December 15, 2021 |
By Matt Germaine | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne’s police chief will retain his title for now.
Thomas W. Dunlevy, 49, has been charged by Allegheny County police with intimidation of witnesses, intimidation or realitiation in a child abuse case, obstructing the administration of law and official oppression.
Dunlevy was arraigned Dec. 7 and is currently free on $25,000 unsecured bond pending a preliminary hearing Dec. 20 before Magisterial District Judge Kim Berkeley Clark.
“These are all allegations. We have to see what’s going to be held for court, and then whether or not charges are going to be pursued by the district attorney’s office,” said Duquesne city solicitor Myron Sainovich in an interview. “If there’s not enough evidence in the preliminary hearing, the charges could be dismissed. We just have to wait and see.”
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December 14, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Duquesne News, McKeesport and Region News, North Versailles Twp. News
Local school districts are keeping their mask policies in effect for the time being.
Duquesne and East Allegheny school officials said their mandatory mask policies will remain in place, while McKeesport Area School District said the district is making face masks optional but “highly recommended” for all staff and students.
Masking also is mandatory on school buses, McKeesport Area officials said.
On Friday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the state Department of Health overstepped its authority on Aug. 31 by setting a blanket requirement for all students to wear a face mask while in class to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
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December 09, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, Duquesne News
Duquesne’s police chief has been charged with witness intimidation in connection with an incident in Hazelwood, Allegheny County police said.
Thomas W. Dunlevy, 49, of Duquesne is charged by Allegheny County police with intimidation of witnesses, intimidation or retaliation in a child abuse case, obstructing the administration of law and official oppression.
Dunlevy was arraigned Wednesday night and is currently free on $25,000 unsecured bond pending a preliminary hearing Dec. 20 before Magisterial District Judge Kim Berkeley Clark.
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November 17, 2021 |
By Matt Germaine | Posted in: Duquesne News
The Duquesne City School District has opened its Uplift Center, a facility that will provide after-school tutoring, homework help and additional programming for the district’s students.
“Right now, the center is focusing on math and all of the common core types of topics that students encounter in their everyday classes,” said Sarah McCluan, spokeswoman for the Allegheny Intermediary Unit. “But that will pivot and expand as the needs of the students change.”
At present, the center is staffed by a site director. Depending on how many students use the facility, the district plans to seek volunteers to assist with running the program.
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September 25, 2021 |
By Matt Germaine | Posted in: Duquesne News
After nearly three years of seeking grant funds to demolish an abandoned house at 129 South First St., Duquesne City Council has approved a measure to raze the structure using city funds.
“The demo [has been] tricky for grants to approve because the house is in an Historic District,” said LaFranz Hemphill of Glenn Engineering. “If the city pays for it, then there is no need to get a grant to demo the house.”
According to residents who commented during the meeting, the structure has become a hazardous nuisance over the years due to falling building matter. Bids to perform the demolition have come in at around $10,500, and the work can begin as soon as Oct. 4, city officials said.
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September 24, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements, Duquesne News
Members of Clifton Pitts’ family and local officials join state Rep. Austin Davis and state Sen. Jim Brewster during a ceremony to celebrate the designation of a portion of Route 837 as the “Clifton P. Pitts Memorial Highway.” (Submitted photo courtesy state Rep. Austin Davis)
A portion of state Route 837 in Duquesne and West Mifflin has been renamed to honor the late Clifton P. Pitts.
Local, county and state officials gathered Friday morning at Macedonia Baptist Church to dedicate part of the road as the Clifton P. Pitts Memorial Highway. Pitts died in November 2020 of complications of COVID-19. He was 76.
Pitts was born in Pittsburgh but grew up in Duquesne. In the 1970s, Pitts worked as a community activist throughout the Mon Valley, working for a local anti-poverty campaign and also volunteering his time to fight segregation and racial discrimination, and to encourage Black residents to register to vote and run for local offices.
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August 02, 2021 |
By Matt Germaine | Posted in: Duquesne News
The Duquesne City School District will kick off the 2021-2022 school year with a new STEM Center, thanks in part to the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation.
Geared towards older students, the facility will join the similar “makerspaces” utilized by the district’s younger students. But teachers can reserve any facility if they feel it will enhance lessons related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, according to Jamie Schmidt, Ed.D., the district’s director of curriculum and instruction.
“We've found since we have implemented the elementary makerspaces, our students do well. They're most engaged in these spaces,” said Schmidt. “So teachers are looking for any opportunity to take their kids and really engage them in learning because the students love it.”
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July 12, 2021 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Duquesne News, Liberty Borough News, McKeesport and Region News, North Versailles Twp. News, White Oak News
More than $270,000 in grants have been awarded to Mon-Yough area fire and EMS companies through a state program.
For agencies that could not conduct regular fundraisers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the money can be used to help make up for lost revenue, say local state representatives.
The annual Fire Company and Emergency Medical Service Grant Program, which is overseen by the Office of the State Fire Commissioner, provides funding for volunteer and career fire companies, emergency medical services and rescue squads.
Eligible organizations can use the funds for facilities and equipment, debt reduction, training and education and recruitment and retention.
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July 06, 2021 |
By Nichole Faina | Posted in: Duquesne News, McKeesport and Region News
A fire May 12 rendered this Duquesne building uninhabitable. The demand for affordable housing in the Mon Valley outstrips the supply, say housing advocates and state Rep. Austin Davis. (Tube City Almanac photo)
On the night of May 12, Lakeya Wilson entrusted her four children, all under age 5, to her family members to babysit at her Duquesne home. Forty-five minutes later, Wilson received a call that her apartment building was on fire.
Thankfully, her family escaped unharmed, but the apartment where they had lived for two and a half years is now uninhabitable.
Wilson has a federal housing choice voucher — the program commonly called “Section 8” — and like many people in the Mon Valley is in search of a better apartment.
Wilson and her children are currently staying with family. She says she’s contacted more than 10 landlords to see if they have any vacancies for a Section 8 holder. So far, she says, all she’s heard is “no.”
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June 22, 2021 |
By Matt Germaine | Posted in: Duquesne News
In March 2020, just days before the COVID-19 pandemic forced all Pennsylvania schools to switch to remote instruction, state Rep. Austin Davis visited Duquesne Education Center to read to pupils. (Courtesy State Rep. Austin Davis)
Despite a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Duquesne City School District finished the 2020-2021 academic year strong and with an optimistic outlook on the year to come.
“We’ve had about 25 [cases] total, it really has been remarkable,” said Sue Mariani, the Duquesne City School District’s superintendent. “We’ve been very, very fortunate. To me, it’s the due diligence of everybody just doing their part to keep everyone safe.”
In March 2020, the district sent each of its 360 students home with either an iPad or a Chromebook, depending on grade level and teacher pedagogy. But while students learned from home, the district’s faculty and staff adopted a proactive mindset regarding the logistics of the months to come.
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