Patrick Varine stories, Page 9
2 transported from motorcycle crash in New Stanton
One person was flown by medical helicopter and another was transported by ambulance from a motorcycle crash Tuesday evening in New Stanton, according to emergency officials. First responders were called to South Center Avenue in New Stanton around 6 p.m., according to Westmoreland County 911 officials. Mutual Aid Ambulance spokesperson...
Westmoreland will install 2nd Liberty Bell replica in Murrysville as part of semisesquicentennial
When the United States marks its 250th anniversary in 2026, replicas of the iconic Liberty Bell will be installed all across Pennsylvania, each with a different theme created by local artists. And while the goal was to place at least one in each county, Westmoreland County already has two in...
25th anniversary of the Rolling Rock Town Fair
If you grew up in Western Pennsylvania during the rise of alternative and grunge rock in the ’90s and early 2000s, there’s a good chance you recall hearing radio commercials for the Rolling Rock Town Fair. For a handful of years, some of the biggest names in modern rock radio...
Rolling Rock Town Fair debuted at Westmoreland Fairgrounds 25 years ago todayVideo
If you grew up in Western Pennsylvania during the rise of alternative and grunge rock in the ’90s and early 2000s, there’s a good chance you recall hearing radio commercials for the annual Rolling Rock Town Fair. For a handful of years, some of the biggest names in modern rock...
Croquet tournament fundraiser will continue under new management
While the organizers of the annual Westmoreland Croquet Tournament charity fundraiser were proud of their legacy in 2024, they were also a little sad that — at the time — the 34th annual event would be the last. But it’s time to burnish the mallets and polish the wickets, because...
Monroeville area: Book Walk opening, job fair, food distributions and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bkikel@triblive.com. Book Walk ribbon-cutting The Monroeville Public Library and its Friends group invite the community to attend a ribbon-cutting for the new Book Walk, a storytelling experience designed to allow parents and children to read a picture book as they walk....
Franklin Regional grad works on to address cardiovascular illness, healthcare literacy in Tanzania
While working on his undergraduate degree at Duke University, Faraan Rahim had the chance to travel to Ghana in west Africa for a summer project, and the 2019 Franklin Regional graduate fell in love with the challenges and rewards of global health care. Today, Rahim is on the opposite side...
Newly formed Gateway Skeet Club earns trophy at 1st state competition
The Gateway Skeet Club came home from state competition with a second-place team trophy — not too shabby considering it was the team’s first trip to the tournament after forming this year. “I think we were all surprised,” said team member Christian Sterner, 16, who will be a junior this...
Monroeville area: Job fair, church events, National Night Out, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bkikel@triblive.com. Job fair United Career Fairs will host an Aug. 19 job fair focused on sales and management positions. It will be from 6-8 p.m. Aug. 19 at the Courtyard Marriott, 3962 William Penn Highway in Monroeville. Each company will introduce...
Researchers using scent dogs to sniff out eggs of invasive spotted lanternfly
Humans can be trained to identify the eggs of the invasive spotted lanternfly. But it’s not easy. The mottled gray color of the egg masses often matches the areas where they’re laid, or they’re located high in a tree or some other hidden location. Suffice it to say, no human...
Paying more for groceries? Here’s how prices have moved — or not — over the past year
Donald Trump campaigned, in part, on the promise to bring down grocery prices, but seven months into his second term, the result is a mixed bag. Coffee and beef prices are up. Baby formula, eggs and Cheerios are down. Toilet paper and diapers have held steady. “The obvious one is...
Pittcon, among world’s largest science conferences, will return home in 2027
One of the world’s premier laboratory science conferences is named for the Steel City — and it’s coming home for the first time in more than a half-century. The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry & Spectroscopy is organized almost entirely by volunteers from the region and an office staff in...
Soldiers & Sailors architect designed home for sale in Monroeville
There are quite a few surprises inside the stately Monroeville house at 1397 Abers Creek Road. First is the stark contrast of the early-20th-century exterior with the thoroughly modern trappings on the interior. But the 3,450-square-foot house, which sits on just over 11 acres, also has an architectural pedigree. The...
Q&A: Latrobe music festival JamBrewzle celebrates 10th anniversary
It’s hard for Derek Woods to believe that the JamBrewzle music festival he and his wife Sara started will mark its 10th anniversary Saturday. “Over the years, it’s truly taken on a life of its own,” said Woods, a Greensburg resident and singer for the Derek Woods Band, which is...
Murrysville area: Concert in the Park, butterfly release party, and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Murrysville Concert in the Park The annual Murrysville Concert in the Park will take place from 4 p.m. to dusk Aug. 9 at Murrysville Community Park. This year’s lineup features Landline Bluegrass at 5:15 p.m., Louis Castle & Unleashed at 6:30 p.m.,...
Police find 37 pounds of cocaine during Pa. turnpike traffic stop
Pennsylvania State Police arrested a Florida man Wednesday after discovering more than 37 pounds of suspected cocaine inside a hidden compartment in his vehicle. Troopers conducted a traffic stop on a Ford Explorer traveling near mile marker 83 on the turnpike in Mt. Pleasant Township. Police identified the driver as...
Work crew strikes gas line near Monessen High School
Monessen High School was evacuated after contractors accidentally struck a gas line Thursday morning, according to county emergency officials. Westmoreland County 911 received a call around 10:20 a.m. that a crew working near the high school had damaged a gas line connecting the school to the main Peoples Natural Gas...
Mike Tyson headlines next Steel City Con in Monroeville
Attendees at next month’s Steel City Con in Monroeville will have a chance for an autograph or photo op with one of the legends of the boxing world. Mike Tyson will be among the celebrities appearing at the convention, set for Aug. 8-10 at the Monroeville Convention Center. In addition...
Heat index may jump above 100 degrees; rain coming this weekend, forecasters say
Extreme heat is back with temperatures expected soar past 90 degrees Thursday, according to Jared Rackley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon. Pockets of the region could see a heat index — that’s how hot it feels taking the humidity into account — above 100 degrees on...
Monroeville area: Car cruise, upcoming festivals, Steel City Con, more
Car cruise The Rev’d Up Car Cruise will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 27 in Monroeville. It will be at 101 Mall Blvd., and the afternoon will feature new and vintage cars, food trucks, live music and more. Those seeking to display a car can register...
Murrysville seeks funding help to upgrade Route 22 signal coordination
Murrysville officials want to upgrade the adaptive system used to coordinate Route 22 traffic lights through the town’s commercial corridor. “The system we have in place is about 12 years old, and we think it’s run its course,” Murrysville Chief Administrator Michael Nestico told council at its meeting this week....
Staffing agency owner sentenced after employing, harboring illegal workers
A Belle Vernon man was sentenced to more than two years in jail and must pay a $3.6 million fine after pleading guilty to running a temporary staffing agency that provided workers who were living illegally in the United States. Federal prosecutors said Andy Ha, 28, also failed to pay...
Pittsburgh man charged with selling crystal meth, illegal firearm in North Huntingdon
A Pittsburgh man is charged with selling methamphetamine and an AR-15 rifle to an informant, according to North Huntingdon police. Chad T. Chamberlin, 51, of the city’s Bloomfield neighborhood, was charged with drug possession with intent to deliver, and possession of a firearm with an altered manufacturing number. In May,...
Mine-related sinkhole opens in Monessen
The 3-by-3-foot steel plate on State Road in Monessen may not look like much, but what it covers underground is much larger. Monessen officials have issued an emergency declaration in order to address a 12-by-15 hole caused by mine subsidence. “It almost looks like one of the old mine ‘portal’...
Irwin man charged with more than 100 counts of child pornography possession
An Irwin man has been charged with possession of more than 100 images and videos of child pornography, state police said Monday Joshua D. Ward, 34, of Third Street, is charged with 110 counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and criminal use of a communication device, according to...

