Patrick Varine stories, Page 79
Nonprofits, community groups to mark International Overdose Day on Wednesday
Officials at Highmark’s Fifth Avenue Place headquarters in Pittsburgh will light the building purple on Wednesday to mark International Overdose Awareness Day and to draw attention to the resources available for those living with addiction. That’s just one event in a flurry of activity that will mark the day. The...
Projects at Morosini Reserve offer new chances to check out local wildlife in MurrysvilleVideo
Zach Posner can remember watching deer browse the big apple tree his family used to have in their Claridge backyard. “They’d always come up and eat apples,” said Posner, 15, of Penn Township. “We also live close to Bushy Run, and we can go over there and see a lot...
Review: A good man makes a real bad decision on ‘House of the Dragon’
ALERT: Contains spoilers for the ‘Game of Thrones’ series up through episode two of ‘House of the Dragon’ Good, honest men usually have a tough go of it in the “Game of Thrones” universe. Just ask Ned Stark. King Viserys Targaryen isn’t a perfect man by any means. He doesn’t...
Delmont Pilgrimage marks 50 years of bringing the Christmas story to the boroughVideo
Kerri Cole of Delmont will not forget her first trip to the Delmont Pilgrimage, partly because of the impact it had on her and partly because of her unknowing lack of preparation. “I had stiletto heels, a dress and a full-length London Fog coat,” Cole said with a laugh. “I...
Pa. lawmakers eye stronger guidelines as school districts enhance security measures
Following the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Pennsylvania lawmakers approved a grant program with the goal of getting $300 million to state school districts for security upgrades. Four years after the killing of 17 people, schools in Western Pennsylvania are continuing to make...
Murrysville medic retires after 50 years in emergency service
Pat Anderson has seen quite a bit since he got his start in emergency medical services back in 1972. Some of it was deadly serious, making split-second medical decisions in the days before EMTs underwent numerous certification classes and were given basic first aid and CPR training. Some of it...
Mr. Smalls gives live theater a go this weekend with Sondheim’s ‘Passion’
Jordan Berlin Speranzo and Nick Grosso have a passion for live theater. So it’s only appropriate that the first production they teamed up to stage shares that same name: Stephen Sondheim’s “Passion.” Speranzo’s mother Liz Berlin, rock veteran of Pittsburgh’s Rusted Root and owner of Mr. Smalls Theatre in Millvale,...
Amphitheater project, vehicle replacement among Murrysville’s 2023 capital priorities
Murrysville officials recently laid out roughly $21.5 million in capital improvement plans for the next five years, including construction work on the Logan’s Ferry Road, Heather Highlands and Cal-Ken Court bridges. More than 70% of the capital improvement funding will go toward road overlay and infrastructure projects, according to finance...
Murrysville area: New Rotaract club, cyclo-cross race, fall library programs, more
New Rotaract club forms Dominick Fogle of Delmont was installed as the inaugural president for the new Rotaract Club of Delmont-Murrysville during the club’s charter meeting, held July 26 at the Delmont Public Library. Rotaract’s mission is to provide an opportunity for men and women to enhance their leadership skills...
Export will vote again, with full council, on $5 sewage rate hike
Export Mayor Joe Zaccagnini broke a contentious tie vote last month over whether to approve a $5 monthly increase in local sewage rates, passing along a roughly 8% rate hike by the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority. Next month, the issue will come back before a full council for another...
Delmont-Salem Rotary to install fountain at borough’s Newhouse Park
When Delmont-Salem Rotary officials have held events at Newhouse Park in Delmont, one question has popped up frequently, according to incoming president Christian Tomley. “When we have our steak fry every year, we’ve gotten questions about why there’s no fountain,” Tomley told Delmont council at its Aug. 9 meeting. “It’s...
‘House of the Dragon’ gets back to the backstabbing we loved in ‘Thrones’
Last time we spent our Sunday nights in Westeros, toward the end of the final season, there was one episode I truly enjoyed, just after the forces of good...
Opening of Franklin Regional’s solicitor post draws critics
Franklin Regional School District is accepting proposals for the position of district solicitor. Several district residents questioned school director Diana Altieri Hand’s motion the end of the Aug. 1 board meeting to reopen the solicitor’s position. The move was not part of the board’s posted agenda but passed by a...
Murrysville area: Rummage sale, golf fundraiser, car shows, more
Rummage sale Union Presbyterian Church will host a fall rummage sale Sept. 9-10 at the church, 656 Route 380 in Washington Township. The sale will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 9, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 10. Items other than jewelry, furniture and antiques will...
Driver in fatal Salem crash is Pennsylvania State Police trooper from Uniontown
A Pennsylvania state trooper remains on the job after his involvement in a fatal Aug. 17 crash in Salem, officials said Monday. A BMW driven by Tyler J. Strini, 27, of Homer City did not slow down for stopped traffic, troopers said. Strini, assigned to Troop B in Uniontown, joined...
Beaver County professor earns U.S. Dept. of Justice award for domestic-violence research
A Penn State Beaver professor and volunteer with domestic-abuse nonprofit Crisis Center North has been presented with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Crime Victims Research Award. John Chapin, 58, of Center, a survivor of childhood domestic violence who now researches the subject, was given the award which “recognizes individual researchers...
Export may get to pave central parking lot sooner than expected
Export’s central public parking lot could be paved sooner than expected. After having to remove the project from a state grant application earlier this summer, Export officials may be able to get it done through a federal-grant-money swap. Officials intended to use Community Development Block Grant money for a retaining...
Sweet corn, tomatoes are foundation for more diverse offerings from Western Pa. farmers
Hempfield farmer Neil Palmer says that for 50 years his operation has been focused on growing fresh produce, which is sold at his own farm market. “This year, we have a little more than 20 acres of fresh vegetables,” said Palmer, a fourth-generation farmer. “For the most part, it’s been...
Changing agricultural landscape leaves fewer farmers to work larger farms
When Ralph Myers, 85, looks at the farming operations around him, the difference is stark compared to three decades ago. “In 1995, there were about 195 dairy farmers in Armstrong County,” said Myers, a fourth-generation farmer from Gilpin and patriarch at Myers Pickle Farm, which dates to 1866. “Today, there...
TribLive Taste Test: Skittles & Extreme Sour Warheads freezer popsVideo
It’s the end of summer, and that means freezer pops are on sale. So we went to the corner store and found the two weirdest kinds they had — which turned out to be two supposedly candy-flavored types: Skittles and Extreme Sour Warheads freezer pops. TribLive Taste Test squad member...
Floral mural created by Export native, touts borough’s historyVideo
There is little doubt that the Westmoreland Heritage Trail has helped reinvigorate downtown Export. Shops along Washington Avenue that once were shuttered have sprung back to life, and projects large and small signal changes to come. Where the trail ends, walkers and cyclists will be treated to the work of...
Franklin Regional to renovate libraries with donation, foundation grantVideo
Franklin Regional Senior High School librarian Wade Burtch wants his library to be anything but a static space. “A high school building is already a pretty rigid environment, and one of the things (high school Principal) Ron Suvak and I talked about was making the library a place where students...
Billy Strayhorn-Duke Ellington’s jazz ‘Nutcracker’ to premiere in Pittsburgh
On Dec. 1, 1938, Pittsburgh resident and jazz composer Billy Strayhorn met the legendary Duke Ellington backstage after a show at what was then the Stanley Theater. Their musical personalities meshed, and Strayhorn’s composition “Take the ‘A’ Train” eventually became the Ellington band’s theme song. The duo also collaborated on...
Franklin Regional hires new assistant superintendent, assistant high school principal
Franklin Regional school board members filled a couple of the positions left open after the departure of several administrators in the past few months. School directors approved a new assistant superintendent and assistant high school principal, following the resignations of Robin Pynos and Ted Benning, respectively. Matthew Delp joins the...
Overnight closures planned as work starts on Rosslyn Road on-ramp to Parkway West
Motorists frustrated with the lack of progress in fixing the Rosslyn Road on-ramp to the Parkway West got some good news this past weekend. Crews are set to begin work Aug. 26 to repair damage to the on-ramp from a February accident. The repairs were delayed because of supply chain...
