Patrick Varine stories, Page 57
Monroeville church hosts pumpkin sales to help fund youth retreat
Each year, church leaders at Monroeville United Methodist Church send about 15 members of their youth group to “Current,” a religious retreat organized by the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church. And this year, community members can help raise money to send them while picking their Halloween pumpkins...
Westmoreland 250: 10 things to see in New Stanton, Youngwood
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Wheelchair-bound opossum from Greensburg will be featured in international calendarVideo
Olli the Virginia opossum was one lucky marsupial. As a baby, Olli was attacked by several predators, leaving him with major bite wounds and abscesses and a severely injured spinal cord. He was rescued by a veterinarian and eventually came to Cheri Berri, 48, of Greensburg, who has been doing...
Police: Mt. Pleasant man dies of injuries after being thrown from vehicle
State police released the identity of a man who died of injuries following an Oct. 8 crash on State Street in Mt. Pleasant Township. Police said Gregory P. Petro, 59, of Mt. Pleasant was driving south on State Street near Wimbledon Drive shortly after 11:30 a.m. when his car struck...
Patton’s Pickers seeks volunteers to help clean Monroeville roadsides
Stacie Murrer couldn’t believe it when she heard that the Monroeville Rotary Club regularly does trash pickup along Mosside Boulevard between Route 22 and MacBeth Drive. “They deserve a lot more recognition for that,” she said. To do her part, Murrer is organizing Patton’s Pickers, a group that will continue...
Murrysville traffic stop turns up felony charges for Maryland man
A Maryland man wanted on weapons charges in Florida is in prison awaiting an extradition hearing after a local traffic stop. Murrysville police pulled over a tractor-trailer Oct. 9 after officers watched the driver make a U-turn on Tarr Hollow Road, driving into a residential yard and creating large ruts....
Worthington man in hospital after crashing ATV in Armstrong County
State police said a Worthington man was driving under the influence when he crashed his all-terrain vehicle Sunday and had to be flown to a hospital. Edward H. Berry Jr., 60, of Worthington was driving on West Main Street in West Franklin just after 2 p.m. Sunday, when he lost...
Best Guitar Show ‘like a flea market’ for the instruments in New Kensington
Michael Pencak owns Michael’s Auto Sales in Creighton. But like many people, he also has a passion for music, which he has been playing for most of his life. In Pencak’s case, it’s playing guitar. “I play Gibsons, and my favorite is probably my Gibson Les Paul,” he said. “My...
House bill takes aim at Pennsylvania’s ‘ghost poles’
For a borough of fewer than 900 people, Export has a lot of utility poles. And quite a few of them are right next to each another. Known as ghost poles, the side-by-side poles number in the thousands across Southwestern Pennsylvania. In areas where the poles are a problem, the...
Calendar sales will benefit youth fishing tournament, Delmont community groups
During her childhood in Delmont, Amanda List was always active in the community. She was a Girl Scout, president of the local Lions’ Leos Club, a youth group member and youth deacon at her church. “I think community is really important and I’m trying to instill that in my children,”...
Weekend weather could make partial eclipse tough to watch in Western Pa.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania professor Kenneth Coles had only one word to sum up the forecast for Saturday’s partial eclipse: dismal. “Clouds and rain is what they’re calling for right now,” Coles said. “But if we get a hole in the clouds — and we’re always hopeless optimists about that...
Murrysville area: Panther Groove Festival, used book sale donations, live music and moreVideo
Email news briefs and event information to pvarine@triblive.com. Pumpkin painting, hay rides in Delmont The Delmont Recreation Committee will host its second annual Pumpkin Painting and Hay Ride fundraiser Oct. 21 at Newhouse Park. The event starts at noon and will include pumpkin decorating, hay rides, Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee and...
Pittsburgh Doo-Wop Big Band to headline benefit concert for Franklin Regional Panther FoundationVideo
It’s easy to see why Bill Reicher of Butler wants to keep the tradition of doo-wop music alive. Reicher has certainly done his part over the years to popularize it, having performed at Madison Square Garden back in the day with doo-wop group The Mystics. Their song, “Hushabye,” was a...
Murrysville looks to balance growth, rural character that attracts new residents
Murrysville officials are casting an eye toward the municipality’s long-term growth as they begin working with a consultant who will help them take a deep dive into their zoning laws. That’s great news to Councilwoman Jamie Lee Korns, who has been advocating a long look at Murrysville’s zoning ordinances for...
Fall is in the air at the annual Fort Ligonier Days festival
It’s not hard to tell that Tom Stablein enjoys helping organize the annual Fort Ligonier Days celebration — he has been its parade chairman since the mid-1990s. “Seeing it all come together in a little town this size, and to be able to put on a festival like this is...
Late North Huntingdon truck racer ‘would give you the shirt off his back’
On Fridays or Saturdays, Ronnie Ruggiero would tow his 1977 Ford F-150 with him to work, at Bob Tyke’s Auto Service in Monroeville, and as soon as the day was done, he’d head off to race it. The F-150 wasn’t just any truck — it belonged to Ruggiero’s father, who...
Derry council disbands police dog program as residents vent anger over K-9 incident
Derry Borough residents had a lot of questions but didn’t get any answers from council members Tuesday night after they met for the first time since the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office announced evidence does not support a criminal charge in the death of the borough’s police dog, Smoke. Several...
Raucous party not the typical event for White Township community center, director says
A raucous party billed as a post-homecoming event, where a Homestead man was killed just after midnight Sunday, is not typical for the Chevy Chase Community Center, located on a relatively quiet block in White Township, Indiana County. “We rent the center quite often, but it’s usually for things like...
Go Laurel Highlands honors tourism champions, awards scholarships
Officials at Go Laurel Highlands recognized some of the region’s leaders in creating memorable tourism experiences at their annual dinner Sept. 28. The group named Nina and Bob Basile their Trailblazers of the Year. The husband and wife team designed and built the Luxury Treehouse in 2021, and this year...
Franklin Regional announces homecoming court, activities
Franklin Regional has announced its 2023-2024 homecoming court: Michael Rettger, Jack Krieger, Owen Sinclair, Lorenzo Aguilera, Keira Valenti, Bridget Yaniga, Finian Hutchison, Julia Kravits, Tyler Kapusta, Catherine Helm, .Angelina Fioravanti, Jadyn Linde In addition, the district posted a schedule of homecoming activities. On Oct. 19 the district will host its...
Murrysville moves ahead with acid mine drainage project in Lyon Run
Murrysville officials will hire a company to clean 2 to 4 miles of Lyons Run, a tributary of nearby Turtle Creek, that is being polluted with acid mine drainage. “It’s a pretty large and exciting project,” said Murrysville Chief Administrator Michael Nestico. The project will clean the heavy metals present...
Murrysville area: Concealed-carry seminar, upcoming library programs, local live music and more
Murrysville woman named club president The International Women’s Club of Monroeville recently introduced Louise Esposito of Murrysville as the club president for the 2023-‘24 year. Esposito has been a member since 1996. Esposito was born in New York. Her mother was Italian and her father was Swiss-French. She grew up...
Murrysville middle school’s fall play is a lost-and-found story about learning to love
Franklin Regional teacher Christine Klemstine couldn’t have been more surprised when eighth grader J.T. Esposito performed his audition for the middle school’s fall play. “He had half of the script already memorized,” Klemstine said. “I couldn’t believe it.” Memorizing 20 pages of dialogue is a big enough challenge for an...
Export considers taking back Italy Road from PennDOT
Export council members are taking the first steps to reclaim Italy Road from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Over the years, Export has handled winter maintenance of Italy Road within the borough, for which they receive PennDOT funding of about $1,000 per year. Council authorized the winter maintenance agreement at...
Forbes Hospital in Monroeville adds behavior health suite to emergency departmentVideo
Allegheny Health Network officials have added a behavioral health suite to the emergency department at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, part of a response to an increase in ER visits by patients with behavioral health needs. “Being hospitalized or visiting an emergency department is incredibly stressful for anyone, let alone those...
