Patrick Varine stories, Page 135
Penn State Extension plans online series on creating food plots for deer
Hunters who create food plots are not just looking to bring deer to an area with a good food source. They’re also playing a key role in sustainability, helping along the next generation of fawns. Penn State Extension officials will host a four-week webinar series on food plots beginning Wednesday....
Photos: Franklin Regional holds phased commencement ceremony
Franklin Regional seniors from the Class of 2020 got a chance to celebrate their high school education on Friday, July 24, during phased commencement ceremonies at Panther Stadium in Murrysville. Do you have photos from graduation? Submit them to pvarine@triblive.com and we’ll add them to the gallery! Please include a...
Murrysville travel ball teams seeing success in covid-shortened season
When Mike Ruane of the Franklin Regional Haymakers 11U travel ball team hit a walk-off home run to win the Mt. Lebanon 11U-A Tournament on July 26, circumstances would typically dictate a crowd of teammates waiting for him at home plate. The 2020 travel ball season has been anything but...
Murrysville, McCandless ranked among safest towns by security company
Murrysville and McCandless are among the top 50 safest cities in the U.S., according to the latest rankings from home security and safety advisory company SafeWise. Pennsylvania makes the list several times, with seven towns among SafeWise’s top 50 including Buckingham Township (11), Upper Saucon Township (27), Upper Allen Township...
Virtual retreat equips Western Pa. teachers with tools for online education
When the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools across the nation, it wasn’t just students and parents who were tossed headlong into a brand-new challenge. Many teachers, counselors and principals faced the same dilemma. “All of a sudden, we found ourselves having to write game plans and blueprints for something that...
Nature education serves as inspiration for Penn Hills womanVideo
During her junior year in high school, Nyjah Cephas said she wouldn’t really have described herself as a “school kid.” But when The Ellis School’s long-standing partnership with Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy brought her to Frick Park for a few stewardship days, something clicked. “I could have some experiential learning and...
Penn-Trafford Drama Guild will stream showcase of spring musical tunesVideo
In early March, just a couple of weeks before the curtain was set to rise on the Penn-Trafford Drama Guild’s production of “Footloose,” musical sponsor Jen Haberberger wasn’t thinking about the coronavirus. She certainly wasn’t thinking about using pool noodles to properly social-distance students at rehearsals. “We would’ve started technical...
Medical study is seeking people who may have tick immunity or resistanceVideo
Jason Bobe is looking for a few of what he calls “medical superheroes.” Bobe, an associate professor in the genetics and genome science department at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, is part of Mount Sinai’s Resilience Project. It seeks to find people who,...
Indiana scammer to pay refunds for phony NFL, concert tickets
The state Attorney General reached a settlement with an Indiana County business that repeatedly scammed customers by selling phony tickets to NFL games and Pittsburgh-area concerts. The settlement with Ticket Victory of Indiana, owned by Brian Plowcha and operated between 2015-2018, will pay back more than $24,000 in consumer restitution,...
Pa. sees 1st West Nile case of the year in Potter County
Pennsylvania recorded its first probable human case of West Nile Virus this year, according to state health officials. A resident of Potter County was tested for the virus, with samples sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation. The state recorded seven cases of West Nile in...
Murrysville company will help test systems for lunar lander
In the summer of 2021, Pittsburgh tech company Astrobotic plans to launch an unmanned lunar landing mission after being awarded a contract by NASA. But before that can happen, someone needs to make sure all of the lander’s systems are functioning correctly and working in concert with one another. That’s...
McKeesport homicide suspect arrested by U.S. marshals in Chicago
U.S. marshals have arrested a woman accused of killing a 29-year-old Pittsburgh woman last month in McKeesport. Gabrielle Parker, 33, of McKeesport, was arrested Wednesday in Chicago, according to U.S. Marshal Michael Baughman. Parker is charged with homicide following an early morning shooting June 18 in the 500 block of...
Murrysville approves ordinance regulating 5G cell towers
Murrysville Council has approved an ordinance regulating small-wireless facilities, the infrastructure necessary to bring 5G service to the area. 5G is the fifth generation of cellular service, which companies began rolling out in 2019. The Federal Communications Commission in 2018 set out a timeline requiring towns to make space available...
Franklin Regional plans 2-phase graduation ceremony for Friday
Franklin Regional seniors will get an opportunity to walk onto the Panther Stadium field as part of a two-phase graduation ceremony set for Friday evening in Murrysville. The first ceremony, scheduled to start at 5 p.m., will be for students whose last name begins with A through K. A second...
Pennsylvania hopes to encourage 10,000 landowners to create stream-side buffersVideo
The riparian buffer at the headwaters of Steele’s Run in Murrysville mostly offers aesthetic benefits. But, each year, its physical value will continue to grow as it protects the cold-water fishery stream from erosion, provides shade, cools the stream and offers a habitat for native wildlife. Officials with the state’s...
Former Pa. senator sentenced to prison for child pornography possession
A former state senator from Lebanon County was sentenced to one to two years in prison for possessing child pornography and related offenses, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday. Mike Folmer was charged in September 2019 after an online tip led investigators to discover images of child pornography on...
Movers: Murrysville AAUW names new officers for 2020-21
The Murrysville Area chapter of AAUW announced its executive board for 2020-21. Janet Sutton will serve as president, Diane Conway will continue as programs vice-president, Carol Gezon will continue as finance officer, Laura Livingston will serve as membership vice-president and Diane Kaufmann will serve as secretary. Outgoing officers include Celine...
Connellsville chamber cancels ‘Savor the Avenue’
The Greater Connellsville Chamber of Commerce will cancel the Savor the Avenue “Celebrating the Jewel of the Yough” event originally scheduled for Aug. 6, due to ongoing public health risks associated with covid-19. “The safety and health of our guests and restaurant staff comes first,” chamber officials wrote in a...
Pennsylvania offers grants to help preserve, inventory historical records
As an Export councilwoman and a member of the borough’s historical society, Melanie Litz has access to a treasure trove of the town’s history. She has handwritten letters of interest for council seats when the borough’s independent government was being formed in 1911. She has council’s original handwritten book of...
Murrysville man builds period-appropriate Export mine cart replica using actual wheelsVideo
About three decades ago, Greensburg attorney Wes Long discovered a set of mine cart wheels on his property along Kemerer Hollow Road, near the former Skelly mine. Long had the wheels sandblasted and cleaned up, and held onto them as a piece of local history. Now, those wheels are part...
Nonprofit has recruited 31,000 volunteers willing to undergo human challenge covid-19 vaccination trial
A grassroots group of scientists and researchers has brought together more than 31,000 volunteers worldwide — including from Western Pennsylvania — who are willing to take part in a human challenge trial to test potential covid-19 vaccines. A human challenge trial in this case would involve participants being administered a...
Murrysville Meals on Wheels seeking volunteers for kitchen, delivery service
The covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on Murrysville Meals on Wheels, though it has been out of precaution rather than infection. “Because of the crisis, we lost about a third of our volunteers,” said program coordinator Lynn Staab. Murrysville Meals on Wheels typically draws from a pool of about...
Tennis nonprofit delays racket giveaway following regional covid-19 uptickVideo
Anup Nadesan and Joseph Bonfiglio started their tennis nonprofit, My Ground Strokes, about a year ago, and they were getting ready for a summer full of activity just as the covid-19 pandemic began ramping up. In April, Nadesan decided to bake nut bread and distribute it to front-line health care...
Butler man sentenced to 6 years in federal prison on drug, weapon charges
A Butler man has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison after a conviction on federal drug and weapons laws, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady announced Wednesday. Brandon “Bopp” Morris, 35, of Butler, according to court documents, provided three “bricks” of heroin and an ounce of crack cocaine to...
Apple ‘n Arts plans to scale back fall festival
While a final decision has not been made yet, organizers for the annual Apple ’n Arts Festival are considering paring it back to an apple cider drive-thru this year due to the covid-19 pandemic and the ever-evolving health and safety guidelines associated with it. Festival officials on Tuesday night laid...
