Patrick Varine stories, Page 65

Murrysville Council last week unanimously approved what will be the municipality’s second unconventional gas drilling operation on a property straddling the border with Plum. Canonsburg-based Olympus Energy is seeking to build the Hermes unconventional gas drilling well on a 147-acre property just southwest of the Rolling Fields Golf Club, on...

At one point during World War II, Donna Miller’s grandmother had three sons serving in the military at the same time, part of a group of five family members who served over the course of the war. “My aunt, Esther Schriever was in the Navy, and then there was my...

When local officials began planning for a possible amphitheater at Murrysville Community Park in 2018, it was in response to a community survey about amenities residents wanted to see. In addition to the amphitheater, they included a playground and splash pad, both of which were installed over the next couple...

Delmont officials have broached the idea of imposing a stormwater fee on residents. “Monroeville has enacted a stormwater fee,” Councilman Stan Cheyne said. “They’ve essentially told residents, you need to pay a fee for the runoff you are contributing to the system.” North Huntingdon officials are in the process of...

Email news briefs and event information to pvarine@triblive.com. Murrysville area recreation hikes planned The Murrysville Recreation Department will host two more “Hot Chocolate Hikes” during the winter. The next will a “Sweetheart Hot Chocolate Hike” at 10 a.m. Feb. 14 at the Lillian Kellman Reserve, 3490 Kellman Drive. The second...

When an underground gas storage facility was installed on a small section of the Shield’s Farm property in the early 1990s, Delmont officials approved it without realizing they were potentially violating the terms under which the farmland was purchased. “Shield’s Farm was acquired many years ago with Project 70 funding...

More than three decades ago, Michelle Henry was walking the halls of Greensburg Salem High School with her classmates. This week, the 53-year-old Greensburg native was named acting Pennsylvania attorney general. After graduating from high school and Allegheny College, Henry headed east to attend the Widener University School of Law,...

A Clairton man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a fatal shooting Jan. 2 in Pitcairn. Daniel Kelly, 21, of Clairton, faces a homicide charge and weapons violations, the sheriff’s office said. The victim, Nekye Smith, had been shot in the head around 4 p.m. in the 400 block of...

Pennsylvania was home to a half-billion pieces of litter in 2020, and that was just along the roads, according to a survey commissioned by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection and PennDOT. That’s disheartening news to Pennsylvania Resource Council Executive Director Darren Spielman, especially since the council’s annual Gene Capaldi...

In 1965, Lyndon Johnson was president of the United States, the country was involved in a war in Vietnam, and the Fab Four — The Beatles — held what many consider to be the first stadium rock concert in New York City. Without as much fanfare, Pennsylvania leaders that same...

The last time Tom Soltis spoke to the American Association of University Women’s Murrysville chapter, it was during the emergence of the omicron variant of the covid-19 virus. Soltis recently retired after a career teaching sociology and anthropology at Westmoreland County Community College. He also is the author of “An...

A Waste Management driver was transported to Mercy Hospital on Wednesday after being struck by a car in Mt. Lebanon, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. Police said a 34-year-old garbage man on his route was bringing a trash can to the truck when he was struck along Kenmont Avenue...

Eleven crashes, eight injuries and one death in four years. Those are the traffic statistics Murrysville police recorded going back to the start of 2019 for the section of Route 380 — barely a mile of roadway — between routes 286 and 366. A number of factors come together to...

A man was taken into custody Thursday following a standoff with police in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood. Police said they were called to a home in the 5000 block of Columbo Street around 3 p.m. after receiving reports that a man had barricaded himself inside with a 4-year-old child. A woman...

Police are investigating a shooting that took place early Friday morning in Aliquippa. A Beaver County 911 supervisor said police were called to the 2300 block of Mill Street around 5:15 a.m. for a report of a shooting. One person was transported to a local hospital. Additional information was not...

UPMC East will join more than 20 other hospitals throughout the health system in adding robotic-assisted surgery as an option for patients. The da Vinci Surgical System allows surgeons to make small incisions and perform surgery using tiny robotic surgical instruments and cameras. At UPMC East, a dual-console system will...

Email news briefs and event information to pvarine@triblive.com. Franklin Regional to start parent, community lecture series Franklin Regional officials will host the first speaker in the Franklin Regional Parent & Community Lecture Series on Jan. 25 with a presentation by dietitian Ruth Harper. It will be at 6 p.m., Jan....

Pittsburgh police said a man was killed Wednesday night after being struck by a vehicle on the Birmingham Bridge. Police and emergency responders went to the bridge just before 7:30 p.m. and found an injured man on the road. The vehicle’s driver remained at the scene. The victim was taken...

Pittsburgh police SWAT officers arrested a man wanted on felony assault charges who had barricaded himself inside a house in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood for several hours early Wednesday. Police responded to a home in the 2900 block of Sheraden Boulevard around 2 a.m. for a report of a domestic dispute....

A woman was flown by medical helicopter following a crash early Wednesday morning in Washington Township, according to emergency officials. First responders were called to the intersection of Route 380 and Greensburg Road (Route 366) around 1 a.m. for a report of a car that had rolled over and struck...

Two Pittsburgh residents will be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame’s 2023 class, hall officials announced earlier this month. Rory Cooper, a University of Pittsburgh professor and founder of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories, and DuoLingo CEO Luis von Ahn are among 16 innovation pioneers whose inventions range...

A worker at the Rustic Ridge mine in Donegal was injured late Monday when his arm became trapped in a mining machine, according to emergency officials. Emergency crews were called to the mine on County Line Road shortly after 9 p.m. for a report that a 22-year-old worker’s arm was...

A new strain of covid nicknamed the “kraken” for its dominance over previous strains of the virus has been found in the Western Pennsylvania region, health officials said. Officially known as XBB.1.5, the new covid variant has jumped from just 1% of cases to become the dominant strain in the...

Export Historical Society officials are hoping to work with the borough, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation and the Society for Mining and Metallurgy Exploration to create a historical area at one of the few bituminous coal mine sites able to be safely viewed by...