Murrysville Star category, Page 112
Westmoreland finds new county elections bureau director in its tax office
The deputy director of Westmoreland County’s tax department was hired Monday as the new head of the county’s elections bureau. JoAnn Sebastiani, 62, of Hempfield will take over the office that will be under the microscope this fall as county officials gear up for what is expected to be the...
Delmont prepares for $4.85 million project to address sewage overflows
Delmont officials are proposing to replace two sewage lines and possibly construct a large holding tank to help deal with sewage overflows and infiltration and inflow of storm water into its sewage system. As part of a consent order finalized with the state Department of Environmental Control in late April,...
Pumpkin spice lovers, rejoice – tasty blend returns early this year
Is mid-August too early for pumpkin spice flavors to make their annual appearance? Not according to Dunkin’ and Starbucks. Fall products from Dunkin’ will be on the menu beginning Wednesday, their earliest-ever rollout. The Starbucks pumpkin spice latte will return Aug. 25, according to Business Insider. Are people craving cooler...
Eastern region real estate transactions for the week of Aug. 16
Churchill Katelyn Butler sold property at 2331 Forest Drive to Benjamin Wise and Kathryn Straatmann for $102,000. Delmont David Huczko sold property at 524 Athena Drive to Scott and Jessica Gordon for $228,500. Joseph Sesti sold property at 319 E. Pittsburgh St. to Robert Cole II and Kerri Rae Cole...
Despite pandemic, smaller fairs in Export, Irwin, New Kensington decide shows must go onVideo
In a summer of canceled festivals because of the coronavirus pandemic, officials of some smaller events in Export, Irwin and New Kensington decided the shows must go on Saturday. The Westmoreland Fair slated to begin Thursday, the Arts and Heritage Festival in Hempfield that usually runs in July and Fort...
10 artists to create original works for Diversity Billboard Art Project
Ten artists have been chosen to create original work for the Diversity Billboard Art Project created by the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition in partnership with The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Their commissions will be inspired by the theme “Make Our Differences Our Strengths” to convey how diversity and inclusion can...
Recruitment center for new Hempfield casino to open late August
The former Sears wing at Westmoreland Mall once again is coming to life as facilities that cater to the now-under-construction casino at the mall open up shop. A recruitment center is set to open Aug. 24 in the former Barbara Ann’s Country Furnishings store, which moved upstairs, said Tom Meinert,...
Export’s Ethnic Food & Music Fest a go; Delmont’s Apple’n Arts Festival, Pilgrimage canceled
In a season of cancellations, Export’s annual Ethnic Food & Music Festival is sticking to its guns and will go on this weekend. The event is set for noon to 9 p.m. Saturday along Washington Avenue. Councilwoman Melanie Litz said the relatively small size of both the borough and festival...
State departments warn of scams related to contact tracing
Two state agencies issued warnings about contact tracing scams amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Pennsylvania departments of Health and Aging, scams include a caller asking for Social Security numbers or payment for services. Contact tracing is used to identify people who have come in close contact with someone...
Poll worker needs ranked critical in Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette counties
Westmoreland County, as well as Fayette and Washington counties, face an uphill battle when it comes to recruiting poll workers for the presidential election this fall, researchers found. A study produced by Boston-based bipartisan nonprofit The Voter Protection Corps and Carnegie Mellon University found the counties were among 15 across...
New Westmoreland GOP head wants to expand on party’s success
The new chairman of Westmoreland County’s Republican Committee said he wants to keep the momentum that, for the last decade, propelled election day victories and voter registration surges that turned the local GOP from an afterthought to political dominance. “It wasn’t that long ago we were the group on the...
Delmont will update, modernize its burning ordinanceVideo
If you want to have a fire in a Delmont driveway fire pit on Friday, technically you had to notify the fire department in writing by Monday. “I was looking at it and I thought, ‘This is nuts. Who does this?’” Councilman Bill Marx said. With that in mind, Delmont...
Western Pa. leaders working to exceed census response rates from 2010
Fewer people have responded to the 2020 census across Western Pennsylvania than in 2010, new data shows. According to the Pennsylvania State Data Center, several area counties, including Allegheny and Westmoreland, are about 5 percentage points behind self-response rates recorded in 2010. That means fewer people so far have responded...
Neighbors pleased with youth group’s efforts at fighting blight in Jeannette
For years, Paul and Paula Hassinger were met with blight the moment they took a step outside their West Jeannette front door. Now, the abandoned houses across 12th Street looks much better after a Murrysville church group ripped out some overgrown weeds and brush last month, but the Hassingers still...
Palmer Jackson, Sean Knapp fall short at USGA Amateur
Palmer Jackson and Sean Knapp fell short of advancing to the United States Golf Association’s Amateur Match Play round of 64. Tough Day 1 performances were too much for them to overcome Tuesday at Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon. Jackson, a Murrysville native and Notre Dame sophomore, followed 9-over-par 80...
Delmont-Salem Rotary proposes service project at Delmont parklet
In 1907, the first-ever Rotary Club project was the construction of a single-stall men’s restroom in Chicago. Some 113 years later, the Delmont-Salem Rotary Club is looking to the past for its 2021 service project: proposing to build a restroom at Delmont’s Rose Wigfield Parklet. Incoming club president Harold Hicks...
Authority OKs $5.8M in contracts for Arnold Palmer airport terminal, runway expansions
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority is moving ahead with interior and exterior improvements at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, at a cost of about $5.8 million. The authority this week awarded contracts for expanding the passenger holding room and for continuing widening and strengthening of the runway at the Unity airport....
Western Pa. colleges awarded federal funds to underwrite reopening costs
Seven local colleges and trade schools were awarded more than $900,000 in federal grants to help underwrite public health and safety plans for reopening shuttered campuses. The grants that flowed through the state are part of a $28 million pool of federal CARES Act money state officials set aside to...
Murrysville Republican committee plans grand opening for new ‘Victory Center’ location
The Murrysville Export Republican Committee will bring in KDKA-AM News Radio 1020 host Wendy Bell for the grand opening of its “2020 Trump Victory Center” on Aug. 22. The opening will be at 10 a.m. at the center’s new location, 3145 Carson Ave., across William Penn Highway from the Dunkin’...
Delmont rec board will screen ‘Hook,’ host live music this weekend
The Delmont Recreation Board will screen the children’s film “Hook” and present an evening of live music at the board’s upcoming “Movies in the Park” this weekend. The free concert, featuring the Phisbins, will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Newhouse Park, just off Stotler Drive in Delmont. Food will be...
Eastern area real estate transactions, Aug. 10
Edgewood Jeremiah Lott sold property at 124 Dewey St. to Gretchen Snell Zelinsky for $245,000. Thomas Vandyke Schmaus sold property at 109 Ivy St. to Cory Francis Hayes and Alexa Donner for $183,000. Forest Hills MO Rentals Inc. sold property at 530 Atlantic Ave. to Erich Raymond Hulse for $78,500....
Trade schools offer training in high-demand, essential careersVideo
Candace Carlton recently earned a massage therapy license. Unfortunately, the past six months have made it tough to put it to use. “That doesn’t do too well during a pandemic,” Carlton said. The prospect of going back to school also is challenging, given that school districts, colleges and education centers...
Historical society finishes work on 1800s-era Murrysville schoolhouse replicaVideo
The Murrysville Historical Preservation Society was hoping to mark Murrysville’s 200th anniversary at its annual festival this year. While the society has canceled its 2020 events, according to its website, it does have reason to celebrate: a period-appropriate replica of the former one-room schoolhouse off of West Pike Street was...
Tickets for Walmart Drive-in movie experience sold out in Pittsburgh area
From Aug. 14 to Oct. 21, Walmart Supercenters across the country are offering 320 free, socially distanced drive-in movies in 160 store parking lots, shown in partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival. All locations in the Pittsburgh area are sold out, including Walmart stores in North Huntingdon and West Mifflin....
Westmoreland master gardeners take Monarch Migration Celebration online
Penn State Master Gardeners of Westmoreland County’s 2nd annual Monarch Migration Celebration has gone virtual, with seven weeks of activities to help children and their families learn more about monarch butterflies. The original celebration, held last September, was a single-day live event that drew about 150 participants. Organizers were hoping...
