Murrysville Star category, Page 114
Murrysville travel ball teams seeing success in covid-shortened season
When Mike Ruane of the Franklin Regional Haymakers 11U travel ball team hit a walk-off home run to win the Mt. Lebanon 11U-A Tournament on July 26, circumstances would typically dictate a crowd of teammates waiting for him at home plate. The 2020 travel ball season has been anything but...
Murrysville, McCandless ranked among safest towns by security company
Murrysville and McCandless are among the top 50 safest cities in the U.S., according to the latest rankings from home security and safety advisory company SafeWise. Pennsylvania makes the list several times, with seven towns among SafeWise’s top 50 including Buckingham Township (11), Upper Saucon Township (27), Upper Allen Township...
Trib Total Media hires first class of Jim Borden Memorial scholars
Trib Total Media’s first class of Jim Borden Memorial Scholarship winners has started work at the Tribune-Review amid the coronavirus pandemic and a hectic news environment. The scholarship, named for the Tribune-Review’s late managing editor, offers financial assistance up to $30,000 — paid in $7,500 annual installments — for college...
Virtual retreat equips Western Pa. teachers with tools for online education
When the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools across the nation, it wasn’t just students and parents who were tossed headlong into a brand-new challenge. Many teachers, counselors and principals faced the same dilemma. “All of a sudden, we found ourselves having to write game plans and blueprints for something that...
Apple Hill Playhouse is closing, leaving theater group seeking new home
The Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont is going dark. “The time has come” to permanently close the historic stage, executive artistic director Pat Beyer said. “I’m just too old to be in this game anymore. This is my 38th year,” said Beyer, 79. However, it’s just the barn that’s closing,...
Murrysville company will help test systems for lunar lander
In the summer of 2021, Pittsburgh tech company Astrobotic plans to launch an unmanned lunar landing mission after being awarded a contract by NASA. But before that can happen, someone needs to make sure all of the lander’s systems are functioning correctly and working in concert with one another. That’s...
Murrysville approves ordinance regulating 5G cell towers
Murrysville Council has approved an ordinance regulating small-wireless facilities, the infrastructure necessary to bring 5G service to the area. 5G is the fifth generation of cellular service, which companies began rolling out in 2019. The Federal Communications Commission in 2018 set out a timeline requiring towns to make space available...
Franklin Regional plans 2-phase graduation ceremony for Friday
Franklin Regional seniors will get an opportunity to walk onto the Panther Stadium field as part of a two-phase graduation ceremony set for Friday evening in Murrysville. The first ceremony, scheduled to start at 5 p.m., will be for students whose last name begins with A through K. A second...
Officals: Pending closure of Penn Township district judge’s office is unwarranted
A proposal to close district justice offices in Penn Township and Mt. Pleasant remains unchanged as part of a revamped consolidation plan expected to be released in the coming weeks, officials said. Westmoreland County Court Administrator Amy DeMatt said officials reviewed about two dozen comments filed in the last month,...
Pennsylvania hopes to encourage 10,000 landowners to create stream-side buffersVideo
The riparian buffer at the headwaters of Steele’s Run in Murrysville mostly offers aesthetic benefits. But, each year, its physical value will continue to grow as it protects the cold-water fishery stream from erosion, provides shade, cools the stream and offers a habitat for native wildlife. Officials with the state’s...
Goetz, Schmidt, Jackson close to the leaders at Sunnehanna Amateur
JOHNSTOWN — Mark Goetz had a tournament-saving five-hole stretch Wednesday during the second round of the 67th Annual Sunnehanna Amateur to remember. The Greensburg native was stumbling at 3-over-par through six holes after he endured two weather delays when he turned around his day at Sunnehanna Country Club. He went...
WPIAL swimmers earn NISCA All-American laurels
Several WPIAL swimming standouts recently were honored as All-Americans by the National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association for times recorded during the 2019-20 season. The lists are compiled based on individual and relay times recorded at sanctioned high school meets during the season and submitted by the programs during the application...
Movers: Murrysville AAUW names new officers for 2020-21
The Murrysville Area chapter of AAUW announced its executive board for 2020-21. Janet Sutton will serve as president, Diane Conway will continue as programs vice-president, Carol Gezon will continue as finance officer, Laura Livingston will serve as membership vice-president and Diane Kaufmann will serve as secretary. Outgoing officers include Celine...
Pennsylvania offers grants to help preserve, inventory historical records
As an Export councilwoman and a member of the borough’s historical society, Melanie Litz has access to a treasure trove of the town’s history. She has handwritten letters of interest for council seats when the borough’s independent government was being formed in 1911. She has council’s original handwritten book of...
Murrysville man builds period-appropriate Export mine cart replica using actual wheelsVideo
About three decades ago, Greensburg attorney Wes Long discovered a set of mine cart wheels on his property along Kemerer Hollow Road, near the former Skelly mine. Long had the wheels sandblasted and cleaned up, and held onto them as a piece of local history. Now, those wheels are part...
Murrysville Meals on Wheels seeking volunteers for kitchen, delivery service
The covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on Murrysville Meals on Wheels, though it has been out of precaution rather than infection. “Because of the crisis, we lost about a third of our volunteers,” said program coordinator Lynn Staab. Murrysville Meals on Wheels typically draws from a pool of about...
Tennis nonprofit delays racket giveaway following regional covid-19 uptickVideo
Anup Nadesan and Joseph Bonfiglio started their tennis nonprofit, My Ground Strokes, about a year ago, and they were getting ready for a summer full of activity just as the covid-19 pandemic began ramping up. In April, Nadesan decided to bake nut bread and distribute it to front-line health care...
West Jeannette will get spruced up, thanks to canceled mission trip
When a New York City mission trip for 30 area middle schoolers had to be canceled earlier this year, Cornerstone Ministries Pastor Joel Guinen looked closer to home to make a difference. The group will be embarking on a week-long “Mission Home” cleanup project in West Jeannette, targeting a playground,...
Apple ‘n Arts plans to scale back fall festival
While a final decision has not been made yet, organizers for the annual Apple ’n Arts Festival are considering paring it back to an apple cider drive-thru this year due to the covid-19 pandemic and the ever-evolving health and safety guidelines associated with it. Festival officials on Tuesday night laid...
Murrysville nature reserve gains 26 acres through land swap
The Westmoreland Conservancy’s King Reserve natural area has gained 26 acres through a land swap with the neighboring Crowfoot Rod and Gun Club in Murrysville. Conservancy President Shelly Tichy said the club added 6 acres near its trap range in exchange for 32 acres, which expands the reserve to 122...
Salem man pleads guilty to dozens of theft charges, gets probation
A Salem man who police said used bogus checks to purchase electronics, power tools and music equipment in three states and throughout southwestern Pennsylvania pleaded guilty Tuesday to dozens of theft and conspiracy charges. Paul E. Chonko. 42, was sentenced to serve five years on probation and ordered to repay...
Murrysville likely to need new revenue sources by 2022 to maintain current service levels
About a year ago, Murrysville Chief Administrator Jim Morrison said that while he did not see the need for a tax increase in the next five years, “creating a balanced budget without one is posing a bigger challenge each year.” The municipality has gone 13 years without a hike in...
Tarentum man dies in motorcycle crash on Route 366 in Murrysville
A Tarentum man died Sunday afternoon when his motorcycle crashed in Murrysville, a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said. The crash occurred shortly before 4 p.m. on Route 366, the dispatcher said. Westmoreland County Coroner Kenneth Bacha identified the victim as Patrick G. Dzugan, 59, of Butler Street, Tarentum. According to...
Franklin Regional looks to unify online learning with Schoology system
Google Classroom and a patchwork of other educational tools helped Franklin Regional staff and students through the final months of a hectic school year. But district administrators are looking to bring all of those tools into the same shed for students who may be learning from home in the coming...
Murrysville Woman’s Club awards $7,750 in scholarships
The Murrysville Woman’s Club awarded $7,750 in annual scholarships to Westmoreland County women seeking to further their education. The club on July 8 presented scholarships to Heather Lake of New Alexandria, Bobbi McVay of Greensburg and Jenna Maroadi of North Huntingdon. The club, which marked its 100th anniversary in 2020,...
