Patrick Varine stories, Page 68
Murrysville prosecutor announces district judge candidacy
Westmoreland County Assistant District Attorney Judi Petrush has announced her candidacy for magisterial judge in District Court 10-3-02. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and its law school, Petrush, 54, focuses on sexual assault and abuse cases as the unit’s lead prosecutor. She is a member of both national...
Salem boy dies of injuries sustained during house fire
An 11-year-old Salem boy died of injuries suffered in a Feb. 10 house fire, according to family members and officials at Greensburg Salem School District. David W. Becker was among three people rescued from the burning home on Route 819. A neighbor, Christina Shaner, helped Becker’s mother get his younger...
Western Pa. public works crews make sure to have sufficient salt on hand each winter
Whether it’s 300 miles of roads in Hempfield or just one square mile in Export, the responsibility for public works crews in winter is the same — keep the roads safe and passable in bad weather. That also means finding a place to store thousands of tons of salt, especially...
Westmoreland museum hosts Valentine-themed craft for kids
Parents and children stopped by the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg on Sunday morning to created Valentine-themed crafts during a free “I Heart Art” event. Volunteers typically help host at least one such event monthly at the museum on North Main Street....
Police: Man in stable condition after Terrace Village shooting
Police said a man is in stable condition after an overnight shooting in Pittsburgh’s Terrace Hill neighborhood. Pittsburgh police were called to the area of Allequippa and Kirkpatrick streets around 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning, where they found a man with wounds to his head and chest. EMS transported the man...
Fire damages Elizabeth Forward High School; classes canceled Monday
A fire that broke out early Sunday morning at Elizabeth Forward High School caused extensive damage and forced the district to close the high school until further notice, Superintendent Keith Konyk said. The fire was contained to the auditorium side of the high school, Konyk said in a letter to...
Delmont seed swap offers variety for backyard gardenersVideo
Darin Kuczek gets a lot of enjoyment out of his backyard garden. “I’m not exactly a ‘hippie-dippy’ guy, but I have a chair out there and after I get done working, a lot of times I’ll just sit for maybe an hour,” the Salem resident said. “I just really enjoy...
‘College Now’ program gives high school students a chance to earn early associate’s degree
When Jacinda Floyd first heard about the “College Now” program at Westmoreland County Community College during her freshman year at Franklin Regional Senior High School, she said she “kind of overlooked it.” “I was thinking, ‘I’m a freshman and have a lot of time to go before college,’” Floyd said....
State approves first Black-owned pre-apprenticeship program in Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Chapter of the A. Philip Randolph Institute has been approved as the city’s first Black-owned, state-certified pre-apprentice program for the skilled trades. The APRI’s “Breaking the Chains of Poverty” program is designed to help people build the skills necessary to earn a career in the building and construction...
Murrysville area: Poet program, Export Business Group meeting, fashion show and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Delmont library to present Emily Dickinson program Guest Jim Arnold will present “Judge Tenderly of Me,” a program about the life of poet Emily Dickinson. It will be at 4:30 p.m. March 2 at the Delmont Public Library, 77 School Street. The...
Export officials want to better coordinate utility and paving work
Export officials would like their freshly-paved streets to stay in that condition. So, in addition to efforts to coordinate local utility construction with street work, they are also considering an ordinance that strengthens the requirements for restoring streets following utility work. During a discussion about the use of federal grant...
Excess additive in gas lines causes large volume of 911 calls in Murrysville, Export, Delmont
An excess of the additive that gives natural gas its “rotten-egg” smell caused more than 300 calls to Westmoreland County 911 since Tuesday night, reporting an odor of natural gas, according to Peoples Natural Gas officials. Calls began coming in to Westmoreland County 911 around 9 p.m., according to a...
McKees Rocks Bridge to close for pavement marking
The McKees Rocks Bridge will close for three hours Wednesday starting at noon. Traffic will be detoured to the West End Bridge between noon and 3 p.m. Work crews from Brayman Construction and Advantage Steel & Construction will close the bridge in both directions as they perform pavement marking. It’s...
Murrysville consumer advocate wins lawsuit over toilet tissue tax
If you are a cashier, you’d better not overcharge Murrysville resident Mary Bach. She will find out, she will take your store to court — and she likely will win. Bach, 78, recently won a $100 district court judgment against Walgreens in Murrysville after she discovered the store was imposing...
Murrysville council shows reluctance to make development exceptions
In voting down a rezoning request and indicating concerns about a second one, Murrysville council members Wednesday showed a reluctance to carve out exceptions when it comes to development in the municipality. Council first held a discussion about a proposal to re-zone 54.6 acres near Murrysville Community Park from rural-residential...
State grant could help create large, uninterrupted recreation space in Monroeville
There’s still a good bit of fundraising to go, but a grant of more than a half-million dollars has the Allegheny Land Trust halfway toward its goal of acquiring 95 acres of property in Monroeville for conservation. “We’re able to use this grant as the first step for this land...
Murrysville area: Fashion show fundraiser, comedy nights, Delmont library programs and more
Woman’s club to host annual fashion show The Murrysville Woman’s Club will host its annual Spring Fashion Show at 10 a.m. March 25 at the Lamplighter Restaurant in Salem. A breakfast brunch will be followed by the show, featuring Fashions by Marge Predmore. Club members will be hosting a basket...
With a new home, Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books looks to expand in its 2nd year
Last year’s inaugural Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books brought 50 authors, 25 poets and more than 2,000 attendees together to celebrate the magic of literature and poetic prose. This year, with a new location at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood, festival organizers are seeking to...
Westmoreland schools take top spots in Westinghouse Chain Reaction Contraption contest
From marbles to movie tributes, Westmoreland County students made all the right moves when it came to creating a Rube Goldberg-style machine for the annual Westinghouse Chain Reaction Contraption contest. Teams from Hempfield Area and Franklin Regional high schools took the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, in the...
Delmont library will host annual seed swap on Feb. 11
Did you grow a tomato in your garden last year that you really loved? If so, it’s easy to keep that crop going by saving seeds from your harvested fruit. Seed savers of all types will be on hand, with everything from fruits to vegetables to native plants and flowers,...
Greensburg Salem bus driver accused of inappropriate communication fired
A bus driver in the Greensburg Salem School District has been fired after being accused of inappropriate communication with students, according to the driver’s employer. DMJ Transportation Safety Coordinator Mark Kraynick said the driver was recently fired after an internal investigation. Greensburg Salem officials said the issue, which began with...
Report: 1 dead, 1 critically injured in Ellwood City shooting
A woman is dead and another person is in critical condition following a shooting late Monday afternoon in Ellwood City, city officials told Tribune-Review news partner WPXI. Ellwood City police are investigating the shooting, which took place shortly after 5:15 p.m. Monday along First Street, Mayor Anthony Court told WPXI....
Forecasters say snow to taper off — leaving cold, freezing rain behind
Snow was tapering off throughout the region Tuesday morning after rain turned into a mix of snow and icy glaze in some areas, leaving behind cold temperatures, according to National Weather Service meteorologists. “There’s a frontal boundary moving through with some warmer air aloft, and a colder surface temperature,” NWS...
Mon-Fayette Expressway’s next phase will help test innovative road concepts
Paul Metzler of Murrysville isn’t confident that truckers will voluntarily limit their use of “jake brakes” on the stretch of Route 22 situated down the hill from his home in Manordale Farms. “Between the ribbed concrete that the highway is made of and the increase in trucks that all use...
High school robotics teams gear up for a new season of ‘FIRSTs’Video
Franklin Regional Superintendent Gennaro Piraino wanted to know what junior Rory Messersmith considered to be more valuable to his academic future — being a member of the high school’s robotics team, or studying for the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests. “I’m not sure if I should answer that,” Messersmith...
