Patrick Varine stories, Page 115

An additional 15 residents of Westmoreland Manor tested positive for covid-19 on Friday, according to county Commissioner Doug Chew, bringing the number of affected residents to 82. That’s nearly a quarter of the total resident population. Friday’s numbers come on top of 16 positive tests Thursday among the county-owned nursing...

Here are a few events coming up in the Star’s coverage area and beyond: Library will host car parade for ‘Queen of Storybooks’ The Murrysville Community Library will recognize retiring children’s services librarian Carol Siefken with an Oct. 24 car parade with a medieval theme celebrating Siefken as “The Queen...

Senior members of the Franklin Regional Lady Panthers volleyball team will be recognized at the teams’ Senior Night on Thursday. As freshmen, the group watched the varsity volleyball team go 0-12. Last year, the team was undefeated in section play and advanced through two rounds of the PIAA playoffs. As...

Purse bash at White Valley AMVETS The White Valley AMVETS will hold its third annual Designer Purse Bash on Oct. 4 at White Valley Park. The gates will open at noon and drawings begin at 1 p.m. Tickets are $30 and include four drawing numbers, door prizes, food and drinks....

Penny, a spaniel mix who works as a canine advocate for domestic violence victims through Crisis Center North, is nearing retirement. She was adopted from Action for Animals in Derry Township and attends court dates with victims to provide emotional support. But before she retires, she has one more job....

Pamela Barroso likes old buildings. She likes them so much, in fact, she made plans to move her second such structure — a log cabin originally set off Route 250 between Moundsville and Cameron in West Virginia — and will assemble it this weekend in Murrysville. “Both sides of my...

Mark Persichetti of Export brought home two first-place finishes at a barbecue competition held Aug. 8 and sponsored by the Export Moose Riders. Persichetti took first place in both the pork loin and people’s choice categories. • • • Grace Keibler, Jacob Ross, Caleb Scutt and Colleen Zilka of Murrysville...

Franklin Regional officials are taking a deeper look at how excused absences will be recorded amid the coronavirus pandemic, after receiving several comments and questions from parents during the first weeks of school. The district is asking parents to keep children home if they exhibit any of the 13 general...

Franklin Regional school board members opted to move ahead with combining the final two bond issues for the Sloan “elementary campus” project into one, taking advantage of current interest rates and borrowing the final $15 million necessary to complete the work. The board’s 7-1 vote empowers bond consultant Chris Bamber,...

Murrysville council will hold a public hearing next month for Hillstone Village, a proposal to build 11 carriage homes and 20 single-family homes on 37 acres near the intersection of Claridge and Harrison City roads. Bruce Corna, vice president of builder Kacin Companies, said the development would focus on “build-down”...

An off-road vehicle driver was flown to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital on Monday night after a crash just outside Hunker, county emergency officials said. A male patient was riding his quad in the woods off South Center Avenue and was injured when the vehicle rolled. The call was reported around 4:45...

Angelo Pugliano and his family regularly can between 300 and 400 jars of fresh-grown tomatoes every season. This year, they had to settle for less. When they went to buy new lids, none could be found, after the coronavirus pandemic tossed a wrench into the country’s manufacturing and retail works....

Members of the Delmont Historical Society and volunteers held a clean-up day Saturday at the Shields Farm log house and prepared the backyard for the planting of a colonial-era garden....

Murrysville Police Sgt. Scott Kettren was not shy about his emotional state when his K-9 partner of nearly a decade, a Belgian Malinois named Argos, spent his last day with the department in May 2019. “I cried driving home that night,” Kettren said. Kettren took stock of his professional skills...

When the coronavirus pandemic had towns across the nation closing their community parks, Allegheny County kept its nine parks open to give residents an avenue for outdoor recreation. “Every nice day was like the first day of spring,” said county parks Director Andy Baechle. “We don’t specifically count people, but...

Artistic inspiration is often found in unlikely places. For New York City artist Erin Treacy, it was in quite a unique place: the bag full of compost sitting in her freezer. “The city has a composting program, but I also have to worry rodents and bugs,” said Treacy, 38. “So...