Patrick Varine stories, Page 173
Rotary plans spring project to update Newhouse Park pavilion
The Rotary Club of Delmont Salem is planning more than $3,000 in upgrades to Newhouse Park this spring. “We want to paint the brick building white, re-frame the windows, paint the poles blue again and replace the lighting fixtures so that the bulbs are enclosed,” said Rotarian Kelly McIntyre. Rotary...
Embattled thrift shop in Export reopens
The Murrysville Christian Concern, better known as the Friends Thrift Shop, has officially re-opened. “We got a letter from the state yesterday,” said MCC Board President Rocky Kindelberger. The store on Kennedy Avenue has been closed since early February, after receiving a Feb. 6 cease-and-desist letter from the Pennsylvania Department...
Mother of Sorrows robotics team brings home hardware from Lego competition
The Mother of Sorrows School Eagles Lego Robotics Team finished its season with a good showing at the Western PA FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League Grand Championship. In addition to finishing seventh out of 35 teams in their division’s robot game, the team also...
Delmont officials working to limit turnover in police department
In 2016, Delmont officials added a fifth full-time officer to its police department in an effort to hold down overtime costs accrued by its part-time officers. In 2019, they decided to drop back down to four full-time officers in an effort to retain both part-time and full-time police after several...
Delmont officials may vacate unpaved alley deemed a ‘potential hazard’
Delmont officials decided not to designate an alley beside Trinity United Church of Christ as one-way. In fact, they decided Tuesday night that they may not want it at all. Council voted 5-0 to advertise an ordinance vacating the alley — Spring Lane, which connects Lindsay Lane and East Pittsburgh...
Route 30 in Greensburg reopens after chemical spill cleanup
Eastbound Route 30 reopened overnight near the East Pittsburgh Street ramps in Greensburg, after a driver apparently threw a jug of chemicals at another car in an apparent road-rage incident on Tuesday night. The westbound lanes reopened around 11:45 p.m., according to Westmoreland 911 officials. “The person threw a five-gallon...
‘Blossoms in the Desert’ series joins music, art and lunch in GreensburgVideo
People working in downtown Greensburg who are seeking a little music and culture on their lunch break would do well to stop by First Presbyterian Church on Fridays. The “Blossoms in the Desert” series will pair 30-minute lunchtime organ recitals with Latrobe artist Stacey Pydynkowski’s work. Box lunches are available...
Pgh. Society of Artists will screen new members on March 24
The Pittsburgh Society of Artists will hold new-member screenings on March 24 in the city’s Regent Square neighborhood. Drop-offs will be from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at Wilkins School Community Center, 7604 Charleston Ave. Applicants must submit three original works that were exclusively created by the artist within the past...
Greensburg guitarist releases solo instrumental album, ‘Bold Horizon’Video
Drew Bentley of Greensburg is a self-confessed “tone freak” when it comes to guitars. “I think it took me a lot of time to find a voice that is unique and worthy of being recorded,” he said of the sounds on his first full-length solo outing, “Bold Horizon.” Bentley, 50,...
Bluegrass, country star Ricky Skaggs will play the Palace on March 31Video
He might describe himself as “just a country boy,” but from his days as a little kid playing on the Grand Ole Opry stage to fronting the Grammy-Award-winning Kentucky Thunder, Ricky Skaggs has made quite a mark on the music world. He’ll bring that lifetime of pickin’ and grinnin’ to...
‘Augmented reality’ artist will be featured speaker at AAUW meeting in Murrysville
Award-winning photographer and “augmented reality” artist Christopher Ruane will be the featured speaker at the Thursday meeting of the Murrysville Area American Association of University Women. “I was messing around with photography ever since I was younger,” Ruane said in a 2014 Tribune-Review interview. “Since I got out of high...
Longtime Jayhawks football announcer loved music, sports, news
Joe Pacelli of Trafford would have been happy enough just sitting in the front row, watching Tony Bennett perform at the Venetian Room, during a trip to San Francisco in the 1980s. But he was ready to fly himself to the moon when he saw Bennett on the street the...
Inclusive theater troupe will hold auditions for upcoming season on March 24
Acting Up, an inclusive theater troupe for people of all ability levels led by Megan Nelson of Export, will hold auditions for its upcoming season on March 24 in Murrysville. Actors in grades 1 through 5 will be asked to introduce themselves, recite a poem or tell a joke and...
Fish fry season begins in earnest
Grab a fork and some cocktail sauce, because fish fry season is under way! From Ash Wednesday through Good Friday, Catholic churches, fire departments and private organizations will be hosting weekly fish fries during Lent. If you’re headed through the Star’s coverage area and need a place to get your...
4th hearing in Murrysville fracking ordinance challenge set for March 14
The fourth hearing in the Murrysville Watch Committee’s substantive validity challenge to the municipal fracking ordinance is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at the municipal building, 4100 Sardis Road. Murrysville council members voted 6-1 in 2017 to approve a fracking ordinance, which they worked on over seven years. Canonsburg drillers...
Latrobe World War II veteran was ‘all about photography’
If Harry Frye wasn’t at a local fire or town council meeting, he was covering high school sports or taking candid photos basically everywhere he went. “It’s all about photography,” said Patrick Frye, 57, of West Chester, about his father. “He always had his camera in his hand and didn’t...
Murrysville council sees final design concepts for ‘destination playground’ at MCP
As soon as the greater Pittsburgh area sees a few days of consistently dry weather, Jim Morrison plans to turn Murrysville’s public works crews loose to begin site work for a “destination playground” at Murrysville Community Park. “We were hoping to have most of the groundwork done by this point,”...
Delmont scout troop’s veteran memorial recognized with statewide award
Rebecca Shissler’s 97-year-old grandfather fought in World War II, and honoring the military is important to her and her family. That’s how a project, whose original goal was simply mapping the grave sites at Eastview Union Cemetery in Delmont, grew to include a veterans’ memorial with a bench, a paver...
‘Rocco’s Warriors’ come together to help family of 2-year-old leukemia patient
Brandon Monteleone of Penn Township had a tough time finding words to describe the outpouring of support his family has received since his 2-year-old son Rocco was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia on Dec. 30. “It’s hard to explain,” Monteleone said. “Just finding out that Rocco had cancer was so...
Export officials hope to begin McKinley Avenue wall repairs by mid-AprilVideo
The prospect of losing federal grant money is the latest reason Export officials hope to quickly fix a retaining wall along the north edge of McKinley Avenue. The main reason is that the wall is visibly failing and is located close to multiple homes as well as the borough building....
UK man plans to top cross-country fundraising run with Guinness World Record attempt
Jamie McDonald is already in the middle of a 5,500-mile fundraising trek across the U.S., but he isn’t planning to stop anytime soon. McDonald, 32, born in Gloucester, England, has the finishing line of his latest solo country-spanning run in his sights, a journey that so far has helped raise...
Amid code crackdown, Export officials remind residents of disposal options
Export residents, as part of their hauling contract with Republic Services, are able to dispose of household hazardous waste, borough officials reminded residents on Tuesday night. “For something like an old television, you call, let them know what you want to put out, and they’ll tell you when to take...
‘Game of Thrones’: Five predictions based on the first Season 8 trailerVideo
Fantasy fans worldwide got goosebumps when checking their phone notifications Tuesday morning. Chances are, there was an alert about the first full trailer for the eighth and final season of “Game of Thrones,” HBO’s massively-popular swords-and-fantasy saga based author George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novel series....
Murrysville council will see final design for ‘destination playground’
Murrysville officials will discuss the final design for a “destination playground” at Murrysville Community Park at their meeting Wednesday night. The playground will include traditional features as well as a splash park and a small zip line. The meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Murrysville municipal building, 4100 Sardis...
Franklin Regional’s Reljac chosen for women’s leadership award
Mary Catherine Reljac, assistant superintendent at the Franklin Regional School District, is the 2019 Dr. Jean E. Winsand Distinguished Woman in Education Award honoree. The award is presented by the Tri-State Area School Study Council, part of the University of Pittsburgh. Reljac, who has been with the district since 2013,...
