March 20, 2025 |
By Stacy Alderman | Posted in: White Oak News
Gala Jewelers owner Chuck Gala is saying farewell to longtime customers after more than 40 years in the jewelry business. With an eye toward retirement, his store in Oak Park Mall is for sale. (Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
When Gala Jewelers announced via social media that the store would soon be closing, calls, emails and texts from customers and well-wishers started pouring in almost immediately.
Owner Chuck Gala couldn’t be more grateful. “I am so thankful and blessed to be a part of peoples’ happy moments,” he said, remembering gifts that were purchased for engagements, weddings and holidays. “The community has been so good to us.”
His father opened Gala Jewelers in McKeesport in 1948 and spent decades at various locations on Fifth Avenue.
Multiple family members worked for the business over the years, and Chuck began attending trade shows when he was just fourteen. In 1994, the store moved to its Oak Park Mall location in White Oak and it’s been a staple for the community ever since.
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January 07, 2025 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: White Oak News
Residents of White Oak Borough will face no real estate tax increase under the 2025 budget approved as 2024 closed. They will, however, pay more to have their garbage collected, and those who work in the borough will pay more to do so.
At a special meeting last week, the White Oak Borough Council voted 5-2 to approve the budget, which calls for expenditures of $6.67 million and projected revenues of $6.13 million. The difference of approximately $541,000 will be made up for from the borough’s reserve fund.
The votes against the budget were cast by George Pambacas and Amanda DePaulis.
Pambacas had an issue with the portion of the budget which allows for 13 police officers plus a chief of police.
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December 03, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: White Oak News
A White Oak area resident $3 million richer after purchasing a winning scratch-off ticket from a local business, the Pennsylvania Lottery has announced.
The identity of the winner was not revealed.
A lottery spokesperson said the winning ticket was sold at Nic’s Tobacco, 1620 Lincoln Way. The store will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the ticket.
The ticket sold was part of the $3 million Golden Ticket game and had a $30 face value. The game includes four $3 million prizes. According to the lottery’s posted odds, the chances of winning the top prize is 1 in 1.08 million.
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November 29, 2024 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: White Oak News
(Vickie Babyak photo)
Mission: Agape is searching for a few angels to help make its annual toy drive a success and spread Christmas joy to children in need from the McKeesport Area School District.
“We believe in serving our communities with unconditional, selfless and sacrificial love,” said Kelly Doyle, co-founder. The charity is known for assisting local families that experience food insecurity and hardship, while providing self-sustaining solutions.
According to the state Department of Education, about 62.5 percent of school-age children in McKeesport Area School District are classified as “economically disadvantaged” and about 35 percent are below the poverty line.
Last year, Doyle said, Mission Agape distributed 5,000 gifts to 1,200 children.
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November 20, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, White Oak News
A parent involved in the McKeesport Area High School Tiger Band’s booster program has been charged after more than $18,000 was reported missing from the volunteer group’s accounts.
Jennifer L. Martino, 49, of White Oak is charged by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office with theft by unlawful taking, access device fraud and misapplication of entrusted property.
Martino was charged Monday. She is currently free on her own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing Dec. 9 before Magisterial District Judge Thomas Miller Jr.
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August 14, 2024 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: White Oak News
Lost dogs and cats that are found in White Oak now have a greater chance of being reunited with their owners following a donation from a local animal welfare group to White Oak Borough.
Gray Paws Sanctuary has donated a microchip reader to the borough. The case containing the reader, a handheld device that looks somewhat like a magnifying glass, will be mounted to a wall in the municipal building lobby so that it will be available for use 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The device will be attached to the case by a cable and the lobby is also monitored by a security camera.
Microchips are about the size of a grain of rice and placed beneath the skin of dogs and cats, usually between the shoulders, by a veterinarian using a syringe, similar to giving an animal a vaccination.
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July 16, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: White Oak News
(Tube City Almanac photo)
A portion of Lincoln Way near Oak Park Mall will remain closed until early August as crews work to replace a bridge over Long Run creek.
Demolition of the Lincoln Way Bridge in White Oak began early Monday morning. Traffic is being detoured via Route 48 to Route 30. Access to Oak Park Mall and White Oak Storage is available, said Steve Cowan, district spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
The project is part of a two-bridge contract valued at $6.24 million, Cowan said. The new bridge will be widened several feet to accommodate the lengthening of turning lanes across the structure.
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June 15, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: White Oak News
Wesley Family Services, White Oak officials and East Allegheny’s soccer program will host a kickball game and cookout today (June 15) at White Oak Park and encourage an end to domestic violence.
The Father’s Day Pledge Kickball Cookout will begin at 11 a.m. at the Blue Spruce grove in White Oak Park.
Chris Goyke, head coach of the East Allegheny Middle School soccer team, is scheduled to speak, along with White Oak Mayor Ina Jean Marton.
• Listen: Ryan Conley and Marla Jones of Wesley Family Services were guests this week on our podcast, heard Sunday mornings on WEDO (810) and WZUM (101.1/1550)
The event is part of the national “No More” movement, which promotes awareness and prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault. A spokeswoman said Wesley Family Services is a local ally in a national network of many municipalities, corporations and communities promoting accountability and community involvement to reduce and eliminate domestic abuse.
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May 23, 2024 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: White Oak News
For weeks, residents of White Oak and surrounding communities had heard rumors about the future of their local Giant Eagle supermarket in Oak Park Mall.
When a reporter for Tube City Almanac originally contacted the store, employees declined to comment; however, a few days later, the family that has owned the supermarket since it opened in 1993 released a joint statement along with O’Hara Twp.-based Giant Eagle Inc.
“After more than 50 years in the supermarket industry, the Scozio family has decided to retire and transition the operations of its two Giant Eagle locations at 2001 Lincoln Way Oak Park in White Oak and at 2000 Penny Lane Drive in Penn Twp. to Giant Eagle, Inc.,” the statement said.
The move from independent ownership to corporate ownership was being completed this month.
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May 22, 2024 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
Craig Anlauf helps position the new Peace Pole in Renziehausen Park. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
Spreading a universal message of peace, members of the White Oak Rotary Club and McKeesport Lions Club gathered Thursday evening to install a Peace Pole at the entrance of the Stephen Barry Field in Renzie Park.
“It’s the first year the Rotary Club and Lions Club collaborated on a project,” said Dan Dougherty, governor-elect of Rotary District 7305.
Incoming Rotary Club president Craig Anlauf said, “We're stronger together and it's the beginning of a long relationship.” Both clubs have common goals in serving their communities, he said.
The Peace Pole Project was created in Japan during the 1980s and was inspired by the work of philosopher, poet and singer Masahisa Goi, who believed that a common worldwide prayer for peace could unite the world in harmony.
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