Patrick Varine stories, Page 101
$1 million settlement approved in 2018 pipeline failure in Beaver County
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission on Thursday approved a $1 million settlement related to a massive failure of the Revolution pipeline that occurred in September 2018 in Beaver County. On Sept. 10, 2018, a pipeline failure occurred near Ivy Lane in Center Township, releasing more than 3 million cubic feet...
Slippery Rock opens 1st live theater show since pre-pandemic days, ‘Techies’
Tyler Parsonage of Murrysville is grateful for the new opportunities that online theater productions offered during the covid-19 pandemic, “but I don’t think it’ll ever compare to a live show,” he said. The 21-year-old Slippery Rock University junior is part of a group that will bring the first live theater...
Ligonier man worked for Coke, Disney, Steelers, Pitt, and drove limousines
Lelia Tosh can remember being in a grocery store, several thousand miles away from home on one of her family’s many motor home trips, and catching her father straightening up the store’s Coca-Cola display. “We’d say, ‘C’mon, Dad, we’re on vacation!’ ” Tosh said. “But he was just so proud.”...
Murrysville: Gingerbread house contest, Hot Chocolate Hike, ‘Santa at Sardis,’ more
Submit news briefs, event listings and more to the Murrysville Star by emailing pvarine@triblive.com. Library to host ‘Jingles’n’Gingerbread’ The Murrysville Community Library will host its annual holiday event “Jingles’n’Gingerbread” from 5 to 8 p.m. Dec. 6 at the library, 4130 Sardis Road in Murrysville. The evening will include multiple performances...
Sheraden man charged with September shooting that injured toddler
A Pittsburgh man has been arrested in connection with September shooting that injured a toddler in the city’s Sheraden neighborhood. Derrick Brandon faces charges of reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child after police say he was involved in a Sept. 26, 2021, shooting on Glasgow Street that...
TribLive Taste Test: National Baklava Day
It’s National Baklava Day! And if you’re like us, after you get through the roughly 15 pounds of gyro meat that always comes with a quality gyro, you’ve barely got enough room left for one of our favorite desserts. So today we skipped the gyro and went straight for the...
Buffalo Trace kicks off holiday round of PLCB’s rare liquor lotteries
Anyone who ever wanted tickets to a massively popular concert is familiar with the scenario: Tickets go on sale, and immediately giant blocks of them are snapped up in the first few minutes. Before the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board instituted its limited-release lotteries in 2015, the same thing happened to...
Pennsylvania will fully ban sale of Japanese barberry by fall 2023
State agriculture officials have had it with Japanese barberry. After considering it previously in 2018, Pennsylvania officials have added the invasive shrub to their list of noxious weeds, and merchants will not be permitted to sell it by the fall of 2023. The shrub is popular with landscapers. Unfortunately, it...
Missing Westmoreland County teen found to be safe, state police say
State police say a missing 13-year-old girl who had been last seen in Derry Borough has been found. Serenity Adams, 13, had been reported missing on Wednesday evening....
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...
