Patrick Varine stories, Page 159
‘God’s blessing’: Murrysville family farm predates AmericaVideo
The Murrysville land farmed by Herb Gearhard and his family is older than America. The Gearhard farm, the oldest continuously worked farm in Westmoreland County, dates to the late 1760s, and marks its 250th anniversary this year. On April 3, 1769, Robert Hays paid 45 pounds, two shillings and sixpence...
Driller, public health consultant debate correlation-versus-causation at fracking hearing
Laura Dagley, a medical advocacy coordinator with Physicians for Social Responsibility’s Pennsylvania branch, could not say hydraulic fracturing operations directly cause negative health effects on nearby residents. But she said it is difficult to ignore the strong correlation that many studies have shown between a fracking operation’s arrival and an...
16-year-old earns National Merit Scholarship following freshman year at Carnegie Mellon
For Carnegie Mellon University students in the “Fundamentals of Programming and Computer Science” course, it may have taken a little time to adjust to a teaching assistant two years their junior. On the other side of the equation, that 16-year-old teaching assistant, Elena Swecker of Murrysville, was also adjusting to...
Murrysville concert to revive spirit of late ’60s with a celebration of Woodstock
Fifty years ago, a half-million people gathered on a farm in Bethel, N.Y., for an event billed as “3 Days of Peace & Music.” The Woodstock Music & Art Fair, held Aug. 15-17, 1969, holds a special place among the cultural events that shaped America. University of Pittsburgh senior lecturer...
Stage Right to host auditions for 2019-20 professional season
In its 2019-20 performance season, Stage Right’s Greensburg theater company will have audiences partying under the sea, doing a dance called the “Time Warp” and delivering newspapers in turn-of-the-century New York City. But first, they’ll need some actors. Auditions for the upcoming season will take place Aug. 24 at the...
Export will target illicit stormwater connections along Italy Road
The next step in Export’s long-term flood control plan is to remove any storm water connections along Italy Road that empty into the borough’s sewage system. And borough officials have to get it done by January 2020. “I think that’s going to be a major issue,” Councilman John Nagoda said....
Halloween Hustle 5K proposes shift from Murrysville to Export
This year’s Halloween Hustle 5K will move from Murrysville to Export. The race is hosted by the East Suburban Trailblazers, an inclusive running club associated with East Suburban Citizen Advocacy. “We’d like to have this year’s 5K on the (Westmoreland) Heritage Trail,” said Trailblazers member Megan Nelson. “Usually, we’ve held...
Export officials review timbering plan for Murrysville property
Before Export officials begin selectively timbering property the borough owns in Murrysville, they want to make sure they are getting enough bang for their buck. The financial benefits of starting a timber management program on the borough’s roughly 74-acre property on Borland Farm Road have been called into question. The...
Bedford County man charged with sale of guns stolen from federal custody
A Bedford County man has been charged in connection with the theft and sale of multiple guns from a federal facility. Richard A. Schreiber, 38, of Everett in eastern Bedford County faces eight charges related to the sale of weapons found to be stolen from the National Firearms and Ammunition...
Franklin Regional robotics team takes first place at Steel City Showdown competition
Franklin Regional students on the FRobotics team brought home a first-place finish in the Steel City Showdown robotics competition, held Aug. 3 at Carnegie Mellon University. Hosted by the Steel City Robotics Alliance, the competition included 18 teams from Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and New York. Teams build robots to...
Derek Woods Band will play annual festival at Woodstock host’s farm
At 31, Derek Woods is far too young to have attended the original Woodstock. Next week, however, not only will the Hempfield resident have a chance to visit the original festival grounds in Bethel, N.Y., but his group, the Derek Woods Band, will play the annual Yasgur Road Reunion, held...
Nonprofit seeks donations to stuff military Christmas stockings
Local nonprofit Military Connections isn’t just looking for volunteers to help sew more than 10,000 Christmas stockings that will be shipped to soldiers stationed overseas. It is looking for people to supply the stuffing. This year’s sewing day will be Aug. 22, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Murrysville...
Scottish artist’s work on display at Gallery Space in Monroeville
Catriona Kirk is the third generation of her family to be involved in art, following in the footsteps of her father and grandmother. Largely self-taught, Kirk has drawn inspiration from her travels to countries like India and France, and the many people — and animals — she’s met along the...
Driver taken into custody after car plows into house in Jeannette
No one was injured when a woman drove a sport utility vehicle off Welker Street and into the corner of a Harrison Avenue house in Jeannette late Friday night. The SUV went into the house backwards. Police, firefighters and EMS responded to the corner of Welker Street and Harrison Avenue...
Evening storms leave pockets of Allegheny, Westmoreland counties without power
Stormy weather on Friday evening made for a few scattered power outages in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. In Allegheny County, about 100 Duquesne Light customers in Penn Hills’ Shannon Heights neighborhood near Verona, and about 250 customers in both the Monroeville and North Versailles area were without power as of...
Flash flood warning issued for several parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland, Washington counties
The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh has issued a flash flood warning for west-central Westmoreland County, southeastern Allegheny County and eastern Washington County until 7:30 p.m. Strong, slow-moving thunderstorms are expected to produce localized heavy rainfall that could lead to isolated flooding, according to the weather service advisory. National Weather...
Deadheads celebrate Jerry Garcia’s birthday, plan to ‘Meet Up at the Movies’Video
Jerry Garcia would have turned 77 years old today. That number holds a special importance to legions of Grateful Dead fans, many of whom hold the band’s 1977 tour in extremely high regard. Garcia’s birthday is also the day for the annual Grateful Dead “Meet-Up at the Movies” event, where...
Bluesman Billy Price to host album-release party at Club CaféVideo
Blues singer and former Pittsburgh resident Billy Price will kick off a year-long tour in support of his new album with a release party Aug. 9 at Club Café. Price returned to Greaseland Studio in San José, Calif., with producer Kid Andersen, to create a follow-up to his previous album,...
Penn Area Library celebrates summer reading programVideo
More than 400 children enjoyed some fun in the sun Wednesday afternoon at a celebration of the Penn Area Library’s summer reading program. Face-painting, food, games and other activities were set up in the Penn Township Municipal Park for the culmination of the program. Library children’s services coordinator Pat Cappeta...
Mother of Sorrows in Murrysville preps for annual community festivalVideo
This weekend’s Mother of Sorrows Community Festival in Murrysville will feature food from local chefs and music from area polka artists. “The whole idea behind the festival is bringing the community together,” said Karen Munson, one of the festival co-chairs. This year’s event is set for 5-10 p.m. Aug. 2...
VA resource fair in Oakland will focus on women veterans
The VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System will host a veterans resource fair aimed specifically at military women. “We had a similar event in October 2016, and we do outreach all the time, not just specifically at our center, but throughout the system, for women veterans,” VA Public Affairs Specialist Sheila Tunney...
Big Shot Bob’s dubs new wing flavor ‘The Roof is On Fire’ in tribute to lost locationVideo
Stanley Machulsky of Plum, part of an ownership group for several Big Shot Bob’s House of Wings locations, described the company’s workers as “pretty quirky and a little goofy.” That would explain how, just a few days after a devastating fire Sunday that destroyed the Churchill Center shopping plaza in...
Murrysville Concert in the Park marks Woodstock’s 50th anniversary
Bandleader Tim Woods of Greensburg was 7 years old when the original Woodstock festival spread its message of peace, love and music from Bethel, N.Y., across the nation’s consciousness as the tumultuous 1960s neared their end. While he didn’t get to attend, he was precisely the right age to be...
Level Green man still delivered Meals on Wheels at 92 years old
Robert Ketenheim never tired of volunteering and helping others. When he and his late wife Theo weren’t buying extra school supplies for children who couldn’t afford them, “he was out delivering Meals on Wheels, at 92, to the folks he called ‘the old people,’ ” said his son, Bob Ketenheim....
Murrysville fracking well hearing focuses on truck traffic
The ongoing public hearing for the proposed Titan fracking well pad off Bollinger Road focused on traffic most recently, but members of the community who want to comment on the project will have to wait, as the hearing stretches into its third month of Murrysville council meetings. Monroeville driller Huntley...
