August 16, 2024 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac file photo by Adam Reinherz)
McKeesport Area School District’s superintendent is on leave at her own request, the district’s solicitor said Friday.
In response to questions from Tube City Almanac about the status of Superintendent Tia Wanzo, district solicitor Gary Matta said, “Dr. Wanzo has requested to take a leave of absence. She is on leave effective August 14, 2024.”
Wanzo asked for a three-month leave, according to the solicitor.
The board has not yet approved an acting superintendent, he said. “Mr. [Matthew] Mols is currently the assistant to the superintendent and is the next in line until the board appoints an acting superintendent.”
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August 16, 2024 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and is subject to change.
Who is McKeesport Area School District’s superintendent? Days after community members demonstrated support for MASD Superintendent Tia Wanzo at a school board meeting, rumors swirled regarding the educator’s continued employment with the district.
The school district advertised a special meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday to discuss “personnel” matters, but parents who tried to attend the meeting were told it was canceled.
Calls and messages to board members about Wanzo’s status as superintendent have gone unanswered — as have attempts to reach Wanzo.
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August 15, 2024 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Joanne Dorazio and family from White Oak attend International Village all three nights “and eat our way through.” (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said Wednesday he wished that every reporter in Pittsburgh was at Renziehausen Park in McKeesport to attend the city’s 64th International Village.
“I wish I could get every news camera in the Pittsburgh region here at International Village to cover this,” said Davis, a McKeesport resident and McKeesport Area High School alumnus. “Oftentimes they cover the bad things that happen in McKeesport, and there are so many more good people and good things that happen here. Oftentimes they don't tell that story and this is an example for people to see up close and personal what McKeesport is really about.”
Familiar faces came to a familiar place on Wednesday evening, as community members and elected officials descended on Renziehausen Park for the second day of the 2024 International Village. Founded in 1960, the annual ethnic festival — complete with food, music and dancing — draws thousands in search of summer fun.
Tube City Online is providing live coverage each night from 5:30 to 9 p.m. via YouTube.
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August 15, 2024 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
UPMC McKeesport is celebrating the grand opening of a new, state-of-the-art wound-care clinic in the Mansfield Building. The facility is double the size of the previous location in the Painter Building. (Submitted photo courtesy UPMC.)
UPMC McKeesport has doubled the size of its wound-care clinic and expects to be able to treat about twice as many patients with slow-to-heal injuries — including bone infections and people suffering complications from diabetes and poor circulation — than ever before.
The new clinic, located on the sixth floor of the hospital’s Mansfield Building, will hold an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. today (Aug. 15) to explain the facilities to visitors and offer free health screenings.
The first 50 attendees receive a free gift. Foot-health checks will be offered, along with cholesterol and glucose screenings, as well as tours of the clinic’s treatment areas.
“This has been a consistently growing program and a consistently growing clinic for us, but there are always opportunities for us to build greater awareness within the community,” said Joseph Vermilya, senior director of operations for UPMC McKeesport and UPMC East.
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August 14, 2024 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Adam Reinherz photo for Tube City Almanac)
Residents packed a McKeesport Area School Board meeting on Tuesday to demonstrate support for district Superintendent Tia Wanzo.
With school scheduled to begin in just a few days, rumors have begun swirling that Wanzo’s job may be in jeopardy.
McKeesport resident Julian Thomas championed Wanzo during Tuesday's board meeting.
“I've had the privilege as a police officer to work side by side with her for over a decade, and I'll tell you, there's nobody more fit to run the school. I support her 100 percent,” he said. “Me and her disagree probably more than anybody else sitting at the table, but I support her 100 percent to be the superintendent of the school.”
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August 11, 2024 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(McKeesport Area School District photo)
With the 2024-25 school year set to begin, McKeesport Area School District is reassuring parents busing will not be a problem.
During last week’s open agenda meeting, district Superintendent Tia Wanzo said a conversation with Krise Transportation last month established that “We are set and ready.”
According to its website, the transportation provider has open positions for van and bus drivers in McKeesport. Although the company is seeking new hires, Wanzo is confident transportation should proceed relatively smoothly.
“They kept the routes that we had last year and there aren’t many internal changes,” she said.
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August 09, 2024 |
By Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport is holding an event to encourage residents to visualize the future of the city's Downtown area that's more in line with its residents’ wants and needs.
The survey is being taken by the Texas-based Better Block Foundation, in collaboration with the City of McKeesport, Penn State Greater Allegheny and the Richard King Mellon Foundation.
It is open to McKeesport residents, and is available on the Facebook page for the City of McKeesport as well as the Better Block website until Aug. 21. Results will be announced Nov. 23.
The goal is to temporarily showcase the potential of the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Walnut Street — including a parking lot, several buildings, and an alleyway — before and after the Salute to Santa Parade in November.
Krista Nightengale, executive director of Better Block, said that the transformation of the intersection will be informed by the responses residents provide in the survey.
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August 07, 2024 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The Rankin Junior Tamburitzans performed during the 2021 International Village. The ethnic troupe will return to the main stage at Renziehausen Park next week. (Vickie Babyak file photo for Tube City Almanac)
Fashions come and go, trends rise and fall, but McKeesport’s International Village rolls on after 64 years.
The annual summer ethnic food and music festival returns to Stephen Barry Field in Renziehausen Park on Aug. 13, 14 and 15. Gates open at 3 p.m. nightly.
Ethnic traditions represented at this year’s International Village include Austrian, Croatian, Egyptian, French, Filipino, German, Ghanian, Greek, Hawaiian, Hungarian, Italian, Lebanese, Mexican, Polish, Swedish, Taiwanese and Vietnamese.
Fireworks are scheduled for Tuesday evening.
“International Village is one of those unique traditions that attracts visitors to McKeesport from throughout Western Pennsylvania,” McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said. “In fact, we know that many people who have moved away from McKeesport or Pittsburgh plan their family reunions or vacations around the week of International Village every August.”
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July 23, 2024 |
By Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, a native of McKeesport, talks to children playing Monday at the city’s LaRosa Youth Club. Also shown is state Rep. Nick Pisciottano of West Mifflin. (Photo courtesy Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Media Services)
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said that as a young man growing up in McKeesport, afterschool programs at the LaRosa Youth Club gave a lot to him and other youth.
On Monday, he came back to the club to announce plans for the state to give something back.
Davis was at LaRosa Youth Club to announced a planned $11.5 million investment in afterschool programs across Pennsylvania to help address the rise of gun violence among young people.
Also in attendance were Pennsylvania State Sen. Jim Brewster, state Rep. Nick Pisciottano, and McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko, who was one of Davis’ teachers in elementary school, as well as several members of city council.
Davis said afterschool programs “keep kids safe during the critical hours from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.,” the hours when — statistically — juveniles are most likely to be involved in violent crimes.
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July 02, 2024 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Correction: Carmine Bloise Jr.’s name was misspelled in an earlier version of this story. We regret the error.
McKeesport has added a page to its website to explain the Right-to-Know Law, as well as a form for requesting information. (Screenshot)
Two of the people named in a state Open Records office ruling that criticized McKeesport’s handling of requests under the Right-to-Know Law said the city can — and should — do better.
Documentary filmmaker Carmine Bloise Jr., who is collecting police procedure manuals for a project he has been working on for two years, said McKeesport’s procedures for handling such requests were the “worst I’ve ever seen.”
“I thought it was crazy, but apparently it’s a pattern,” Bloise said in an interview. “I do a lot of a right-to-know requests. It’s pretty typical that you don’t get a response. But this is the worst I’ve ever seen. I was astonished.”
In a ruling released last week, the state’s Open Records office cited 10 cases where residents, members of the media, or businesses asked for documents from McKeesport officials.
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