Murrysville Star category, Page 104

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...

Local communities could be left scrambling after the Census Bureau confirmed there will be one less month to collect population counts vital for determining how federal funds are dispersed and the number of representatives each state has in Congress. The final date for collecting the once-a-decade survey is Sept. 30...

Westmoreland County officials Monday confirmed the resignation of the elections bureau director, a move that comes as preparations continue for the presidential general election just three months away. Commissioner Doug Chew said Beth Lechman last week notified county leaders of her decision to exit the job she has held since...

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...

After a four-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, jury trials resumed Monday in Westmoreland County. A 12-member jury and two alternates were selected to hear evidence in a witnesses intimidation case against the father of the man convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of New Kensington police...

About 500 applications for Westmoreland County’s coronavirus-relief grants started being evaluated Monday, and the first awards from a pool of $10 million could be approved this week. County commissioners last month announced the first phase of its grant program that uses $31.5 million in federal funds to assist small businesses,...

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...

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...

Pat Beyer says she’s heard many times over the years that ghosts inhabit the Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont. After all, the structure has been around since Civil War times, starting out as a barn before its reincarnation as a theater with a long string of owners. Beyer, Apple Hill’s...

Westmoreland County’s final redistricting plan will split caseloads from two shuttered district judge’s offices among four of the remaining 15 local courts, according to documents released Wednesday. Court officials made what was described as minor changes to the proposal unveiled this month that closes court offices in Penn Township and...

A team of five Franklin Regional Middle School students, led by husband and wife teachers Arthur and Sarah Danny, were selected for phase two of NASA’s WEAR Challenge, in which students must design either a garment or helmet as radiation protection for astronauts on deep space missions. If the team...

Franklin Regional seniors from the Class of 2020 got a chance to celebrate their high school education on Friday, July 24, during phased commencement ceremonies at Panther Stadium in Murrysville. Do you have photos from graduation? Submit them to pvarine@triblive.com and we’ll add them to the gallery! Please include a...

When Mike Ruane of the Franklin Regional Haymakers 11U travel ball team hit a walk-off home run to win the Mt. Lebanon 11U-A Tournament on July 26, circumstances would typically dictate a crowd of teammates waiting for him at home plate. The 2020 travel ball season has been anything but...

Murrysville and McCandless are among the top 50 safest cities in the U.S., according to the latest rankings from home security and safety advisory company SafeWise. Pennsylvania makes the list several times, with seven towns among SafeWise’s top 50 including Buckingham Township (11), Upper Saucon Township (27), Upper Allen Township...

Trib Total Media’s first class of Jim Borden Memorial Scholarship winners has started work at the Tribune-Review amid the coronavirus pandemic and a hectic news environment. The scholarship, named for the Tribune-Review’s late managing editor, offers financial assistance up to $30,000 — paid in $7,500 annual installments — for college...

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools across the nation, it wasn’t just students and parents who were tossed headlong into a brand-new challenge. Many teachers, counselors and principals faced the same dilemma. “All of a sudden, we found ourselves having to write game plans and blueprints for something that...

The Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont is going dark. “The time has come” to permanently close the historic stage, executive artistic director Pat Beyer said. “I’m just too old to be in this game anymore. This is my 38th year,” said Beyer, 79. However, it’s just the barn that’s closing,...

In the summer of 2021, Pittsburgh tech company Astrobotic plans to launch an unmanned lunar landing mission after being awarded a contract by NASA. But before that can happen, someone needs to make sure all of the lander’s systems are functioning correctly and working in concert with one another. That’s...

Murrysville Council has approved an ordinance regulating small-wireless facilities, the infrastructure necessary to bring 5G service to the area. 5G is the fifth generation of cellular service, which companies began rolling out in 2019. The Federal Communications Commission in 2018 set out a timeline requiring towns to make space available...

Franklin Regional seniors will get an opportunity to walk onto the Panther Stadium field as part of a two-phase graduation ceremony set for Friday evening in Murrysville. The first ceremony, scheduled to start at 5 p.m., will be for students whose last name begins with A through K. A second...