Patrick Varine stories, Page 51
Export mayor proposes 2024 budget with no tax increase
Export will advertise a $1.1 million budget for 2024 that does not call for a tax increase. “Revenue’s up,” Mayor Joe Zaccagnini said in presenting the annual budget proposal. “We’ve been very fortunate. It’s darn near the same budget as last year. We have some savings because of the work...
Murrysville council will consider updates to short-term rental regulations
Murrysville council members will consider an ordinance addressing short-term rental properties. Council directed its staff to prepare an ordinance which would decouple short-term rentals — including AirBnBs and VRBOs — from restrictions based on zoning. The ordinance also would set a maximum occupancy of two people per bedroom or 10...
Wagon Wheel restaurant will close doors after 6 decades
Jodi Susick wasn’t going to miss her chance to order the red devil’s food cake from the Wagon Wheel. “My dad would pick me up on his lunch break and bring me with him for lunch,” said Susick, 49, of Salem as she waited for a massive slice of Our...
Remains of Pittsburgh native, shot down over Sicily in 1943, positively identifiedVideo
On July 10, 1943, Pittsburgh native and Army Air Force 2nd Lt. Gilbert Myers was flying a bombing mission over Sicily with crewmates from the 310th Bombardment Group, part of the 381st Bombardment Squadron during World War II. Myers’ B-25 Mitchell was struck by anti-aircraft fire and went down near...
Murrysville area: ‘Christmas Carol’ senior breakfast, woman’s club meeting, Delmont wellness checks and more
Senior citizen holiday breakfast The Franklin Regional School District will host a senior citizen holiday breakfast featuring a performance the classic “A Christmas Carol” on Nov. 30. It will be at the senior high school cafeteria, 3200 School Road in Murrysville, and is open to senior citizens 65 and older...
Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund officials visit Flight 93 memorial, meet with community
“You are not forgotten.” That was the message Allison Turkel wanted to make clear for anyone who responded to the Flight 93 crash site in Stonycreek on Sept. 11, 2001. Turkel, who was appointed in March as special master of the federal Sept. 11th Victim Compensation Fund, was joined by...
Pittsburgh native brings directorial debut, ‘Two Lives in Pittsburgh,’ to Three Rivers Film Festival
When Brian Silverman was growing up in Mt. Lebanon, his parents often took him along to the many cultural events they attended around Pittsburgh. That early exposure to the arts made an impression on Silverman, who’s now 55 and living in Los Angeles. He’s returned the favor to his hometown...
Proposed Murrysville budget tweaks Medic One allocation
Murrysville will make some changes in the way the municipality designates some of its tax millage, according to a 2024 budget proposal. The $15.6 million budget, first presented at council’s Nov. 1 meeting, represents a 1.34% increase over 2023, finance director Jacie Milchak said. “The (property) tax rate will remain...
Franklin Regional school board will see 3 new faces
Three newcomers and two incumbents prevailed in Tuesday’s election for four-year seats on the Franklin Regional school board, according to unofficial vote tallies. With 100% of the vote, unofficial results showed Deb Bucciero (16%), Scott Weinman (15.8%), Vince Azzolina (15.3%), John Fallat (14.8%) and Joshua Zebrak (14.2%) as the top...
Here are results from contested races in Westmoreland County
Here are results from several of Tuesday’s contested races in Westmoreland County, according to unofficial vote tallies. Export district judge Longtime assistant district attorney Judi Petrush beat out Murrysville attorney Robert Klingensmith in the election for Export district judge, where longtime Judge Charles Conway will retire at the end of...
Newcomer Opsitnick takes top spot in Export council election
A longtime incumbent was unseated in Export, according to unofficial vote tallies from Tuesday’s election. Incumbent John Nagoda, who has been on borough council since 1976, came in fourth with just over 19% of the vote. Nagoda, along with fellow incumbents David Silvis (22.8%) and Joe Ferri (22.4%), along with...
Youngwood Sportsmen’s Association hoping for 2nd successful charity turkey shoot
Winners at the Youngwood Sportsmen’s Association’s annual Youngwood Charity Turkey Shoot get more than just bragging rights. They’ll get the satisfaction of knowing they’ve helped a family in need put a Thanksgiving meal on the table. “Last year, we were able to donate 50 complete dinners to local families,” said...
VA seeks to expand successful adult day health care program
The Pittsburgh VA is always seeking new ways to connect veterans, both with its services and with one another. After a successful start to its adult day health care program this summer, it’s seeking additional host sites in Monroeville, White Oak and the South Hills. “It’s been going rather well,”...
Youngwood man charged with multiple counts of child rape, sexual assault
An arrest warrant has been issued for a Youngwood man accused of multiple counts of child rape, according to state police. Nathan A. Fitzpatrick, 21, of Youngwood faces charges of child rape, sexual assault, indecent assault and rape by forcible compulsion filed Friday by state police out of Greensburg. The...
Murrysville area: Monticello Lights, bell-ringing volunteers, Thanksgiving concert and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. To ensure timely publication, please send information two weeks in advance if possible. Salvation Army seeking bell-ringing volunteers The Salvation Army’s Delmont Service Center is seeking volunteers to perform bell-ringing duty during one-hour shifts between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Volunteers are...
McCandless piano teacher inducted into Steinway’s educator hall of fame
When Marina Lupinacci was only 4, her father, a piano teacher and musicologist in Romania, was checking her musical aptitude. By age 10, it was decided that she should pursue a career in music. That was more than six decades ago. Today, after a career teaching music at West Virginia...
EMS directors: Reimbursement legislation ‘a step in the right direction’
Recent state legislation will increase the reimbursement local ambulance services receive when treating Medicaid patients, but EMS directors said they still are running in the red most of the time. “Every little bit helps,” said Darrick Gerano, director for Murrysville Medic One. “Any increase we can get from any insurance...
PennDOT seeking winter snow-plow operators
PennDOT Safety Press Officer Melissa Maczko pulled her coat a little tighter Tuesday morning as a stiff chilly breeze blew through the department’s stockpile area in Unity, near Arnold Palmer Airport. “I can feel the winter coming,” she said. In anticipation of snow season, PennDOT districts across the state are...
Murrysville Eat’n Park proposes additional dining space, disability access, pick-up window
Eat’n Park officials would like to make Murrysville their next location to receive an update, which will include a pick-up window for takeout orders. “This isn’t an ‘order-at’ location,” said Jesse Stock, Eat’n Park’s design and construction director. “You order ahead online or by phone and just pick it up....
Toe bones and porcupine quills: Library patrons create spooky-season ‘nature vials’
Toe bones, moss and quill of porcupine — it sounds like the ingredients in a witch’s cauldron. That means spooky season is the perfect time of year for Britney Jones to present a workshop featuring some of the items from her shop, Mz. Jones’ Curio, in Greensburg. The Bovard resident...
Mt. Pleasant country rocker wins independent music award for 3rd straight year
Andy Davis has plenty to smile about these days. The Mt. Pleasant native and his band released an EP and a full-length record in the past few years, and a new album, “The River,” was released in May on streaming services. And in each of the past three years, has...
Supporters of Murrysville ‘tree sign’ updates estimate $100,000 in costs
Valerie Mittereder and her husband, Ed, own the “ysville” section of the Murrysville tree sign, a group of several hundred evergreens which spell out the name of the municipality, on a hillside overlooking Route 22. The “Murr” section of land is owned by Michael Hillebrand. But after nearly a century,...
Murrysville area: Conservancy hikes, Medicare information sessions, drag queen bingo and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Event listings must be submitted at least two weeks in advance. Upcoming Westmoreland Conservancy events The Westmoreland Conservancy will host the following events: • Opt-Outside Black Friday hike, will take place at 10 a.m. Nov. 24, leaving from the Murrysville municipal building,...
Attorneys compete for Export district judge seat
Two Murrysville attorneys will vie to replace retiring District Court Judge Charles Conway in the Nov. 7 general election. Republican Robert Klingensmith, 59, a practicing attorney for more than 20 years, said he likes the engagement district judges have with the communities they serve. “You do everything,” he said. “You...
Westmoreland County Community College president will resign in summer 2024
Westmoreland County Community College’s first female president announced her resignation at the college’s board of directors meeting Wednesday. Tuesday Stanley, 55, who joined WCCC in 2014, will remain in her position at the school near Youngwood through June 30. She will have served as president for exactly a decade. Stanley...
