Patrick Varine stories, Page 128
Export officials move ahead with timbering plan for borough property in Murrysville
Export officials gave their forestry consultant the go-ahead Tuesday night to have herbicide applied to the understory of borough property off Borland Farm Road as they begin a timber management program. “We got good feedback from lumber companies, and we’re ready to move forward,” forestry consultant Dave O’Barto told council....
Derry Township tremor reclassified as mine collapse
If an earthquake happens and nobody feels it, did it really occur? Not if it turns out to be a mine collapse. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a 2.9-magnitude tremor early Tuesday, centered in an area east of Gray Station Road in Derry Township, was actually the collapse of...
Franklin Regional school director Gary English resigns
Franklin Regional school board member Gary English, who took office in January, submitted a letter of resignation on Monday prior to the board’s committee-of-the-whole meeting. English has clashed with board President Herb Yingling and other board members on a range of issues including procedure at meetings, the way public comment...
Child advocate, horse rescue ranch partner to promote healingVideo
As a survivor of child sexual abuse, Nicole Cermak of Murrysville found herself making an instant connection with Sunday, a 15-year-old mare she fed and worked with as a volunteer at the Pleasant Valley Rescue Ranch. Sunday was about to be sold to a slaughterhouse in the spring of 2017...
‘How much blood do you want on your face?’: Haunted-house performers revel in rolesVideo
“Do you want me to dress like this for the wedding?” Holli Stiltenpole asked. Fake blood was splattered all over Stiltenpole’s straitjacket, one eye appeared glazed and useless thanks to a colored contact lens and a cross was crudely “carved” into her forehead with makeup. Tiarra Shank of Ligonier started...
Sunrise Elementary staffer tests positive for covid in Penn-Trafford School District
After announcing the weeklong closure of Level Green Elementary School on Wednesday, Penn-Trafford school officials notified Sunrise Elementary parents Friday that a staff member had tested positive for covid-19. Close contacts — defined by the state Health Department as a person who was within 6 feet of a person with...
15 more covid cases reported at Westmoreland Manor; nearly a quarter of residents test positive
An additional 15 residents of Westmoreland Manor tested positive for covid-19 on Friday, according to county Commissioner Doug Chew, bringing the number of affected residents to 82. That’s nearly a quarter of the total resident population. Friday’s numbers come on top of 16 positive tests Thursday among the county-owned nursing...
National Solar Tour includes several Pittsburgh-area homeownersVideo
For Bill Spohn of Indiana Township, treading lightly when it comes to nature is a way of life he learned from having parents who lived through the Great Depression. “They didn’t have much to go around, and they kind of instilled those values in us: respect nature, pick up after...
Upcoming events in the Murrysville Star coverage area
Here are a few events coming up in the Star’s coverage area and beyond: Library will host car parade for ‘Queen of Storybooks’ The Murrysville Community Library will recognize retiring children’s services librarian Carol Siefken with an Oct. 24 car parade with a medieval theme celebrating Siefken as “The Queen...
TribLive Taste Test: McDonald’s Spicy Chicken McNuggetsVideo
As the weather got cooler, McDonald’s started heating up with the announcement that it would serve a spicy version of longstanding favorite Chicken McNuggets, along with a special “Mighty Hot Sauce,” for a limited time. TribLive Taste Test correspondent Patrick Varine is working out of “The Dungeon,” aka his basement...
Moon band Chip & the Charge Ups prepare for album-release party this weekendVideo
Chip Dominick, singer and guitarist for Pittsburgh rock group Chip & the Charge Ups, isn’t just making a band pun when he said he misses the electricity between the band and audience at live shows. “We have a passion for our music and our fans have a passion for what...
Tennis racket giveaway ‘was like Christmas morning’ for Murrysville familyVideo
Ali Maholic of Murrysville wasn’t in a position to get her daughter, Zoe, started playing tennis, much less all five of her children. So when a counselor from Heritage Elementary School called with a suggestion for a free activity the kids could try through My Ground Strokes, a program operating...
Franklin Regional to recognize senior volleyball players on Thursday
Senior members of the Franklin Regional Lady Panthers volleyball team will be recognized at the teams’ Senior Night on Thursday. As freshmen, the group watched the varsity volleyball team go 0-12. Last year, the team was undefeated in section play and advanced through two rounds of the PIAA playoffs. As...
Upcoming events in Murrysville Star coverage area
Purse bash at White Valley AMVETS The White Valley AMVETS will hold its third annual Designer Purse Bash on Oct. 4 at White Valley Park. The gates will open at noon and drawings begin at 1 p.m. Tickets are $30 and include four drawing numbers, door prizes, food and drinks....
Longtime children’s services coordinator will retire from Murrysville libraryVideo
After more than three decades as the children’s services coordinator at the Murrysville Community Library, Carol Siefken still has just as much passion as the day she started in 1987. You can hear the excitement in her voice as she rifles through drawers stuffed to the brim with supplemental materials...
Center for domestic violence victims adds new ‘animal advocate’
Penny, a spaniel mix who works as a canine advocate for domestic violence victims through Crisis Center North, is nearing retirement. She was adopted from Action for Animals in Derry Township and attends court dates with victims to provide emotional support. But before she retires, she has one more job....
TribLive Toe Test: NakeFit Sole PadsVideo
For today’s TribLive Taste Test, we abandon the tasting and go straight to the toes! That’s right, it’s a TribLive Toe Test, as staff writer Patrick Varine tries out NakeFit L’Originale, adhesive foot pads that allow the wearer to enjoy the outdoors “barefoot” with what the company bills as a...
W.Va. cabin will be reassembled this weekend in Murrysville
Pamela Barroso likes old buildings. She likes them so much, in fact, she made plans to move her second such structure — a log cabin originally set off Route 250 between Moundsville and Cameron in West Virginia — and will assemble it this weekend in Murrysville. “Both sides of my...
On the move in the Murrysville area
Mark Persichetti of Export brought home two first-place finishes at a barbecue competition held Aug. 8 and sponsored by the Export Moose Riders. Persichetti took first place in both the pork loin and people’s choice categories. • • • Grace Keibler, Jacob Ross, Caleb Scutt and Colleen Zilka of Murrysville...
Murrysville students’ shirt design wins NASA Wear Challenge competitionVideo
Murrysville residents are turning their eyes to the stars. When Pittsburgh tech company Astrobotic launches a lunar lander to the moon next summer, it will have been tested by Murrysville company Software Design Solutions. And the next time astronauts travel to the International Space Station, it’s possible they’ll be wearing...
40 years ago, reggae legend Bob Marley jammed Pittsburgh in his final concertVideo
When David Meerman Scott snuck down from the Stanley Theatre balcony to snap photos of Bob Marley’s performance 40 years ago, he was just happy to be closer to the music. “I was never rich or connected enough to have really great seats at a show,” said Scott, who at...
Trafford Road in Murrysville reopens after tractor-trailer crashVideo
Trafford Road reopened near the Murrysville/Penn Township border after a tractor-trailer crash forced a closure late Tuesday morning, emergency officials said. Initial reports indicated the trailer’s load — steel ingots to be smelted — shifted around 11:15 a.m. as it was headed south along Trafford Road near Lyons Run Road,...
Franklin Regional officials examine attendance policies in light of new education model
Franklin Regional officials are taking a deeper look at how excused absences will be recorded amid the coronavirus pandemic, after receiving several comments and questions from parents during the first weeks of school. The district is asking parents to keep children home if they exhibit any of the 13 general...
Franklin Regional board moves to make final borrowing on Sloan ‘elementary campus’ project
Franklin Regional school board members opted to move ahead with combining the final two bond issues for the Sloan “elementary campus” project into one, taking advantage of current interest rates and borrowing the final $15 million necessary to complete the work. The board’s 7-1 vote empowers bond consultant Chris Bamber,...
Council discusses development projects in southeastern Murrysville
Murrysville council will hold a public hearing next month for Hillstone Village, a proposal to build 11 carriage homes and 20 single-family homes on 37 acres near the intersection of Claridge and Harrison City roads. Bruce Corna, vice president of builder Kacin Companies, said the development would focus on “build-down”...
