Patrick Varine stories, Page 161
Former Irwin police officer loved hunting, fishing, family
Mark Garbin can remember his father, Alfred, coming home for lunch and dinner, Irwin police car gleaming and his uniform pressed. “He was always working,” Mark said of his father’s 27 years with the borough police force. “He loved being a police officer and doing the right thing.” Alfred A....
Westmoreland Fair brings rides, revelry and rabbit agilityVideo
It’s easy to tell that Alan Lipscomb works outdoors. Lipscomb’s face glowed with the deep pink of a fading sunburn Thursday morning as he cleaned the lead car of the Dragon Wagon children’s roller coaster on the grounds of the Westmoreland Fair, which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 24....
TribLive Taste Test: Aji White Fantasy & Carolina Reaper peppersVideo
On today’s TribLive Taste Test, we decided to unnecessarily torture ourselves by trying a couple of hot peppers from staff writer Patrick Varine’s home garden. Well, technically we tried one very tasty pepper — the Aji White Fantasy pepper — and then subjected ourselves to a small sliver of hell...
Delmont paving program to begin ‘within two to three weeks’
Delmont residents are likely to see road crews in the borough “within two to three weeks” to start the borough’s 2019 paving program, engineer Kevin Brett said at Tuesday night’s council meeting. Borough officials secured a loan of about $292,000 for paving work on West Pittsburgh Street, Stotler Drive and...
DEP consent order aims to identify FTMSA issues by 2022
Delmont Councilman Bill Marx is not happy about signing a consent agreement with no sense of how much it might someday cost the borough. “I’m going to be honest, it’s a bitter pill to swallow to be told that we have to sign onto this without knowing what it’s going...
Export festival marks official opening of Westmoreland Heritage Trail’s 4th phase
The annual Export Ethnic Food & Music Festival often marks the unveiling of something new and positive for the borough. “In the past we had the unveiling of the (restored Turtle Creek Valley Railroad) caboose, and last year we unveiled a mural, so it’s really nice to do a little...
Franklin Regional marching band tickles the ivories for 2019 halftime show
Roll over, Beethoven — the Franklin Regional Panther Marching Band has a few new piano pieces for you. That is the theme behind the band’s 2019 marching show. “’Roll Over Beethoven’ is the theme, and it’s all based on piano-centered pieces,” said senior Lane Kline, one of the drum majors....
Labor officials: Colorado company violated overtime pay laws in 21 Pa. counties
A Colorado company will pay more than $18,000 in back wages and damages for overtime pay violations in 21 Pennsylvania counties, including Allegheny and Westmoreland, following a federal investigation. U.S. Department of Labor officials announced Tuesday that Huwa Enterprises, an environmental restoration company based in Keenesburg, Colo., violated overtime provisions...
Eddie Murphy to star in Netflix biopic of ‘Dolemite’ creator Rudy Ray Moore
This is the space where I’d normally insert an appropriate and hilarious Dolemite quote to kick off this story. But anyone familiar with Dolemite — the kung-fu-fighting, crass-rhyming pimp character created by actor and blue comedian Rudy Ray Moore in the 1970s — will know that there are no quotes...
World War II vet caddied on same golf course where his father was killed by lightning
Mel Cirincione caddied at the 1935 U.S. Open, on the same Oakmont golf course where his father was killed by a lightning strike only a year earlier. His father Frank was cutting grass on the seventh tee July 20, 1934, when he was struck and knocked 4 feet back from...
Perseids meteor shower peaks this week, with annual show continuing until Aug. 24
There’s really only one big rule when it comes to enjoying the annual Perseids meteor shower, which was expected to peak Monday night into early Tuesday morning but will continue for another couple of weeks. “You have to be looking up,” said Ken Kobus, who has been a member of...
Pitt-Greensburg presentation will focus on ‘going solar’ with a community co-op
“Going solar” — that is to say, creating a solar-powered method for generating a home’s electricity — can be a daunting prospect for the average homeowner. But what if a bunch of the people in your neighborhood were doing it at the same time? That was the driving force behind...
Staycation destination: Westmoreland Heritage Trail
The Westmoreland Heritage Trail offers cyclists a chance to see the county’s natural beauty and rich history, all while getting some exercise. While a section connecting Export and Delmont has yet to be completed — that section presents the difficult problem of how to safely cross Route 66 — with...
Murrysville officials budgeting funds to address storm water damage
As Murrysville officials look at potential capital improvements over the next five years, one issue is starting to consume a larger percentage of the capital budget — damage from storm water. “We lost half of Beighley Road with the storm that came through Plum a couple weeks ago, and we...
‘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...
