Patrick Varine stories, Page 51

American Red Cross officials honored a security employee for the Pittsburgh Pirates whose quick thinking helped save a life during his first day on the job this summer. Patrick Benedict was working his first shift as game-day security at PNC Park on June 7 when he noticed a co-worker choking...

A man died after jumping into the Allegheny River early Saturday, and a second man who dove in after him was rescued, according to Pittsburgh police. First responders were called to the Ninth Street Bridge around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday for reports of witnesses who saw a man run from...

Franklin Regional might undertake a student mental health survey that is generating debate about how much a school district should get involved with the issue and to what extent parents should be included in those decisions. School directors recently delved into the issue, with district officials defending a proposed student...

Bonsai tree workshop The Murrysville Community Library, Murrysville Garden Club and municipal recreation department will present “The Ancient Art of Bonsai,” about bonsai tree cultivation, at 6 p.m. Oct. 16. Murrysville resident Dave Metzgar will discuss the history of the art form, what constitutes a bonsai tree and will show...

Pennsylvania’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits store is adding some international flavor to the whisky section this month, with several Japanese varieties available at select stores and online. The crown jewel in the group, at least based on price, is an 18-year-0ld Hakushu single-malt peated whisky created to celebrate Suntory...

Officials in Ohiopyle, the small Fayette County borough surrounded by Ohiopyle State Park, estimate they need $650,000 to fix the local sewage treatment plant and make related repairs. State officials say Ohiopyle’s sewage system takes in more wastewater than it can handle. But the town has fewer than 30 permanent...

Blues guitar legend Buddy Guy will have to wait a little longer to say “Damn Right Farewell” to Westmoreland County, after announcing that his Sept. 28 show will be rescheduled to April 7, 2024. “My medical team has advised me to reschedule some of my upcoming shows,” Guy, 87, said...

It’s not just that Lynn Jablonowski didn’t have any boating experience. She was also actually afraid of the water. But she’d overcome breast cancer, and with help from members of the Hearts of Steel dragon boat racing team, she overcame her fear of water, too. Everyone on the Hearts of...

Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Registration open for Delmont cyclo-cross race The Delmont Visionary Committee will host its second annual “Hammer the Hills of Delmont” cyclo-cross race. It will be at 9 a.m. Nov. 11 at Shields Farm. The race is a challenging course with wooded trails,...

Throughout September, Westmoreland County residents may have noticed red sand filling in the sidewalk cracks at prominent locations such as Independence Health System hospitals, the county courthouse, local libraries and Seton Hill University. A sign accompanying the bright red sand notes that it is part of the Red Sand Project,...

(Editor’s note: This is part of a series about Westmoreland County residents who have been honored as Hometown Heroes. The program honors local military and non-military heroes by displaying photos on decorative banners in area communities.) Robert Harouse Export 1934-1969 Robert Harouse didn’t talk much about his military service during...

There are two additional students in the classrooms of Franklin Regional School District this year: two graduate students from Saint Vincent College. The Saint Vincent College Fellowship program brings two students enrolled in Saint Vincent’s master’s of education program to Franklin Regional for the next two academic years. “It’s a...

Christina Donahoe was excited to be painting another mural where she grew up. After creating a floral mural in Export in 2022, she has been preparing to start a mural project to cover unsightly graffiti on a Route 22 underpass in Murrysville. She was in the process of lining up...

Part-time Delmont Police Officer David Johnston is the newest full-time member of the borough’s police force, after being sworn in at the borough council’s Sept. 12 meeting. Johnston will replace Officer Richard Stephens, who resigned in late August. Johnston has been working full-time in the borough since Sept. 1. In...

Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Tickets on sale for ‘Pilgrimage Jr.’ The Delmont Pilgrimage is expanding to include a session specifically geared toward children. “Pilgrimage Jr.” will be Dec. 2 from 2-4 p.m., where pre-school and elementary-age children can experience the Nativity while interacting with the angel...

Brooke Smith hasn’t been back to the unassuming house on Circle Street in Perryopolis since her “rescue” there by the FBI in the early ’90s. OK, technically it was the fictional Catherine Martin rescued from a well in the horrifying basement of serial killer Buffalo Bill, during the seminal 1991...

Happy hour started a little early for Frank Fuhrer III and his guests Wednesday afternoon. It’s only appropriate — Fuhrer was cutting the ribbon on a new 300,000-square-foot warehouse for his beer and soda pop distribution business, so getting a few coolers full of beer was a matter of walking...

Several homes in the small borough of Laurel Mountain near Laughlintown were evacuated briefly Wednesday morning as authorities investigated reports of a gas leak, according to county emergency officials. First responders were called to a home on Walnut Road in the small community off of Route 30 shortly after 11...

Delmont residents asked their council to consider some additions to the borough — specifically a dog park, and speed humps on West Pittsburgh Street. “There are more than 300 dog license applications processed for Delmont, and that’s just in 2023. We want our dogs to be happy and healthy, and...

A Westmoreland County man drowned Monday while vacationing on Hilton Head Island Beach in South Carolina. Beaufort County Deputy Coroner Andrew McNece identified the man as David Owens, 64, of North Huntingdon. Emergency responders were called to the Disney Club Beach in Palmetto Dunes around 3:30 p.m. Monday for a...

The Richard King Mellon Foundation will donate $1 million in grants to support recovery efforts on Maui after devastating wildfires on the Hawaiian island. “I extend my sincerest ‘mahalo,’ or thank-you, to the big-hearted board of trustees at the Richard King Mellon Foundation,” said Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a Pittsburgh-area...

About 10 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, Terry Butler of Somerset headed to his job in Stonycreek, already very concerned. He had heard about terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. Then he looked up and saw a plane. “It was...

Murrysville council members are debating an ordinance regulating short-term rentals through companies like AirBnb and VRBO. The council has split over the rental issue perceived by some as limited in scope and by others as a question of personal safety for neighbors in a residential area. “So far, I’ve heard...