Patrick Varine stories, Page 100
Protesters block Grant Street, demand prosecution in Jim Rogers’ death
A group of protesters carrying a banner advocating “People’s Justice for Jim Rogers” demonstrated on the steps of the City-County Building in Downtown Pittsburgh and blocked Grant Street on Friday night. Rogers died Oct. 14, about 24 hours after being struck with a Taser deployed by a Pittsburgh police officer,...
Murrysville area: Marching band concert, Light Up Night, a basketball First Night
Submit news and briefs to the Star by emailing pvarine@triblive.com. FR marching band will host stadium review show The Franklin Regional Panther Marching Band will host a performance of this season’s halftime show, “Rock Legends,” at 7 p.m., Nov. 18 at the senior high school, 3200 School Road in Murrysville....
Ligonier man walks memorial-to-memorial to raise awareness about veteran suicides
In the United States, more than 6,200 veterans committed suicide in 2019. And the suicide risk for veterans that year was 52.3% higher than that of the general population, according to the Veterans Affairs Department’s 2021 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Report. Veteran David Rogers of Ligonier wants more people to...
Pittsburgh vocalist’s EP blends neo-soul, jazz, R&B
Pittsburgh vocalist KELS is looking forward to her 26th birthday later this month. On that date, the Pine-Richland graduate will release her first three-song EP, “Slow Ryde,” after performances this summer at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, Deutschtown Music Festival, Millvale Music Festival and Picklesburgh. Before that, though, she’ll host...
Murrysville physician pleads guilty to drug diversion, fraud charges
A Murrysville doctor pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday on charges of drug diversion and health care fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Dr. Yee Chung Ho, 72, pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawfully dispensing and distributing controlled substances and one count of health care fraud before U.S....
Levin installs 1-megawatt solar array atop Smithton distribution facility
Robert Levin, chairman of Levin Furniture, was a fan of solar energy long before it could earn him tax incentives. Levin had a solar array installed at his Monroeville furniture store in 2004. Almost two years ago, he had solar installed at his home. On Wednesday, Levin flipped the switch...
Delmont installs new councilman, proposes 2022 budget with no tax hike
Typically, election winners have to wait until the new year to take office. Jeff Cunningham barely had to wait a week. The Republican candidate earned a seat on Delmont council in last week’s election. But in the absence of Councilman Bill Marx, who resigned earlier this fall to take a...
Penn Township barrel racer earns 2021 championship in youth division
Rayna DePaul isn’t sure that a rider can ever fully master control of their horse. “My horse now, Frenchie, is very sassy,” said DePaul, 15, of Penn Township. “She likes to do things her way, but she does listen to me.” And she listens well. DePaul, along with three other...
Penn Hills police to increase presence at high school Wednesday following social media threat
Penn Hills students will see an increased police presence at the senior high school on Wednesday, after the department worked with school officials to identify the source of a social media threat. “While Penn Hills Police Department does not view this threat as credible and have been able to identify...
Police: Westmoreland County Community College student arrested after attacking teacher
An adult student was arrested at Westmoreland County Community College’s Mt. Pleasant campus on Tuesday, after state police say he tried to stab a teacher with a screwdriver. State police responded to WCCC’s Advanced Technology Center in East Huntingdon shortly after 2:30 p.m. for a report of an assault. When...
Nonprofit will mark holiday with 24-hour ‘Vet-A-Thon’ featuring veteran stories, experiences
When members of the nonprofit Veterans Breakfast Club were brainstorming ideas for Veterans Day, one member suggested a 12-hour livestream illustrating the group’s mission of preserving veterans’ stories and sharing them with future generations. “We brought it to our board and they said, ‘Great – let’s make it 24 hours!’”...
Derry native chosen for program that trains federal government’s ‘top managers’
For Derry native Kelly DeGraff, it’s no cliché to say that being a federal employee is about making a difference. For the past two decades, she has done just that as director of the insurance and mitigation readiness division at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There, she works as a...
Export council may institute rental license fee, regular inspections
Export officials will look into an update to the way rental inspections are conducted in the borough that has the upshot of helping to plug a roughly $60,000 gap in the 2022 budget. Mayor Joe Zaccagnini asked council members to authorize solicitor Wes Long to draft an ordinance which would...
Murrysville council considers balanced $9.5 million budget for 2022
Murrysville Finance Director Diane Heming presented council members with a balanced $9.5 million budget for 2022 that does not call for a property tax increase, but does include revenue from hikes to both the earned income and real-estate transfer taxes. Council enacted its first tax bump since 2007 on Wednesday...
Murrysville: Egyptology program, Veterans Day activities, zoo speaker, more
Submit news briefs and event information by emailing pvarine@triblive.com. • • • Delmont ministry seeks food donations for Thanksgiving dinner Delmont-based nonprofit Seed Ministries is seeking food donations for its annual Thanksgiving dinner, held this year on Nov. 18 at Covenant Care Ministries in Southwest Greensburg. They are seeking 10-12...
Export council will consider $734,000 budget with no tax hike for 2022
Export officials next month will consider a 2022 budget with just under $734,000 in expenditures that will potentially use a combination of updated rental ordinances and un-designated funding to plug a gap of about $14,500. Initial revenue projections for 2022 were about $657,000. Mayor Joe Zaccagnini proposed updating the borough’s...
Murrysville teen pushes through chronic illness, pain to set state powerlifting records
Editor’s note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature that aims to let our readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make them a better place, who have interesting stories to tell or who the community feels deserve “15 minutes of fame.” If you would...
Murrysville Council approves 1st tax hike since 2007 on earned income, real-estate transfer taxes
Murrysville Council voted unanimously Wednesday to bump its share of the earned income tax from 0.5 to 0.7%, and its share of the real-estate transfer tax from 0.5% to 1%. It is the first municipal tax hike since 2007. Finance Director Diane Heming said she anticipates the move will bring...
Seton Hill students join UN’s Millennium Fellowship, plan to promote sustainability
Students from Seton Hill University are nearly finished with a series of leadership training sessions as part of the Millennium Fellowship, a semester-long program sponsored by the United Nations Academic Impact and Millennium Campus Network. “After we finish our training, we’ll teach that to the other fellows,” said senior Ariana...
Incumbents hold off write-in challengers in Penn-Trafford school board race
All three incumbents in the Penn-Trafford school board race earned new terms on Tuesday, and the current warden of the Westmoreland County Prison will join them after earning a school board seat in the district’s Region II. In Region I, incumbent Republican Martin Stovar took nearly 83% of the vote....
Lemak, Lingg, Stepanovich and Dice come out on top in Murrysville council race
Two incumbents and two first-time candidates earned four-year terms on Murrysville council out a field of six in Tuesday’s municipal election. Newcomer and Republican Jason Lemak was the top vote-getter with 3,407 votes, followed by fellow first-timer and Republican Jamie Lingg (3,323), and incumbent Republicans Carl Stepanovich (2,996) and Dayne...
Franklin Regional school board will see 4 new members
One incumbent and three first-time candidates came out on top of a field of six candidates in the Franklin Regional school board election on Tuesday night, according to unofficial results. Additionally, retiree Diana Altieri Hand, 60, won election as the sole candidate running for a two-year term for the seat...
4 chosen for Delmont council
Three incumbents and one newcomer took the top spots for four Delmont council seats in Tuesday’s municipal election. Incumbent Republican Stan Cheyne was the top vote-getter with 470 votes, followed by incumbent Republican Pam Simpson (450), incumbent Republican Andrew Shissler (437) and newcomer Republican Jeff Cunningham (416). “I’m excited to...
Incumbent Urban wins another term as Delmont mayor
Republican incumbent Alyce Urban earned another term as mayor in Delmont, beating out Libertarian challenger Nate Jobe, 453-193, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s election. Urban, 74, a former council member appointed to the mayor’s seat in 2014, ran on a platform of preserving the police department, which recently relocated...
Salem senior home residents taken to Delmont fire hall after problem with heating system
About 40 residents and staff members were moved from Ark Manor senior living facility in Salem to the Delmont Volunteer Fire Department on Tuesday night after a problem with the heating system, a move that emergency officials hope is temporary. “We’re trying to get the heat temporarily back on in...
