Murrysville Star category, Page 38
Franklin Regional hopes avoiding injuries provides path to postseason
Cam Rowell was worried he didn’t quite have the spring in his step anymore. The 6-foot-4 Franklin Regional senior forward suffered a hip flexor injury that kept him out for most of last season. After four months off, Rowell said it took about a month of playing in games before...
1 injured in Salem rollover crash
One person was transported by ambulance following a rollover crash near the northern end of the Route 66 Bypass in Salem on Wednesday morning. Westmoreland County 911 officials said the crash, involving a car and tractor trailer in the southbound lanes, was reported around 8:45 a.m. The car was heavily...
Mother of Sorrows principal will take administrative reins at Greensburg Central Catholic
Theresa Szmed is going to have to get used to seeing older students in the hallways of her workplace. Szmed, who has served as principal at Mother of Sorrows School in Murrysville since 2016, will become the new principal at Greensburg Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School starting in January, diocese...
Export mayor proposes 2024 budget with no tax increase
Export will advertise a $1.1 million budget for 2024 that does not call for a tax increase. “Revenue’s up,” Mayor Joe Zaccagnini said in presenting the annual budget proposal. “We’ve been very fortunate. It’s darn near the same budget as last year. We have some savings because of the work...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of Nov. 12, 2023
Chalfant Karen Curtis sold property at 220 Fairview Ave. to Celeste Rousseau and Lydia Drew for $169,000. Churchill Joseph Sheehan sold property at 811 Margaretta St. to Ranney Lawrence for $152,000. Edgewood Kenneth Bonawitz sold property at 233 Elm St. to Nicholas Kilwein for $141,649. Monroeville Tim Becker sold property...
Murrysville council will consider updates to short-term rental regulations
Murrysville council members will consider an ordinance addressing short-term rental properties. Council directed its staff to prepare an ordinance which would decouple short-term rentals — including AirBnBs and VRBOs — from restrictions based on zoning. The ordinance also would set a maximum occupancy of two people per bedroom or 10...
Franklin Regional boys soccer will enter next season with new coach, plenty of talent
Franklin Regional has a coaching vacancy with the sudden departure of two-year coach Lukas Petersen, who is moving to Maryland because his wife has a new job there. The position might be one of the most attractive in the state, which isn’t hyperbole considering the Panthers only lose five seniors...
Wagon Wheel restaurant will close doors after 6 decades
Jodi Susick wasn’t going to miss her chance to order the red devil’s food cake from the Wagon Wheel. “My dad would pick me up on his lunch break and bring me with him for lunch,” said Susick, 49, of Salem as she waited for a massive slice of Our...
Murrysville area: ‘Christmas Carol’ senior breakfast, woman’s club meeting, Delmont wellness checks and more
Senior citizen holiday breakfast The Franklin Regional School District will host a senior citizen holiday breakfast featuring a performance the classic “A Christmas Carol” on Nov. 30. It will be at the senior high school cafeteria, 3200 School Road in Murrysville, and is open to senior citizens 65 and older...
Proposed Murrysville budget tweaks Medic One allocation
Murrysville will make some changes in the way the municipality designates some of its tax millage, according to a 2024 budget proposal. The $15.6 million budget, first presented at council’s Nov. 1 meeting, represents a 1.34% increase over 2023, finance director Jacie Milchak said. “The (property) tax rate will remain...
Franklin Regional school board will see 3 new faces
Three newcomers and two incumbents prevailed in Tuesday’s election for four-year seats on the Franklin Regional school board, according to unofficial vote tallies. With 100% of the vote, unofficial results showed Deb Bucciero (16%), Scott Weinman (15.8%), Vince Azzolina (15.3%), John Fallat (14.8%) and Joshua Zebrak (14.2%) as the top...
Newcomer Opsitnick takes top spot in Export council election
A longtime incumbent was unseated in Export, according to unofficial vote tallies from Tuesday’s election. Incumbent John Nagoda, who has been on borough council since 1976, came in fourth with just over 19% of the vote. Nagoda, along with fellow incumbents David Silvis (22.8%) and Joe Ferri (22.4%), along with...
Salem car dealership kicks off November food drive with Steelers tight end
Victory car dealership in Salem kicked off a monthlong food drive recently for the Westmoreland Food Bank where attendees met Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington. Selected in the third round of April’s NFL draft, Washington, who won two college national championships at the University of Georgia, said he enjoyed...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of Nov. 5, 2023
Forest Hills Carol Lucas sold property at 3810 Greensburg Pike to Morgan Weyels for $159,900. Monroeville Thomas Cocchi sold property at 759 Cottonwood Drive to Pamela Long and Brad Piazza for $190,000. Estate of Patricia Prucnal sold property at 406 Eden Drive to Kirithigavali Balasubraminiam and Vibisanan Gurumurthi for $242,500....
‘Sky’s the limit’: 2 flying club members receive Wright Brothers awards for 50 years of flight
Ever since they were children, John Dyke and Ed Patrick have been fascinated by airplanes. “I could spend hours on the observation deck watching planes take off and land,” said Dyke, 75, of Carnegie. For Patrick, 81, of Murrysville, the first ride he took in a smaller plane was the...
Stout Peters Township defense blanks Franklin Regional in Class 5A opener
All season, Peters Township has created havoc for opposing teams in the WPIAL. Franklin Regional got its crack at trying to slay the WPIAL Class 5A giant Friday night. The Panthers defense held their own on the opening drives of the game. However, the Franklin Regional offense couldn’t capitalize on...
Murrysville area: Monticello Lights, bell-ringing volunteers, Thanksgiving concert and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. To ensure timely publication, please send information two weeks in advance if possible. Salvation Army seeking bell-ringing volunteers The Salvation Army’s Delmont Service Center is seeking volunteers to perform bell-ringing duty during one-hour shifts between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Volunteers are...
Charges dismissed against man accused of stealing Steelers QB Kenny Pickett’s SUV
Charges were dismissed Monday against a Murrysville man who had been accused by police of taking Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett’s SUV from a car dealership in Monroeville. Court records show charges were dismissed by District Judge Jeffrey L. Herbst. Christopher Carter, 60, who had been scheduled for a preliminary...
Hampton boys top Franklin Regional, return to WPIAL Class 3A final
Music thumped and blared from the Hampton locker room as Luke Fiscus was about to be interviewed after the game. “Want me to go in and turn that down?” the Talbots senior midfielder asked. And break the mood? Fiscus and his teammates had the volume on full blast most of...
Franklin Regional boys soccer coach to step down at end of playoffs
Franklin Regional boys soccer coach Lukas Petersen is stepping down after this season, which isn’t over yet. Petersen, whose wife, Leslie Carrese, is taking a new job in Baltimore, told the team before the playoffs began that he was leaving but revealed it in an interview Monday night. The Panthers...
Murrysville Eat’n Park proposes additional dining space, disability access, pick-up window
Eat’n Park officials would like to make Murrysville their next location to receive an update, which will include a pick-up window for takeout orders. “This isn’t an ‘order-at’ location,” said Jesse Stock, Eat’n Park’s design and construction director. “You order ahead online or by phone and just pick it up....
Franklin Regional boys soccer hits stride at perfect time
Franklin Regional found something, and at just the right time. The proof is a pair of playoff upsets for the 11th-seeded Panthers (12-7), who knocked off No. 6 Mars (4-0) before a 2-1, double-overtime win over No. 3 Moon, a team many considered a title contender. Now, a semifinal matchup...
East suburban real estate transactions, week of Oct. 29, 2023
Churchill Andrew Michael Bell sold property at 1912 Garrick Drive to Hiral Patel for $420,000. Estate of Leonard Hornak sold property at 2525 Greensburg Pike Apt 201 to Francis Tomasic for $192,500. Edgewood Dominic Rugani sold property at 149-151 Race St. to ODUWA Realty LLC for $297,500. Forest Hills Eponymous...
Chase Lemke, Ayden Hudock have become must-watch connection for Franklin Regional
Franklin Regional quarterback Chase Lemke and receiver Ayden Hudock were in a rhythm at just the right time as the Panthers pursued a playoff spot. Franklin Regional (6-2, 3-1) was primed for a Week 9 matchup against Penn-Trafford (4-4, 3-1) in the Class 5A Big East Conference finale. Lemke and...
Lovre comes through in clutch as Penn-Trafford outlasts Franklin Regional
Penn-Trafford coach John Ruane said before Friday’s second-place showdown in the WPIAL Class 5A Big Conference game at Franklin Regional that junior quarterback Jonny Lovre was making huge strides in his game. Lovre proved his coach right in the fourth quarter, connecting on two huge fourth-down passes and then scoring...
