Patrick Varine stories, Page 163
Fayette man killed in off-road vehicle crash in Middlecreek Township
A Fayette County man died of injuries sustained when he crashed his off-road vehicle Saturday night in Middlecreek Township. State police said Joseph A. Cole, 33, of Mill Run, was driving north on Scullton Road near Whipkey Dam Road shortly after 10:15 p.m., when his vehicle left the roadway, ran...
See Bob Dylan at his most enigmatic in Scorsese’s ‘Rolling Thunder Revue’Video
Bob Dylan has always been a mercurial character, to the point that he even described the tone he was striving to achieve on 1966’s “Blonde on Blonde” album as a “thin, wild, mercury sound.” So it makes perfect sense that “Rolling Thunder Revue,” Martin Scorsese’s kind-of-sort-of documentary about Dylan’s 1975...
Police: Braddock woman arrested after knife attack aboard Port Authority bus
A Braddock woman was charged with aggravated assault after a knife attack aboard a Port Authority bus Saturday night, according to Pittsburgh police. Police said that two women, including 22-year-old Octavia Howard, began fighting aboard a PAT bus at the intersection of South Braddock and Forbes avenues shortly after 7:30...
Consumer advocate’s efforts recognized by Westinghouse retiree group
Mary Bach of Murrysville was recognized recently for her work in consumer advocacy, by a group of Westinghouse retirees dedicated to community service. Bach, who is also the chairwoman of the AARP’s Pennsylvania Consumer Issues Task Force, received the Westinghouse SURE 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the company’s Service Uniting...
Police ask motorists to avoid Piper Road in Allegheny Township due to subsidence
Allegheny Township police are asking residents to avoid Piper road near Route 356 if possible because of continued damage to the road. The road continues to experience subsidence despite efforts to fix it, police wrote in an advisory message for residents signed up with the Nixle.com alert service. The road...
Church members undergo active-shooter training in IrwinVideo
With 24 years of Navy service and 13 more in law enforcement, Rodney “Chief” Smith doesn’t mince words or mess around when it comes to firearms training. “Get that finger off that trigger! ” Smith barked at a trainee who wasn’t properly following his step-by-step instructions as a group prepared...
Century III Mall will be demolished, redeveloped into mixed-use site
Century III Mall will be demolished to make way for a possible mixed-use development, according to court documents filed Friday in the Western District U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Las Vegas-based Moonbeam Capital Investments LLC, which owns the property, plans to redevelop it over five years, with the design, permitting and demolition...
Murrysville board will continue hearing fracking challenge
The Murrysville Zoning Hearing Board will continue hearing a challenge to the town’s fracking ordinance on Monday night . The citizen group Murrysville Watch Committee challenged the validity of the ordinance last year, and hearings have been ongoing since late November 2018. Murrysville council members voted 6-1 in 2017 to...
Acme man’s family helped found the annual Appalachian Wagon Train
Chart Howard lived for the annual Appalachian Wagon Train, when residents jump back in time and participate in a horse-drawn wagon train through Westmoreland and Fayette counties, traveling during the day and camping at night. So it was with a heavy heart that wagon-train participants set out in 2019, the...
Driller makes its case for first fracking well in Murrysville
Murrysville residents got a detailed look at the proposed Titan well pad on Wednesday night, during a public hearing before municipal council that will continue next month. Huntley & Huntley Energy Exploration, or HHEX, wants to construct a 350-by-500-foot well pad on a 71-acre property off Bollinger Road in eastern...
Want to spend the summer pool-hopping? Hotels.com has a job for you
If you enjoy spending your summer poolside, Hotels.com has a job for you. The company is seeking applications for a “poolhop” position. “This summer, we’re hiring our first-ever ‘Poolhop’ to travel across the country researching the most epic hotel pools from coast to coast,” an online application reads. “It’s a...
Windover Road in Murrysville closed for road work
Murrysville police advised residents that Windover Road will be closed on Wednesday for road work. Only local traffic is permitted. Municipal public works crews are performing drainage work along the road, according to Murrysville engineer technician Emily Mallisee....
Penn Area Library will host performance by Russian dance troupeVideo
World-renowned Russian dance and music ensemble Barynya will bring its show to the Penn Area Library on July 29. The free performance will be at 10 a.m. at the library, 2001 Municipal Court in Penn Township. It is being presented through a grant from the Westmoreland County Bureau of Parks...
Murrysville Medic One will demonstrate dive team skills at swim club
The Murrysville Medic One dive team has searched for missing people, evidence and even for severed fingers. They’ve searched ponds, creeks and quarries. But they’ve never searched a swimming pool. Searching is just one of the things Medic One divers will demonstrate June 28 at the Murrysville Swim Club in...
Franklin Regional approves 2019-20 budget, hikes taxes 2.2 mills
The Franklin Regional school board approved a 2019-20 budget Monday night that raises property taxes by 2.2 mills. The proposed final budget of $59.7 million is about $1.45 million more than the 2018-19 budget. Most of that increase is the district’s contribution to teacher pensions, or the PSERS system, which...
Franklin Regional school board awards $48.62 million in contracts for Sloan project
After three years of planning, multiple town hall meetings and mounting opposition from residents, Franklin Regional school board members this week agreed to spend $48.62 million for the Sloan school project. The board voted 8-1 to award bids for renovating Sloan Elementary School and converting it into a lower elementary...
Police: East Pittsburgh woman found dead after jailed man tips off therapistVideo
A woman has been found dead in an East Pittsburgh apartment, after an incarcerated Cambria County man told a counselor Monday he killed someone, according to state police. Troopers said the man gave the Cambria County Jail counselor an address for a home on Maple Street and the counselor passed...
Thief pepper sprays Unity man as he to stop car break-in, police say
A Unity Township man was pepper-sprayed in the face and eyes late Sunday night as he attempted to stop a man from breaking into his vehicle. State police charged Christopher W. Reynolds, 37, of Blairsville, with five counts each of theft from a motor vehicle, receiving stolen property and loitering/prowling...
3 injured in Route 22 crash
Three people were transported to area hospitals following a head-on, two-car crash Monday afternoon on Route 22 in Salem. A Westmoreland 911 supervisor said the crash happened around 5:15 p.m. along westbound Route 22, just east of its intersection with Route 819. Forbes Road VFD Chief Bob Rosatti said a...
Greensburg woman shared love of outdoors, ice skating
Grace Howard was outgoing, loved people and enjoyed the finer things in life. On the latter count, she married the right man, according to her daughter. “She graduated from Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing and was a registered nurse, but she never needed to do any nursing work,” said Sharon...
Murrysville residents ‘pooped’ out over roaming cow herdVideo
Doug Kaleida of Murrysville had a big enough job on his hands already: leveling his backyard and seeding it with grass. Now, much of that work has been undone thanks to regular visits by a small herd of black Angus cattle that has been roaming southern Murrysville since late April....
Bellevue to become ‘Wizardvue’ during Harry Potter-themed celebration
There may be snakes in the local hardware store, fire-eaters parading down the street and owls and wizards all about town. Once a year, Bellevue becomes Wizardvue, a celebration where the borough transforms into the magical world of Harry Potter with all its quirks and oddities. “After I was elected,...
Unity man ‘was always telling a story or a joke’
James Miller never met someone with whom he couldn’t strike up a conversation. “He was a talker,” said his son, Bruce Miller of Mt. Pleasant. “Whenever he was in the room, you might get to throw in a word here and there, but he was always telling a story or...
Mother of Sorrows students graduate, send technology message to parents
Eighth graders at Mother of Sorrows School in Murrysville are on to high school following the May 21 commencement ceremony, held at Mother of Sorrows Church. Prior to graduation, however, members of the eighth-grade class also penned a letter to Mother of Sorrows parents, which was included in the school’s...
Man injured in Hempfield after falling over hillside while mowing
A man mowing grass along Colleen Lane in Hempfield had to be rescued after falling over a hillside on Tuesday evening. Adamsburg Fire Chief Don Thoma said the man was transported to an area hospital following the incident, which was reported around 8 p.m. Additional information was not immediately available....
