Patrick Varine stories, Page 88
Teen arrested with stolen gun Sunday on South Side
Pittsburgh Police arrested a 19-year-old Pittsburgh man they said was in possession of a stolen gun early Sunday morning on Carson Street. Police were called to the 1800 block of East Carson Street around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday for a report of a man brandishing a gun and becoming confrontational...
Police investigate Hampton bank robbery
Police in Hampton Township are investigating a bank robbery that took place Monday afternoon. Allegheny County emergency officials said police were dispatched to the First Commonwealth Bank on Route 8 at 3:50 p.m. Additional information was not immediately available....
Westmoreland County Senior Games return after 2-year hiatus
The Westmoreland County Senior Games return to action this week, following a two-year pandemic hiatus. County parks coordinator Chris Panichella couldn’t be happier. “This has been a big part of Westmoreland County events, and we got a lot of calls last year asking if we could find some way to...
Delmont residents asked to fill out survey to help develop recreation plan
Delmont officials want to hear from residents about their wants and needs when it comes to the future of recreation in the borough. As part of the development of a boroughwide recreation plan, and with the help of a state grant and hired consultant, residents have been asked to fill...
Forbes Road students bring home state championship in 3D animationVideo
Students from Forbes Road Career & Technology School have the skills to join the Future Business Leaders of America, the world’s largest career and technical student organization and one that helps them develop leadership skills. Those skills were on full display from April 11 to 13, when three Forbes Road...
Former reporter, Franklin Regional grad pivots from journalism to fiction writing
After majoring in computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, Sindya Bhanoo is quite literally living out the title of her debut book, “Seeking Fortune Elsewhere,” having pivoted to a career as a fiction writer. “I studied computer science at Carnegie Mellon, but even back then I was interested in storytelling,”...
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...
