monroeville will hold its annual plant sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 2. It will be in Pavilion 1 at Monroeville Community Park West, 2399 Tilbrook Road. Annuals, vegetables,...
Forbes Road students take cybersecurity presentation to national business competition
This time last year, Forbes Road Career & Technology Center teacher George Karnbauer was keeping an eye on three of his students as they gave a cybersecurity presentation, making sure to jump in if he felt like something needed clarified or explained. Last month, Karnbauer sat in the audience as...
Development featuring $2M homes proposed near Murrysville Community Park
Murrysville council is considering a developer’s proposal to build 24 luxury homes with an average price of about $2 million just south of Wiestertown and Hilty roads. Paul Fischione initially approached the municipality with a request to rezone about 55 acres near Murrysville Community Park to create 28 large single-family...
Murrysville mulls options to fix weight-reduced bridge on Old William Penn Highway
Murrysville council appears to be leaning toward closing part of Old William Penn Highway this summer in order to repair a small bridge that has been subject to two weight restrictions in recent years. The bridge carrying Old William Penn over Turtle Creek, just west of Export, had its weight...
Seattle homebuilder offers home kits based on Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural principles
For the right price, you can stay in one of several homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, situated in Mt. Pleasant Township’s Polymath Park. But if you are so inclined, you could also have a similar design of your very own. Seattle-based Lindal Cedar Homes offers a line of Wright-inspired...
Summerhill residents question second-phase development in Murrysville
Several residents of the Summerhill neighborhood in Murrysville questioned whether it was appropriate to build an additional 61 townhomes in a development served by private roads. “My main concern is safety, especially those coming in and out onto Logan Ferry Road,” said Denise Gibson, one of a group of residents...
Franklin Regional Intermediate School named among Discovery Education Schools of the Year
During the 2017-18 school year, Franklin Regional administrators and staff opted to partner with Discovery Education, which helps educators integrate modern technology into their lesson plans, and provides academic support through multimedia content and other classroom tools. During the same time period, district officials were working to put a Google...
Franklin Regional proposes 3.5 mill tax hike for 2024-25 school year
Franklin Regional School Board members approved a proposed final budget for next school year that calls for a 3.5-mill property tax increase. The final vote on the $69 million budget will come at the board’s June 17 meeting. The spending plan comes with a roughly $643,000 deficit with just under...
Meet the family behind Luke Bryan’s ‘Farm Tour’ concert in South HuntingdonVideo
When Joshua Cunningham found out his family’s South Huntingdon farm was in the running to host a concert by “American Idol” judge and country music star Luke Bryan, he asked Bryan’s producer about their honest chances. “He said, ‘I’ve been looking at it on Google Maps — you have a...
Westmoreland bands earn 2024 nominations at independent Josie Music AwardsVideo
Three Westmoreland County bands have earned nominations for the 2024 Josie Awards, which recognizes independent musicians. Greensburg’s Derek Woods Band was nominated for “Social Impact Music Video of the Year,” for their song “Thank You For Being Here.” The song celebrates unity and diversity, and explores the importance of embracing...
Paving work set to start on remainder of Export’s downtown parking lot
Paving work on the northern side of the central parking lot in Export is set to begin next week, according to borough officials. Council President Barry Delissio estimated the work will take three weeks to complete. The paving is one of the borough’s first steps toward creating a more unified...
Delmont police will restart K-9 program for 1st time in nearly 25 years
The Delmont Police Department will once again have a K-9 unit, after introducing a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois named Dirk at the borough council’s meeting Tuesday night. In addition to about $60,000 in funding through Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward’s office, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli also presented Delmont...
Murrysville area: Ulysses Grant reenactor, Memorial Day events, ‘Blessing of the Animals’ and more
Grant reenactor comes to Delmont Living historian Ken Serfass will portray former Civil War general and American president Ulysses S. Grant at 6 p.m. June 14 at Trinity United Church of Christ in Delmont. Serfass will present a program titled, “The Friendship with William T. Sherman: The Military Friendship That...
Monroeville area: Food pantry dates, free summer concerts, convention center events, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bpoole@triblive.com. Food pantry distribution The Garden City Food Pantry will host a series of food distribution days beginning in June. The food pantry is open from 9-11 a.m. and 6-7 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. Food distribution days...
Salvation Army recalls ‘Donut Lassies’ as National Donut Day approaches
For American soldiers stationed overseas, a small reminder of home can be a big deal. Nonprofits like Military Connections in Penn Hills regularly collect care packages to send to service members abroad. In the early 1900s, that reminder took the form of the “Donut Lassies,” Salvation Army workers who traveled...
Murrysville area: Heritage Trail poker run, car show, kids’ craft mini-camps and more
Heritage trail Poker Run set for next month Westmoreland Heritage Trail officials will host their annual festival and poker run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Murrysville. Each participant in the poker run will stop at five checkpoints along the trail to choose a playing card from the deck....
Delmont stormwater fees will start in 2025, newly formed authority president says
A new Delmont stormwater authority will function as a utility and assess a stormwater fee on property owners, a borough official said this week. The fee will be based on the amount of impervious surface on a given property, councilman and authority board President Stan Cheyne, with the goal of...
Export Historical Society moves ahead with plans to stabilize old mine entrance
What began as a teenage Eagle Scout’s effort to clean up an overgrown hillside has become a full-scale mining operation for the Export Historical Society. That’s an exaggeration, but not by much. In 2018, Troy Florian’s Eagle project was clearing brush, vegetation and dirt atop an old Westmoreland Coal Co....
Murrysville library seeks area writers for local author fair
Murrysville Community Library staff wants to give local authors a chance to connect with local readers, and will host its first-ever author fair next month. “At the end of our summer reading program last year, the one thing we got a lot of was requests for more literary events,” said...
Jeannette Community Band kicks off 36th season on Memorial Day weekend
The Jeannette Community Band will open its 36th season with a May 26 concert at the Jeannette American Legion, 109 S. Fifth St.. The 7 p.m. concert will feature the band of more than 60 volunteer musicians from the city and surrounding communities. In addition to director Ron Stemple, Maria...
