TribLive stories, Page 650
QB signee Ethan Grunkemeyer follows similar path to Penn State as Drew Allar
This time last year, Ethan Grunkemeyer had one FBS offer: Miami (Ohio). On Wednesday, he signed with Penn State as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 recruiting class. It’s been a rapid rise for Grunkemeyer, the Olentangy (Ohio) standout who committed to Penn State in May as a...
The Stroller, Dec. 25, 2023: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Donations welcome for new LB fire truck Lower Burrell Volunteer Fire...
Dom Nania trying to build solid foundation with 1st-year Saint Vincent wrestling team
Dom Nania knows what it’s like to be involved in a wrestling program that is starting from Square One. A decade ago, the Hempfield grad was the first recruit for the wrestling team at Wheeling Jesuit (now Wheeling University). Nania ranks third on the program’s all-time wins list (98) and...
A-K Valley wrestlers help form building blocks for new Saint Vincent program
If a college recruiter is looking for capable wrestlers, there are few places better to look than Western Pennsylvania. And within that region, the Alle-Kiski Valley is among the most fertile areas. Consider just a few examples: • Kiski Area grad Jack Blumer has posted 25 career wins at West...
Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Dec. 25
.Mallard Fillmore cartoons for the week of Dec. 25....
Scenes from the Valley: Images captured in the Alle-Kiski Valley from Dec. 14-20, 2023
Here is a weekly look at recent images captured throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley. From major news events to routine gatherings, the Tribune-Review’s “Scenes from the Valley” photo package brings to life activities and moments happening in your backyard. To have a photo considered as a “Scenes from the Valley” candidate,...
Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Franklin Regional’s Juliano Marion
While wrestling might seem like a very individual sport, there are many team aspects to competition. Only the wrestler can win his contest, of course, but team chemistry is as important as in other sports. At least that’s the case according to Franklin Regional’s Juliano Marion, who has the group...
Letter to the editor: Love the Steelers, but not Tomlin
Mark Madden’s column regarding the Dec. 16 loss to Indianapolis was spot on in every point (“Steelers’ loss to Colts another embarrassment for Mike Tomlin,” Dec. 17, TribLive). We have watched the loss of spirit, the poor decision-making, the relentless pursuit of mediocrity instead of excellence — since the opening...
Letter to the editor: Immediate action needed on gun safety
Gun violence is an epidemic that claimed 1,900 Pennsylvanian lives in 2022 and is the leading cause of death in U.S. children ages 1-19. Yet since publication of my letter “Protect our children from gun violence” (May 4, TribLive), nothing has changed, due to a state Legislature that is so...
Editorial: We wish you a merry Christmas
What is your Christmas tradition? Do you open presents on Christmas Eve? Is that the night you finally decorate the tree? Do you eat homemade candy and watch “It’s a Wonderful Life?” Do you dress in matching pajamas? Do you put your kids to bed and then eat the plate...
The Stroller, Dec. 24, 2023: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Merry Christmas, dearest readers A very Merry Christmas to all our...
Letter to the editor: Ceasefire won’t work in Gaza
It’s clear that ceasefires have not brought peace in the Middle East, but instead prolonged the violence. Over the past 80 years, terrorist groups have attacked Israel and frequently killed innocent civilians. And whenever Israel fights back to the verge of victory, the U.N. calls a ceasefire. Ceasefires allow terrorists...
Latrobe council presents Student Showcase Award to Greater Latrobe student athlete
Kate Wolford, a senior and student athlete at Greater Latrobe Senior High School, was presented with the fall Student Showcase Award during December’s city council meeting. Wolford, 18, is a swimmer, and her involvement includes private swimming lessons, working with the YMCA and participating in various student groups such as...
Dixie Chicks co-founder Laura Lynch dead at 65 after head-on collision
Laura Lynch, a founding member of the Chicks — formerly the Dixie Chicks — has died in a car accident in Texas. She was 65. The musician died following a highway collision outside of El Paso on Friday, her cousin, Mike Lynch, told TMZ. The Texas Department of Public Safety...
Biden says presidents can be subject to criminal prosecution
President Joe Biden said he “can’t think of one” reason presidents should receive absolute immunity from prosecution, as Republican front-runner Donald Trump has claimed. Biden made the comment in response to a reporter’s question Saturday before departing the White House for Camp David, where he will spend Christmas. The Supreme...
SpaceX launch sends up booster flying for record 19th time
ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX sent up another Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral early Saturday with a first-stage booster flying for a record 19th time. The Falcon 9 rocket on the Starlink 6-32 mission with 23 Starlink satellites launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at 12:33 a.m. This marked a record...
Israel and Hamas measures get a look as most U.S. state legislatures meet for first time since Oct. 7
Most U.S. state legislatures will reconvene in January for the first time since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel sparked a war in Gaza and protests worldwide — and they’re preparing to take action in response, symbolic and concrete. Legislatures in at least eight states that were in session late...
North Dakota lawmaker made homophobic remarks to officer during DUI stop, bodycam footage shows
BISMARCK, N.D. — A North Dakota lawmaker who serves on a panel that handles law enforcement legislation made homophobic and anti-migrant remarks to a police officer who arrested him on a charge of driving drunk, body camera footage shows. Republican state Rep. Nico Rios of Williston also was charged with...
Pine-Richland basketball game supports boy in need of bone marrow transplant
Students and basketball players from Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley are coming together to support a boy who needs a live-saving bone marrow transplant. Jax Ramirex is the 8-year-old son of Pine-Richland’s school psychologist, Dr. Missy Ramirez. He is battling a rare genetic disorder called immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked syndrome,...
Pillar of volleyball community headlines Alle-Kiski Valley Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024
One of the sadder days in the Alle-Kiski Valley was Feb. 22, 2016. Ellen Mangus Toy — educator, girls volleyball coach and a star in that sport during her playing days — died after a years-long battle with stomach cancer. A charity foundation and an outdoor volleyball court in Vandergrift...
Llewellyn King: Christmas is the world’s festival, its happy place
I am an oddball. I like to work on Christmas. I don’t know how it is now, but when I was younger and worked for newspapers, variously in Africa, Britain and the United States, I always volunteered to work over the holiday and loved it. There was a special Christmas...
Letter to the editor: Abortion not the answer to overpopulation
Regarding the letter “Abortion and overpopulation” (Dec. 7, TribLive): I am incredulous of the writer’s idea to alleviate overpopulation by killing unborn babies. Why stop there? Maybe you could create a committee to decide who among the elderly should be eliminated to alleviate overpopulation. I cannot fathom how you consider...
Sounding off: Bidenomics, Christmas, energy, politics among week’s topics
Bidenomics has been disastrous The article “Biden goes into 2024 with the economy getting stronger, but voters feel horrible about it” (Dec. 11, TribLive) quoted a few “experts” that stated they were “mystified” as to why Americans weren’t more positive about Bidenomics. They cited the reduced inflation rate of 3.2...
Letter to the editor: Hospitals should provide price lists ahead of time
Regarding Renee Y. Hsia’s op-ed “Same hospital, same injury, same child, same day — why did one ER visit cost thousands more?” (Dec. 15, TribLive): What would really be helpful are price lists. I can’t think of anything else where you have no idea what you are paying for ahead...
Letter to the editor: Christmas is under attack
Yet again, Christmas is under attack. Multi-billion-dollar companies deceiving some into thinking that Christmas means getting and receiving material things, consumers flooding the stores of multi-billion-dollar owners, gluttons feasting on Christmas dinners, going to church and filling the coffers for the next golf outing, and yet homelessness hits a record...

