Patrick Varine stories, Page 153
‘Sinkhole Sundae’: Pittsburgh immediately memes the Port Authority bus
Once it was established that no one was injured Monday when a Port Authority bus fell partially into a sinkhole in downtown Pittsburgh during the morning commute, the jokes and memes started rolling in on social media. At least one local business, Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream, decided to take advantage...
YouTube video leads to criminal mischief charges at Murrysville golf course
Murrysville police arrested six men after a video surfaced online showing damage to golf carts and turf at the Rolling Fields Golf Club in Murrysville. The men have been charged with criminal mischief and conspiracy. Video posted to a YouTube channel called WTR, which police said stands for “White Trash...
Trafford electrician loved making wine, growing peppers
Domenick Cercone’s family didn’t want flowers or memorial donations their father’s memory. They had a simple request, placed in the final line of his obituary. “Please fry up some Italian hot peppers and enjoy them with a glass of your favorite wine,” it read. If Mr. Cercone were here, it’s...
Franklin Regional Middle School welcomes vets for annual Veterans Day assembly
For more than a quarter-century, members of a Franklin Regional Middle School eighth-grade performing arts class have welcomed veterans to the school annually to honor their valor and sacrifice at a Veterans Day assembly. That tradition will continue with this year’s assembly at both 8:30 and 10 a.m. Nov. 8...
Historical society rebuilding former one-room Murrysville schoolhouseVideo
About 175 years ago, a short stroll into the woods behind the Sampson-Clark Toll House in Murrysville would bring the one-room Murrysville schoolhouse into view. The original school was built around 1836. In 1929, the family who’d purchased the property discovered the school’s original foundation. By that time, it had...
Franklin Regional will hire part-time secretary to help with Right-To-Know requests
Franklin Regional officials will hire a part-time confidential secretary to help handle the increased number of Right-To-Know requests the district has received. The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Act, also known as the Pennsylvania Sunshine Law, is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of...
Center for Lyme launches to lobby Congress for more research, treatment options
A new nonprofit launched this week will focus on lobbying Congress to expand funding for the development of new drugs and diagnostic tools for battling Lyme disease. The Center for Lyme Action launched on Tuesday in addition to hosting a congressional forum with lawmakers from Minnesota, New Jersey and California,...
Quick action by employees helps save Derry Township millwork buildingVideo
Quick action on the part of Appalachian Millwork employees and their neighbors at the A.J. Myers bus garage likely saved the custom millwork building early Thursday evening, officials say. Fire crews were called to the building, on Menasha Lane in Derry Township, just after 4:30 p.m., according to Westmoreland County...
Mister Rogers tribute record features Micky Dolenz, Vanessa Williams, othersVideo
Oldies lead singers, “American Idol” finalists, a former Miss America and even a prime-time reality-TV host are among those paying tribute to the music of Latrobe native Fred Rogers on a new record, “Thank You, Mister Rogers: Music & Memories.” Micky Dolenz of the Monkees, “Idol” finalist Kellie Pickler, Vanessa...
Franklin Regional crowns homecoming royalty
Seniors Kara Soles and Riley Smith earned their spot as royalty in the Class of 2020 at Franklin Regional’s homecoming celebration on Oct. 18. The Panther football team lost, 31-14, to McKeesport, but it was all smiles among the home crowd at halftime during the homecoming festivities....
Franklin Regional officials praise expanded student-assistance program
Franklin Regional support services Director Jennifer DiFulvio began seeing what she called a “pretty significant need” in student referrals across the district’s buildings in 2015. DiFulvio said counselors were “doing a large amount of work, meeting with students and connecting them with resources. We saw the need for some additional...
Pennsylvania House resumes guest chaplain invocation
On Monday, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives resumed its policy of having guest chaplains offer a session-opening prayer following an August reversal of a lower-court decision by a federal appeals court. In 2016, a group of atheists, agnostics, freethinkers and humanists filed suit, arguing against the practice of limiting prayers...
Pennsylvania representative introduces ‘heartbeat’ abortion bill
Freshman state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, R-Centre/Clinton, introduced a so-called “heartbeat” abortion bill on Monday alongside Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Fayetteville. House Bill 1977 and its companion legislation, Senate Bill 912, would require all physicians to determine if a fetus has a heartbeat before performing an abortion and immediately stop if one...
Lyme group will host congressional lunch forum on tick-borne disease
In addition to a rally Tuesday in Harrisburg aimed at drawing attention to the treatment of tick-borne illness in Pennsylvania, the Center for Lyme Action will host a congressional lunch forum to push for more efforts to address what center officials call “an invisible epidemic.” “Lyme is a frustrating and...
Lyme groups will rally in Harrisburg to support legislation extending insurance coverageVideo
Advocates for those affected by Lyme disease are headed to Harrisburg to support legislation that would provide for long-term treatment. The PA Lyme Resource Network and Dare 2B Tick Aware will host a rally at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in support of House Bill 629, which...
Murrysville hires attorney to help develop ordinance addressing 5G antennas
Murrysville will hire a Pittsburgh attorney to help develop an ordinance regulating small wireless towers in the municipality. “Some municipalities have looked at it as a money grab, charging exorbitant permit fees,” Chief Administrator Jim Morrison told council members. “Others have chosen not to regulate it, which I do not...
Seton Hill dedicates Daniel J. Wukich School of NursingVideo
When the Sisters of Charity founded Seton Hill College in 1918, they placed an emphasis on the sciences being taught to female students. And while the Sisters did have a nursing education program at the former Pittsburgh Hospital, Seton Hill University never offered a formal nursing degree program. That changed...
Civil War correspondence discovered in Churchill attic
Carleton Young was going through boxes in his parents’ Churchill attic in 2006 when he made quite a discovery. “Inside the wooden box was an enormous collection of about 250 letters written home by two Vermont brothers as they fought in the Civil War,” Young said. “They were members of...
Dedicated Nursing Associates expansion could include traffic improvements in Murrysville
Murrysville council amended its traffic improvement plan Wednesday to accommodate development along Route 22 that includes an expansion of the Dedicated Nursing Associates business. “Improvements will be necessary to Manor Road and possibly Route 22,” Chief Administrator Jim Morrison told council members. “A right-hand turning lane on Route 22 westbound...
Fairview Park kicks off capital campaign, marks 75th anniversary in 2020
In 1945, a group of black church leaders from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties set out to create a place where they could come together and enjoy themselves. With segregation restricting the places African-Americans could go, the Monongahela Valley Sunday School Association created Fairview Park in Salem Township. At one time,...
Mercury to transit between the Earth, sun in November
The planets will align on Nov. 11 this year. Well, two of them, at least. Mercury will transit between the Earth and the sun on Veteran’s Day this year. “When we have a ‘transit’ of the moon, we call it a solar eclipse,” said Ken Kobus of the Amateur Astronomers...
Penn Hills, Riverview choirs will join Pittsburgh Concert Chorale for ‘Pittsburgh Sings!’
For the eighth year in a row, the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale will be joined by local high school choirs for “Pittsburgh Sings!” This year’s concert, on Sunday, Oct. 27, will feature choirs from the Penn Hills and Riverview school districts. “‘Pittsburgh Sings’ is always a special afternoon of music,” said...
Murrysville Council delays vote on renewing animal-control contract with Hoffman Kennels
Murrysville delayed a vote Wednesday night on the two-year renewal of an animal-control contract with Hoffman Kennels. Gary Hoffman, who owns and operates the Delmont-based business, proposed a $10 hike on individual calls as well as his monthly service fee. Hoffman also proposed reducing the number of days he patrols...
Bedbugs found at Penn Middle School in Penn Township
Bedbugs have been found at Penn Middle School in the Penn-Trafford School District. District officials alerted parents Wednesday that a student was found with bedbugs on their body. No additional bugs were found in the student’s belongings. When a professional exterminator and the district’s maintenance director began searching classrooms frequented...
Monessen man lived a life full of passion for music
When John Paterra of Speers was performing as a vocalist with the Graham Grubb Orchestra, he remembers chatting occasionally with the group’s bass player, Ed Dacko. “He played trombone and later he played bass fiddle,” Paterra said. “He was a character.” Edward Paul Dacko of Monessen died Friday, Oct. 11,...
