Patrick Varine stories, Page 130
Franklin Regional will host homecoming prior to Friday’s game
While homecoming is a tradition at high schools and colleges across the U.S., there’s not likely to be anything traditional about it this year, given the additional health and safety guidelines in place during the coronavirus pandemic. At Franklin Regional, the homecoming ceremony Friday night, including crowning of the queen...
Historic Delmont ‘traffic dummy’ on display at Greensburg Street park
Delmont residents passing by the Rose Wigfield Parklet in recent weeks may have noticed a stone pillar, with a small glass fixture set into a spherical opening, has been moved to a much more prominent spot. While it certainly bears little resemblance to its modern cousins, the pillar controlled traffic...
Covid-19 numbers tallied for Penn-Trafford area
The most recent state data show fewer than 250 people in the Penn-Trafford Star’s coverage area have had confirmed cases of coronavirus since the start of the international pandemic in March, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The health department on Monday released data showing 242 confirmed cases of...
Covid-19 numbers tallied for Murrysville-Delmont-Export area
The most recent state data show less than 160 people in the Murrysville Star’s coverage area have had confirmed cases of coronavirus since the start of the international pandemic in March, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The health department on Monday released data showing there were 159 confirmed...
Franklin Regional adds some flexibility to attendance policy for covid-cautious absences
Franklin Regional officials have updated the district’s attendance procedures to give students more academic flexibility, if parents choose to keep them home over potential covid-19 symptoms. The district has come in for criticism from some parents since the start of school, for encouraging students to stay home if they think...
Pittsburgh-area man found safe after search in Keystone State Park
A Pittsburgh-area man who was reported missing Saturday evening in Keystone State Park in Derry Township was found Sunday night, a state police spokesman said. Search dog teams, dive crews and state police spent Sunday searching for Donald A. Metzger, 39, of Ross. He was found Sunday, Trooper Steve Limani...
Virtual Zumba session will benefit breast cancer nonprofit
When Jocelyn Blystone of McMurray was diagnosed with breast cancer a little less than three years ago, the 33-year-old Zumba instructor found a tremendous amount of support in the community of people attending her classes. “They really rallied around me, and we decided to put this hobby to good use,”...
‘Amazing Trail Race’ raises money for Heritage Trail events, maintenanceVideo
Lisa Lotito, vice president at the Level Green Community Women’s Club, was already a big fan of both the Westmoreland Heritage Trail, and CBS show “The Amazing Race.” And when she heard that trail officials were thinking of hosting a trail scavenger hunt for children, it dovetailed perfectly with an...
School districts re-examine attendance policies amid new educational model
School districts throughout the region are asking families to act with an abundance of caution when it comes to students exhibiting potential covid-19 symptoms. If a student is showing any of the 13 symptoms closely associated with the virus, districts are asking parents to keep them home. That didn’t work...
Virtual 5K draws awareness for World Mental Health DayVideo
Every year the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ Keystone Pennsylvania chapter raises awareness about mental health issues and raises money to address them through its NAMIWalks 5K. This year, the event will be virtual, with participants choosing their own activities, rather than the traditional 5K walk at Monroeville Community Park....
Upcoming events in the Murrysville Star’s coverage area
Murrysville Halloween parade canceled The Rotary Club of Murrysville-Export has officially canceled this year’s Halloween parade due to health and safety concerns associated with the coronavirus pandemic. Library will host car parade for ‘Queen of Storybooks’ The Murrysville Community Library will recognize retiring children’s services librarian Carol Siefken with an...
Murrysville Council explores special tax levy for fire company equipment, repairs
Over the summer and at previous Murrysville Council meetings, Chief Administrator Jim Morrison noted that the municipality will need to identify new revenue sources to provide the same level of services residents now enjoy. That extends to emergency services as well, and council on Wednesday discussed a proposed ordinance to...
Mt. Pleasant gazebo decked out for breast cancer awareness fundraiserVideo
Not long after Val Tressler was diagnosed with breast cancer, she decided she needed to get to work not only helping herself but others as well. “I was diagnosed at 43, and I have a mother I lost to breast cancer and an aunt who is also a survivor,” Tressler...
Export Council notes: Borough moves ahead with Halloween parade plans
The borough and fire department will go ahead with the borough’s annual Halloween parade, set for Friday, Oct. 30, but the post-parade socializing and hot dogs at the firehall will not take place this year for health and safety reasons. Registration for the parade will begin at 5 p.m. outside...
Murrysville FlexScreen owner enters equity partnership with ‘Shark Tank’ investorVideo
When Joe Altieri was in his Plum garage working on a prototype for a flexible window screen, his vision was to build a successful business. Getting that business, FlexScreen, to the point where he could garner rapid interest from multiple investors on ABC’s “Shark Tank” turned out to be icing...
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...
