Murrysville Star category, Page 121
Many Westmoreland taxpayers not noticing extended discount period
Many Westmoreland County residents aren’t taking advantage of this year’s extended discount period for property taxes, and it’s causing headaches for local tax collectors. Earlier this spring, the county commissioners extended the deadline for the 2% property tax discount — which usually ends in April 30 — through Aug. 31...
Murrysville Recreation Department details summer plans, programs
The Murrysville Recreation Department is venturing into summer events as Westmoreland County continues making its way through the “green phase” of the state’s covid-19 reopening plan. Concerts The “Tuesdays at Townsend” concert series will resume June 23. Free concerts at Townsend Park will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8...
Delmont officials look to address improper dumping at Shields Farm
Delmont officials will place a gate restricting access to the borough dump site on the Shields Farm property during weekdays to prevent what police say is a mounting issue with garbage dumping. “It’s getting to be a real problem,” Chief T.J. Klobucar said. “We’ve issued some citations recently, and we...
Delmont’s Apple’n Arts Festival looking at options for 2020 event amid coronavirus concernsVideo
Officials from the annual Apple’n Arts Festival are getting a little bit antsy. The event regularly draws thousands to Delmont in the fall, and with the region having shifted into “green status” in the state’s phased covid-19 reopening plan, festival organizers were looking for some direction from the borough on...
Franklin Regional school board set to vote on 2.54-mill tax hike next week
There have been some tweaks to Franklin Regional’s proposed final 2020-21 budget but, for taxpayers, it remains largely the same. Despite expenditure reductions related to special education funding, fewer commissions on tax collections and no change in insurance premiums, which were expected to rise, the $61.31 million budget stands with...
Overdoses continue to drop in Westmoreland, but traffic deaths jump 50%
Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha’s 2019 annual report released Monday showed an expected decline in drug overdose deaths for the second consecutive year, but it also disclosed a dramatic 50% increase in traffic fatalities. The local traffic deaths, which jumped from from 18 in 2018 to to 27 in 2019,...
Contractor: All but 4 Sloan Elementary classrooms will be ready for 2020-21 school year
Construction officials for Franklin Regional’s Sloan Elementary project anticipate that all but four classrooms will be ready in time for the start of the 2020-21 school year. “The majority of the classrooms will be completed, with the exception of the additional kindergarten classrooms on the far right side of the...
2 more coronavirus cases, no new deaths reported in Westmoreland County
Two new covid-19 cases and no additional deaths were reported Thursday in Westmoreland County. The countywide case total is now 455 with 38 deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. County Coroner Kenneth Bacha reported 32 coronavirus deaths, less than the state’s number, but Bacha’s office has not updated...
Shady Side Academy students win Emmy award
Eight Shady Side Academy students can call themselves Emmy winners after the school’s WSSA-TV Film Club earned a trophy in the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) 2020 Mid-Atlantic High School Production competition. The Student Emmy was awarded for a short-form video, “Grateful for Our Teachers,” which features...
Westmoreland green phase: No temp checks at courthouse, offices opening
Westmoreland County is moving to green status on Friday, meaning courthouse visitors won’t need a temperature check to enter, and some restrictions on access to row offices will be lifted. Gov. Wolf announced last week that Westmoreland would be joining other counties in southwestern Pennsylvania in moving from the yellow...
Murrysville man accused of possessing child porn
A 45-year-old Murrysville man is accused by state police of downloading dozens of images of child pornography to his home computer. Daniel E. Bozym Jr. is charged with 28 counts of possession of child pornography and single counts of possessing photographs of a child performing a sex act and criminal...
Delmont Public Library will reopen June 1 with social distancing restrictions in placeVideo
“What?!? It’s a real book?!?” Delmont librarian Denni Grassel’s humorous exclamation in a video posted to YouTube (watch the video below) was the official signal that the Delmont Public Library will be reopening on June 1, with some new procedures in place. Among the new guidelines: • Only 25 people...
Lower Burrell man identified as motorcyclist who died in Murrysville crash
A motorcyclist died Wednesday when his vehicle collided with a car along Route 380, about one-quarter mile west of the Route 366 intersection in northern Murrysville, police said. The Westmoreland County coroner’s office identified the motorcyclist as Gregg A. Leipertz Jr., 24, of Lower Burrell. Leipertz was pronounced dead at...
Court denies appeal of Murrysville’s fracking ordinance
A local citizen group’s challenge of Murrysville’s unconventional drilling ordinance has been struck down in court. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Harry F. Smail denied an appeal by the Murrysville Watch Committee, which challenged an earlier decision by the Murrysville Zoning Hearing Board. Smail pointed to a November 2019...
Student art projects for local seniors a ‘two-fer’ for Franklin Regional art teacherVideo
Franklin Regional High School art teacher Lori Mozina found a way to brighten the days of residents at two local senior homes in addition to getting her students their required community service hours. National Art Honors Society members, along with a large group of high school art students, created photos,...
Delmont, Murrysville farmers markets will open with some restrictions this season
Annual farmers markets in Delmont and Murrysville will open in June, but with some special measures in place to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. • In Delmont, the market will be open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. beginning June 13, and will add a curbside pickup...
Memorial Day ceremonies shortened this year in Murrysville, Delmont, Export
Memorial Day will be a bit more low-key than in previous years for residents in Murrysville, Export and Delmont, due to restrictions in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus. “They will be very limited this year, with the roll call and no speakers, and we’ll be keeping to social...
Newlonsburg reconfigures year-end celebration for fifth graders
Fifth graders at Newlonsburg Elementary in Murrysville typically get a warm send-off as they leave for summer vacation and prepare to enter the middle school. “On the last day of school, we do sort of an indoor parade,” Principal Tina Gillen said. “Students and staff line the hallways, and fifth...
Delmont Library volunteers host ‘Grab and Grow’ garden kit distribution
The Delmont Public Library’s volunteers the Delmont Diggers were already looking at alternate plans for 2020, since the new library is being built where their butterfly garden once stood. “We’d planned to do container gardens around the library, but when covid-19 happened, we weren’t even able to do that,” said...
Construction manager: Franklin Regional elementary project keeping pace despite delay
The general manager for Franklin Regional’s Sloan elementary campus construction and renovation is confident that contractors will be able to keep pace with the project’s original timeline, despite a roughly month-long setback at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. “The only areas we’re trying to keep a close eye on,...
White-tail deer fawn whines for mother on Murrysville webcamVideo
A rite of spring is the birth of hundreds of thousands of white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania with most fawn born within a week of Memorial Day, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. It’s not surprising that wildlife webcams in Murrysville captured footage of what looks to be a newly born...
Delmont takes first steps toward reopening
With Westmoreland County shifting into the state-designated “yellow phase” with regard to the covid-19 pandemic, Delmont officials are taking steps to slowly reopen the borough. “With the county moving into yellow status as of Friday, I think you can reopen the office if that’s your desire, with the CDC social...
Delmont extends discount period for borough tax payments
Delmont council extended the discount period for residents to pay real estate taxes, but also found out this week that their financial position is relatively strong amid the economic fallout from the covid-19 pandemic. Council unanimously approved a resolution extending the 2% discount period through Aug. 31. Taxes will then...
Westmoreland municipal authority approves data backup, readies for construction season
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County will spend about $151,000 on backup services for its electronic data and get started on projects as restrictions on construction work have been lifted. The authority board approved a three-year lease Wednesday with TCF for equipment services and software that will allow the authority...
Franklin Regional plans drive-thru ‘Celebration of Our Seniors’ on original commencement date
Franklin Regional School District officials have a couple of tentative dates for the Class of 2020’s commencement ceremony but, whether they work out or not, administrators want to recognize their senior students. Franklin Regional Senior High School will host a “Celebration of Our Seniors” at 6 p.m. June 5, the...
