Patrick Varine stories, Page 118

Patrick Varine
Patrick Varine
Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Delmont will update, modernize its burning ordinance 
If you want to have a fire in a Delmont driveway fire pit on Friday, technically you had to notify the fire department in writing by Monday. “I was looking at it and I thought, ‘This is nuts. Who does this?’” Councilman Bill Marx said. With that in mind, Delmont...
Delmont-Salem Rotary proposes service project at Delmont parklet
In 1907, the first-ever Rotary Club project was the construction of a single-stall men’s restroom in Chicago. Some 113 years later, the Delmont-Salem Rotary Club is looking to the past for its 2021 service project: proposing to build a restroom at Delmont’s Rose Wigfield Parklet. Incoming club president Harold Hicks...
Mt. Pleasant PTO hoping to buy $40,000 in air-conditioning units for elementary buildings
Almost every child wants to look cool when they go back to school. In Mt. Pleasant Area School District, parent-teacher organization members want children to feel cool as well. The group hopes district officials will allow them to buy about $40,000 worth of portable air-conditioning units for its elementary schools,...
Monroeville nursing home reports 47 covid-19 cases, after reporting zero last week
A Monroeville nursing home has reported 47 cases of covid-19 to state health officials, after reporting none a week ago. Long-term care facility data from the state’s Department of Health shows that Monroeville Rehabilitation & Wellness Center reported zero cases of covid-19. In numbers updated on Tuesday, the center reported...
Clemente rookie card, 1900 Wagner team photo up for auction
Pittsburgh Pirate history buffs, get your wallets ready: a New Jersey auction house is taking bids on Roberto Clemente’s 1955 Topps rookie card, as well as a team photo of the Pirates taken during Honus Wagner’s first year with the team in 1900. The auction concludes Sunday. Bidding on the...
Murrysville Republican committee plans grand opening for new ‘Victory Center’ location
The Murrysville Export Republican Committee will bring in KDKA-AM News Radio 1020 host Wendy Bell for the grand opening of its “2020 Trump Victory Center” on Aug. 22. The opening will be at 10 a.m. at the center’s new location, 3145 Carson Ave., across William Penn Highway from the Dunkin’...
Pittsburgh athletes get their fair share of food endorsements over the years 
If you drank the same soda as Mean Joe Greene, would you be able to strike fear into the hearts of 1970s NFL quarterbacks, too? It’s doubtful, but that certainly didn’t stop Pittsburgh sports stars from getting their fair share of product endorsements over the years. From Jaromir Jagr’s peanut...
Civilian marksmanship program promotes gun safety, produces skilled shooters 
On a cool Sunday morning, the sun is burning the fog off Skellytown Road in North Huntingdon, and the dull crack of distant gunfire is the only thing interrupting the chatter of birds. The shooting is coming from the White Oak Rod & Gun Club, where a small group gathered...
‘Code Orange’ air quality day for Sunday as temperatures near 90
Although National Weather Service officials said the region is trending down in terms of overall temperatures, it isn’t there yet, and Sunday will be another reminder of the summer heat it has experienced recently. Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection issued an air quality alert for Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette,...
Trade schools offer training in high-demand, essential careers 
Candace Carlton recently earned a massage therapy license. Unfortunately, the past six months have made it tough to put it to use. “That doesn’t do too well during a pandemic,” Carlton said. The prospect of going back to school also is challenging, given that school districts, colleges and education centers...
Historical society finishes work on 1800s-era Murrysville schoolhouse replica 
The Murrysville Historical Preservation Society was hoping to mark Murrysville’s 200th anniversary at its annual festival this year. While the society has canceled its 2020 events, according to its website, it does have reason to celebrate: a period-appropriate replica of the former one-room schoolhouse off of West Pike Street was...
Zelienople native writes, directs, scores 1st film 
When he was growing up in Zelienople, Nathan Brewer performed in Bible-based musicals written by his father and staged at Camp Lutherlyn in Prospect. When Brewer noticed the stage at his father’s Lutheran church was not being used, he begged his father to let him direct one of the musicals....
Export notes: Borough plans for annual summer festival, awards contracts for downtown work 
Export will host its annual Ethnic & Music Festival from noon to 9 p.m. Aug. 15 along Washington Avenue. With health and safety at the forefront, Councilwoman Melanie Litz said festival officials have limited the number of booths. “We have half as many vendors as last year, to try and...
Apollo man sentenced to federal prison on marijuana distribution charges
An Apollo man was sentenced to just over three years in prison following a conviction on marijuana distribution charges, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady announced Wednesday. Stephen Lerch, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV. Brady said Lerch was receiving packages of marijuana and THC vaping cartridges from...
Franklin Regional pushes back start date, modifies reopening plans 
The Franklin Regional School District has modified its plan for the 2020-21 school year and pushed back its start date to Sept. 8 after officials said new state health guidelines made it impossible to properly maintain social distance at its high school. Students up through eighth grade will have three...
USDA: ‘Mystery seeds’ include common plants, herbs but still should not be opened
Scientists have found that the “mystery seeds” being sent to addresses across the country represent at least 14 varieties of plants and herbs, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said. And while many of them are common — mint, rosemary, sage — federal officials said not to plant them, though...
Franklin Regional campus sees 2nd waterline rupture in 6 months
Franklin Regional facilities manager Jim Heck will seek school board approval later this month to replace a fire hydrant near the district’s high school after a six-inch waterline on the campus recently ruptured, the second line to do so in the past six months. “One was the main waterline to...
Export’s annual summer festival will feature flyover by World War II planes
There will be several unique aspects to this year’s Export Ethnic Food & Music Festival, set for Aug. 15, including something high in the sky. The festival, which will take place just prior to the 75th anniversary of World War II’s end, plans to feature two WWII-era planes that will...
Pittsburgh Concert Chorale partially cancels season, plans virtual performance for Pirates game 
The Pittsburgh Concert Chorale performed selections from Orff’s “Carmina Burana” on March 1. When members gathered March 10 for their first Pops rehearsal, no one knew it would be the last time they’d all be together for the next six months. “Sadly, the very thing that gives our singers and...
Murrysville veteran organizes ‘Vets for Black Lives’ protest Downtown on Sunday
When Aryanna Hunter of Murrysville organized a protest in her hometown to speak out against the police killing of George Floyd, she wasn’t sure what to expect. More than 100 people showed up to the event and marched down Old William Penn Highway. “I was overwhelmed with the turnout,” said...
Murrysville library, recreation department partner on wetlands ‘Storywalk’ 
As Murrysville Community Library staff prepares to reopen the library for appointments on Monday, Aug.3, its members are also thinking about ways to utilize outdoor space and begin hosting in-person programs for patrons, as dictated by health and safety guidelines. One of the first, which patrons can do on their...
Bridge work will close Pa. Turnpike between Allegheny Valley, Pittsburgh exits early Sunday
The placement of beams for the Unity-Trestle Road bridge in Plum will require a five-hour closure of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s eastbound lanes beginning late Saturday night. The Turnpike will be closed between the Allegheny Valley (Exit 48) in Harmar and Pittsburgh (Exit 57) exit in Monroeville, from 11:49 p.m. on...
Southbound Route 28 restrictions will begin Monday in O’Hara area
Drainage work along southbound Route 28 will begin Monday, Aug. 3, with single-lane restrictions between the Harmar (Exit 11) and RIDC Drive (Exit 10) interchanges. The restrictions will be in place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Aug. 14, as work crews from Allison Park Contractors perform inlet cleaning...
Rich Hill Road section will close Monday for slide repairs in West Deer
Landslide repair work will close a section of Rich Hill Road beginning Monday, Aug. 3, PennDOT officials announced Friday. The landslide occurred between Michael Road/Russellton-Dorseyville Road and Mill Dam Road. Traffic will be detoured along the following route: From north of the slide: • From Michael/Russellton-Dorseyville Road, follow East Union...
Murrysville library will reopen Aug. 3 by appointment only
March 13 turned out to be quite a “Friday the 13th” for new Murrysville Community Library Executive Director Amy Riegner. Having started in January, Riegner had just arrived home from work when she received the news that all state libraries would be closing due to the covid pandemic, with no...


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