Patrick Varine stories, Page 85
New Kensington police seek info on car’s driver
New Kensington police are seeking information about the driver of a car seen May 4 in the city. A social media post asked for information about a blue Honda Civic, seen outside of the New Kensington Denny’s on Tarentum Bridge Road (Route 366) around 5:30 a.m. on May 4. Police...
New Kensington residents charged after pound of suspected cocaine, weapons found in apartment
A man and woman from New Kensington face drug charges after police say they found about a pound of suspected cocaine and guns during a raid at an apartment late last month. New Kensington police worked with narcotics agent Wes Biricocchi from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Drug Task Force to...
Fawn stops by for quick tour of North Huntingdon counter-top supplier
There are plenty of job openings in the local economy right now, but Vangura Surfacing Products in North Huntingdon doesn’t really have many positions open for an applicant without opposable thumbs. So when a fawn wandered through an open bay door Friday morning, shop supervisor Russell Shirley knew it wasn’t...
Pittsburgh police seek missing Hazelwood sisters
Police are seeking information on two missing siblings from Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood. Sisters Rosie, 11, and Bayjai Germany, 13, were last seen at their home in Hazelwood. Rosie is 4-feet-6-inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. Bayjai is 5-feet-4-inches tall, also with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with...
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority plans 8% rate hike
Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority customers are preparing for an 8% rate hike announced recently. The rate hike is part of FTMSA’s plan for addressing a consent order with the state Department of Environmental Protection, aimed at eliminating sewer system overflows. The authority has borrowed $20 million throughmunicipal bonds to...
Turn it up: Car audio competition set for Sunday in GreensburgVideo
“Just kick a little somethin’ for the cars that be bumpin’.” That’s the admonition that kicks off “The Boomin’ System,” the first track on old-school rapper LL Cool J’s landmark album, “Mama Said Knock You Out,” and it extols the virtues of having a high-powered sound system in the car....
Export Historical Society adds a few more names to borough war memorialVideo
A few more veterans will be honored in Export this Memorial Day, as historical society officials add to the town’s war memorial. “We definitely had Memorial Day in mind as a deadline,” said historical society board member John Lukacs. “We decided to open things up for new name suggestions, and...
Murrysville area: Community dinner, 5K color run, benefit golf tournament, more
Email news briefs for the Star to reporter Patrick Varine at pvarine@triblive.com. WSO Hat Luncheon slated for June 11 The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra’s annual Hat Luncheon will take place at 11 a.m. June 11 at the Greensburg Country Club, 309 Pleasant Valley Road in Hempfield. Tickets are $85 and are...
TribLive Taste Test: Trying hot sauce from the Fuego BoxVideo
It’s about to be full-on barbecue season. The weather will make it hot outside, and this week we’re making it hot inside courtesy of five hot sauces from the Fuego Box. We sampled sauces from the All Star Box, but there are a wide variety of boxes and an even...
Big Brothers Big Sisters plans ‘Summer Fest’ at Twin Lakes Park
Aubrey Marquis has been a “Big” for a year and a half, and she says she still gets choked up when she talks about spending time with her “Little” at Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Laurel Region. “You come into the program with the mission of changing the life...
Extra security in place at Norwin after reported threat against student, employee
Extra security is in place in the Norwin School District today after a threat of violence against a student and a middle school employee was discovered on social media Wednesday, Superintendent Jeff Taylor said. The district said Thursday that the student who made the comment — reported through the state’s...
Woodland Hills appoints Castagna as permanent superintendent; 2 school directors resign
Woodland Hills school officials have made Acting Superintendent Daniel Castagna’s position permanent, voting to confirm his appointment at a special meeting Wednesday night that also included the resignation of two school board members. The board voted 5-1 to appoint Castagna as the superintendent; board member Terri Lawson abstained from voting....
Police say Washington County man fatally shot his neighbor
Pennsylvania State Police have accused a Washington County man of fatally shooting his neighbor Wednesday afternoon in Smith Township. Bryce Kevin Tacy, 52, is accused of criminal homicide in the incident reported at about 2:3o p.m. along Loffert Road. Police said Tacy verbally engaged the victim, Jerry E. Anderson, 44,...
Westmoreland Heritage Trail officials add new locations to Trail Towns Festival
When the Westmoreland Heritage Trail Towns Festival kicks off this year, it will add two new towns to the mix, with events happening throughout the day in Trafford, Monroeville, Export and Slickville. “The first festival was in 2019,” said Vicki Rudge, public relations chair for the Westmoreland Heritage Trail. “The...
‘They help everybody’: Hampton-based fitness club introduces Down to Box program
When Fit 4 Boxing Club opened in Hampton in 2015, its owners already had an eye toward working with people of all abilities. As an early example, the club integrated a program called Rock Steady Boxing, which employs a non-contact, boxing-based fitness curriculum for those suffering from Parkinson’s disease. A...
Pa. hopes apprenticeship program can help alleviate skilled-worker shortage
Chad Warhold, owner at Warhold Mechanicals in North Huntingdon, has plenty of business. He just needs to find some additional skilled employees, or those willing to learn. “That’s part of why we got into apprenticeships,” said Warhold, whose company does heating, ventilation and air conditioning, plumbing and gas line work...
Murrysville Community Library marks 100th anniversary
Nowadays, patrons of Murrysville Community Library can reserve an e-book from the comfort of their own homes, or attend a presentation from an astronaut at NASA by way of the library’s Tech Nook. It’s a long way from the mid-1980s, when former librarian Denise Sticha would return from the grocery...
Fit4Boxing gym in Murrysville, Hampton offers program for those with special needs
When Fit4Boxing opened in Hampton in 2015, its owners already had an eye toward working with people of all abilities. “We started working with people affected by Parkinson’s disease when we first opened,” said Brett Burkhart, managing partner with Fit4Boxing. “My uncle had been training with a guy from Sewickley...
Pittsburgh-area native works with real-life members of Navy’s Top Gun program
Shortly before Memorial Day, veteran actor Tom Cruise will take to the skies once again as Navy pilot Pete Mitchell in the long-awaited sequel to the 1986 action blockbuster “Top Gun.” But at Naval Air Station in Fallon, Nev., Pittsburgh native Amanda Taylor will be working with the real-life members...
Westmoreland native continues growing gamer-coaching company Metafy
Over the past three years, Derry native Josh Fabian has turned his gamer-coaching company, Metafy, into a major player in the gaming industry, raising $25 million in venture capital from international hedge funds such as Tiger Global and Seven Seven Six. As the company has continued to scale up —...
Murrysville area: Golf tournament, veteran banners, more
Email news briefs for the Star to reporter Patrick Varine at pvarine@triblive.com. Golf tourney to benefit FR Panther Foundation The annual golf tournament to benefit the nonprofit Franklin Regional Panther Foundation will take place June 10 at Meadowink Golf Course, 4076 Bulltown Road in Murrysville. The cost is $175 per...
Monroeville begins planning for Westmoreland Heritage Trail connector bridge
While it’s only a short distance from the edge of Valley Park in Monroeville to the Westmoreland Heritage Trail in neighboring Murrysville, the bridge connecting the two is still a fair distance away. “There’s a lot that goes into it,” said Monroeville Municipal Manager Tim Little. “We have to get...
Pit bull shot after escaping Cook Township property
A Cook Township man’s dog was shot Sunday night after leaving his property, police said. The pit bull belonging to Mark E. Ahner, 60, of Stahlstown, escaped the property and became aggressive toward two men near the intersection of Main Street and Hoffer Plan in Stahlstown shortly after 9:30 p.m.,...
Murrysville man designs ‘Monopoly’-themed road rally course
They won’t see Park Place or Boardwalk, but drivers in a Saturday, May 21 Monopoly-themed road rally through Westmoreland County might pass over some old Pennsylvania Railroad tracks. “The course will head out on a winding route to the Bells Mills covered bridge in (Sewickley and South Huntingdon),” said Bruce...
Export officials want more communication with nonprofit social-service site
Export officials are hoping to have a clearer line of communication with a nonprofit that operates a house in the borough for individuals with disabilities. Community Living And Support Services (CLASS), a nonprofit whose mission is to “support people with disabilities as they explore options, participate in the community and...
