Patrick Varine stories, Page 185
Mt. Lebanon photographer finds warmth, humanity on trip to Cuba
Photographer Jay Kuntz of Mt. Lebanon was curious about what he viewed as “the chaotic relationship between the U.S. and Cuba,” and decided to use that as the inspiration for a photo essay. The result of that trip is Kuntz’s “Portraiture of Cuba: Character & Emotions” gallery, which will be...
Irwin police officer loved sports, especially racquetball
Chances are good that if you hurt yourself horsing around in Irwin Park during the 1960s and ’70s, you went to John O’Connell’s house to call your parents. And if your injury was a little more serious, it was probably Mr. O’Connell who took you to the emergency room. “We...
Bluegrass pickers converge on Butler for annual January Ice Jam festivalVideo
For the past 21 years, the second weekend of January has meant one thing to western Pennsylvania bluegrass fans. It meant a pilgrimage to Butler for the annual January Ice Jam, where 25 bluegrass bands from the region will gather along with thousands of fans and fellow pickers at the...
Netflix: What if Carmen Sandiego was a thief who only stole from other thieves?Video
Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? And when the heck did she become one of the good guys? Those are the questions that a brand-new Netflix series, based on the 1980s educational video game and subsequent television game show, aims to answer. Premiering Jan. 18, the animated series will...
Murrysville Woman’s Club meeting will feature Mary Kay rep
Proper powder room procedure will be the order of the day at the next Murrysville Woman’s Club meeting. A Mary Kay representative will host a “Make-Up Tips” discussion at the meeting, set for 11:15 a.m., Jan. 17 at the Penn Murry Restaurant, 5089 Cozy Inn Cutoff. Guests are welcome. There...
Conservancy will organize ‘supermoon,’ lunar eclipse viewing in Murrysville
A 183-acre nature reserve might be one of the best places to see a celestial “two-fer” on Jan. 20: a total lunar eclipse as well as a “super moon.” Westmoreland Conservancy officials are organizing a viewing party at the Morosini Reserve in southeastern Murrysville to view the eclipse as well...
Westmoreland Conservancy announces massive expansion of Flinn Nature Reserve
The Flinn Nature Reserve in south Murrysville will more than quadruple in size thanks to the donation of two parcels of land in Murrysville and Penn Township. Westmoreland Conservancy officials announced the expansion in their January newsletter. While the original 20-acre parcel was gifted to the conservancy by Paul and...
Delmont council balks at instituting sewage rate hike
Delmont residents may have to absorb a $2.39 increase from the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority. For now, however, they do not have to worry about absorbing an additional $7.50 rate hike from the borough. Council members this week balked at instituting the increase. The money would go toward paying...
Downed tree closes Route 30 eastbound near Derry
The eastbound lanes of Route 30 were shut down for a couple hours around 10 p.m. Tuesday night after a downed tree landed on the roadway. The eastbound side of the highway is temporarily closed between Route 217 and the causeway over Loyalhanna Creek. Emergency crews also reported downed wires...
Delmont officials work to recover money allegedly taken by former secretary
Delmont officials are taking steps to recover money allegedly stolen by a former borough secretary. Borough solicitor Dan Hewitt said former borough secretary and treasurer Karen Shola was bonded, and that the bond company has offered the borough a $35,000 settlement. Shola, 67, of Pittsburgh was charged in October with...
Franklin Regional plans special meeting on Sloan project bids
Franklin Regional School Board will hold a special meeting Wednesday to vote on authorizing the district to advertise and solicit bids for the Sloan elementary campus project. The meeting will be at 6 p.m. in the Murrysville municipal building at 4100 Sardis Road. The $54 million project includes the renovation...
Bluegrass group incorporates Jewish heritage, will play free concert this weekendVideo
Like so many people around the world, Eric Lindberg and Doni Zasloff were floored by the news of the fatal attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. The husband and wife, who form the core of bluegrass band Nefesh Mountain, responded the only way they knew. “It really,...
Doors Open black history tour will focus on city’s AME churchesVideo
The spiritual history of Pittsburgh’s black community will be on full display Jan. 19, when nonprofit Doors Open and local African Methodist Episcopal church officials partner to host a “Ride with the King” black history tour the Saturday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Bonnie Baxter of Pittsburgh got the...
BeBalanced center to host free women’s health programs in Murrysville
A Lancaster-based women’s health franchise has opened the first of three locations in the Pittsburgh area. BeBalanced Hormone Weight Loss Center is now open in Murrysville, with additional locations planned for the Wexford and South Hills areas. “Like many women over age 35, an active lifestyle and closely monitoring calories...
Spaghetti dinner will raise funds for Franklin Regional’s Macy’s parade trip
Franklin Regional band members will hold a Feb. 23 spaghetti dinner in Murrysville as a fundraiser for their trip to the 2019 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. The dinner will be from 4 to 7:30 p.m. in Laird Hall at First Presbyterian Church, 3202 North Hills Road....
Export Historical Society discovers 4th, intact entrance to former mine
When aspiring Eagle Scout Troy Florian and a crew of fellow scouts cleared several entrances to the former Westmoreland Coal Co.’s No. 2 mine in Export, councilwoman Melanie Litz was quick to point out that they “would not be reopening the mine.” That has changed a little, thanks to the...
Latrobe machinist George Schrack loved family, working on cars
Deborah Kosor of Ligonier remembers going on Sunday drives in her father’s Chevy Chevelle, and listening to eight-track oldies as she and her siblings fought over who would get to sit on “the hump” in the back seat. She remembers waiting for him to come home from work at Morgan...
Murrysville library will host game night on Jan. 19
There’s no more satisfying feeling than forcing your grandmother into bankruptcy during a heated game of “Monopoly,” is there? Okay, perhaps that’s a bit harsh, but even if the cutthroat capitalism of Rich Uncle Pennybags isn’t your thing, area residents are still invited to take part in several other classic...
Manor Lions mark 70 years of community service
Being a Lion is a family tradition for Joy Clontz of Manor. Her father has served in his local Lions Club in St. Mary’s, Pa., for 50 years. “It means a lot to me,” said Clontz, who has been a member of the Manor Lions Club for the past 13...
Murrysville woman named Pa. School Counselor Advocate of the Year
A Murrysville woman has been named the Pennsylvania School Counselor Advocate of the Year by the Pennsylvania School Counselors Association (PSCA). Elizabeth DeChurch Strenkowski of Murrysville, director of admissions at the Community College of Allegheny County’s Boyce Campus, was recognized at the 63rd Annual PSCA Conference, held in Hershey in...
Franklin Regional safety and security director to speak at high school PTO meeting
Franklin Regional Senior High School parents will have a chance to hear from the district’s safety and security director at the near year’s first PTO meeting on Jan. 10. The guest speaker will be Timothy Skoog, who is heading up the district’s internal police force. Skoog will discuss his role...
Brooks takes House seat as Murrysville police add first female officer
There was plenty of swearing for Murrysville residents last week. Swearing-in, that is. In addition to the municipality’s police department adding its first female officer, Samantha Malik, on Jan. 3, former mayor Bob Brooks spent New Year’s Day taking the oath of office for his 54th District state representative seat...
Westmoreland Symphony seeks entries for 2019 Tribune-Review Young Artists Competition
The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra is seeking applicants for the 2019 Tribune-Review Young Artists Competition. The competition is open to all instrumental students up to and including high school seniors who are residents of Westmoreland or Fayette counties, or who are taking private lessons in those counties. Participants compete for performance...
Carnegie Mellon professor will discuss ‘anti-gerrymandering’ at AAUW meeting
If state lawmakers want a truly politically unbiased map of voting districts in Pennsylvania, they will need to look beyond the traditional map-making criteria, according to Carnegie Mellon professor John Nagle. “Traditional” criteria include best efforts to keep voting districts compact, and to not split existing political boundaries. “Why should...
Murrysville council appoints new FTMSA, planning commission members
As 2018 rolls over into 2019, John Bosetti of Murrysville will be swapping sewer maps for site plans. Bosetti, who previously served on the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority board before resigning as of Dec. 31, was confirmed by Murrysville council to fill a vacancy on the municipal planning commission....
