Patrick Varine stories, Page 33
Gateway adopts 2024-25 budget with 1.21 mill tax hike
The Gateway School Board adopted a final 2024-25 budget in June that includes a 1.21 mill increase in property tax rates. Expenditures in the $94.8 million budget are down just under $1.4 million from the 2023-24 budget. Millage will increase from 22.8507 to 24.0684 mills. Under the new rate, a...
Delmont Pilgrimage organizers will host ‘Christmas in July’ fundraiser
Last year, Delmont Pilgrimage organizers expanded their annual event to include one specifically for children, and the only problem they encountered was a self-imposed limit on ticket sales. That will change in 2024, when the Pilgrimage Jr. will expand to offer 400 tickets for families to experience a kid-centered re-telling...
Latrobe rapper returns from tour, will headline August Hard Rock show
Latrobe rapper Sean Lewandowski, who goes by the moniker Sean Ski, spent his spring playing Canadian venues with fellow MC Chris Webby on his “Last Wednesday” tour. And after a couple more shows, he’ll get a chance to headline his first Pittsburgh performance in August. “After I do two shows...
Car show will help fund Franklin Regional scholarships in memory of Murrysville teen
An annual car show this weekend will raise money for Franklin Regional student scholarships, in memory of 2021 Panther graduate Damian Bearley, who died in a 2021 car crash in Derry Township. The fourth Long Live Damian Bearley Car Show will be from 3-7 p.m. Saturday at the Cook Township...
‘House of the Dragon’ is running out of likable charactersVideo
(NOTE: Spoilers ahead for season two of “House of the Dragon” through episode four. Does not contain any book spoilers from “Fire & Blood.”) Once upon a time in the mid-1990s, my father sat down to watch Quentin Tarantino’s seminal 1994 film, “Pulp Fiction.” He has never been a huge...
Crabtree church will have its own bourbon to sell at summer festival
When it comes to whiskey, creeks often figure into their monikers. Knob Creek. Rowan’s Creek. Corner Creek. But Vince Mangini of Crabtree didn’t grow up swimming in creeks; he grew up swimming in the “crik.” The popular Western Pennsylvania term for a small stream makes a humorous appearance in “Crabtree...
Monroeville area events: Pet blessing, golf outing, more
Blessing of the pets Hillcrest United Presbyterian Church will hold a pet blessing service from 10 to 11 a.m. on July 7. The service will be held under tents in the courtyard of the church, 1622 James St During the service, each pet will be blessed by a minister. The...
No injuries reported in North Side house fire
Emergency crews have been called to the scene of a fire in Pittsburgh’s California-Kirkbride neighborhood. Firefighters were dispatched shortly before 8:30 p.m. to a house near the intersection of St. Ives and Lamont streets on the North Side. An Allegheny County 911 supervisor said no injuries had been reported as...
Trump to make Butler County stop shortly before Republican convention
Donald Trump will make a campaign stop in Butler County on Saturday, July 13, according to the former president’s website. Trump will host a 5 p.m. event at the Butler Farm Show grounds, 625 Evans City Road. The farm show, itself, does not take place until August. It will be...
Sharon man charged with 1st-degree murder in the killing, dismemberment of teen
A Sharon man has been charged with killing and dismembering a missing 14-year-old teen. State police charged DaShawn Watkins, 29, of Sharon with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in connection with the death of Paul Likens Jr., who was initially reported missing on June 25, and was suspected...
Murrysville swears in new police chief, captain
Murrysville has a new police chief and a new police captain. Former Capt. Tom Kusinsky was sworn in Monday to replace retiring Chief Tom Seefeld, and Dave Coleman was promoted replace Kusinsky as the department’s police captain. Seefeld retired after a career spanning more than four decades and multiple police...
Murrysville area: Senior parking passes, memorial bonfire fundraiser, ‘Christmas in July’ and more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Garden work party The Delmont Public Library’s “Delmont Diggers” group will host a summer garden weed-and-mulch work party on July 12. Volunteers of all ages are invited to bring garden tools, shovels and gloves if available, to help clean up the library’s...
Learn about the coyote lifestyle at Murrysville Community Park
Coyotes are not out there hunting for your tiny dog, Pennsylvania wildlife experts say. But they are opportunistic predators, and smaller canines are similar enough to the rabbits, squirrels and other small game that coyotes regularly hunt. A Pennsylvania State Game Warden and local wildlife expert will be on hand...
Pa. Senate bill could limit citizens’ ability to make Right-to-Know requests
Six state senators are seeking to place a limit on the number of Right-to-Know requests that citizens can file with government agencies in Pennsylvania. “Numerous entities such as state agencies, municipalities and school boards frequently report that they are overwhelmed by burdensome Right-to-Know Law requests,” said state Sen. Cris Dush,...
Red Cross hoping for at least 190 blood donors at drive in Hempfield
In January, American Red Cross officials declared an emergency blood shortage in the U.S., citing a 20-year all-time low in donors. The Red Cross supplies roughly 40% of the nation’s donated blood and blood components like plasma. Red Cross officials will host a July 15 blood drive at Charter Oak...
Heatwave is good news for some crops, farmers say
At Sacred Gate Farm in Kiski Township, where Lorraine Krezolek and her husband sell pick-your-own blackberries, blueberries, strawberries and more, the only thing the recent heat wave affected was the customer count. “It’s been really great for us,” Krezolek said. “Last year, we dug a 500,000-gallon pond, and we’ve been...
Hometown champ: Monessen honors former world heavyweight boxing champion Michael Moorer
Monessen honored one of its most famous sons on Saturday, recognizing former world heavyweight boxing champion Michael Moorer at the city’s Celebration in Park for his recent induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Moorer, 56, won the light heavyweight title in only his 12th professional fight, and not...
Westmoreland County coroner: Woman identified who died in Lower Burrell porch fire
A woman died after suffering burns in a porch fire Friday night in Lower Burrell, according to Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson. Carson identified the victim on Saturday as Jennifer Bates, 42, Lower Burrell. Carson said her death was the result of a residential porch fire. Lower Burrell police and...
County police: 2 men’s bodies found in Montour Run Creek, no signs of foul play
As divers were retrieving a man’s body that was reported floating in Montour Run Creek on Friday afternoon in Moon Township, they discovered a second body nearby, according to Allegheny County Police. First responders were dispatched to the creek, which is in the area of the Montour Run Trail just...
Details emerge in fugitive’s arrest that closed Frankstown Road in Penn Hills
A section of Frankstown Road in Penn Hills was closed briefly around 3 p.m. Friday,June 28, as the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force served a search warrant and took a Pittsburgh man into custody. Daelon T. Hill-Johnson, 26, of Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood was arrested for possession of a firearm while...
Quick response to fire at landmark Westinghouse building in Wilmerding
No one was injured after emergency responders worked quickly to knock down a fire at the Westinghouse Arts Academy building in Wilmerding on Friday afternoon. When Pitcairn police officer Kyra Haile arrived just before 1:30 p.m., smoke was pouring out of a top-floor window, she said. In the few minutes...
Murrysville area: Bonfire fundraiser, cardio drumming, ‘Christmas in July’ and more
Memorial bonfire to benefit cancer research A memorial bonfire for former Franklin Regional football player Joe Purdue will help raise money for research into the aggressive pediatric brain cancer that took his life in 2023. Mother of Sorrows Church will host a Sept. 1 “Birthday Bonfire Fundraiser” with a Mass...
20 tickets available for vintage whiskey tasting that offers 6 shots for $1,500 at West Overton
What makes a bottle of whiskey cost nearly as much as a compact car? Twenty people will get the chance to find out when West Overton Village hosts a $1,500-per-ticket vintage rye whiskey tasting on July 26. “This is an experience that is unlikely to be duplicated anywhere on Earth,”...
No more car trouble as Model T makes it to California
Just a few weeks ago, Mike Vaughn and two other volunteers from Nebraska’s Museum of American Speed were spending the night in Greensburg before traversing the roads of Ohio in search of spare parts. They had strayed quite a bit from the Route 30 corridor, which they planned to take...
Bushy Run Battlefield now part of the national Old-Growth Forest NetworkVideo
Each year, Bushy Run Battlefield is the site of historical reenactments. But some of its trees may have been around nearly long enough to have seen the real thing. The battlefield — specifically the forested section of its property — was inducted into the Old-Growth Forest Network at a May...
