Patrick Varine stories, Page 92
Murrysville area: Cleanup week, youth fishing tournament, more
Submit news, briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Municipal cleanup week begins April 25 Murrysville Cleanup Week will take place April 25-30. Residents can receive permit passes to take items to the Valley Landfill, 6015 Pleasant Valley Road, from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. throughout the week, and from 7-11...
Gateway brings back musical originally planned for 2020
In 2020, Gateway band director James Hoeltje was in the middle of rehearsing a song from the musical “The Drowsy Chaperone,” called “Toledo Surprise,” when the cast got its own surprise. They were sent home, at first for two weeks and then for the remainder of the school year as...
Indiana Township farm’s goat cheese wins top spot at World Cheese Championships in WisconsinVideo
An Indiana Township farm has partnered with local businesses to create one of the world’s best cheeses, at least according to the judges at the World Championship Cheese Contest, held March 1-3 in Wisconsin. Bamboozle cheese, created from a blend of goat and cow’s milk at Goat Rodeo Farm &...
State police: Phone scammers seeking donations for fallen troopers’ families
If you get a call asking to donate to the families of two fallen Pennsylvania state troopers, the president of their association wants you to know: It’s fake. The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association warned residents statewide this week about groups pretending to raise money for the families of troopers Martin...
Police: Rankin man charged in connection with fatal Knoxville shooting
A 23-year-old Rankin man was arrested in connection with a fatal shooting Friday in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville neighborhood. Akeyba Sanchez was charged with criminal homicide and denied bail, according to court documents. Zone 3 police officers on patrol near Brownsville Road and Bausman Street heard gunshots around 2:45 a.m. on Friday,...
Pennsylvania tick survey turns up concentrations of rare Powassan virus variety
In the final year of a statewide tick surveillance program that began in 2018, state researchers are seeing a troubling uptick in a form of Powassan virus carried by black-legged ticks, the same species that spreads Lyme disease. Deer tick virus was present in more than 80% of tick samples...
Murrysville GOP organizer will challenge Silvis in 55th District
A Murrysville political organizer will challenge fellow Republican and state Rep. Jason Silvis in the May primary election for the newly shaped 55th District. Jill Cooper of Murrysville been active in local politics for more than a decade, working as part of the Murrysville Export Republican Committee and serving as...
Study identifies potential east suburb path to connect Westmoreland, Allegheny trails
Allegheny County officials on Friday released a feasibility study for a project connecting the Westmoreland Heritage Trail to the Great Allegheny Passage by way of the Turtle Creek Valley, which runs through Pittsburgh’s east suburbs. Several proposed routes could serve to link the Westmoreland Heritage Trail from its western terminus...
Murrysville teen heads to eastern regional skiing championships in Vermont
The competition generated by sibling rivalry means that following in your big brother’s or sister’s footsteps isn’t always appealing. But for Becket Pottinger of Murrysville, whose older siblings were both competitive skiers, it’s motivation. “Watching the way they ski, hearing the advice they’ve been given, plus going to almost all...
American wagyu proves popular with Crabtree butcher, though some have beef with price
Gary Bardine isn’t into social-media commenter flame wars. The fourth-generation butcher at Bardine’s Country Smokehouse in Crabtree is into good, quality food — even if it generates a few negative comments on his Facebook page. “I brought some American wagyu in as a gift for my brother,” Bardine said. “He...
Faced with loss of his district, state Rep. Bob Brooks opts not to run for re-election
When the new maps for Pennsylvania’s legislative districts were released, state Rep. Bob Brooks was more than a little disappointed to discover his 54th District was being shifted across the state to the Norristown area. On Thursday, the Murrysville Republican announced he will not seek re-election. “Government has many forces...
Murrysville: Easter pet photos, youth fishing tournament, scholarships, more
Submit news, briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Easter pet photos session at Heritage Trail The Murrysville Recreation Department will host an Easter pet photos session from 10 a.m. to noon, April 9 at the Westmoreland Heritage Trail visitor center on Route 22. The event is free to attend, but...
Debate continues about teaching ‘Persepolis’ at Franklin Regional schools
Franklin Regional School Board members, administrators and parents on Wednesday continued their discussion about the district’s decision to pause the teaching of “Persepolis,” Marjane Satrapi’s award-winning graphic novel, in the ninth grade honors English class. District officials said earlier this month that the school board’s curriculum committee wanted to make...
1 dead following Washington County house fire
A Carroll Township man died of injuries suffered during a fire at his home early Thursday morning, according to emergency officials. Firefighters were called to Van Voorhis Lane in Carroll, across the Monongahela River from Monessen, around 5:15 a.m. Thursday morning. Crews from Carroll Township, Bentleyville, Monongahela, New Eagle and...
Fayette County man arrested after charging state police with knives
State police arrested a Perry man they said charged them armed with a pair of large knives on Tuesday. Troopers responded to a residence near Water and First streets in Perry Township, Fayette County, shortly after 1 a.m., for a report of man who had ingested rat poison and threatened...
Greensburg Salem Middle School prepares to stage ‘Frozen Jr.’Video
Conveying emotion from a high school stage out into the audience is already a tricky task. When your head is trapped inside a snowman’s mouth, it can be even trickier. “The way the head is can make it tough,” said LeTrey Derry, 13, who will play living snowman Olaf in...
Excela kicks off aid campaign with Ukrainian-inspired menu
Krystyna Lewczenko couldn’t be more proud of her nieces. Hailing from Wroclaw in the southwest of Poland, Lewczenko said they recently drove all the way to the Ukrainian border to help take in some of the women and children fleeing the country, as Russia’s invasion continues taking lives and displacing...
Book challenges are becoming more frequent, driven in part by social media
The time, thought and effort that English teachers and librarians put into their work is not random, says Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director for the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “They have college degrees, they care very deeply about the work they do, and to suggest that the objections of...
Murrysville Alzheimer’s educator publishes children’s book about dementia
During her time as director of a memory-care facility in Rhode Island, former teacher Doreen Putnam began to notice the children who were coming to visit residents whose cognition had been affected by diseases such as Alzheimer’s. “They really didn’t understand what was happening to their grandma or grandpa,” Putnam...
Pittsburgh Foundation awards $215K through Exposure Artist program
Deavron Dailey can’t decide what he loves more — his hometown of Detroit, or his home for the past 13 years, Pittsburgh. The similarities and contrasts between the two industrial cities have informed much of Dailey’s recent artwork, and a $20,000 grant from The Pittsburgh Foundation’s Exposure Artist Program will...
Trade group requests $294M increase in senior funding in Pa., citing Medicaid underfundingVideo
A trade association representing more than 370 senior housing, health care and community service providers in Pennsylvania are calling for state lawmakers to approve a $294 million increase in nursing home funding. The request comes on the heels of a report commissioned by LeadingAge PA showing that Pennsylvania nursing homes...
Murrysville: Book sale donations, trail bridge closure, hot chocolate hike, more
Submit news, briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. AAUW collecting for community book sale The Murrysville American Association of University Women is collecting donations of gently used books starting April 1 for the group’s used book sale on partnership with the Murrysville Community Library. The sale will take place May...
Allegheny Health Network’s Monroeville surgery center earns patient safety award
Allegheny Health Network’s Monroeville Ambulatory Surgery Center has been recognized with a 2022 safety award by the Patient Safety Authority, an independent state agency which collects reports of patient safety events from Pennsylvania health care facilities. Pennsylvania is the only state that requires health care facilities to report all incidents...
Blairsville woman sentenced following decade-long tax, mail fraud scheme
A Blairsville woman was sentenced to over six years in federal prison on charges of mail and tax fraud, after Indiana County prosecutors say she stole more than $500,000 from her employer over the course of a decade. Sandra J. Doak, 64, of Blairsville, was sentenced to 42 months in...
Caliente Pizza looks to add another award to its collection at International Pizza ExpoVideo
When Nick Bogacz of Pine Township returned from his first trip to the International Pizza Expo in Parma, Italy in 2015, he was reinvigorated. “I saw how culinary-inspired it was,” said Bogacz, owner of the Caliente Pizza chain in the Pittsburgh area. “When I came back, I managed to convince...
