Patrick Varine stories, Page 46
Gerald McGinnis, Respironics founder who invented CPAP machine, dies at 89
Thanks to Gerald McGinnis, millions of people across the world can breathe easier. The international businessman and founder of Respironics, which created the first machine to treat sleep apnea, died Thursday. He was 89. McGinnis was born in 1934 in Ottawa, Ill. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering...
Bell Township road to close indefinitely on Monday for landslide removal
A section of Nelson Road in Bell Township will close starting Monday as PennDOT crews address deteriorating slide conditions. Nelson will be closed between Route 380 and Whitesell Street. There is currently no reopening date, and PennDOT officials are awaiting approval to announce an official detour route. Drivers can check...
PennDOT continues working to address flooded Ligonier Township road
A small section of Route 381 in Ligonier Township remained closed Friday night due to flooding, PennDOT officials said. Route 381 between Rolling Rock Lane and Route 30 continues to be affected by recent rainfall and now snow melt. Next door in Derry Township, a section of Sleep Hollow Causeway...
U.S. Steel settles lawsuit over 2018 fire, power outages in 2019, 2022
U.S. Steel officials have entered into a consent decree with the Allegheny County Health Department and two environmental groups to address a 2018 fire at its Clairton facility that crippled the plant’s pollution controls and caused power outages at the plant in 2019 and 2022. The agreement will include nearly...
Perry Mason, Abraham Lincoln inspired Charles Conway as lawyer, Export-area district judge
Charles Conway’s retirement didn’t last long. After nearly a quarter-century on the bench as magistrate in Export, Conway retired last month. But he’s already had the gavel back in his hand as he filled in for his successor, Judi Petrush, during part of last week. “When I was a kid,...
Murrysville area: Social media series, MMA fights, comedy-night fundraiser and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Church program explores social media Newlonsburg Presbyterian Church staff will host a series focused on the impact of social media, beginning Feb. 19. It will take place at 5:45 p.m. on Monday evenings through March 25, using Sadie Robertson Huff’s book, “Who...
Monroeville-area events: Kindergarten registration, blue light bulb sales, more
Here are briefs from the Times Express coverage area. Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Blue light bulb sales support Monroeville police Monroeville officials are selling blue light bulbs and proceeds will benefit the Monroeville Police Benevolent Fund. The Blue Light Project will offer the bulbs for $10...
Suspect in shooting near Arnold Palmer airport in Unity ordered to stand trial
A Lancaster man was ordered Monday to stand trial on charges that he shot at a box truck driver last month in Unity. Tyler J. Mieczkowski, 22, faces charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, fleeing from police and reckless endangerment, court records show. Police said Mieczkowski fired several shots into...
Goodwill YouthWorks program aims to help address truck, bus driver shortage
Charles Burke still gets emails asking if he’s interested in trucking jobs, even though he’s been semi-retired and driving a bus for the Penn Hills School District for several years now. “Bonuses are going up and up as places are looking for people to do commercial truck driving,” said Burke,...
Westinghouse volunteers set $43K donation record through ‘Feed the Hungry’ program
Retirees and former employees of the Westinghouse corporation who want to commit to volunteer service can join the Service Uniting Retired Employees nonprofit, or SURE group, which has been cultivating community service projects for more than three decades. SURE’s latest “Feed the Hungry” campaign marked its 10th year, and donors...
Unity baker nearly makes semifinal round in Cake Boss’s ‘Greatest Baker’ contest
When Mary Ellen Raneri of Unity started helping her mother with Facebook livestreams of her cooking, she certainly wasn’t expecting the page to rack up nearly 70,000 fans. And she definitely wasn’t expecting those fans to help her make all the way to the quarterfinals of “The Greatest Baker,” a...
Murrysville area: Comedy night fundraiser, Mardi Gras celebration, library tax help and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Comedy night will benefit trail projects An evening of stand-up comedy next month will benefit Westmoreland Heritage Trail and Five Star Trail projects. It will be from 6-10 p.m. Feb. 10 at Colton Hall, 3100 Blocks Road in Penn Township’s Claridge neighborhood....
Monroeville area: Watershed session, upcoming public meetings
Here are news briefs from the Monroeville and Pitcairn area: Watershed meeting The community is invited to the first “visioning” session for the Turtle Creek Watershed and Airshed Communities, set for 6-8 p.m. Jan. 25 in Monroeville. The meeting will feature a presentation by May Torpey, sustainability coordinator for citizen...
$1.8 million winning lottery ticket sold in Murrysville
Pennsylvania Lottery officials will stop in Murrysville Friday morning to present a $1.8 million check to a recent Cash 5 winner. Highway foreman Dennis O’Neill, 55, of Monroeville, purchased the winning ticket on New Year’s Eve at the Murrysville Shop’n Save. O’Neill told lottery officials he plans to continue working...
Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce reschedules annual prayer breakfast
Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce officials will reschedule their annual prayer breakfast following predictions of snow accumulation on its original date of Friday morning. It has been moved to Friday, Feb. 23 at Stratigos Banquet Centre in North Huntingdon. “We understand that rescheduling may pose challenges for the many who were...
3 men, including an ex-police detective, plead guilty to manufacturing ‘hit kits’ using untraceable ghost guns
A Bedford County man is the third person to plead guilty to involvement in the manufacturing and sale of “hit kits,” consisting of an untraceable “ghost gun” built from synthetic plastic polymer, along with a threaded barrel, silencer, ammunition and latex gloves. Wayne Farabaugh, 55, of New Paris, pleaded guilty...
Eastbound I-70 reopens between Arnold, Smithton following multi-vehicle crash
The eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 reopened to traffic around 5 p.m. following a multi-vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon, state police said. The eastbound lanes between Exit 44 (Arnold City) and Exit 49 (Smithton) were closed because of the accident, which was reported at 3:43 p.m around mile marker 46, according...
Monessen fighter Michael Moorer to be inducted into International Boxing Hall of FameVideo
Anytime you’re part of a group of fighters that includes Muhammad Ali, you’re doing something right. Michael Moorer is one of only four boxers, including Ali, to win the heavyweight world title three times, and he was the first southpaw to become heavyweight champ. Born in Brooklyn, Moorer, 55, moved...
Pitt Ohio to donate semi-trailer to Forbes Road school in Monroeville
Students in Forbes Road Career & Technology School’s diesel technology program get plenty of experience working on the massive trucks that haul goods back and forth across the country. The difficulty is those trucks are often from the mid-1990s. “There’s none of the modern controls or emissions technology, and there’s...
Man killed in car crash in Slippery Rock
A Slippery Rock man died of injuries sustained in a two-car crash Friday on Harmony Road that also sent three people to local hospitals, according to the Pennsylvania State Police. Police said Charles S. Raisor, 71, was fatally injured when the car he was riding in crossed the center line...
‘Monticello Lights’ raises more than $24,000 for charity, Delmont recreation board
It was indeed a happy new year for both the Delmont Recreation Board and the organizers of the annual Project Bundle Up, after both received checks for more than $12,000 from the Monticello Lights fundraiser in Delmont. Residents of the borough’s Monticello neighorhood have held the decorating contest since 2020,...
Latrobe native chosen to lead Michigan State UniversityVideo
The Spartans are getting a Wildcat in the administration. Michigan State University officials announced recently that Greater Latrobe High School alum Kevin Guskiewicz was elected to serve as the university’s next president. Guskiewicz, a 1984 Wildcat graduate, will begin his term in early March, university officials said. The university’s board...
District attorney: Arnold shooting victim was 1 of 3 people who broke into Fourth Avenue home
A Pittsburgh man who was shot and killed Friday night was one of three people who police said broke into an Arnold home just before the shooting took place. Allen L. Austin Jr., 29, was pronounced dead after being found about 6 p.m. Friday in the 1600 block of Cherry...
Landslide closes Beaver Grade Road in Moon
State transportation officials announced that Beaver Grade Road in Moon would be closed Saturday morning due to a landslide. PennDOT officials made the announcement just after midnight Saturday morning. A portion of the road between Duckhorn and Montour Run roads will be closed until further notice. The detour from south...
Delmont starts calculating how to implement stormwater authority fees
Delmont officials were already behind the eight ball a bit when it came to stormwater. The borough is a party to two state consent orders, one that specifically addresses stormwater making its way into the borough’s sewage system. In addition, its status as a borough meant there were some extra...
