Murrysville Star category, Page 123
Murrysville council moves to online meetings, public will still be able to participate
Some members of Murrysville council were sitting in the audience Wednesday night, in full observance of the recommended social distancing protocols. When they meet next, they’ll be sitting even farther apart, but neither they nor the public will need to worry about social distancing unless someone else is sitting too...
Philips Respironics hiring at Murrysville, Upper Burrell plants to meet demand for ventilators
Philips Respironics, a medical manufacturer that produces ventilators and related breathing equipment, is increasing production and hiring assemblers at its Murrysville and Upper Burrell plants to meet demand spurred by the spreading coronavirus. The company is recruiting for more than 50 positions for assemblers on all shifts at the two...
What’s essential as businesses heed pleas to close amid coronavirus pandemic
Businesses around Western Pennsylvania have shut their doors, heeding pleas from public health officials and elected leaders from mayors to governors to the president to limit contact between people to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Gov. Tom Wolf this week asked that all nonessential businesses close. Many have. But...
New voting-machine demo canceled in MurrysvilleVideo
A late-March hands-on demonstration of Westmoreland County’s new voting machines has been canceled amid the spread of the coronavirus, but voters can still get a digital look at how the machines operate. While the March 28 demonstration in Murrysville will not go forward, county election officials have posted a video...
Franklin Regional working through plans for meal service, ‘voluntary learning opportunities’
As parents of school-age children scrambled to figure out how to handle two weeks of closed schools, administrators are trying to determine how to handle instruction in the near future. “At this time, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and schools across Pennsylvania are working through many legal and procedural barriers regarding...
Franklin Regional school board, Murrysville planning commission meetings canceled
Monday’s Franklin Regional school board voting meeting and Tuesday’s Murrysville Planning Commission meeting have been canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. School district officials will communicate and advertise the date for a make-up meeting. The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for April 6. School board meetings are...
Murrysville native helps save ‘Restaurants on the Edge’ in Netflix showVideo
Murrysville native Courtney Hazlett hates to see a restaurant with a great location – and a great view – slipping into obscurity. With that in mind, Hazlett’s production company, OutEast Entertainment, created “Restaurants on the Edge,” which debuted in late February on Netflix. On the show, a team of experts...
Work nearly complete on replica of 19th-century Murrysville schoolhouseVideo
A crew of Amish carpenters may have been brought in to build a replica of the 1836 schoolhouse off of West Pike Street in Murrysville, but Murrysville Historical Preservation Society members didn’t need to venture far to find other period-appropriate trappings. “Lou Geiger from Murrysville, who owns (Caleb Atlantic fuel...
Delmont native works as Navy SeaBee electrician
With two generations of military men in his family, Derek Hughes of Delmont felt a strong duty to make a contribution of his own as the third. “My grandfather served in the Marine Corps as an infantryman during the Korean War and my uncle served in the Navy in the...
Delmont officials seek grant to help develop borough recreation planVideo
Delmont officials will apply for a grant from the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to develop a recreation plan that will map out roughly the next decade for the borough’s parks. The grant requires a 50% match from the borough. The estimated cost of developing the plan is...
Cops: W.Va. man accused of assaulting, choking woman in Delmont
A Martinsburg, W.Va., man is being held without bail in the Westmoreland County Prison after he was accused of choking and threatening to kill a woman in Delmont. Ricardo Feliciano, 42, was charged with criminal trespass, cruelty to animals, disorderly conduct, harassment, stalking, strangulation and terroristic threats filed by Delmont...
Murrysville resident examines 1920s Johnstown racial incident in new book
Editor’s note: The author’s scheduled March 18 presentation at CCAC was canceled after this story was first published online. What began as a search for a story about local black history led Cody McDevitt to a project that has gone from a newspaper series to a magazine to a book...
Banners to honor veterans prove popular in Westmoreland
Delmont officials want to gauge residents’ interest in purchasing banners for local veterans to be displayed throughout town. If the response next door in Export is any indication, they’re likely to prove popular. “We’ve gotten about 70 orders and anticipate at least another 10 that are in the works,” said...
Delmont may raise sewage rates to keep pace with consent ordersVideo
Delmont officials will advertise for a $6.50-per-month sewage rate hike to keep pace with changes required in the borough’s consent order agreement with state environmental regulators. Council voted unanimously to advertise for the rate hike, and likely will vote on it at next month’s meeting. The borough is a party...
Cops: Murrysville man accused of nearly hitting policeman and dog in fleeing car
A 19-year-old Murrysville man, who police say almost hit a police officer and police dog Magnus while trying to flee a traffic stop, was arrested within an hour on multiple criminal charges. Zachary J. Jackson was arrested about 12:30 a.m. Saturday when several municipal police officers went to a residence...
Murrysville’s Morosini Reserve will become an ‘Enchanted Forest’ in May
It might seem a little strange for officials from the Westmoreland Conservancy – which focuses on science-based programming – to host a hunt for fairy houses and troll dens. “Just like with any myth, there’s a little grain of truth,” said conservancy President Shelly Tichy. “The ‘fairies’ are the insects...
Murrysville siblings work both sides of the stage for ‘Sound of Music’
When Camryn Hall wakes up in the morning, the Murrysville teen may have to take a moment to think about exactly which rehearsal — or rehearsals — she needs to prepare for. Some days it’s rehearsal for the Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s upcoming production of “The Sound of Music,” in which...
Franklin Regional Junior Olympic team sends 11 wrestlers to state championships
Eighteen members of the Franklin Regional Junior Olympic (JO) wrestling team earned top-four finishes at the recent Area III state qualifier held Feb. 16 at Franklin Regional Senior High School. Six wrestlers earned first-place finishes, Area III champion designations and spots in the 2020 PJW state tournament. Another five earned...
Franklin Regional plans lecture series on hot-button school issues
Franklin Regional officials are reaching out to parents and the community to engage them about hot-button issues facing today’s students: bullying, drugs and pitfalls of social media use. The Franklin Regional Parent and Community Lecture Series kicks off March 11 with an overview of the district’s bullying prevention strategy. It...
Female students sought for STEM-based ‘Wonder Women Workshop’ at Franklin Regional
Franklin Regional science teachers are looking for female middle-schoolers with enthusiasm for engineering. The first-ever “Wonder Women Workshop” is set for April 2, where participants will engage in STEM-based activities at Franklin Regional Senior High School. It is the first in what science teachers Monica Bruno, Rebecca Connelly and Maureen...
Sloan Elementary students learn about infrastructure, ongoing renovationVideo
Many of the Sloan Elementary fourth-graders asking about the renovation project happening all around them — and the new school that will be built next door in Murrysville — let out an audible sigh of disappointment when they found out the project won’t be complete until the summer of 2021....
Delmont Historical Society looks to the future of the borough’s past
Forming a historical society involves a lot more than just finding a bunch of old photos and collecting them in one place. In fact, as members of the fledgling Delmont Historical Society looked to get their group off the ground, they found themselves initially researching the history of their predecessors,...
Alabaster Performing Arts preps for an ‘Irish Celebration’ in Murrysville and GreensburgVideo
With two sets of Irish grandparents, Gaelic and Celtic music is practically part of Mary McCormack’s genetic make-up. McCormack, a Greensburg resident, is the director for the Alabaster Performing Arts troupe, which marks its 25th anniversary this year. And it’s easy to see why Alabaster’s “Irish Celebration” performances are among...
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit impact grants open to all teachers
In 2019, the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit Foundation for the first time opened their impact grant program to any teacher, rather than just special-education teachers. “We literally threw the rubric out,” said foundation board member Roberta Cook of Murrysville. Cook and others in the foundation liked what they saw when choosing...
Franklin Regional students learn about Panther alum’s ‘augmented reality art’
Christopher Ruane of Murrysville hopes visiting the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg can help inspire Franklin Regional students to pursue a life of creativity. Ruane’s art keeps him busy nowadays, but it wasn’t always that way. “When I was in high school, I grew up in a sports-minded...
