Patrick Varine stories, Page 87
No covers: Millvale Music Festival emphasizes original tunes
The classic rock cover band is a staple of community festivals, particularly in the Pittsburgh area. And looking at event calendars for a good many venues, it’s clear that music fans in the region don’t mind digging into the nostalgia that the genre provides. But even with more than 300...
Murrysville: Found-art presentation, used book sale, Carnegie Museum speaker, more
Submit news, briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Found-materials artist featured at East Suburban Artists League The East Suburban Artists League will feature artist Glendon Hyde at their May 5 meeting. Hyde creates “found art” using discarded and broken materials, mostly donated by friends and neighbors. Hyde will share his...
Greensburg, Delmont libraries to implement STEM grant aimed at digital literacy
Last summer, preschool-age children at the Delmont Public Library had a chance to work with robotics kits and get introduced to the science, technology, engineering and math concepts that are part of the STEM education model. Problem is, the library only had the kits on loan for a week’s worth...
Police arrest Wilkins man wanted on sexual assault charges
The Allegheny County Police have arrested a Wilkins Township man who was reported missing on Tuesday and charged with aggravated indecent assault, sexual exploitation of children and additional charges on Wednesday. Police said Frank M. Derzak, 59, of Wilkins, was reported missing by a family member on Tuesday. He was...
Armstrong County couple charged with sexually assaulting 1-year-old
An Armstrong County couple has been charged with sexually assaulting their 1-year-old daughter, according to state police. Troopers from the Kittanning station were sent on Saturday, April 23 to ACMH Hospital, to investigate an alleged sexual assault. Police said Jesse A. Wiegand, 29, of Cowansville told hospital staff that he...
Anti-Defamation League: 82% increase in antisemitic incidents in Western Pa. in 2021
Western Pennsylvania has seen an increase of more than 80% in antisemitic incidents, the highest figures recorded in the state since tracking began in 1979, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League. ADL officials released the report this week highlighting 20 incidents in which antisemitism was considered a significant...
Pennsylvania garden centers, landscapers begin phasing out newly banned plants
The latest round of plants added to Pennsylvania’s noxious weeds list reads like a directory of popular landscaping options. Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), callery or Bradford pear trees (Pyrus calleryana) and Ravenna grass (Saccharum ravennae; Tripidium ravennae) have been staples of urban and particularly suburban landscaping for decades. All three...
Boxing returns to SportZone with ‘Murrysville Madness II’ on May 7
When the next group of boxers organized by Monroeville promoter Derek Gionta enters the ring on May 7, it will include first women’s fights he has organized. That makes the venue – Murrysville SportZone on William Penn Highway – all the more appropriate. “It’s great because they have a women’s...
Penn-Trafford students bring home awards from digital media competitionVideo
Penn-Trafford students Conner Alexander, Amanda Bobish and Paul Mills were in the middle of a live broadcast, during the third quarter of the 2021 PIAA football semifinals, when a nightmare scenario for a first-time sportscaster began unfolding. “It was taking forever to get this call sorted out on the field,”...
Teacher: Westmoreland Online Academy ‘a powerful choice’ for students
The covid-19 pandemic had several unplanned lessons for U.S. educators, who were required to adapt to a wide variety of “classroom settings” that blended in-person, virtual and asynchronous instruction. For some students and parents, learning from home was a stressful, unproductive experience that showed them the value of in-person education....
Penn Middle students prepare to stage ‘Beauty & the Beast’Video
Less than a decade ago, Maddie Nick was on the stage at Penn-Trafford High School. At the time, it seemed like a big challenge. “When you’re on the stage, you have a lot to remember, but you don’t appreciate the full scope of what it takes to put on a...
Murder and mystery abound in Franklin Regional’s ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’
Colin Miller has pretty much had his fill when it comes to being killed off in Franklin Regional stage performances. “I’ve died multiple times in multiple shows, plus I was in ‘Clue’ my freshman year,” Miller said. So how about in his senior year, for the upcoming production of “The...
Murrysville area: Clay target team, parkour summer camp, plant sale, more
Submit news, briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Clay target team seeks new members The Franklin Regional Clay Target team is accepting new members for youth in grades 6-12. With support of the West Penn Sportsmen’s Club in Murrysville, and startup funding from the National Rifle Association, the team is...
Aspinwall artist, Spectrum Charter students unveil mural in MonroevilleVideo
Spectrum Charter School in Monroeville has a theme that its staff and students try to live out each day: “Look for the good.” There was plenty of good on display Wednesday night, as students joined resident artist Alison Zapata to unveil a 16-by-8-foot mural that will welcome everyone who comes...
Aspinwall artist, Spectrum Charter students unveil mural in MonroevilleVideo
Spectrum Charter School in Monroeville has a theme that its staff and students try to live out each day: “Look for the good.” There was plenty of good on display Wednesday night, as students joined resident artist Alison Zapata to unveil a 16-by-8-foot mural that will welcome everyone who comes...
Murrysville squirt gun ‘assassin’ game results in multiple police responses
A teen squirt gun game has resulted in several calls to Murrysville police in the past week. The “FR Assassins” game, which has its own Twitter feed, involves teens “eliminating” one another by ambushing a randomly chosen participant with a squirt gun. A video on the group’s Twitter page shows...
Report: Stretch of William Penn Highway in Salem ranks among state’s deadliest roads
Four miles of Route 22 just east of Delmont are among the top 10 deadliest stretches of road in the state, according to recent data compiled by the personal finance website MoneyGeek.com. The 4.3-mile stretch of Route 22 — or William Penn Highway — between Scenic Drive and Hannastown Road...
Sedlak family organizes more than quarter century of cleanup days in Monroeville
Joe Sedlak is happy to be part of more than a quarter century of organizing a community cleanup day in memory of his father, former Monroeville Councilman Jack Sedlak. And as far as he’s concerned, this year’s clean-up day on April 30 can’t come soon enough. “This is probably as...
Yough students to perform ‘If Sherlock Holmes Were a Woman’
When Emilie Morton was younger, she can recall being obsessed with the cartoon character Dora the Explorer. “Just like her, I wanted to explore,” said Morton, 17, a junior at Yough Senior High School. That made it easy to channel a young person’s excitement and desire to emulate their heroes...
County grant helps Murrysville fund license plate reader cameras on Route 22
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said she views one of her primary responsibilities as doing “anything we can to stop the free flow of drugs through Westmoreland County and beyond.” According to Murrysville police Chief Tom Seefeld, a significant portion of that flow comes through the “Gateway to Westmoreland...
New dinosaur species named for Indiana University of Pennsylvania alumnus
An Indiana University of Pennsylvania graduate now shares his name with a new species of dinosaur, discovered in 2017 in China’s Yunnan province. Molecular biologist John J. Kopchick is now the namesake of Yuxisaurus kopchicki, an armored dinosaur that is a distant cousin of the Stegosaurus. It lived between 174...
Nonprofit calls research into recent U.S. book bans ‘shocking’ as Franklin Regional parents express support for restrictions, warnings
The graphic novel “Persepolis” might be back on the list of approved books for freshman honors English students at Franklin Regional, but the parents and residents pushing for its removal do not plan to stop there. “That, I believe, is only the tip of everything going on,” said Gretchen McGee....
Murrysville area: Blood drive, plant sale, more
Submit news, briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Garden club plant sale set for May 5 in Murrysville The Murrysville Garden Club will host its annual plant sale from noon until sellout May 5 at the Murrysville VFC No. 1 pavilion, 3235 Sardis Road, Murrysville. The club will be selling...
Westmoreland Heritage Trail stop signs stolen from Monroeville trailheadVideo
As president of the Westmoreland Heritage Trail, Stan Rudge usually has plenty of things on his plate. Dealing with the theft of two stop signs at the Monroeville trailhead has not been one of them. Until now. “It looks like someone literally cut the post right at the top of...
Murrysville art exhibit to showcase Latrobe artist’s studentsVideo
When Mark and Amanda Clemente opened Brushes & Beans in Murrysville, they wanted to have a business that was part of the community. Hosting art classes and exhibiting local art has been a big part of that. In April and May, the Clementes will host one of their biggest exhibits...
