Patrick Varine stories, Page 154
Classes resume at Westmoreland County Community College’s Murrysville campus
Classes at the Westmoreland County Community College’s Murrysville campus were cancelled through 3 p.m. Tuesday but will resume at 6 p.m., according to the school’s Twitter feed. “Our facilities director has contacted the gas company and to the best of my knowledge they’re on-site looking for a potential leak,” said...
Fish, game commissions warn of spoof license websites
With hunting season ramping up, state Fish and Boat Commission and Game Commission officials are warning anglers and hunters about online scams related to buying a license. Both commissions have received reports of consumers purchasing “licenses” through third-party websites not connected to the state. “Even though consumers didn’t suspect the...
Penn-Trafford senior named finalist at international short-film competitionVideo
When Ryan Mickey of Penn Township was in middle school, he remembers getting together with his cousins during the holidays. “We had our little iPods, and we’d make these little two-minute videos,” Mickey said. The 18-year-old’s early interest in multimedia is paying off: Mickey’s three-minute short film, “Mirror Image,” was...
Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh will premiere Police drummer’s oratorioVideo
Stewart Copeland wasn’t satisfied simply being the drummer for international pop sensations The Police. Following the band’s breakup in the mid-’80s, Copeland went on to compose film and television soundtracks, collaborated in a band with Phish’s Trey Anastasio and Primus’s Les Claypool (the supremely weird Öysterhead project) and recorded music...
Franklin Regional readies for homecoming this FridayVideo
Mid-October means homecoming for many of the high schools in western Pennsylvania. Franklin Regional will celebrate homecoming at its Friday night football game against McKeesport. But first, the district will mark the occasion with its annual homecoming bonfire. This year’s bonfire is set for 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in...
Franklin Regional students balance gore, goofiness with production of ‘Dracula’Video
Franklin Regional Thespians Club students are working to strike a fine balance between the hard-R frights of Francis Ford Coppola’s vision of Dracula and the occasional unintentional camp of the original Bela Lugosi film. It’s not always possible, according to director Richard Sunny. “There are some parts of the script...
Murrysville police, Franklin Regional partner to emphasize school bus safety
Drivers who are too busy or careless to stop for a school bus may find themselves on the wrong end of a pricey traffic ticket later this month. Murrysville police will partner with the Franklin Regional School District to promote National School Bus Safety Week from Oct. 21 to 25....
Plenty of art shows coming to Murrysville this fall
Art enthusiasts will have more than enough places to go in Murrysville during the next month, with art shows and standing exhibits all over the municipality. On Oct. 18 and 19, the Murrysville Woman’s Club will sponsor its annual art show at Redstone Highlands. It will run from 10 a.m....
Murrysville historian, Freeport Theater Festival founder to receive St. Clair Awards
Local historian Charles Hall is one of two recipients of this year’s Arthur St. Clair Historic Preservation Awards, presented by the Westmoreland Historical Society. Hall has documented the history of the Murrysville area through books and articles. His writing has been published by the Murrysville Historical Preservation Society and elsewhere....
Delmont mulls options for Shields Farm cabin
Difficulty finding suitable, period-appropriate lumber and the cost of doing so has Delmont officials considering their options when it comes to the log cabin on East Pittsburgh Street. Borough council has been seeking to replace several old, damaged logs on the cabin for a couple years, but the road has...
Litter of kittens, cat abandoned behind Hempfield shopping center near Route 30Video
A litter of kittens and an adult cat were abandoned during the weekend near a large trash bin in a Hempfield shopping complex. The people accused of leaving the animals behind were caught on camera and investigators are working to learn their identities. The animals were found behind the Greengate...
Traffic-light control box damaged in Murrysville crash
Murrysville police are continuing to advise residents and motorists to avoid the intersection of Route 22 and Berlin Farm Road after a crash on Tuesday damaged a control box containing the operating equipment and power source for the intersection’s traffic light. “It is a very extensive repair,” department officials responded...
Plenty of spooky fun planned for Murrysville, Delmont and Export residents
Looking for some spooky fun this Halloween season? There are plenty of seasonal events taking place in the Star’s coverage area. Here are just a few: • Kings Family Restaurant off of Route 66 in Delmont will host a trunk-or-treat event from 6-7 p.m. on Oct. 21. There is no...
Florists plan to ‘Petal It Forward’ to spread positivityVideo
Generally speaking, the floral industry is invested in making people happy. On Oct. 23, a handful of flower shops in western Pennsylvania will open with the goal of making as many people happy as possible, helping the Society of American Florists to promote “Petal It Forward.” “We’ll give out two...
Carnegie Mellon professor will dive into the ‘dark web’ in Murrysville
For most, the phrase “the dark web” conjures up images of hackers hunched over their computers in a darkened room, making illegal transactions or worse. Officials from the local U.S. Attorney’s office announced the prosecution of two Israeli citizens in May who were charged with facilitating the sale of drugs...
Chili Oktoberfest in Murrysville adds cornbread category
Murrysville Recreation Director Carly Greene is proof that you don’t have to spend months perfecting a chili recipe in order to make a tasty pot of the good stuff for her department’s annual Chili Oktoberfest. “One year we didn’t have enough entries,” she said. “The night before, I went to...
Fracking well hearing wraps up in Murrysville; decision expected in NovemberVideo
After four months of testimony and comments from residents, the public hearing for Murrysville’s first proposed fracking well pad is complete, and council members will likely take a vote at their second November meeting. Both Huntley & Huntley Energy Exploration — now doing business as Olympus Energy — and the...
Murrysville baseball trainer partners with Philly bat company to fund cancer researchVideo
Dave Muraco’s initial idea in starting up Grind 24/7 was to give Murrysville baseball players a local place to train and exercise. But when the business opens, he will be doing much more. Through a partnership with a Philadelphia bat company, he will also be raising money for cancer research....
Effort under way to move Export veteran monument to ‘more prominent place’Video
When Gary Wuslich returned to western Pennsylvania for his uncle Brando Sachet’s funeral in December 2018, he began thinking about the veterans’ memorial stationed outside the former American Legion on Kennedy Avenue in Export. “Between my father, my aunts and uncles, I think we have four or five names on...
Local sci-fi, horror authors to participate in panel discussion in Monroeville
Visitors to the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Monroeville later this month may find themselves immersed in a world where women have leeches for arms, intergalactic mercenary werewolves fly through space beating people up and aliens wink at passers-by in bars with names like The Pickled Quasar. But it’s not...
Export burnishing its image with trail opening, downtown projects
Westmoreland County Commissioner Ted Kopas had what he considered a good problem when he stopped by the Export Borough council meeting on Tuesday night. “It’s really great to pull into Export and not be able to find a place to park,” Kopas said. With a freshly paved Washington Avenue alongside...
Pa. marijuana grower urges regulation for disclosure of vaping ingredients
In the wake of national concern over illness linked to vaping, one Pennsylvania medical marijuana company is making sure users, in their catchphrase, “know it before you blow it.” Clinton County-based Terrapin Pennsylvania has disclosed all of the ingredients in its vaporizing products at DemandCleanVapes.com, and called on state lawmakers...
Export will bring back former engineer to help implement DEP’s consent orderVideo
Export officials voted in 2017 to largely part ways with Latrobe engineering firm Gibson-Thomas, opting to share engineering services with neighboring Murrysville. But, as the borough begins implementing the consent agreement hammered out over the summer between the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, Export, Murrysville and others, they will bring...
Westmoreland Conservation District marks 70th anniversary
In 1949, a group formed with the idea of working with conservation-minded organizations, companies and residents to protect Westmoreland County’s abundant natural resources. Seventy years later, the Westmoreland Conservation District and its partners have had a hand in improving the water quality in hundreds of miles of streams, returning forests...
Baldwin native will perform with Navy jazz ensemble in HempfieldVideo
As part of the Navy’s signature outreach program, Baldwin native Shawn Purcell will have a chance to perform in the Pittsburgh area for the second time as a member of the U.S. Navy Band Commodores Jazz Ensemble. The group will play an Oct. 23 concert at Hempfield Area High School....
