Patrick Varine stories, Page 7
New grant, same goal: Monroeville officials to expand Saunders Station trailhead area
Monroeville officials will pivot from planning a new Valley Park bridge to expanding the Saunders Station access area for the Westmoreland Heritage Trail. “We accepted a grant to build a new bridge over Turtle Creek, and the feasibility of that is beyond the original scope of the project,” Graziani said...
Monroeville area: Arts council concerts, Heritage Day, bingo and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bkikel@triblive.com. Fall book sale The Monroeville Public Library will host a fall book sale Sept. 19 and 20. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days at the library, 4000 Gateway Campus Boulevard in Monroeville. Purchase a...
‘Gear for Deer’ seeks to boost the number of 1st-time hunters
Pennsylvania hunting license sales peaked in the early 1980s. Since then, there have been ebbs and flows, but overall the state has seen a slow, fairly steady decline in the number of licenses issued, according to data from the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Two members of the Youngwood Sportsmen’s Association are...
Murrysville area: Symphony East, Blessing of the Pets and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Symphony East season kicks off Symphony East will kick off its 64th season on Sept. 15 with a 1 p.m. performance by the Johnstown Symphony Brass Quintet, which includes two trumpets, a French horn, trombone and tuba. The program will cross a...
Reggae band, florists team up to draw attention to suicide prevention in Latrobe
Kayla Palmer knows the pain of losing a loved one to suicide, and knows the good work done by groups like Ray of Hope, Westmoreland County’s suicide awareness and prevention task force. “I thought it would be great to allow people to donate to a group of Ray of Hope...
Monroeville area: East End Kids auditions, mini golf fundraiser, 9/11 ceremony, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bkikel@triblive.com. East End Kids auditions The East End Kids teen song and dance ensemble will hold auditions for new members from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Sept. 7 at DeStella Dance Studio in Export. Auditions are open to youth entering grades 6-12....
Turtle Creek Connector trail moves into design phase
The Pennsylvania Environmental Council and Friends of the Riverfront nonprofits have moved into the design and engineering phase for the Turtle Creek Connector, a trail that will make its way through several towns in the upper Monongahela River corridor. “We’re not funded for construction at the moment, but we’re looking...
New developer makes another go at Murrysville car wash
If the application for Drake’s Car Wash looked familiar to Murrysville council, that’s because they’ve seen nearly all of it before. Council approved a plan a few years ago for Tommy’s Car Wash on the same spot, the former Choice Auto property on Route 22 near School Road. Tommy’s is...
Western Pa. towns under DEP sewage consent order request extension
More than $5 million has been spent since 2019 to improve the sewage system that serves tens of thousands of customers in western Westmoreland and a small slice of Allegheny counties. The improvements are mandated by the state Department of Environmental Protection through a 2019 consent order. Now, the Franklin...
Murrysville speaker will discuss history of the Lincoln HighwayVideo
The American Association of University Women will host a presentation Sept. 11 about the history of the Lincoln Highway, the first cross-country road in the U.S. Brian Butko, director of publications for the Sen. John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, will present “Greetings From the Lincoln Highway” at 10 a.m....
Murrysville group readies for Historic Homesteading Day
The Murrysville Historical Preservation Society has a strong desire to live up to its name. “It’s great to show people these types of hands-on activities, historical domestic crafts that were necessary for everyday living back in the 1800s,” said Sandy Knepper of Murrysville, as she gently carded wool using a...
Theater group to present reading of Holocaust play
StoryZ Theatre will launch its new season with a staged reading of “The Happiest Man On Earth” by Mark St. Germain, inspired by the best-selling memoir of Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku. Jaku recounts his journey as a young Jewish boy in Nazi Germany, his survival at the Auschwitz death camp...
Murrysville area: Art show submissions, Medicare presentation and more
Email news briefs and email listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Art submissions sought The Murrysville Woman’s Club is seeking entries for its annual art show, set for Oct. 10-11 at Redstone Highlands in Murrysville. Experienced, amateur and student artists are invited to enter. Pieces can be paint, fiber, mixed media, sculpture and...
Westmoreland Cultural Trust keeps eye on donor recognition as it renovates for 100th anniversary
Sandra Finley drove to the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center recently to play bridge, and when she arrived, she noticed that the plaque recognizing the building’s founders was missing. “I didn’t know what happened,” Finley said. She was initially concerned that the Westmoreland Cultural Trust was no longer interested in...
Monroeville area: Artist talk, ladies society meeting, Medicare seminar, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bkikel@triblive.com. Paper-cutting artist featured at ESAL The East Suburban Artists League will welcome Ted Bolha as its featured speaker on Sept. 4. Bolha has been creating intricate, hand-cut art pieces for more than two decades, and in recent years has focused...
The old ways: Pittsburgh Fighters Guild keeps medieval styles aliveVideo
Abby Hicks has wanted to fight with swords since she was eight years old. But when she was growing up in the early 1990s, it wasn’t necessarily something a lot of girls did. Today the Brackenridge resident is three decades older, but she is also nearing her second full year...
Monroeville council approves $38.8M capital improvements plan
Monroeville officials approved the municipality’s first capital improvements plan, laying out potential big-ticket projects over the next five years. Municipal manager Alex Graziani laid out roughly $38.8 million in capital projects through 2030 at council’s Aug. 12 meeting. “All of the projects on the list are fully funded,” he said....
Greensburg woman featured in Prime Video series about Purina dog competitionVideo
Britney Imhof is no stranger to the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge competition. She has competed in the event with her older dog and now with her younger dog, a 3-year-old miniature American shepherd named Witcher. But for dog and trainer, being followed by Amazon Prime Video camera crews as part...
Murrysville looks ahead to planned capital projects
Murrysville will spend about $3.8 million on capital projects in 2026, a number that will jump substantially in 2027 and 2028, when the municipality undertakes two major bridge replacements. Murrysville Council held a public hearing Tuesday for its 2026-30 Capital Improvements Plan, which is its guiding financial document for budgeting...
Sewing guild busy working on Christmas stockings for soldiers
Members of the American Sewing Guild are getting ready for Christmas, even though it’s August. Guild members were busy this week sewing Christmas stockings to be shipped to military members stationed overseas. The group worked into the early afternoon at Murrysville Alliance Church. The stockings are donated to New Kensington-based...
Western Pa. siblings share father’s love of engines, drag racingVideo
Nick Bowman is pretty sure his father brought him to the drag racing track when he was less than 2 months old. “I did the same with my son,” said Bowman, 38, of West Deer. To say that the Bowmans are a racing family is a bit of an understatement:...
Murrysville area: Artist talk, art show submissions and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Paper-cutting artist featured at ESAL The East Suburban Artists League will welcome Ted Bolha as its featured speaker on Sept. 4. Bolhas has been creating intricate, hand-cut art pieces for more than two decades, and in recent years has focused almost entirely...
Westmoreland Food Bank breaks ground on multimillion-dollar expansion
The Westmoreland Food Bank served about 5 million meals in 2024. And while officials are hoping the overall demand will decrease, their ability to fulfill that need will be expanding soon, along with their building on Devonshire Drive in Salem. Work on the planned expansion kicked off Thursday morning. “It’s...
Monroeville events: Jazz festival, church picnic, fun fest, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bkikel@triblive.com. Jazz festival The Monroeville Jazz Festival will take place Aug. 30 from 12-8 p.m. in the Tall Trees Amphitheater at Monroeville’s Community Park West, 2447 Tilbrook Road. The festival headliner will be Pittsburgh jazz singer Etta Cox at 6:30 p.m....
Monroeville officials, residents await more details on mall redevelopment plans
Monroeville residents who want more information on the future of the Monroeville Mall property will have to wait a bit longer, municipal officials said this month. “Nothing has been submitted to the municipality whatsoever, no plans, no drafts,” said Mayor Nick Gresock of Walmart’s proposal to redevelop the 186-acre mall...
