Patrick Varine stories, Page 169
Delmont council approves work on borough building
Delmont council members are looking to replace aging items in the borough building, a structure described by public works head Bill Heaps as having “the body of a 30-year-old and the insides of a 100-year-old.” Council voted 5-0 to begin preparing engineering specifications for replacing the building’s aging roof, and...
Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics will host open house
The Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics will host an open house May 18 for those with an interest in flight-related careers. Representatives from Endeavor Air will be at the school’s main campus, at the Allegheny County Airport in West Mifflin, to talk with prospective students. PIA President Suzanne Markle said the...
No injuries after plane crashes on takeoff at Arnold Palmer airport
No one was injured Tuesday night when a plane crashed during takeoff from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity, officials said. A single-seat experimental jet was taking off to fly locally shortly before 8 p.m. on Tuesday night, county emergency officials said. For an unknown reason, the plane crashed, a...
Sportsmen’s group will host annual fishing derby at Sloan Elementary
The 32nd annual Sportsmen and Landowners Alliance of Murrysville Fishing Derby will be held May 19 at Sloan Elementary School on Sardis Road. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and fishing will start at 9 a.m. Hourly prizes will be awarded and at 2 p.m., trophies will be awarded to the...
Franklin Regional eighth-graders prepare to stage ‘Seussical Jr.’
Franklin Regional Middle School students will host performances of “Seussical Jr.” by the eighth grade performing arts class this weekend. The show will be at 7 p.m., May 16-17 in the Little Theater at the school, 4660 Old William Penn Highway in Murrysville. Tickets are $7 and will be available...
Mt. Pleasant fixture owned service station, founded ambulance service
Jack Caruso Jr. is fairly certain that almost everyone in Mt. Pleasant knew his father, Jack Sr. “He was a figurehead in Mt. Pleasant forever,” he said. “You could ask anyone in town and they’d have their own little story about my dad.” As the owner of a longtime service...
Here’s where Franklin Regional school board candidates stand on the issues
As the primary election nears, 13 candidates are jockeying for general-election ballot spots in the Franklin Regional school board race. Below are Q&A responses and biographical information for each candidate. RICHARD ARNOLD • Age: 74 • Education: Bachelor’s degree from Slippery Rock University; master’s degree from West Virginia University; doctorate...
Murrysville police K9 retires after nearly a decade of service
Scott Kettren will continue riding around Murrysville as a police sergeant, but he may find himself glancing over his right shoulder for at least a few weeks, expecting a furry friend to be there. Kettren’s partner, Murrysville police K9 Argos, retired this month and will spend his days at Kettren’s...
‘Game of Thrones’: Did you see Aaron Rodgers? If so, where?
***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD THROUGH SEASON 8, EPISODE 5 OF ‘GAME OF THRONES’*** Divisive as it was, there’s at least one thing we can all agree on: Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was in last night’s “Game of Thrones” episode, “The Bells.” We remain, however, a house divided on where...
‘Game of Thrones’: The Dragon Queen comes to King’s Landing
***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD THROUGH SEASON 8, EPISODE 5 OF ‘GAME OF THRONES’*** Last week, my fellow “Thrones’n’at” panelist Cassie Nedelco was upset about several aspects of “Last of the Starks.” I thought it was great — not necessarily the choices that some of the characters made (PET YOUR PET, JON....
13 candidates compete for Franklin Regional school board seats in primary
The Sloan “elementary campus” project is not the only reason the Franklin Regional school board primary is so crowded, but it’s certainly near the top of the list for many of the 13 candidates competing for six seats. “As a former senior public school administrator, I can unequivocally state that...
Hannastown man grew up in Italy before opening Latrobe barber shop
Shirley DaRold joked her father was older than sliced bread. Except it’s not really a joke: the first commercial loaf of sliced bread was sold in Missouri in 1928. By that time, Luigi “Fast Louie” DaRold was already 3 years old and had moved from Murrysville’s White Valley neighborhood across...
Murrysville retires one officer while bringing another aboardVideo
Murrysville’s police department added one officer and lost another May 10, swearing in Officer Anthony Talamo on the same day that longtime K9 officer Argos retired. Talamo, 27, is a Murrysville native and a 2010 Franklin Regional graduate. Chief Tom Seefeld, who served as Talamo’s training officer at the police...
Wetlands event series kicks off Memorial Day weekend at Murrysville park
Events centered around the wetlands area at Murrysville Community Park will kick off during Memorial Day weekend and continue through late July. The summer program series will begin May 25, as naturalist Susan Miller of Plum leads participants on a walk to check nests and eggs at purple martin houses...
Trailer released for ‘It: Chapter Two,’ out in SeptemberVideo
We don’t know the extended-range forecast for late summer, but rain or no, there’s a good chance things will be floating in Derry, Maine. In the words of a certain creepy clown, “We all float down here.” The first teaser trailer has been released for the second chapter in director...
Apple Hill seeks students for theater apprenticeship program
Apple Hill Playhouse officials are looking for high school students interested in theater for their apprenticeship program, which begins in June and runs through August. “What we want to do is give them as much experience working in the theater as we can,” said Vince D’Angelo, who manages the apprenticeship...
Guffey Road section closed for landslide repair in North Huntingdon
A section of Guffey Road in North Huntingdon has been closed as PennDOT crews work on landslide repair. Guffey is closed between Turner Valley Road and Mickanin Road. The closure will last about two weeks, weather permitting. Drivers coming from Irwin will turn left onto Mickanin Road and travel out...
Memorial Day car show will benefit veterans, children’s charities
A Memorial Day car show at Mother of Sorrows Church will raise money for local veterans and children affected by cancer. The show will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 27 at the church, located at 4202 Old William Penn Highway, Murrysville. Proceeds will go to the Veterans...
Award-winning bluesman Selwyn Birchwood to play Moondog’sVideo
Alligator Records artist Selwyn Birchwood will bring his high-octane blues to Blawnox on May 24. Birchwood, who has gone from playing small Florida clubs in 2014 to headlining festivals and touring the United States and Europe since his 2014 debut, “Don’t Call No Ambulance,” will play longtime local blues venue...
How risky are ticks in Pennsylvania? Survey hopes to find out
Jesy Murcko spent Saturday clearing brush from a hillside at her family’s camp in the Allegheny National Forest, so she wasn’t surprised to find a tick on her. She wasn’t crazy, however, about finding two ticks on her 2-year-old son Wade, who was playing in short grass near the woods...
Animal response team works to corral part of roaming cow herd in Murrysville
Not all of the black Angus cows wandering through south Murrysville have been spotted, but a group of three has been regularly visiting a temporary feeding station set up by members of the Westmoreland County Animal Response Team. “We added more panels to a temporary corral around the feeding trough,”...
Franklin Regional board may change grading scale, broaden range
Franklin Regional school director Paul Scheinert hoped students were benefiting from having a more rigorous grading system where “A” grades (the district uses a plus/minus system as well) range from 92 to 100%, “B” grades range from 82 to 91% and so on. But seeking to give students a more-level...
‘Game of Thrones’: Breaking down ‘The Last of the Starks’Video
***WARNING: SPOILERS THROUGH SEASON 8, EPISODE 4 OF ‘GAMES OF THRONES,’ AND MILD BOOK SPOILERS*** Opinions were sharply divided among the “Thrones’n’at” panel regarding “The Last of the Starks.” With two episodes to go, the show jumped back into political intrigue, tense throne-room conversation and characters not knowing who their...
Historical society kicks off 2019 season with free tours of Murrysville cabin
This weekend, members of the Murrysville Historical Preservation Society will offer free tours on property with a history that stretches 250 years. Free public tours of the Hoey/Staymates log house will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. May 11 to open its 2019 season featuring living history demonstrations and...
Franklin Regional budget proposal would hike taxes by 2.2 mills
Franklin Regional school board will take the first step next week toward adopting a 2019-20 budget that includes a 2.2-mill tax hike. The board’s May 13 meeting will include a vote to adopt a proposed final budget of $59.7 million. That is about $1.45 million more than this year’s budget....
