October 31, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
(Illustration courtesy Pennsylvania Department of Transportation)
Clairton, Duquesne and Liberty Borough will have Halloween parties and parades tonight, while Dravosburg and West Homestead will have costume contests.
Local and county officials also have posted trick-or-treating hours for many area communities. Residents who wish to participate should turn on their porch lights.
In Duquesne, residents are being invited to a “spook-tacular” night of fun. Children in costumes are invited to line up at 4:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Duquesne Elementary School on South Fourth Street. Prizes will be awarded for best costume.
After the parade, join your friends and neighbors for free food and music in the Duquesne school gymnasium. Free trick or treat bags will be given out by the police department and free safety light sticks will be given from the McKeesport Ambulance Rescue Service.
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October 30, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, White Oak News
White Oak Rotary Club is raffling off two tickets to 10 upcoming Pittsburgh Penguins home games in a benefit for programs sponsored by the club.
A spokesman said the tickets are in Row E, Section 201, of PPG Paints Arena, and chances on the drawing cost $20 each. Only 500 raffle chances will be sold and the winning number will be selected based on the Pennsylvania Lottery’s 7 p.m. Dec. 23 drawing.
Proceeds will benefit the White Oak Rotary Club’s service projects and other charitable causes, the spokesman said.
For details or more information, call (412) 500-5314; visit the club’s website; or talk to a White Oak Rotary Club member.
October 30, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements, Duquesne News
The Mon River Fleet will offer free influenza vaccinations from 12 to 3 p.m. Nov. 13, at Duquesne City Hall, 12 S. Second St., city officials said.
Residents ages 18 and over are invited to attend and get a flu shot on a first-come, first-serve basis. The opportunity is made possible by the McKeesport Hospital Foundation and UPMC.
October 29, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Five people were honored this month for upholding the “McKeesport Message” of “Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love.”
At McKeesport City Council’s regular meeting, proclamations were presented by Mayor Michael Cherepko to Rachael Richter, LuEthel Nesbit, Alison K. Piccolino, Jackie Flajnik and Stu Wilson. Biographies of the honorees follow.
Nominees for the next round of awards are due by Nov. 2, said Jennifer Vertullo, assistant to the mayor. For details, call (412) 675-5020, ext. 605, or email jen.vertullo@mckeesport-pa.gov.
Respect: Rachael Richter
Rachael Richter and Cherepko. (Special to Tube City Almanac)
Through Project HEART, the Human Services Center Corp. is reaching out to youth across the Mon Valley to teach lessons of health and wellness as they relate to self-care and self-respect, as well as health of the community as a whole.
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October 27, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, North Versailles Twp. News
The North Versailles Twp. children’s Halloween party will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the community center, 1401 Greensburg Ave., township Commissioner Tracy Yusko said on behalf of the parks and recreation department.
October 27, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, White Oak News
St. Angela Merici Parish, 1640 Fawcett Ave., White Oak, will hold its annual "Night at the Races" on Nov. 10 in the Father Drap Social Hall, a spokeswoman said.
Doors open at 6 p.m. Admission is $10 and includes a buffet meal and beverages. Horses can be purchased for $5 and race winners will receive $25.
A Chinese auction, 50/50, door prizes and other games of chance will be featured. For more information or tickets, visit the parish website at www.stangelamericiparish.org or call the parish office at (412) 672-9641.
October 25, 2018 |
By Lynne Glover | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Introduced as a “speaker of truths, par excellence,” Angela Davis took the stage at Penn State Greater Allegheny in McKeesport to a standing ovation.
The nearly packed house on Oct. 19 at Wunderley Gymnasium --- more than 1,000 people --- was a diverse, inter-racial crowd, ranging from toddlers to college students taking notes in old-fashioned notebooks to senior citizens with gray ponytails and beards.
Davis, a prominent 74-year-old political activist and academic, became well-known in the 1960s as a radical feminist and member of the Black Panther Party and the Communist Party USA. She was the keynote speaker for Greater Allegheny’s third Crossing Bridges Summit.
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October 22, 2018 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
A missing child who was located after a search in May wrote a letter of apology to first responders from North Versailles Twp.
At the October meeting, township Commissioner Russell Saula read aloud from the letter sent to police and firefighters by Christopher Ramos, 8, who went missing for several hours in May, but was located safe in Wilmerding.
Ramos also sent police and firefighters cookies as a token of his gratitude, Saula said.
In other business, commissioners voted to accept a $25,000 grant for improvements to a restroom at West Wilmerding Park to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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October 21, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne city council members and city Manager Che Sayles recently attended the 46th annual Joint Conference of Townships, Boroughs and Authorities.
At council's Oct. 9 meeting, Councilwoman Fawn McDaniel reported that the event included sessions with themes such as "using 21st century technology to manage age old problems of local government," "ABC’s of communication" and "the changing role of the municipal solicitor."
The event was organized by the Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania Association of Township Commissioners.
In other business, council accepted the resignation of City Controller Jade Burleigh.
Mayor Nickole Nesby said recent health issues have prevented Burleigh from being able to fulfill the position.
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October 21, 2018 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
Build it, and people will come --- at least that's the hope of Sam Juliano, vice president of the North Versailles Twp. commissioners. He wants to see about 90 acres of undeveloped land in the township's Green Valley section turned into a multi-purpose park.
At their October meeting, commissioners voted to enter into an agreement with TARQUINCoRE, LLC of Pittsburgh, which represents the property's owners, to accept the donation of nearly 90 acres of land currently owned by a real estate trust.
Commissioners George Beswick and Daryl Mitchell were absent. The land is located off of Maryland Avenue.
According to Juliano, the issue has been under discussion for several months. ”Now it's back on the table,” he said. ”Our commissioners did an assessment of this generous offer and determined there is an interest in acquiring ownership of five parcels.”
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October 21, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Crime and Police News, Duquesne News
Calls to Duquesne police for assistance are up --- but so are arrests.
Duquesne police Chief Tom Dunlevy reported the increases during the Oct. 9 city council meeting.
Through the third quarter of 2018, Dunlevy said, calls for service are up 40 percent compared with the previous period in 2017, while arrests are up 21 percent. Traffic stops are up 56 percent and traffic citations are up 59 percent, but traffic accidents are down 26 percent, he said.
“I’m very proud of the accomplishments of the department so far this year,” said Dunlevy, who became the Duquesne police chief in January.
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October 20, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne City Council has appointed a new solicitor --- the city's fourth this year --- and says it will pursue an state ethics complaint against the city's treasurer.
At its Oct. 9 meeting, council appointed Myron Sainovich to replace John Rushford as the city's solicitor. Rushford was hired in April.
In addition, council voted to file a complaint with the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission against city Treasurer David Bires for what Mayor Nickole Nesby said is a conflict of interest. Bires chairs the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Duquesne, which is currently being sued by the city.
“Council and I believe that his actions need to be investigated," Nesby said. "As chairman of the redevelopment authority, we believe there is a conflict of interest and he should resign from one of the positions.”
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October 18, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
(Photo courtesy McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center)
William Sample, one of the soldiers who carried President Lincoln from Ford's Theater on the night he was shot, will receive a new headstone on Saturday morning.
During a ceremony at 11 a.m. at McKeesport and Versailles Cemetery, members of McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center also will dedicate a new headstone at the grave of George Simmons, the city's first African-American policeman.
The ceremonies, which will begin near the old mausoleum, will kick off the heritage center's fourth-annual cemetery tour. Actors will portray 10 prominent McKeesport-area residents of the past who are buried at the cemetery.
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October 17, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
(UPMC photo)
Mark O'Hern has been named the new president of UPMC McKeesport and UPMC East hospitals, the health system announced.
He succeeds Mark Sevco, who has been promoted to chief operating officer of UPMC Pinnacle, based in Harrisburg.
O'Hern, of Murrysville, had served as vice president of operations for UPMC McKeesport and UPMC East since 2014, when the two hospitals were placed under the same management.
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October 17, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
An Avalon man faces a preliminary hearing Friday in connection with the death of a McKeesport woman in a traffic accident.
Robert L. Darrisaw Jr., 23, is being held in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bond, court records indicate.
Allegheny County police charged Darrisaw on Oct. 12. In a statement, county police Lt. Andrew Schurman said that Darrisaw has been identified as the driver of a car that broadsided another vehicle near the intersection of Lebanon Church Road and Buttermilk Hollow Road in West Mifflin just before 4 a.m. Sept. 23.
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October 15, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A McKeesport man is dead following a drive-by shooting Saturday morning that police believe happened near the Rankin Bridge.
Dijuan Bray, 24, died Sunday afternoon at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, Oakland, of wounds sustained in the incident, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office. His death has been ruled a homicide.
Allegheny County police said Bray was a passenger in a Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck, similar to the one pictured below, when someone shot at him and the driver.
In a prepared statement, county police Lt. Andrew Schurman said Bray and the driver arrived at the emergency room at UPMC McKeesport Hospital at 3:42 a.m. Saturday. Both were suffering gunshot wounds to the head, Schurman said.
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October 15, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
McKeesport Lions Club will hold a White Cane Day event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 20) in front of the Olympia Shop 'n Save.
A spokeswoman said the Lions will be collecting money for local sight-related charities. Pictured during a similar event in April are Lions Club members Marie Domingo, Milan Washowich and Colin Clarke.
(Submitted photo courtesy McKeesport Lions Club.)
October 14, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The emergency demolition of a former school building on Bowman Avenue in Highland Grove will cost McKeesport taxpayers about $65,000, Mayor Michael Cherepko said.
The west wall of the building started to collapse on Wednesday, endangering a nearby house and forcing a temporary street closure. No injuries were reported, but residents of the house were evacuated, the mayor said.
Following an inspection of the building by City Engineer James Garvin, Cherepko said McKeesport officials awarded an emergency demolition contract to Lutterman Excavating of Greensburg.
Most of the building had been demolished by Friday night.
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October 11, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Manor III is one of the buildings in RIDC's industrial park in McKeesport. (RIDC photo)
A Westmoreland County distributor and manufacturer of equipment used in the nuclear power and mining industries is relocating to McKeesport.
Ralph A. Hiller Company is leasing Manor III, a 12,500-square-foot building at the Industrial Center of McKeesport, said a spokeswoman for RIDC, which owns the property.
The company specializes in valves, tubes, gauges and other devices used to distribute and control steam as well as water and other fluids.
In a prepared statement, Tom Beck, Hiller's general manager, said the company --- currently located near Export --- wanted to stay in the Pittsburgh area and needs room for possible future growth.
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October 11, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
The Patton Street Bridge in Wilmerding will close for repairs on Monday morning, the Allegheny County Department of Public Works announced.
The closure, expected to last until 4 p.m. Oct. 22, is required for repairs to the bridge deck, a spokesman said.
The bridge serves as a connection for people traveling between East McKeesport and Monroeville. Traffic will be detoured over Middle Avenue, Route 130, Route 48 (Mosside Boulevard) and Wall Avenue.
The work is being done by Pugliano Construction Co., Inc. of Plum, the county spokesman said.
October 11, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
(Photo courtesy Operation Vet NOW, via Facebook.)
A five-kilometer run and one-mile walk in Renziehausen Park this weekend will raise money for veterans suffering from combat stress, traumatic brain injuries and other ailments.
The event, called "Vet Connect," begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday near the tennis courts and is being sponsored by a charity based in White Oak called Operation Vet NOW Inc. The entry fee is $25.
The walk is dedicated to the so-called "McKeesport 23" -- the McKeesport-area soldiers who were killed during the Vietnam War --- and the 5K run is dedicated to Lance Cpl. Abram L. Howard, 21, of Willliamsport, a Marine who was killed in July 2010 in Afghanistan.
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October 11, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (above) will visit McKeesport on Saturday to take part in a political rally at the Palisades Ballroom, Fifth and Water streets, Downtown.
The "Mass Rally in the Valley" is being sponsored by a group calling itself the Mon-Valley People's Action Committee and begins at 2:30 p.m. A complete list of guests has not been announced.
Wolf, a Democrat, is running for re-election on Nov. 6. Seeking election as lieutenant governor on the same ticket is John Fetterman, mayor of Braddock.
Wolf and Fetterman are being challenged by Republicans Scott Wagner, the gubernatorial candidate and a former state senator from York County; and Jeff Bartos, the candidate for lieutenant governor and a real-estate developer from Montgomery County.
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October 10, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Renovations to several pavilions at Renziehausen Park are nearing completion, and McKeesport officials are gearing up for more improvements to the park in 2019.
At this month's council meeting, Mayor Michael Cherepko said crews from Plavchak Construction Co. are wrapping up work on pavilions 1, 2, 3 and 7. The $184,750 project was funded through the Allegheny Regional Asset District, or RAD, and included new roofs, signage, benches and accessibiity updates.
In September, the RAD board adopted a preliminary budget that includes another $170,000 for construction of a new pavilion at Renzie, as well as the purchase of new playground equipment.
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October 10, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Crime and Police News, Duquesne News
Duquesne police Chief Tom Dunlevy reported 564 calls for service for the month of August, resulting in 52 arrests.
Calls for service included 24 abandoned vehicles, 25 criminal mischief calls, 10 juvenile complaints, 33 domestics, 17 disturbances and 10 thefts. A full list of calls for service can be viewed on the department’s Facebook page or at the police department.
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October 09, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne water customers owed the city nearly $64,000 at the beginning of September --- but city officials said delinquent accounts are not going to be allowed to slide any longer.
At council's Sept. 25 meeting, Councilwoman Elaine Washington said that a review of the city's accounts found that some residents had past-due balances of more than $4,000. In some cases, she said, residents who had unpaid water bills were allowed to open new accounts without paying off the old bills.
That arrangement is no longer acceptable, Washington said, and bills must be paid in full monthly.
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October 09, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Mon Valley business owners --- and people hoping to start a business --- are being encouraged to attend a free networking event and workshop Oct. 18 at Penn State Greater Allegheny in McKeesport.
The Mon Valley Business Development Expo is being sponsored by PurePenn, the Mon Yough Area Chamber of Commerce and Penn State, a spokeswoman said. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Ostermayer Room of the campus' Student Community Center. Breakout sessions will follow from 9 to 11:30 a.m., with a procurement fair from 1 to 3 p.m., following a lunch break.
For more information or to RSVP, contact Gina Rosso at gina@purepenn.com.
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October 08, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
Conflict of Interest Note: The editor of Tube City Almanac, Jason Togyer, has a conflict of interest involving this story.
(Photo by Nyttend via Wikimedia Commons)
McKeesport's Penn-McKee Hotel has been named the Number One preservation opportunity in Western Pennsylvania by the group currently studying whether or not the building can be saved and reused.
At a ceremony Friday at Alphabet City on Pittsburgh's North Side, the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh unveiled its annual list of the 10 neglected historic or architectural sites that are most worthy of rescue.
The Penn-McKee was named the number one site because it has both historic and architectural value, the group said.
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October 08, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac file photo)
CORRECTION: The grant for which the city is applying from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development is only for trail improvements, a spokeswoman told Tube City Almanac on Oct. 10. This story incorrectly reported that the parking garage also would be included. We apologize for the error.
McKeesport will seek an additional $3 million in funding for improvements to the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail on Lysle Boulevard.
At this month's meeting, council voted 7-0 to pursue a grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development's Multimodal Transportation Fund.
The money --- if allocated by the state --- would be in addition to $2.9 million already awarded on Oct. 2 by the state Department of Transportation from its own multi-modal fund. That grant is also being used to help renovate the 440-space Lysle Boulevard parking garage for use by trail visitors, bus commuters using the McKeesport Transportation Center, and tenants at the former Daily News Building.
The DCED grant for which the city will now be applying is only for improvements to the trail, said Jennifer Vertullo, assistant to McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko.
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October 08, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne officials are planning to take legal action against three non-profit agencies that own vacant properties in the city.
At the Sept. 25 meeting, council authorized the city solicitor to bring a lawsuit against the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Duquesne, the Allegheny County Housing Authority and the Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority.
“One-third of the land in Duquesne is owned by one of these three entities and we are actively trying to address the blighted properties in the city,” Mayor Nickole Nesby said. “In total, these three governmental agencies have held properties for over 16 years, denying the city nearly $385,000 in delinquent tax funds.”
Government agencies are typically exempt from local, school district and county real estate taxes.
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October 04, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A 14-year-old Duquesne resident faces charges in Allegheny County juvenile court after McKeesport police said he was behind the wheel of a stolen car that hit a police cruiser.
The young man, whose name was not released by police, is charged with receiving stolen property, driving without a license and causing an accident involving an occupied vehicle.
McKeesport police said two officers were on patrol early Saturday morning on Evans Avenue when they saw a black Mercury sedan matching the description of a car that had been reported stolen a few hours earlier in Duquesne.
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October 03, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
Condemnation notices have been posted on McKeesport's Peoples Building, the landmark 1906 skyscraper at the corner of Walnut Street and Fifth Avenue that a local real estate agent in January called the "Crown Jewel" of the Mon Valley.
Citing health and safety violations, signs dated Aug. 17 were posted on the entrances to the building, the one-time home of People's Union Bank and Trust Co. before it was merged into Union National Bank of Pittsburgh.
No demolition hearing has been scheduled, and demolition is not imminent, Mayor Michael Cherepko said. "It doesn't mean it can't be un-condemned," he said.
An inspection of the interior found numerous violations that can be corrected, Cherepko said, but the public is not in danger.
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October 02, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
The Lysle Boulevard parking garage could be reopened and connected to the former Daily News Building with the assistance of a $2.9 million grant from Pennsylvania's Multimodal Transportation Fund.
And city officials and state Sen. Jim Brewster have bigger plans --- like re-routing the Great Allegheny Passage trail to the edge of the Monongahela River, and possibly elevating a portion of it.
The state Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced the award of $2.9 million in funding to help rehabilitate the parking garage --- closed to the public for almost 20 years --- and improve the trail.
"Obviously, we've very excited," McKeesport Mayor Mike Cherepko said Tuesday night. The improvements to the garage and the trail have the potential to "jumpstart the Downtown area," he said.
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October 01, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
UPDATED: The victim's identity has now been released. 4:30 p.m.
A 26-year-old McKeesport man was found dead in an alley off of Beaver Street on Monday morning.
The Allegheny County medical examiner's office has identified the victim as Andrew J. Jefferson.
In a prepared statement, Allegheny County police Lt. Andrew Schurman said city police and paramedics were dispatched to the 1800 block of Forte Alley at 12:24 a.m. Monday for a report of "shots being fired."
When they arrived, Schurman said, they found a man, later identified as Jefferson, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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