Patrick Varine stories, Page 49
Delmont decorating fundraiser will be featured on NBC’s ‘Today’ showVideo
Since 2020, residents in Delmont’s Monticello neighborhood have decorated their homes to the hilt for the holiday season, part of a fundraising competition that allows them to present an annual gift to two local charities. On Christmas Day, they will get their own gift — a nationally televised segment on...
Murrysville area: Holiday school concerts, Santa Claus Parade, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Holiday school concerts The Franklin Regional School District’s band and choral programs will present their annual holiday performances over the coming weeks. Here is a schedule: • Dec. 13: Sixth-grade chorus and Gold Notes, 7 p.m. at the FR Middle School’s Little...
Franklin Regional marching band performs in Pearl Harbor parade during Hawaii trip
The Franklin Regional Panther Marching Band spent early December basking in the warm glow of the Hawaiian sun. In addition to performing in the shadow of the USS Arizona Memorial, the band also performed in the annual Pearl Harbor parade in Honolulu. Over the past decade, FR marching band members...
Watch the Franklin Regional marching band perform at today’s Pearl Harbor parade in Hawaii
Franklin Regional Panther Marching Band members will take part in the annual Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade today in Hawaii, and school officials have provided a link to watch the parade live. Livestreaming at 9:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. in Honolulu), the parade will be the culmination of the band’s weeklong trip...
Murrysville council approves budget, beer distributor, short-term rental regulations
About $2.7 million in capital projects including road work and park improvements is funded in Murrysville’s 2024 budget. The spending plan, approved Wednesday does not include a tax increase. Property taxes will remain at 12.15 mills in the $15.6 million budget. Just under 3.5 mills dedicated for Murrysville’s capital improvement...
Pittsburgh police seek missing juvenile
Pittsburgh police are seeking information about a male teen reported missing on Wednesday. Police said they are looking for Sh’Kia Ross, 14, of Pittsburgh, last seen Downtown on the 1400 block of Forbes Avenue. He is a Black male, 5-feet-9-inches tall and 150 pounds with brown eyes and black hair....
Murrysville Council OKs lease for gas, oil rights under 2 parks
Murrysville Council has approved oil and gas rights leases for several hundred acres of land beneath its two largest parks. Council voted 4-2 Wednesday to enter into separate leases with the sole bidder, Olympus Energy, for 74 acres below Duff Park and just under 306 acres of Murrysville Community Park,...
Greensburg woman charged after police say she boarded school bus, berated driver
A woman is charged with disorderly conduct and unauthorized entry of a school bus after police said she boarded a Greensburg Salem School District bus and berated the driver a few days before Thanksgiving. City police were called to Allegheny Street near the Autumnbrook Apartments on Nov. 20 for a...
State police seek info on child-luring suspect in Indiana County
State police are seeking information on a man who allegedly attempted to lure an 11-year-old boy toward a vehicle in northern Indiana County on Tuesday afternoon. Police said an unknown Black man in his 30s with short hair, a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and a bandana or facial covering attempted...
Former Pittsburgh VA worker pleads guilty to embezzling $17,000 from veteran accounts
A former Veterans Affairs Medical Center worker from Pittsburgh pleaded guilty to embezzlement and mail fraud on Tuesday, after federal prosecutors said he stole money from disabled veterans and receive undue pandemic benefits. Corey Mizell, 51, of Pittsburgh pleaded guilty to four counts of embezzlement and one count of mail...
Water authority: Upgrades to affect part of Delmont
System upgrades by the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County will affect water service in several areas of Delmont on Tuesday, authority officials said. Between six and eight hours of work will take place Dec. 5 affecting Greensburg Street, Manor Road, Abbe Place, West Pine Street, Stotler Road, Crest Drive, Suncrest...
New course record set at annual Greensburg Turkey Trot
An Elizabeth Forward High School student set a new course record at the 32nd annual Greensburg Turkey Trot. Patrick Burgos, 17, came in first in the Thanksgiving run with time of 15 minutes, 33 seconds. Burgos recently signed to run track and field and cross-country at Youngstown State University in...
Community bands prepare to bring holiday cheer at annual concerts
“These wonderful things are the things we remember all through our lives.” Those are lyrics from the classic Christmas song “Sleigh Ride.” And they hold just as true for holiday memories as they do for musical ones, at least to the members of local community bands. “A lot of us...
Murrysville consumer advocate: Don’t get scammed during your holiday shopping
Last year, during the open enrollment period for Medicare, Mary Bach of Murrysville began receiving calls morning, noon and night about how she and her husband weren’t getting all of the benefits to which they were entitled. Bach, who is a nationally recognized consumer advocate and member of the AARP...
Murrysville area: Monticello Lights, presentation on Putin, local live music and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. ‘Monticello Lights’ set for Dec. 9-10 Residents in Delmont’s Monticello neighborhood will host their annual “Monticello Lights” fundraiser Dec 9 and 10 to benefit the Salvation Army & WTAE’s Project Bundle Up and the Delmont Recreation Committee. It will take place from...
No students injured when Franklin Regional bus hits house
A Franklin Regional school bus driver was transported by ambulance after the bus struck a home in Murrysville on Thursday afternoon, according to county emergency officials. First responders were called to the intersection of Northlawn Circle and Longview Drive after the bus struck a house while making a turn onto...
Route 136 reopens in Hempfield following mobile home fire
Route 136 reopened around 9 p.m. Wednesday night in Hempfield, after crews knocked down a truck fire which had spread to a nearby mobile home, according to a Westmoreland 911 supervisor. First responders were called to a house trailer near the intersection of Route 136, Ladysmith and Beeno roads around...
East Hills man gets 25 years for armed robbery spree
An East Hills man who went on a nine-day armed robbery spree in the east suburbs last year has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, federal officials said. Eric Jones, 34, of Pittsburgh’s East Hills neighborhood was sentenced Wednesday, according to U.S. District Attorney Eric Olshan. He had pleaded...
Wagon Wheel co-owner will continue selling ‘Our Famous Red Cake’
Mimi Kaufman of Salem isn’t starting a bakery. But she also wasn’t quite ready to give up the flagship red cake dessert at the Wagon Wheel, the restaurant she has owned alongside her sisters. The Wagon Wheel is closing its doors, but fans of the dessert will be able to...
Roadkill deer collection not a job for the faint of heart — or stomach
Thanksgiving week is a good time of year to be doing Steve Boeser’s morning job. Boeser will admit it’s not glorious work. The 56-year-old Washington Township resident is contracted by Murrysville to pick up roadkill deer. But the colder the weather, the easier his job is. On a late-November morning,...
Pittsburgh pop radio fixture Clarke Ingram diesVideo
If you listened to Top 40 radio in the Pittsburgh area between the mid 1970s and the mid 2000s, chances are good that Clarke Ingram touched your life in some way. The Pittsburgh native, who died Saturday at 66, was not just a mover and shaker in the Top 40...
Puppet-inspired music video earns international acclaim for Greensburg’s Derek Woods BandVideo
Members of the Derek Woods Band have had to pull some strings over the years while building their reputation as a group, working to establish themselves and gain a fan base beyond western Pennsylvania. The band has performed nationally but embarked on its first coast-to-coast U.S. tour in 2023, a...
Duff Park walking trail section will be closed for bridge repairs in Murrysville
A section of the Duff Park walking trail in Murrysville will remain closed through the new year for repairs to two pedestrian bridges. “They’re getting pretty bad,” said Murrysville Mayor Regis Synan. The section of trail which will close is normally accessible through the Roberts Trailhead on Route 22, via...
Some quirky ideas for repurposing those Thanksgiving leftovers
So you’ve arisen the day after Thanksgiving, perhaps feeling a little groggy and still recovering from the turkey coma — yes, I know, I’ve also read the studies that it’s not the tryptophan that makes you sleepy. Agree to disagree. Anyway, the question now becomes, what to do with the...
Holiday songs you may not have heard a million times alreadyVideo
The stout-hearted among us can usually hold off until Thanksgiving, but once the turkey has been digested, there’s no keeping the Christmas music away. A new study used Google search results to determine the 100 most popular Christmas songs in the U.S. — and the top three in each state....

