Spring Street between Cornell and Jenny Lind streets was repaired as part of a sewer line replacement project. City officials would like to reopen the street. (Tube City Almanac photo)
City officials are working on a proposal to reopen Spring Street between Cornell and Jenny Lind streets — but there’s a hitch.
About a quarter-mile of the street was abandoned when Twin Rivers Elementary School was built in 2014 and the intersection at Cornell Street will need to be re-aligned.
City council last week authorized Mayor Michael Cherepko’s administration to pursue $400,000 in funding from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to complete the work.
Spring Street was closed for safety reasons in 2009 when the pavement began to fail and cave in. Before the closure, it was an important link between Walnut Street and the Seventh Ward neighborhood, including homes, schools, and Carnegie Library of McKeesport.
Despite freezing temperatures and gusty winds, McKeesport marked Veterans Day on Tuesday with a ceremony at Memorial Park on Lysle Boulevard.
After thanking God for the “nice crisp day,” the Rev. Christine Pope Portiss of True Vine Ministries recalled how her grandmother had put stars in the window for her five family members who were serving during World War II.
She also recalled how her high school boyfriend was killed while serving in Vietnam.
“This day means a lot to many of us, so if you have somebody who served, thank God for them, and thank them for their service,” said Portiss, who offered the opening prayer. About 75 people attended, fighting to stay warm amidst snow flurries and a steady gale that kept American flags flying stiffly and several times threatened to topple a memorial wreath.
McKeesport Area School Board held a special meeting Thursday to authorize the immediate hiring of several employees, including several teachers and a school nurse.
“We need them to start,” Board President Mark Holtzman Sr. said. “We need those folks in, and we didn't want to have to wait.” If the district hadn’t held a special meeting, the next meeting was scheduled for Dec. 4.
Holtzman said it behooved the district to act now. “Those jobs need to be filled,” he said. “The whole objective is taking care of our kids and educating our kids, so we decided to come out for a special meeting, get those folks hired and get them in place and ready to go.”
A nationally known group of economic development specialists will be in the city for three days next week to develop a proposal for reinvigorating McKeesport’s moribund Downtown business district.
The Collaborative, YPA and Mayor Michael Cherepko will host a walking tour from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 6) beginning at the Palisades Ballroom and heading up Fifth Avenue.
Then, at 7 p.m., the mayor’s office, YPA and the Collaborative will hold a community forum at the Palisades. Refreshments and child care will be provided.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story was retracted because it incorrectly stated that a replacement for former Assistant Superintendent Matthew Mols had not been named. The school board named an assistant to the superintendent on Oct. 9. We apologize for the error and for any confusion we caused.
Outgoing McKeesport Area School District assistant superintendent Matthew Mols is set to begin a new chapter at Ligonier Valley School District.
Following an Oct. 20 vote by LVSD school board members, Mols will serve as superintendent beginning Nov. 3.
LVSD school board members signaled their enthusiasm for the new hire by praising both his “energy” and “perspective.”
The comments echo earlier approval from McKeesport Area School District. “There were some folks who didn’t believe in him. We believed in him,” MASD School Board President Mark Holtzman Sr. said on Oct. 9. “He’s pretty damn good.”
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The author of this piece has a conflict of interest. See Editor’s Note.
Homestead-based Mon Valley Initiative held its 37th annual community awards dinner at the Palisades Ballroom, Downtown. (Tube City Almanac photo)
At a time when many Americans are struggling to feel a sense of unity and purpose, the volunteers of the Mon Valley’s many non-profits have created “a very unique hub.”
“The way the world is, we struggle so hard to find community,” said April Hoover, chief financial officer of Mon Valley Initiative, during that organization’s 37th annual awards banquet. “So I want to remind you that this is a community. Tap into the other people in this room. Just remember, where there is service, where there is hope, lasting impact can happen.”
More than 200 people attended the event at the Palisades Ballroom in Downtown McKeesport. Awards were presented to three individuals and four Mon-Yough area organizations.
McKeesport Area School District recognized students, staff and school director achievements during an Oct. 9 school board meeting.
Eighth-grader Evan Durst was celebrated for his selection to the US Youth School Junior Olympic Development Program. The program, according to Superintendent Donald MacFann, is a “pathway for identifying and developing top players across the country.”
Retiring golf coach Joe Bower was honored for 12 seasons of leading McKeesport golfers.
School director David Donato called Bower’s contributions to the program “incredible,” and said, “it takes a very special person to get these guys together and want to come every day.”
Tickets: $12 members, $15 non-members, $6 kids (12 and under)
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.
(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.
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.
