Patrick Varine stories, Page 112
PennDOT prepares for Coxcomb Hill Road closure in Plum
PennDOT officials are preparing for a drainage improvement and shoulder reconstruction project in Plum that will close a 1-mile stretch of Coxcomb Hill Road beginning Monday, May 24. Work between Kerr Road and Logans Ferry Road is anticipated to begin next week, according to PennDOT District 11 spokesman Steve Cowan....
Gateway Education Association calls for a strike as contract negotiations linger for more than a year
Gateway School District’s teachers’ union has threatened to go on strike beginning May 24, according to union officials. The Gateway Education Association notified Superintendent William Short on Tuesday morning that a strike will begin next Monday if a tentative agreement has not been reached. The district and association have been...
No injuries as truck crashes into ditch on Route 366 in Washington Township
No one was injured Monday afternoon when a tractor-trailer cab ran off Route 366 and landed in a ditch in Washington Township. The crash was reported shortly after 2:45 p.m., according to a Westmoreland County 911 supervisor. The truck, which was not hauling a load, broke through a guardrail and...
Murrysville-Export-Delmont covid figures tallied for the week of May 17, 2021
The most recent data from the state Department of Health shows 1,490 coronavirus cases in the Murrysville area since the pandemic started in March 2020. In the past week, 13 new cases were reported. The health department this week released updated figures for the three ZIP codes that comprise the...
Marvel’s measured progression into weirdness has us ready for ‘Loki’Video
*** WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE *** You like Loki. I like Loki. Everyone likes Loki. One of the many tricks Marvel’s Cinematic Universe has pulled over its first several phases is making the smarmy villain into an endearing scamp whose death in “Avengers: Infinity War” was...
Franklin Regional life-skills students use mobile kiosk to take entrepreneurship on the road
Teachers in the Franklin Regional School District are slowly but surely creating a small army of entrepreneurs and skilled workers through programs funded by the nonprofit Franklin Regional Panther Foundation. The foundation’s first $12,000 grant in 2017 helped establish the FR Panther Shop, where life-skills students in the Work Exploration...
‘Hair metal’ stadium tour featuring Motley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett postponed to 2022
If you wanted to pour some sugar on your significant other during the Def Leppard show at PNC Park this summer, you’ll have to wait a little bit longer. The stadium tour featuring classic-era “hair-metal” bands Motley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, has been rescheduled...
Walmart, Sam’s Club to begin offering youth vaccinations
Following recommendation by the Federal Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control, Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacy locations will be extending its vaccine supply to children ages 12 to 15, company officials announced Friday. “This is great news, not just for the newly eligible cohort, but for the entire...
Teen dies nearly 2 years after he was shot at the 2019 Fourth of July celebration in Pittsburgh
A Beaver County teen who was shot while attending Pittsburgh’s 2019 Fourth of July fireworks celebration downtown has died. Keyari A. Wynn, 18, of Aliquippa, was 16 years old when he and another teen were shot near Agnes R. Katz Plaza at Penn Avenue and Seventh Street as crowds were...
Senate bill would let residents donate to breast cancer research when renewing driver’s licensesVideo
When state Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward revealed this week that she’d been diagnosed with stage-one breast cancer late last year, she hoped she could use her position to help women both prevent and battle the disease. Her colleagues helped take a step in that direction, unanimously passing a bill...
Protect PT will appeal fracking decision to Pa. Supreme Court
Environmental group Protect PT is expected to make its case to state’s highest court next week, arguing that zoning board decisions allowing additional gas well fracking in Penn Township should be overturned. The hearing is set for 10 a.m. May 19, and will be streamed live at ProtectPT.org. Protect PT...
Murrysville area charges filed for the week of May 12, 2021
The following charges have been filed in Export District Judge Charles Conway’s court. All charges are filed by Murrysville police, except where otherwise noted. All individuals have the right to a preliminary hearing and are innocent unless proven guilty before a judge in Westmoreland County Court. Charges filed • Carley...
News and events in the greater Murrysville area, May 14, 2021, and beyond
The following news and events are happening in the Star’s coverage area. To submit briefs or upcoming events, email pvarine@triblive.com. ^ Memorial Day car show returns The Manordale Knights of Columbus group will host its fourth Memorial Day car show from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., May 31 at St....
Franklin Regional Middle School will stage families-only performance of ‘Annie Jr.’Video
It will be restricted to family members, but eighth-graders in Franklin Regional Middle School’s performing arts program will get a chance to stage their spring musical, “Annie Jr.,” later this month. For teachers involved with the production like Bruce Palmiscno and Brandi Crissman, it’s a chance to pick up where...
Infant showing ‘signs of improvement’ after falling into 55-gallon fish tank at Murrysville home
A 9-month-old boy showed signs of improvement late last night after falling into a 55-gallon fish tank at a home, Murrysville police said Wednesday. Shortly after 6 p.m., emergency crews responded to the home in the 5200 block of Sardis Road after the infant had been pulled out of the...
Artists expand their palettes during pandemic, just in time for ‘Art of the State’ competition
At the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, people across the globe found themselves with a bit of extra time on their hands, and many used it to try something new — baking bread for the first time, or learning a skill they couldn’t make time for normally. The State Museum...
Forbes Road reopening in Monroeville pushed back to Thursday
After a four-month delay and a restart of the project in March, Forbes Road will reopen on Thursday following a $1.34 million landslide repair project, PennDOT officials said Tuesday. The road was expected to reopen today, Wednesday, but PennDOT Spokesman Steve Cowan said paving equipment issues forced a brief delay....
Citizen group appeals to Commonwealth Court to overturn Murrysville fracking ordinance
The Murrysville Watch Committee, a citizen group seeking to overturn the municipality’s unconventional gas drilling ordinance, had its appeal heard this week by the state’s Commonwealth Court. The hearing began with attorney John Smith, representing the Watch Committee, requesting that Commonwealth Court Judge Drew Crompton recuse himself from the proceeding....
State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward reveals breast cancer diagnosis
State Sen. Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, revealed Tuesday that she has undergone treatment for stage-one breast cancer for several months and soon will undergo surgery with the hopes of preventing the disease from returning. Ward said she learned of the diagnosis in December, weeks after she won reelection and made history...
Work starts on paver pathway for Delmont Library’s Outdoor Learning CenterVideo
Delmont Public Library officials were hoping members of the public would buy 250 pavers to help them pay for a pathway connecting the elements in their Outdoor Learning Center. Instead, the public bought nearly 400, and on Monday morning, work was already underway. “We’ll have about 4,000 pavers,” Grassel said....
Murrysville-Export-Delmont covid figures tallied for the week of May 10, 2021
The most recent data from the state Department of Health shows 1,477 coronavirus cases in the Murrysville area since the pandemic started in March 2020. In the past week, 15 new cases were reported. The health department this week released updated figures for the three ZIP codes that comprise the...
Trib earns 26 Keystone Awards, top honor for ‘Tragedy at Brighton’Video
The Tribune-Review received 26 Keystone Press Awards in the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association’s annual competition, including its most prestigious recognition, the G. Richard Dew Award, for its “Tragedy at Brighton” project. The Dew Award is presented to a news organization or individual across all circulation categories that has made an outstanding...
Pittsburgh Youth Chorus creates original piece, ‘Under One Sky,’ to wrap up year of virtual singingVideo
It’s been over a year of challenges for anyone who spends time singing in public. The Pittsburgh Youth Chorus is no exception, but its members are finishing 12 months of virtual rehearsals with an original song. The nonprofit PYC premiered its newest virtual choir video, “Under One Sky,” composed by...
Murrysville administrator: Jake brakes are ‘a necessary evil’
Jake brakes on large commercial hauling trucks may not be music to the ears, but according to Murrysville Chief Administrator Jim Morrison, they’re “a necessary evil.” Morrison was responding to recent complaints about rigs using their jake brakes on Route 22. “When you have trucks coming down Route 22 doing...
Superintendents call on General Assembly to back Gov. Wolf’s education budget proposal
If the $1.3 billion investment in education comes through that Gov. Tom Wolf included in his proposed state budget, it would just about make up for the increased costs Pennsylvania schools are set to absorb between this and next school year, according to Jamie Baxter, policy director for nonprofit Allies...
