Patrick Varine stories, Page 124
Murrysville still seeking consultant for amphitheater project
Officials on Wednesday will consider advertising a more specific request for a consultant to help plan an outdoor amphitheater near Murrysville Community Park. Despite a $299,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, council members opted to delay construction of the amphitheater last spring, in part due...
Beat the winter blues with wildlife and Westmoreland’s beautiful viewsVideo
The winter of 2021 is shaping up to look much like the spring, summer and fall of 2020 — at least when it comes to most forms of in-person socializing. But one place that has remained safe for activity throughout the pandemic has been the great outdoors, and that certainly...
Temporary waiver will allow qualified pharmacists to order, administer covid vaccines
Referring to pharmacies as “critical public health partners” in Pennsylvania’s plan to increase access to covid-19 vaccines, Gov. Tom Wolf approved a temporary waiver to allow state-licensed pharmacists to order and administer the shots once the vaccine is widely available. “Many Pennsylvanians will go to their local pharmacy for vaccination,”...
Amerisafe brings ‘hugging station’ to Redstone Highlands in Murrysville
Amerisafe workers brought their “hugging station” to Redstone Highlands in Murrysville recently. The station — where the company and center staff set up dual plastic sheeting over a doorway — comes equipped with “sleeves” to allow residents to interact with family, giving many the chance to hug a loved one...
Murrysville-area happenings, Jan. 23 and beyond
Jan. 23 food drive at high school Franklin Regional junior Garrett Deller decided late last year to take his volunteer service with the Westmoreland County Food Bank to the next level, joining with fellow National Honor Society students to host a biweekly food drive at the Westmoreland Farms clubhouse. Deller...
Murrysville area police blotter, Jan. 14
Charges filed with Export District Judge Charles Conway’s District Court. All persons charged have the right to a preliminary hearing and are innocent until proven guilty or pleading guilty before a judge in the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas. • Collins Yochembeng, 31, of Penn Hills, with driving under...
Franklin Regional student, volunteer groups battle food insecurity
Franklin Regional junior Garrett Deller decided late last year to take his volunteer service with the Westmoreland County Food Bank to the next level, joining with fellow National Honor Society students to host a biweekly food drive at the Westmoreland Farms clubhouse. Deller said his goal was to arrange for...
Delmont to begin next round of pollution-reduction improvements
Delmont Council on Tuesday hired a company to help implement its 2021 and 2022 pollution-reduction plan that is required by the county and state. Communities with municipal separate storm sewer systems, or MS4s, are required to obtain an MS4 permit. Those communities are also required to come up with a...
Franklin Regional students sign petition requesting more support from district
Franklin Regional school officials are asking for feedback from students about this year’s educational model, a few days after a Change.org petition titled “Franklin Regional Students Need Support” garnered more than 1,000 signatures online. High school Principal Ron Suvak said students would receive a form on Tuesday “seeking feedback on...
Covid numbers tallied for Murrysville-Export-Delmont area
The most recent data from the state Department of Health shows just under 1,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Murrysville area since the pandemic started in March. Of those 999 positive results, 67 cases were reported in the past seven days. The health department on Monday released figures for...
Grant-funded retrofits allow stormwater ponds to ‘do more of the heavy lifting’
Getting the most bang for your buck is not just a good operating philosophy, but it also is a good way to attract interest from those doling out grant money. Boosting the efficiency of stormwater detention ponds has translated into nearly $375,000 in grants for the Westmoreland Conservation District, going...
From high school dropout to $3M venture, Derry native launches gamer coaching platformVideo
When Josh Fabian dropped out of high school in Derry and moved out of his parents’ home all before the age of 18, he wasn’t expecting a career in web design to fall into his lap. He certainly wasn’t expecting to be heading up a gamer coaching company that’s attracted...
Greensburg Salem foundation targets hybrid learning needs
Members of the Greensburg Salem Education Foundation were already hard at work raising money for classroom grants before the covid-19 crisis began. That made it easy to pivot a bit and focus their efforts this year on supplying educators with the tools they’d need to teach in a new hybrid...
Covid numbers tallied for Penn-Trafford-Jeannette area
The Penn-Trafford-Jeannette area saw an 8% jump in confirmed covid cases over the past week, with the addition of 107 cases, based on data from the state Department of Health. The health department counted 1,417 confirmed covid cases in the six ZIP codes covering much of the three communities as...
Murrysville-area happenings, Jan. 7 and beyondVideo
Submit news items and event listings by emailing staff writer Patrick Varine at pvarine@triblive.com. FR students keep busy over the holiday season From a school-suggested snow-sculpture contest to a virtual “Art-a-Palooza” to elementary students’ strong showing at this year’s “Invention Convention” science competition, Panther students have found new and diverse...
Amerisafe will bring ‘hugging station’ to Redstone Highlands in Murrysville
Last week, Amerisafe Vice President of Consultations Del Kubeldis was at a “hugging station” event at Redstone Highlands in Greensburg — where the company sets up a plastic doorway barrier through which senior residents and their family members can safely interact — when he saw something that truly touched him....
Suspect arrested in connection with North Huntingdon woman’s fatal shooting
Allegheny County sheriffs apprehended an Arlington Heights man on Tuesday who is suspected in the fatal shooting of a North Huntingdon woman in early December. Jerrel Ingram, 32, was wanted on an arrest warrant for his alleged involvement in a Dec. 5 shoot-out outside the True Diamonds Night Club, which...
Export council looks at tightening up rental inspections
Export officials want a clearer picture of who’s moving in and out of town, particularly when it comes to rental properties. Borough council on Tuesday asked solicitor Wes Long to bring back language tightening up the requirements for occupancy permits and rental inspections. Council President Barry Delissio said only about...
PWSA donates $250K to nonprofit as part of lead violation settlement
Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is following through on a settlement it reached in July to resolve violations of Pennsylvania’s Safe Drinking Water Act. As part of the settlement, PWSA agreed to donate $250,000 to Women for a Healthy Environment, a nonprofit that will use the money to offer free...
Covid numbers tallied for Murrysville-Export-Delmont area
The most recent data from the state Department of Health shows 933 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Murrysville area since the pandemic started in March. Of those, 50 cases were reported in the past seven days. The health department on Monday released figures for the three ZIP codes that...
Delmont neighborhood’s decorating fundraiser nets more than $15K for library, Project Bundle UpVideo
After the first night of their holiday decorating fundraiser — one that jammed up traffic along Route 66 for hours last month — the residents of Delmont’s Monticello neighborhood started texting one another to see how the night went. “The sheer total of cars let us know (the total) was...
Food bank student volunteer organizes collection drives of his own in Murrysville
Garrett Deller of Murrysville was volunteering with the Westmoreland County Food Bank through his membership in the Franklin Regional National Honor Society, but the high school junior decided he wanted to take it a step farther. “One of the older volunteers mentioned that donations were down because of the covid...
Study: U.S. covid patients face more mental health issues; Excela Health bracing for uptickVideo
Researchers at the University of Oxford published a study reporting the first large-scale evidence that covid-19 survivors are at increased risk of anxiety or depression. The study looked at electronic health records for 69 million U.S. residents, including more than 62,000 covid-19 cases. In the three months following a positive...
Drivers not using E-ZPass will absorb a 51% PA Turnpike rate hike in 2021
Pennsylvania Turnpike toll increases announced last year will take effect just after midnight Sunday, Jan. 3, and if you’re not using the state’s E-ZPass program, the hike will be a steep one. Over the summer, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved a 6% hike for all E-ZPass rates systemwide, along with...
Penn-Trafford students nominated for National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awardVideo
Last spring, two groups of Penn-Trafford High School video production students tied for first place in the National Academy of Television Arts & Science regional competition. Now, one of those groups will compete for a national NATAS Student Production Award. Junior Emily Coles and 2020 graduate Madison Pleins’ news segment,...
