Murrysville Star category, Page 116
Western Pa. colleges awarded federal funds to underwrite reopening costs
Seven local colleges and trade schools were awarded more than $900,000 in federal grants to help underwrite public health and safety plans for reopening shuttered campuses. The grants that flowed through the state are part of a $28 million pool of federal CARES Act money state officials set aside to...
Murrysville Republican committee plans grand opening for new ‘Victory Center’ location
The Murrysville Export Republican Committee will bring in KDKA-AM News Radio 1020 host Wendy Bell for the grand opening of its “2020 Trump Victory Center” on Aug. 22. The opening will be at 10 a.m. at the center’s new location, 3145 Carson Ave., across William Penn Highway from the Dunkin’...
Delmont rec board will screen ‘Hook,’ host live music this weekend
The Delmont Recreation Board will screen the children’s film “Hook” and present an evening of live music at the board’s upcoming “Movies in the Park” this weekend. The free concert, featuring the Phisbins, will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Newhouse Park, just off Stotler Drive in Delmont. Food will be...
Eastern area real estate transactions, Aug. 10
Edgewood Jeremiah Lott sold property at 124 Dewey St. to Gretchen Snell Zelinsky for $245,000. Thomas Vandyke Schmaus sold property at 109 Ivy St. to Cory Francis Hayes and Alexa Donner for $183,000. Forest Hills MO Rentals Inc. sold property at 530 Atlantic Ave. to Erich Raymond Hulse for $78,500....
Trade schools offer training in high-demand, essential careersVideo
Candace Carlton recently earned a massage therapy license. Unfortunately, the past six months have made it tough to put it to use. “That doesn’t do too well during a pandemic,” Carlton said. The prospect of going back to school also is challenging, given that school districts, colleges and education centers...
Historical society finishes work on 1800s-era Murrysville schoolhouse replicaVideo
The Murrysville Historical Preservation Society was hoping to mark Murrysville’s 200th anniversary at its annual festival this year. While the society has canceled its 2020 events, according to its website, it does have reason to celebrate: a period-appropriate replica of the former one-room schoolhouse off of West Pike Street was...
Tickets for Walmart Drive-in movie experience sold out in Pittsburgh area
From Aug. 14 to Oct. 21, Walmart Supercenters across the country are offering 320 free, socially distanced drive-in movies in 160 store parking lots, shown in partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival. All locations in the Pittsburgh area are sold out, including Walmart stores in North Huntingdon and West Mifflin....
Westmoreland master gardeners take Monarch Migration Celebration online
Penn State Master Gardeners of Westmoreland County’s 2nd annual Monarch Migration Celebration has gone virtual, with seven weeks of activities to help children and their families learn more about monarch butterflies. The original celebration, held last September, was a single-day live event that drew about 150 participants. Organizers were hoping...
Westmoreland leaders say covid-19 grant awards will take longer than expected
Westmoreland commissioners said Thursday that $10 million in grants for local small businesses and nonprofits hurt by the coronavirus pandemic won’t be awarded until the end of August. The county received 500 grant applications by last week’s deadline. While officials originally suggested that money could begin to flow as early...
State reimburses Westmoreland for some voting machine expenses, talks to start Friday on finding next elections bureau head
Westmoreland County received a $3.4 million reimbursement from the state, which covers about 60% of the costs of new elections equipment purchased over the past year. That money, according to state guidelines, cannot be used to cover costs associated with the November presidential election, officials said. “It will have to...
Franklin Regional product Todd Summers leaving Villanova
When the Colonial Athletic Association decided to move football to the spring because of health and safety concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, it virtually stamped out the final days of Todd Summers’ college career. At least his days at Villanova. A Franklin Regional graduate, Summers would have been a senior...
Dealer school open house scheduled for this weekend at Hempfield mini-casino site
The public has its first chance to tour the new dealer school at Westmoreland Mall this weekend, which is slated to produce employees for the casino under construction at the Hempfield facility. From 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, those interested in the school can speak with experienced table game dealers...
Export notes: Borough plans for annual summer festival, awards contracts for downtown workVideo
Export will host its annual Ethnic & Music Festival from noon to 9 p.m. Aug. 15 along Washington Avenue. With health and safety at the forefront, Councilwoman Melanie Litz said festival officials have limited the number of booths. “We have half as many vendors as last year, to try and...
Ultraviolet light air cleaner added at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
A safety measure added at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport this week will rid the air of any harmful bacteria or viruses to keep employees and travelers healthy, said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority. An ultraviolet light system was installed in the Unity airport’s HVAC unit...
The Westmoreland reopens: A safe space to contemplate art in the midst of pandemicVideo
Doug and Connie Clutter of Washington, Pa., were the first guests through the door when The Westmoreland Museum of American Art reopened Wednesday. A watercolor painter, Connie said she was in need of some inspiration for her work. “We needed an outing, too,” her husband said. “I just missed art...
Citizens Bank, Trib Total Media, Pittsburgh Cares now accepting 2021 Champions in Action applications
Applications for a 2021 Champions in Action award are being accepted by Citizens Bank, Trib Total Media and Pittsburgh Cares until Aug. 21. The program is seeking nonprofit applicants for work done related to covid-19 relief. “Applications will be accepted … from nonprofit organizations focused on solving post-pandemic social needs...
Franklin Regional pushes back start date, modifies reopening plansVideo
The Franklin Regional School District has modified its plan for the 2020-21 school year and pushed back its start date to Sept. 8 after officials said new state health guidelines made it impossible to properly maintain social distance at its high school. Students up through eighth grade will have three...
Franklin Regional campus sees 2nd waterline rupture in 6 months
Franklin Regional facilities manager Jim Heck will seek school board approval later this month to replace a fire hydrant near the district’s high school after a six-inch waterline on the campus recently ruptured, the second line to do so in the past six months. “One was the main waterline to...
Westmoreland sheriff uses antibody tests to screen deputies for coronavirusVideo
Westmoreland County deputy sheriffs won’t have week-long waits to determine if they’ve been infected with the coronavirus. Sheriff James Albert said Tuesday his office secured up to 50 rapid antibody tests that his staff will use as a diagnostic tool to determine the likelihood of exposure to the virus. “As...
Census Bureau announces date change for in-person counts
Local communities could be left scrambling after the Census Bureau confirmed there will be one less month to collect population counts vital for determining how federal funds are dispersed and the number of representatives each state has in Congress. The final date for collecting the once-a-decade survey is Sept. 30...
New slides at Mammoth Park temporarily shut down amid claims of injuriesVideo
Jamie Crise was happy to hear Tuesday that Westmoreland County officials temporarily shut down new slides at Mammoth Park after her 10-year-old daughter was hurt there last month. The girl ended up with a brush burn on her shoulder and bruises, leaving the Mt. Pleasant Township mother with concerns about...
Westmoreland election director resigns 3 months out from election day
Westmoreland County officials Monday confirmed the resignation of the elections bureau director, a move that comes as preparations continue for the presidential general election just three months away. Commissioner Doug Chew said Beth Lechman last week notified county leaders of her decision to exit the job she has held since...
Export’s annual summer festival will feature flyover by World War II planes
There will be several unique aspects to this year’s Export Ethnic Food & Music Festival, set for Aug. 15, including something high in the sky. The festival, which will take place just prior to the 75th anniversary of World War II’s end, plans to feature two WWII-era planes that will...
Westmoreland restarts criminal trials with case against Rahmael Holt’s father
After a four-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, jury trials resumed Monday in Westmoreland County. A 12-member jury and two alternates were selected to hear evidence in a witnesses intimidation case against the father of the man convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of New Kensington police...
500 nonprofits, small businesses seek pandemic grants in Westmoreland County
About 500 applications for Westmoreland County’s coronavirus-relief grants started being evaluated Monday, and the first awards from a pool of $10 million could be approved this week. County commissioners last month announced the first phase of its grant program that uses $31.5 million in federal funds to assist small businesses,...
