Patrick Varine stories, Page 33
Murrysville home damaged by smoke after fire, chief says
A Murrysville home was heavily damaged by smoke during fire Thursday afternoon, a fire official said. White Valley Fire Chief John Bohinc said no one was injured in the blaze, which was reported just before 1:30 p.m. at a home on Kemerer Hollow Road. Fire companies from Murrysville, Delmont and...
Monroeville area: ESCA fundraiser, ‘hard-to-recycle’ collection, flea market, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bpoole@triblive.com. Food distribution The next Monroeville drive-up food distribution date will be 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 9 at Gateway High School, 300o Gateway Campus Blvd., Monroeville. Distribution takes place the second Wednesday of every month. Patrons can drive behind the sports complex...
‘Gold Over America’ gymnastics show designed by Western Pa. nativeVideo
Mark Swanhart doesn’t mince words when it comes to the U.S. gymnastics team, which came home from this summer’s Olympic Games with nine medals, including three golds. “They’re rock stars,” said Swanhart, a Cambria County native and Point Park University dance major with more than 25 years of experience creating...
Brentwood man, Youngwood woman await sentencing in rental scheme that cost Avis $500K
The Monroeville location of Avis Car Rental lost more than $500,000 because of an identity theft scheme that involved a Brentwood man and a Youngwood woman, according to federal prosecutors. Cheron Tucker, 28, pleaded guilty in federal court last week to aggravated identity theft along with unauthorized access device fraud...
Old William Penn Highway to close for bridge replacement
Contractors do not yet have a firm date, but Old William Penn Highway will close for roughly a month and a half this fall for the replacement of a bridge carrying the road over Turtle Creek in Murrysville. Murrysville council awarded a $170,000 bid last week to Kukurin Contracting in...
Wine, chocolate gala will benefit Westmoreland Children First
Westmoreland Children First, a Greensburg nonprofit that supports the Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau and raises money to provide urgent needs such as beds, school supplies, winter coats and more, will host a wine and chocolate gala Sept. 28 at Saint Vincent College in Unity. It will be from 7-10 p.m....
Murrysville officials, consultant look at modifying business overlay district
Murrysville officials are working with a consultant to modify the municipality’s general business overlay, part of a larger examination of the town’s zoning. Overlays are used to add extra zoning controls in a specific area, to address special community needs or objectives. An example would be Murrysville’s gas recovery overlay...
Pittsburgh Gaming Expo expands to 3 days in MonroevilleVideo
Six months ago, Brian Wissner and organizers of the annual Pittsburgh Gaming Expo were scrambling after discovering they might need to find a new venue for their event. This month, Monroeville officials announced they’d reached a deal to purchase the Monroeville Convention Center, home to the gaming event and a...
Natural gas sensor alert leads to brief evacuation at New Stanton vo-tech school
A natural gas sensor alert led to the evacuation of Central Westmoreland Career & Technology School in New Stanton on Monday morning, according to school officials. “Two of our teachers came in with their gas sensors to say the levels were a little higher than normal,” said CWCTC Director Jason...
Inflation explained: As material, labor costs rise, so do insurance premiums
Editor’s note: This is the fourth story in an occasional series on the causes and impact of inflation. There is a dominant driver when it comes to setting car and home insurance rates: the cost of the items insurance companies cover when they pay out claims. And the cost of...
School administrators discuss Pa.’s teacher shortage, working to add to educator ranks
Not so long ago, Hampton School District Superintendent Michael Loughead wasn’t concerned about the pool of teacher candidates when it came time to fill a spot. “We have a successful district, we pay our teachers well, and at one time we were lucky enough to have 1,000 people apply for...
Senate president partners with UPMC, Bayer, others to host breast cancer screenings
Because Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward is a breast cancer survivor, she said she knows the importance of screening for the disease. “When I went through my treatment, I could see firsthand some of the issues that women were facing,” said Ward, a Hempfield resident who was diagnosed with...
Bowhunting season begins Saturday for all of Allegheny County, small slices of western Westmoreland, opens Oct. 5 statewide
Justin Relihan has been bowhunting since he was 16 years old. The Butler resident began hunting at age 12 with a rifle, but quickly found he had more of a passion for using a compound bow. “I like the quietness of bowhunting,” said Relihan, 48. “There’s a lot less people....
Monroeville area: Pancake breakfast, International Women’s meeting, Concordia fall festival
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com or bpoole@triblive.com. Q&A with community leaders The Gathering Place will host a speaking and fellowship event at 7 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Triveni Center, 275 Center Road, Monroeville. Pastors Ray and Renaid Almgren invite the community to learn and engage in...
Murrysville area: Marching band performance night, veteran breakfast, art show and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. FR marching band performance The Franklin Regional Panther Marching Band will host a stadium review performance at 6 p.m. Oct. 5. The event will feature food trucks, a 50/50 raffle and a performance by the band. There is no cost to attend,...
Gateway superintendent excited to put comprehensive plan into action this year
Gateway School District students are back in the classroom and getting used to new teachers, new subjects and — at least for students at the remodeled and consolidated Gateway Middle School — a lot of new features in the building. At the same time, Superintendent Guy Rossi is settling into...
State attorney general accuses Pittsburgh toy maker of ‘widespread failure’ to fulfill orders
Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry has filed a lawsuit against a Pittsburgh toy company she said failed to fulfill more than $4 million in orders. Henry announced that her office has filed a lawsuit against Digital Dream Labs and its former CEO, Harold J. Hanchar, regarding the robotics and educational-technology...
Clairton man leads state police on 20-mile chase
A Clairton man is in jail after state police say he fled a traffic stop Tuesday in Mt. Pleasant Township. A state trooper was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Hempfield shortly after noon Tuesday when a Jeep Grand Cherokee with nearly opaque tinted windows drove past. The trooper performed a...
Jeannette youth football coach: Opposing players were using racial slurs
The head coach of the Jeannette Hawks youth football squad said he pulled his players off the field during a game Sunday after team members reported being called racial slurs by some opposing players from Penn-Trafford. “At the beginning of the game, everything was fine,” said Hawks coach Tim Moore....
Franklin Regional hires consultant to review the state of its athletic facilities
In 2016, Franklin Regional officials undertook a district-wide facilities study, commissioning experts to take a hard look at all of the district’s buildings and infrastructure. The results weren’t pretty — the study estimated the district would need to spend between $73 and $97 million over the next decade to address...
Franklin Regional booster groups concerned about exclusive merchandising contract for Panther products
Franklin Regional booster groups are worried their fundraising efforts will be hurt as school district leaders enter into an exclusive agreement with a Unity printing company to create official merchandise. “I implore you not to grant rights to just one company,” said Joy Siegman, president of the Franklin Regional Football...
Police seek man who assaulted UPS driver in Carrick
Pittsburgh Police are seeking information on a man who assaulted a UPS delivery driver Saturday in Carrick. Police were dispatched to the 1900 block of Dartmore Street shortly after 12:30 p.m. They spoke with a UPS delivery worker who said the driver of a blue Honda sedan first called out...
Argument over house cleanliness ends in fatal shooting in South Side Slopes
Pittsburgh police said a dispute over the cleanliness of a house Monday afternoon led to the fatal shooting of a man in the city’s South Side Slopes neighborhood. Eddie Kimber, 25, of South Oakland was shot inside a Sharon Street home and transported to UPMC Mercy, where he died shortly...
Yellow Bridge beer will benefit Delmont library
The Delmont Public Library will solicit donations one 16-ounce can at a time when they host a soft-release party for a collaboration beer with Yellow Bridge Brewing. A Sept. 20 launch party will be from 6-9 p.m. at Yellow Bridge, 2266 Route 66 in Delmont, where sales of the “Please...
Police: Monroeville couple sold heroin, fentanyl to undercover task force
A Monroeville couple are charged after police say they sold heroin and fentanyl to undercover drug task force members on multiple occasions. Joshua L. Waters, 30, and Jabria L. Caldwell, 27, both of Monroeville, are charged with felony counts of drug delivery and drug possession following an investigation that involved...
