If you use Tube City Almanac, and you can afford to make a donation, we would be grateful for a contribution this year. We are an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) charity, and your donations may be tax deductible as allowed by law.
Donations may be made by check or money order to: Tube City Community Media Inc. P.O. Box 94 McKeesport, PA 15134
If you have tires, old appliances or other hard-to-recycle items in your garage or basement, Pennsylvania Resources Council has an event for you.
The non-profit group, in partnership with the Allegheny County Health Department, will host two events to collect hard-to-recycle items such as electronic waste, tires and small Freon appliances.
Aug. 2, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Elizabeth Forward Middle School, 401 Rock Run Road, Elizabeth Twp.
Aug. 23, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Boyce Park, 754 Center Road, Plum
We once again are broadcasting this year’s McKeesport International Village from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 12, 13 aqnd 14, and we could use your help.
If your business, group, or organization would like to sponsor the broadcast, sponsorships are $175 for one 30-second announcement per hour, or $300 for two 30-second announcements per hour. Please email your announcement to tubecitytiger@gmail.com.
If you would simply like to make a donation in exchange for being mentioned during the broadcast, please visit our website and click the "Donate" link: http://www.tubecityonline.com/contact/
Deadline for sponsorships is Aug. 5. Tube City Community Media Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and donations may be tax-deductible as allowed by law. This is not tax advice; consult a tax professional for information.
About a month ago, we asked readers for help. Advertising income is down, expenses are way up, and we’re going to need to raise about another $5,000 every year just to keep going.
Well, I’m very humbled to report that readers and listeners came through in a big way!
We received around $900 in PayPal donations in June, which is a major jump from our normal revenue.
Many, many of you also sent donations in the mail, via check, and we’ll be depositing those soon.
The bad news is that we’re going to have to raise money on a regular basis from now on; I hate writing that sentence even more than you hate reading it, but there’s no use beating around the bush about it.
If you would like to donate to support Tube City Community Media Inc., we are a tax-exempt non-profit corporation. You may send a check or money order to Tube City Community Media Inc., P.O. Box 94, McKeesport, PA 15134-0094. Every dollar we raise goes directly to pay our writers for their work, and our expenses, including rent, Internet service and other fees.
In the meanwhile, here is an old-school thank you to everyone who donated via PayPal:
Leonard Ashcroft, McKeesport Chris Bach, White Oak Thomas Callahan, McKeesport Richard Collage, Elizabeth Twp. Daniel Cook, White Oak Pamela Eisele, McKeesport Renee Elwood, Pittsburgh Michaeline Kasa, Latrobe Janet Kulis, Elizabeth Twp. Kelly Laidacker, McKeesport Mara Layman, Elizabeth Twp. August Marconi, North Huntingdon Twp. Doris Martino, North Huntingdon Twp. Suzanne Mesiarik-Golik, Elizabeth Thomas Molanick, Duquesne Virginia Ogurchak, McKeesport James Piergrossi, Fayette City Matt Porter, Stowe — in honor of The Electric Crush Jennifer Sheets, McMurray Glenn Sloane, Prescott Valley, Arizona Janice Starbuck, Winchester, Indiana Michele Stefanides, Wellsboro John Stegman, White Oak Jim Stripsky, McKeesport Gary Thorne, Belleair Bluffs, Florida Mary Tomovcsik, McKeesport Susan Walters, White Oak — in memory of Bill Phillips Debra Wesolowski, Jefferson Hills
National Alliance on Mental Illness McKeesport Support Group will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday (July 2) at Penn State Greater Allegheny in Frable Building, Room 122, a spokeswoman said.
The meeting is open to families and friends of loved ones living with mental illness. This opportunity offers understanding and support unique to those who are affected by mental health conditions of loved ones, the spokeswoman added.
For more information about the McKeesport meeting, call (412) 527-6600. For the NAMI Helpline, call (412) 366-3788 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
I really hate asking for money, but we’re at a critical point.
Here’s the bottom line: Look at the readership figures above.
If everyone who reads our website had given us $1 last year, we would never need to run advertising. But in reality, only a small percentage of people ever donates — usually as a thank-you for posting a death notice.
If it wasn’t for support for a few faithful donors — among them, the G.C. Murphy Co. Foundation, the Bill Persson family, the Flynn Family Foundation, Larry and Rikki Berger, and Eric and Judy Wisniewski — we’d be in big trouble.
As it is, we’ve taken two big financial hits recently. Our advertising revenue has dropped by about $100 per month after we responded to complaints by limiting the number of ads you see. And one of our longtime donors says they need to cut back their support by about $100 per month.
At the same time, our expenses have gone dramatically up. We are working to move our websites to a new server and as a result, our webhosting cost has already increased $1,200 — and we haven’t moved yet.
Royalties for playing music have gone up about 40 percent. We also now must pay for a service to file reports with the royalty-collecting organizations — that’s costing us $50 per month. (You may have noticed that several local Internet radio stations have gone out of business because they can no longer afford the costs.)
Add all of that up — we need to raise another $500 a month or so, or we’re not going to be able to continue. We have a small reserve fund right now but it’s not going to last.
If you are financially able, and would like to make a gift, please consider doing so.
Donations may be made by check or money order to:
Tube City Community Media Inc. P.O. Box 94 McKeesport PA 15134
I think what we do is important. I think that other people do, as well. Last year, we were honored by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania with the “Service to Journalism” award. Two of our reporters received separate awards for their work.
Five years ago, we were singled out by Columbia Journalism Review and asked to contribute monthly pieces about local news coverage, which were later collected into a book called “American Deadline.”
If you think this is important — even if you just visit our obituaries page every day — we very much could use your support. We pay reporters $50 to $100 per story. Your $50 or $100 gift goes directly to paying for their work — I don’t take any kind of payment from this website, and neither do any of our board members or officers.
If we could raise an extra $5,000 to $10,000 this year, we’d be OK.
If you have a business that is looking to make a contribution, or if you have a charitable foundation that could donate money to help us, please reach out.
Thank you for your continued support of our organization.
At the 2021 Good Neighbor Day, young and old alike loved feeding and patting the farm animals in the mobile petting zoo. (Tube City Almanac file photo by Vickie Babyak)
More than 70 vendors are expected to participate in the city’s 61st annual Good Neighbor Day festival, a spokeswoman said.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday (June 11) along Fifth Avenue, Downtown, between Market and Locust streets.
The festival will include a children’s area complete with a petting zoo, games, rides and crafts. Other vendors will provide free community information, access to services, food and entertainment.
Darla Poole has been named the new chief executive officer of McKeesport-based Auberle. She replaces John Lydon, longtime CEO, who will move to an emeritus role on July 1. (Both photos: Courtesy Auberle)
The longtime chief executive officer of McKeesport-based Auberle will move to an emeritus role as the non-profit agency implements a multi-year succession plan to ensure continuity and stable delivery of human services.
In the move, Darla Poole, who currently serves as chief operating officer, will become CEO, replacing John Lydon, who has been named director of strategic projects and chief executive officer emeritus, a spokesman said.
Aimee Plowman, currently director of young adult services, has been named COO, succeeding Poole. The changes are effective July 1.
Penn State Extension will once again offer the ServSafe Food Safety Manager course, which is aimed at restaurant and food service managers and others who need food safety certification.
The course will be held from 9 to 4 p.m. June 17, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 24 at Penn State Greater Allegheny, Main Building, 4000 University Drive, a spokeswoman said.
The exam will begin at 11 a.m. June 24.
These in-person trainings, led by certified ServSafe instructors, will teach participants how to prevent contamination by properly receiving, storing, preparing, cooking, cooling and serving food and by sanitizing food service facilities.
A national outreach coordinator for Mental Health America will speak next week when the McKeesport Support Group of the National Alliance on Mental Illness holds its monthly meeting.
A spokeswoman said NAMI McKeesport will host Heather McLean, an outreach coordinator for Mental Health America at 6 p.m. June 4 in Room 122, Frable Building, Penn State Greater Allegheny.
NAMI McKeesport meets the first Wednesday of every month. The meetings are open to families and friends of loved ones living with mental illness. The meetings offer understanding and support unique to those who are affected by mental health conditions of loved ones, the spokeswoman said.
For more information about the McKeesport meeting, call (412) 527-6600. For the NAMI Helpline, call (412) 366-3788 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
(Submitted photo courtesy McKeesport Area School District)
This weekend, six students from McKeesport Area High School took the stage and performed alongside the prestigious Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as members of the Hamlisch-Page Student Choir.
The PSO’s student choir is composed of high school and collegiate singers from the greater Pittsburgh area and was created by the late Principal Pops Conductor Marvin Hamlisch and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh Music Director Emeritus Robert Page.
Students performed at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh during the PSO’s “Clouds in My Coffee” Mother’s Day Weekend concerts, which featured the music of Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Carly Simon. Student chorists supported vocalists Morgan James, Bryonha Marie and Micaela Diamond.
"We’re so proud of these students and excited to see them represent McKeesport in such an amazing opportunity," said Beth Eger, choir and piano teacher at McKeesport Area High School.
Pictured from left to right are Michael Pfeffercorn, Elizabeth Nemes, Gianna Sotereanos, Phoenix Funk and Antoine Smith. Also joining them are choir director Christine Hestwood and accompanist Lorraine Milovac. (Not pictured is Lucas Sotereanos.)
TM
