Murrysville Star category, Page 128
Murrysville Cantata Choir to present 2nd annual ‘Patriotic Thanksgiving’ concert
The Murrysville Cantata Choir will present “A Patriotic Thanksgiving” concert Nov. 10 in First Presbyterian Church, Murrysville, and will also perform the concert a week later in Heinz Chapel in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. “We were very pleased by the warm reception that last year’s concert received and we look forward...
Delmont firefighters say criticism from council hurts fundraising, recruitmentVideo
Delmont firefighters say an ongoing rift between the department and borough council has stymied fundraising and recruitment efforts. “It’s completely unnecessary, but they keep bashing our fire department,” said Rich Balik, Delmont fire chief. “We’ve been trying to build this department back up for two years after the past problems...
Franklin Regional youth football teams will play for two championships this weekend
When Big East Youth Football League teams get together for four championship games this weekend in Vandergrift, squads from Franklin Regional will have a chance to win half of them. The Franklin Area Midget Football Association’s 7/8 and 11/12 teams will go up against Gateway and McKeesport, respectively, on Saturday...
State legislation would expand first-responder tax credit to the county level
This April, state Rep. Bob Brooks, R-Murrysville, donated $16,000 of his state salary to fire departments in his 54th District. Brooks wants to continue helping first responders with House Bill 1839, which would authorize counties to issue a property tax credit to active firefighters or emergency medical responders. The bill...
Franklin Regional Panther Foundation gets $18,000 donation, plans 2020 fundraisers
The Franklin Regional Panther Foundation has big plans for 2020, which were bolstered in late October by the announcement of an $18,000 donation from a local car dealership. Officials at the nonprofit foundation received the donation from Robert Thomasson, general manager for Spitzer Toyota in Monroeville. It will help fund...
Delmont library officials will break ground next month on new building
Delmont Public Library officials will break ground on a brand-new building on Nov. 16. Following a roughly four-year capital campaign, library officials raised just over $1 million through grants and community donations that will help fund a new, 4,150-square-foot library with multiple eco-friendly “green” features. “It’s amazing and phenomenal,” said...
Family offers $50,000 to match donations for new Delmont library
Delmont resident Bill Lendl and his family value their local public library and want to see it thrive. That’s why Lendl announced a matching fundraising challenge, where he agreed to match community donations up to $50,000, which will be put toward the building fund for the new Delmont Public Library....
YouTube video leads to criminal mischief charges at Murrysville golf course
Murrysville police arrested six men after a video surfaced online showing damage to golf carts and turf at the Rolling Fields Golf Club in Murrysville. The men have been charged with criminal mischief and conspiracy. Video posted to a YouTube channel called WTR, which police said stands for “White Trash...
Franklin Regional Middle School welcomes vets for annual Veterans Day assembly
For more than a quarter-century, members of a Franklin Regional Middle School eighth-grade performing arts class have welcomed veterans to the school annually to honor their valor and sacrifice at a Veterans Day assembly. That tradition will continue with this year’s assembly at both 8:30 and 10 a.m. Nov. 8...
Historical society rebuilding former one-room Murrysville schoolhouseVideo
About 175 years ago, a short stroll into the woods behind the Sampson-Clark Toll House in Murrysville would bring the one-room Murrysville schoolhouse into view. The original school was built around 1836. In 1929, the family who’d purchased the property discovered the school’s original foundation. By that time, it had...
Franklin Regional will hire part-time secretary to help with Right-To-Know requests
Franklin Regional officials will hire a part-time confidential secretary to help handle the increased number of Right-To-Know requests the district has received. The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Act, also known as the Pennsylvania Sunshine Law, is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of...
Alex Hribal’s appeal rejected in Franklin Regional rampage
A Pennsylvania appeals court on Wednesday upheld the 60-year prison sentence for Alex Hribal, the Murrysville teen convicted of wounding of 20 teens and a security guard during a 2014 knife rampage at Franklin Regional High School. A three-judge panel rejected the appeal from Hribal, 22, who claimed the sentencing...
Franklin Regional crowns homecoming royalty
Seniors Kara Soles and Riley Smith earned their spot as royalty in the Class of 2020 at Franklin Regional’s homecoming celebration on Oct. 18. The Panther football team lost, 31-14, to McKeesport, but it was all smiles among the home crowd at halftime during the homecoming festivities....
Franklin Regional officials praise expanded student-assistance program
Franklin Regional support services Director Jennifer DiFulvio began seeing what she called a “pretty significant need” in student referrals across the district’s buildings in 2015. DiFulvio said counselors were “doing a large amount of work, meeting with students and connecting them with resources. We saw the need for some additional...
Murrysville hires attorney to help develop ordinance addressing 5G antennas
Murrysville will hire a Pittsburgh attorney to help develop an ordinance regulating small wireless towers in the municipality. “Some municipalities have looked at it as a money grab, charging exorbitant permit fees,” Chief Administrator Jim Morrison told council members. “Others have chosen not to regulate it, which I do not...
Dedicated Nursing Associates expansion could include traffic improvements in Murrysville
Murrysville council amended its traffic improvement plan Wednesday to accommodate development along Route 22 that includes an expansion of the Dedicated Nursing Associates business. “Improvements will be necessary to Manor Road and possibly Route 22,” Chief Administrator Jim Morrison told council members. “A right-hand turning lane on Route 22 westbound...
Fairview Park kicks off capital campaign, marks 75th anniversary in 2020
In 1945, a group of black church leaders from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties set out to create a place where they could come together and enjoy themselves. With segregation restricting the places African-Americans could go, the Monongahela Valley Sunday School Association created Fairview Park in Salem Township. At one time,...
Murrysville Council delays vote on renewing animal-control contract with Hoffman Kennels
Murrysville delayed a vote Wednesday night on the two-year renewal of an animal-control contract with Hoffman Kennels. Gary Hoffman, who owns and operates the Delmont-based business, proposed a $10 hike on individual calls as well as his monthly service fee. Hoffman also proposed reducing the number of days he patrols...
Franklin Regional readies for homecoming this FridayVideo
Mid-October means homecoming for many of the high schools in western Pennsylvania. Franklin Regional will celebrate homecoming at its Friday night football game against McKeesport. But first, the district will mark the occasion with its annual homecoming bonfire. This year’s bonfire is set for 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in...
Franklin Regional students balance gore, goofiness with production of ‘Dracula’Video
Franklin Regional Thespians Club students are working to strike a fine balance between the hard-R frights of Francis Ford Coppola’s vision of Dracula and the occasional unintentional camp of the original Bela Lugosi film. It’s not always possible, according to director Richard Sunny. “There are some parts of the script...
Murrysville police, Franklin Regional partner to emphasize school bus safety
Drivers who are too busy or careless to stop for a school bus may find themselves on the wrong end of a pricey traffic ticket later this month. Murrysville police will partner with the Franklin Regional School District to promote National School Bus Safety Week from Oct. 21 to 25....
Plenty of art shows coming to Murrysville this fall
Art enthusiasts will have more than enough places to go in Murrysville during the next month, with art shows and standing exhibits all over the municipality. On Oct. 18 and 19, the Murrysville Woman’s Club will sponsor its annual art show at Redstone Highlands. It will run from 10 a.m....
Murrysville historian, Freeport Theater Festival founder to receive St. Clair Awards
Local historian Charles Hall is one of two recipients of this year’s Arthur St. Clair Historic Preservation Awards, presented by the Westmoreland Historical Society. Hall has documented the history of the Murrysville area through books and articles. His writing has been published by the Murrysville Historical Preservation Society and elsewhere....
Delmont mulls options for Shields Farm cabin
Difficulty finding suitable, period-appropriate lumber and the cost of doing so has Delmont officials considering their options when it comes to the log cabin on East Pittsburgh Street. Borough council has been seeking to replace several old, damaged logs on the cabin for a couple years, but the road has...
Traffic-light control box damaged in Murrysville crash
Murrysville police are continuing to advise residents and motorists to avoid the intersection of Route 22 and Berlin Farm Road after a crash on Tuesday damaged a control box containing the operating equipment and power source for the intersection’s traffic light. “It is a very extensive repair,” department officials responded...
