Patrick Varine stories, Page 34

Matthew Goss, 17, of Monroeville was part of a group of Forbes Road Career & Technology students who developed a presentation educating people on cybersecurity and recognizing online scams. But scammers are good. So good, they almost got Goss. “I had an Amazon package that hadn’t arrived yet, and I...

I should have switched my bell-ringing hand at least once. If there is one lesson I learned from taking a shift ringing the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle bell on a crisp, clear Thursday morning, that was it: Don’t just ring the bell for 90 minutes with the same arm. It...

As part of the Westmoreland County Coroner’s partnership with the Cribs for Kids National Safety Initiative, 15 cribs will be purchased for families thanks to a donation from a regional business. Uniontown-based Black Diamond Equipment Rental donated $1,000 which will be used to buy cribs for Westmoreland families in need....

An Ohio man was indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on charges that he transported a minor to a Monroeville hotel to engage in “commercial” sex acts, U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said in a news release. Donte Lashawn Cole, 39, of Euclid, an Ohio suburb of Cleveland, allegedly used...

Pittsburgh police arrested an Ohio Township man who they say fled a Downtown traffic stop and crashed on East Street. Police said they tried to pull over a vehicle that ran a red light while speeding in Downtown around 2:30 a.m. Friday. The driver then went through more red lights...

Westmoreland County detectives are investigating the death of a 71-year-old woman found Thursday afternoon in her St. Clair home, according to authorities. The cause and manner of Alice I. Robson’s death is pending final autopsy results, Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said. Toxicology results will not be available for several...

The weather outside isn’t frightful. At least not yet, and weather predictions say Western Pennsylvania is in for another mild winter. But volunteers at Delmont Meals on Wheels aren’t taking any chances — they are collecting donations for Winter Weather Kits that will be distributed to all 50 of its...

Email news briefs and event information to pvarine@triblive.com. Change in Star production schedule The Murrysville Star will not have a print edition during the week of final week of 2023 and the first week of 2024. The next issue after Dec. 21 will be delivered Jan. 11. Over the holidays,...

The Delmont Police Department got a holiday gift in the form of a $125,000 federal hiring grant. Now borough officials just need to decide if they want to put it to use. “We’re not in need of hiring another officer, but I also didn’t think we would get this grant,”...

The culture surrounding the game of golf was quite different a century ago. When Art Hawk bought the former Alcoma Golf Club in 2006, his daughter Megan Strasser made a surprising discovery in the clubhouse. “There weren’t even women’s restrooms accessible to players when we bought it,” Strasser said. In...

A Western Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to expand law enforcement’s ability to use a more-detailed form of DNA analysis when identifying victims in cold cases. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, introduced the Cold Case Modernization Act which would expand the criteria for federal Department of Justice grants funding the use of forensic...

The parents of a 4-year-old Rostraver boy who accidentally shot himself in the head this summer are charged with endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangering, according to court documents. Laura C. Steele, 32, and Michael Lynn, 37, kept the loaded gun unsecured under the bed in their...

Western Pennsylvania residents participating in the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count will have a new place to spot them this year. “We’re adding a circle in the Mon Valley, a 15-mile radius centered on White Oak Park,” said Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania Community Conservation Coordinator Ben Kehoe. The...

Even for a die-hard pickleball fan, the weather is making it difficult to get on a local court and enjoy playing. Jillian Bateman-McIntosh of Murrysville has taken notice and hopes to build a six-court indoor pickleball facility just off Route 22 in Murrysville. “I moved here from Boston where the...

Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Holiday school concerts The Franklin Regional School District’s band and choral programs will present their annual holiday performances over the coming weeks. Here is a schedule: • Dec. 13: Sixth-grade chorus and Gold Notes, 7 p.m. at the FR Middle School’s Little...

The Franklin Regional Panther Marching Band spent early December basking in the warm glow of the Hawaiian sun. In addition to performing in the shadow of the USS Arizona Memorial, the band also performed in the annual Pearl Harbor parade in Honolulu. Over the past decade, FR marching band members...

Franklin Regional Panther Marching Band members will take part in the annual Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade today in Hawaii, and school officials have provided a link to watch the parade live. Livestreaming at 9:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. in Honolulu), the parade will be the culmination of the band’s weeklong trip...

About $2.7 million in capital projects including road work and park improvements is funded in Murrysville’s 2024 budget. The spending plan, approved Wednesday does not include a tax increase. Property taxes will remain at 12.15 mills in the $15.6 million budget. Just under 3.5 mills dedicated for Murrysville’s capital improvement...

Pittsburgh police are seeking information about a male teen reported missing on Wednesday. Police said they are looking for Sh’Kia Ross, 14, of Pittsburgh, last seen Downtown on the 1400 block of Forbes Avenue. He is a Black male, 5-feet-9-inches tall and 150 pounds with brown eyes and black hair....

Murrysville Council has approved oil and gas rights leases for several hundred acres of land beneath its two largest parks. Council voted 4-2 Wednesday to enter into separate leases with the sole bidder, Olympus Energy, for 74 acres below Duff Park and just under 306 acres of Murrysville Community Park,...

A woman is charged with disorderly conduct and unauthorized entry of a school bus after police said she boarded a Greensburg Salem School District bus and berated the driver a few days before Thanksgiving. City police were called to Alle­gheny Street near the Autumnbrook Apartments on Nov. 20 for a...

State police are seeking information on a man who allegedly attempted to lure an 11-year-old boy toward a vehicle in northern Indiana County on Tuesday afternoon. Police said an unknown Black man in his 30s with short hair, a dark blue hooded sweatshirt and a bandana or facial covering attempted...