Patrick Varine stories, Page 137

A domino effect that began with the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp.’s cleanup of the Monsour Hospital site has led to millions in savings, some of which will be put toward improvements at the Jeannette Industrial Park. Using a combination of local, state and federal funding, the Monsour site was...

Newly elected Franklin Regional school board members will be sworn in at the board’s December meeting. The Dec. 5 meeting is shifted from the traditional Monday time slot because district staff and officials still will be on Thanksgiving break. The meeting will encompass board reorganization as well as both the...

When Justin Schultz opened his first tattoo shop in downtown Jeannette in 2012, a Toys for Tots representative stopped by right around this time of year to drop off a donation box. “I thought, ‘It’s such a little box,’ so we had the idea to do an annual fundraiser and...

Boy Scouts of America Troop 1211 for girls will host a Dec. 2 open house in Delmont for young ladies interested in scouting and developing leadership skills. MaryAnn Fabian, new members coordinator for Troop 1211, said the open house is a good opportunity to not just find potential scouts, but...

Marion Campbell was a whiz with numbers. “She could total a column of numbers so easily, so she did the book work and managed the finances for the family’s business, Campbell’s Service Center,” said her daughter, Diane Rhodes of North Huntingdon. “She was very devoted to the business. That was...

Earlier this month, HangoverCure.org surveyed 1,000 drinkers and came up with a list of iconic state drinks. The answer in Pennsylvania turned out to be a bit of a mystery, at least on the western side of the state: boilo. So what is it? “Here in the anthracite region, boilo...

It’s the holiday season, and everyone is getting into the spirit — or at the very least, into the spirits store. November and December are far and away the busiest times of the year at Pennsylvania’s Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores. The top single sales day in each of...

Denise Engler says her father, John Raynor, never got tired of children. “He’d take off work for Halloween so he could give out candy,” said Engler, a Greensburg resident. “If there was a holiday dinner coming up, he’d always ask, ‘Are there kids coming?’ He loved children and went out...

Franklin Regional senior Emma Martin is the recipient of the Bob Hope Band Scholarship Award, given annually to a band marching in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and to one of its members. But to keep it a surprise for Martin, her own mother had to essentially become a covert...

Three school districts in Southwestern Pennsylvania, including Franklin Regional in Westmoreland County, each will receive $2,500 to help local families with needs like clothing, medical and dental care, eyeglasses and prescriptions along with food, shelter and related supplies. The American Association of School Administrators, or AASA, announced the Murrysville school...

A state police Special Emergency Response Team entered a home on Hayes Avenue in Washington following a standoff Monday night, according to the Trib’s news partner, WPXI. State police told WPXI that three people suspected of stealing a car fled to the home on Hayes Avenue around 8 p.m. State...

If Murrysville approves its first unconventional gas well, expect “some push-back” to several of the roughly 25 conditions officials want to impose, Chief Administrator Jim Morrison warned council members. Among the conditions is one that no water will be transported by truck to the proposed Titan well pad off of...

Newly elected Franklin Regional school board members will be sworn in at the board’s December meeting. The Dec. 5 meeting is shifted from the traditional Monday time slot because district staff and officials still will be on Thanksgiving break. The meeting will encompass board reorganization as well as both the...

Students from five Westmoreland County schools will compete Monday for $12,000 in scholarship money to attend the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg at the college’s Science Scholar Showdown. The four-member teams will put their scientific knowledge and teamwork to the test as they participate in three rounds of competition. Students...

Murrysville’s annual “Night of Lights” holiday celebration is a dream for those in attendance, with carols, hot chocolate and visits with Santa. But it was a potential nightmare for public safety officials, attracting thousands and taking place near one of the municipality’s busier intersections, Old William Penn Highway and Sardis...

Laurie Churma of Washington Township was joined by friends and family Tuesday as they paid tribute to her son Kody and raised money to fund research into the disease that took his life. In less than two years, Kody Churma went from a healthy young man to one who was...

One year in the late 1990s, Olive Hostovich learned she’d be hosting the extended family for Christmas in Latrobe. “We came from all over the country,” said her daughter Laura Braun, of Glenmoore, Chester County. “California, from Texas; we lived in Philadelphia; my sister lived in Williamsport; aunts, uncles; it...

An Illinois man was sent to in prison last week for his role in providing access to illegal “booter” services, including one said to have been used in a 2016 hacking attack on the Franklin Regional School District and several other regional computer systems. Sergiy P. Usatyuk, 20, of Orland...