Patrick Varine stories, Page 112
‘Paw Patrol’ pups star in their own feature film this AugustVideo
I thought we had moved beyond the “Paw Patrol” phase in my household. Oh, certainly, we had the Paw Patroller, the mobile tactical vehicle that a group of small dogs without thumbs somehow manages to drive. We had at least three versions of my now-8-year-old son’s favorite member of the...
Scouting family from Murrysville helps others find their way through park trailsVideo
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 tennis club looks to add outdoor courts, host sanctioned tournaments
The Murrysville Racquet Club would like to add a half-dozen outdoor courts to its Norbatrol Court property, giving it the ability to host U.S. Tennis Association tournaments. “We’re looking to have six courts because that’s the standard by which the USTA governs the type of tournaments they’d like to host,”...
Murrysville-area news and briefs for the week of June 3, 2021
Here are just some of the things happening in the Star’s coverage area in the coming weeks. To submit an event or a news brief, email pvarine@triblive.com. Veteran banner sales in Delmont Delmont officials are accepting additional requests for veteran banners to be hung in the borough. Banners are $105...
Turnpike engineer: Next leg of Mon Fayette Expressway likely to start construction next year
The Pennsylvania Turnpike’s chief engineer said roughly $1 billion in funding is in place to continue the Mon-Fayette Expressway from Route 51 to Route 837. It’s a project whose first phase is set to begin next year and last until 2027. The turnpike commission is finishing up work on the...
3 cases added to Murrysville-Export-Delmont covid tally in past week
The most recent data from the state Department of Health shows 1,497 coronavirus cases in the Murrysville area since the pandemic started in March 2020. In the past week, three new cases were reported. The health department this week released updated figures for the three ZIP codes that comprise the...
Penn-Trafford video production students earn 3rd ‘Best Newscast’ award in 4 yearsVideo
If the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences had a category for overcoming adversity, students and staff from Penn-Trafford High School’s video production program probably would have won that award as well. Instead, they had to settle for being named best newscast for the third time in the past...
2-car crash briefly closes Route 30 in Hempfield
Two people were taken by ambulance from the scene of a two-car crash shortly before noon Friday on Route 30 in Hempfield, fire officials said. The crash involving an Equinox sport utility vehicle and a Subaru was reported around 11:45 a.m. at the West Road intersection with eastbound Route 30,...
News and briefs from the greater Murrysville area for the week of May 27, 2021
Townsend Park concert schedule announced The Murrysville Recreation Department has released the schedule for its summer concert series, “Tuesdays at Townsend,” taking place at Townsend Park. The free concerts will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the park, and each concert will also include regional food trucks and breweries:...
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announces reopening, improvements at Western Pa., West Virginia sites
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District is announcing the reopening of select facilities at district-managed sites in anticipation of the 2021 recreation season. “We invite the public to come out and safely enjoy our beautiful reservoirs and parks. Our rangers and resource managers across the district have done...
Signature Dishes: Wade’s brings made-to-order doughnuts to Export’s breakfast tableVideo
This is part of an ongoing series highlighting Signature Dishes at locally owned restaurants in the region. See Trib Total Media’s new online directory of restaurants, Dine Local, at dinelocal.triblive.com. If too much business is a problem, Karen Wade and her husband, Alan, were on the verge of having a...
Murrysville family’s story highlights importance of public adoptionsVideo
Theresa Gutierrez has a lot of love to give. After losing her husband nearly a decade ago, Gutierrez raised her eldest daughter, now in her mid-20s, and her son Brandon, who is now 16. Just about a year ago, Theresa and Brandon welcomed 10-year-old Phillip into their home, and as...
Pittsburgh police arrest suspect in Downtown bank robbery
Pittsburgh police have arrested man in connection with a Downtown bank robbery Wednesday afternoon. Dante Engram, 33, address unknown, was arrested following the robbery, reported around noon on the 900 block of Fifth Avenue. A witness told police a man had walked into the bank with a note, then left...
Murrysville-Export-Delmont covid figures tallied for the week of May 26, 2021
The most recent data from the state Department of Health shows 1,494 coronavirus cases in the Murrysville area since the pandemic started in March 2020. In the past week, four new cases were reported. The health department this week released updated figures for the three ZIP codes that comprise the...
Franklin Regional begins making plans for return to normalcy in 2021-2022 school year
Franklin Regional School Board members were briefed Monday night on what Superintendent Gennaro Piraino hopes will be a return to some semblance of normalcy, after more than a full school year completed under covid-related restrictions. Piraino said the strategy will be to keep options open for district families. “Right now,...
St. Benedict the Moor moves to remote learning due to covid cases
Saint Benedict the Moor Elementary School in Pittsburgh’s Hill District will close through Memorial Day because of five positive covid cases in the past eight days. School families were notified of the situation and will be updated through the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. “With the unpredictable nature of covid-19 and...
No injuries following 4-alarm fire at Monroeville bike shop
Route 22 eastbound was reduced to one lane until about 8 p.m. Tuesday evening in Monroeville, after a four-alarm fire at Pro Bike+Run in the Miracle Mile shopping plaza. Monroeville No. 1 Chief Jason Sonafelt said the fire was reported around 3:50 p.m. and that all three businesses in the...
Penn Middle Drama Club will stream spring musical, ‘Annie Jr.’
Students in Penn Middle School’s Drama Club are preparing to stream two weekends of “Annie Jr.,” and it’s been a sprint from the start, according to club sponsor Sharon Wiant. “We started very late,” Wiant said. “Normally, we start in January and we usually need every bit of that time....
Monessen mayor’s Sunshine Act lawsuit targets city’s redevelopment authority
After being the target of three lawsuits related to potential Sunshine Act violations at a January 2020 council meeting, Monessen Mayor Matt Shorraw has sued the men involved in two of those lawsuits — including one who was a political opponent in last week’s primary election — claiming they are...
Plum artist’s work will be featured at ESAL gallery space in Murrysville library
Clare Mears Stefanini began painting when she was in college at the University of North Carolina’s Wilmington campus. She eventually decided to major in art, and a group of her pieces will be on display throughout June in Murrysville. Stefanini joined the East Suburban Artists League this past winter, and...
Hempfield’s St. Emma Monastery continues food-fair tradition started during pandemicVideo
The Benedictine nuns of St. Emma Monastery in Hempfield may technically be cloistered, but by May 2020, they were just as anxious as everyone else to get back outside. With covid-19 case counts rising and falling, they needed a way to safely provide social distancing — so they settled on...
Murrysville to evaluate permanent fixes for Logan’s Ferry, Heather Highlands bridges
Murrysville officials would like to build on a 2018 study of the Logan’s Ferry bridge intersection and begin evaluating permanent fixes for there and the Heather Highlands bridge. “We have a major problem with several bridges,” Jim Morrison, chief administrator, told council this week. “They’re required to be inspected annually....
Memorial Day events will include return of parade, rededication of Export veterans’ monumentVideo
After a 2020 Memorial Day that was pared back because of covid-19 concerns, the White Valley AMVETS and local American Legions will bring back their full slate of events this year, including the rededication of the Export veterans’ memorial, recently relocated closer to the Westmoreland Heritage trail. Work crews from...
Protect PT appeals fracking well-pad approvals to Pa. Supreme Court
The citizen group Protect PT’s argument for why zoning hearing board decisions allowing additional gas well fracking in Penn Township should be overturned contained a number of elements, but focused on a central question. Should a legal body be permitted to simply declare that an expert witness’s testimony is not...
Oak Street in Irwin used for ‘Quadfather’ film shootVideo
Dominick Domasky of Greensburg is in the inspiration business. Whether it takes the form of books, motivational speaking or, on Thursday night, film-making in downtown Irwin, Domasky’s Motivation Champs company “shares inspiration, positivity and smiles 24/7, and helps other people do the same,” he said. One of Domasky’s clients is...
