October 09, 2025 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne City Council will put a price on the possible sale of its water system, but said there are no plans to divest the municipality of the water department.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, the city authorized administrators to request proposals for the sale of the Duquesne water distribution system.
City officials said the request for proposals will allow the city to determine the market value of its water system before investing in needed upgrades to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Environmental Protection requirements.
Duquesne faces “significant liabilities and responsibilities that come with running a system of our size and significant resources are going to be needed” to meet EPA and DEP mandates, city officials said.
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October 09, 2025 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: White Oak News
White Oak Mayor Ina Jean Marton (at podium) introduces new White Oak Chief of Police Jason Binder at the September borough council meeting. (T.J. Martin photo for Tube City Almanac)
After a months-long selection process, White Oak Borough has appointed a new police chief.
Jason Binder was introduced as the new chief of police at the borough’s September meeting after being sworn in earlier in the month. He replaces Mark Sargent, who resigned in March.
In July, Public Safety Committee Chairwoman Loree Scharritter told her fellow commissioners that, after accepting applications for the Chief of Police position for a month, she and the other members of the Public Safety Committee were joined by Mayor Ina Jean Marton, Borough Manager John Palyo and chiefs of police from neighboring communities to conduct the first round of interviews.
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October 08, 2025 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
If you go...
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Encore Presentation: Living History Tour
Where: McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center, 1832 Arboretum Drive (Renziehausen Park)
When: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 9
Tickets: $12 members, $15 non-members, $6 kids (12 and under)
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Cemeteries are usually a solemn, serene place of final rest, but on Saturday and Sunday the McKeesport and Versailles Cemetery was alive with historical figures of McKeesport’s past, portrayed by local actors.
The McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center presented its 11th annual Living History Tour featuring characters like Thomas Tilbrook the first mayor of McKeesport, trail blazing journalist Phyllis Garland, and Woodene Merriman, a longtime reporter and lifestyle editor for the McKeesport Daily News.
All together, 10 historical figures were represented by actors, Isaac Richardson as the gravedigger, Greg Nemchick as John Corey, Kim Moore as Woodene Merriman, Ellie Valentine as Jane Berry Smith, Ellis Michaels as Thomas Tilbrook, Wayne Minnicks as Russell Goetz, Ashden Burgman as B.B. Coursin, Isabel Newport as Sarah E. Johnson Phillips Means, John Patalona as John Sellman, and Nie’Zhay Jefferson as Phyllis Garland.
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October 07, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, White Oak News
Pros of Wrestling will present a “family friendly” event at White Oak Athletic Association on Oct. 25 featuring eight matches, a spokesman said.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and wrestling begins at 7:30 p.m.
The main event will feature AAA Lucha Libra star Sam Adonis, a Pennsylvania native and a graduate of Gateway High School who has been wrestling professionally for 20 years. Adonis, who has wrestled in Mexico, Japan, Italy, England and Canada, will be pitted against Bryant Starr of New York City.
Tickets are available from Eventbrite.com and at the door.
Merchandise and refreshments will be available, as well as prizes. WOAA is located at 1798 Lower Heckman Road in White Oak. For more information, call (412) 335-1622 or visit Pros of Wrestling on Facebook or X.
October 07, 2025 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(With reporting from Vickie Babyak and Jason Togyer)
Residents wait outside Midtown Plaza Apartments on Sunday after fire forced the evacuation of most of the high-rise building. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
Six residents and four firefighters sustained minor injuries Sunday after fire broke out in a trash chute in a Downtown high-rise apartment building.
McKeesport fire Chief Jeff Tomovcsik said the blaze at Midtown Plaza Apartments went to three-alarms and that some residents — who have heard false alarms in the past — were reluctant to evacuate.
The Allegheny County fire marshal’s office is investigating.
Many of the residents of the building are senior citizens or on fixed incomes. The building was previously owned by a subsidiary of PNC Bank, but was sold in December 2024 for $500,000 to a New York-based company, according to county records.
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October 07, 2025 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A crash Tuesday morning in the city’s 10th Ward sent two people to area hospitals.
Allegheny County police said the wreck occurred just after 9:30 a.m. on West Fifth Avenue between Ramp No. 2 and the Mansfield Bridge.
Police said their preliminary investigation indicates that a car driven by an unidentified male driver went out of control and crossed into the opposing lane of travel, sliding sideways.
The car was then struck by another vehicle, traveling in the opposite direction, driven by an unidentified woman, police said.
The male was taken to the hospital in critical condition and the woman was in stable condition, police said.
The Allegheny County Police Department’s collision reconstruction unit is investigating. Anyone who may have witnessed the accident is asked to call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers may remain anonymous.
October 07, 2025 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
A fire that heavily damaged a concession stand at East Allegheny High School’s stadium over the weekend was accidental, the Allegheny County fire marshal’s office has ruled.
The fire was caused by a mishap involving cooking left unattended, according to a spokeswoman for the fire marshal. There were no injuries.
The blaze at Churchman Stadium off of Jacks Run Road in North Versailles Twp. was reported Sunday morning prior to a youth football game, the school district said. Although the fire was quickly contained and extinguished, all athletics games scheduled for the day were cancelled.
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October 03, 2025 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport City Council has denied a request for a conditional use variance for Noise Makers Motorcycle Club to use this former bar on Ringgold Street as a meeting space. (Tube City Almanac photo)
City council has voted down a request for approval to open a motorcycle club on Ringgold Street in the Downtown business district.
By 4-3 vote, McKeesport council rejected the recommendation of the city’s planning commission to approve an application from Noise Makers Motorcycle Club to turn the former Bubba’s Bar & Grill into a private club.
Council Members Jim Barry Jr., Richard Dellapenna Jr., Brian Evans and Jill Lape voted no. Council Members Keith Soles, LuEthel Nesbit and Amber Webb voted yes.
Club President Ryder Simpson expressed frustration with the city’s permitting and planning process, especially after finding out that the group would not be able to get an occupancy permit for the property because the previous owner owed thousands of dollars in delinquent property taxes.
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October 02, 2025 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
(T.J. Martin photo for Tube City Almanac)
In its long history, North Versailles Township has had many commissioners. At its September meeting, the Board of Commissioners welcomed the township’s first-ever Junior Commissioner.
Sophia Sciulli was sworn into the position by District Judge Roxanne Eichler.
Sciulli, a senior at East Allegheny High School, said she applied for the position after reading about it in the district newsletter “to get more involved in local government.”
October 02, 2025 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The Versailles Avenue Viaduct was closed in February 2022, less than two weeks after a similar bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park. (Tube City Almanac file photo)
City residents vented frustrations Wednesday night at a public hearing to discuss the replacement of the Versailles Avenue Viaduct.
A standing-room-only meeting in council chambers became contentious, as citizens questioned why government agencies moved so quickly to replace other bridges — notably the Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh — while McKeesport will have to wait until 2027.
The Versailles Avenue span was closed in 2022, less than week after the Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed, after an engineer’s report concluded the bridge was no longer safe for travel. A new Fern Hollow Bridge, which carries 14,000 vehicles a day, opened less than a year later.
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