July 21, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Areas of darker colors show a higher number of positive COVID-19 tests over the past 90 days. Over the past three months, McKeesport has had the fifth-highest number of COVID-19 cases in Allegheny County. (Data courtesy Allegheny County Health Department)
As COVID-19 cases begin to rise again in Allegheny County, the health department has warned residents that although we may be done with the pandemic, the pandemic is not done with us.
Seventy new cases of COVID-19 were reported Monday and 55 on Tuesday, said Dr. Debra Bogen, director of the Allegheny County Health Department.
Health department data also indicates that over the past 90 days, McKeesport has had the fifth-highest number of COVID-19 cases in Allegheny County. West Mifflin is No. 7.
“Although these numbers remain significantly lower than during the spring surge, it is a notable increase from the 10 to 15 daily cases in June and early July, and a stark reminder that this virus is not done with us,” Bogen said Wednesday.
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July 19, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements, McKeesport and Region News
City officials said they are pressing the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County to quickly resolve the issues that have kept Lower 10th Ward residents from using their drinking water.
“I have been in constant contact with MAWC since Friday, and I will continue to see this process through,” McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said Monday. “We are doing everything within our power to expedite MAWC’s water-testing process to determine if any contamination took place during the Friday evening fire at McKeesport Auto Body.”
MAWC warned on Saturday morning that chemicals from firefighting foam “may have” entered the drinking water system in the area between the CSX Railroad tracks and the Monongahela River. Some homes on Romine Avenue, Rebecca Street, Arlington Street and West Sixth Avenue also are affected.
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July 19, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Updates:
• Lower 10th Ward residents should continue not to use tap water for anything but flushing toilets
• Drinking water tankers remain in place on Atlantic Avenue, and bottled water is available at the Public Safety Building
• Residents may use the showers at McKeesport Area High School from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Enter at South Hall, near the gymnasium
(Tube City Almanac photo)
Gene Esken Jr. said “it was a very, very helpless feeling” as McKeesport firefighters waited Friday evening for the power company to shut off live wires sparking and hissing on the roof of a 10th Ward auto repair shop.
Esken, a deputy chief of the McKeesport Fire Department, was in charge of the response to what was originally reported to 9-1-1 as a “wires down” call at McKeesport Auto Body on Rebecca Street.
Those wires sparked a multiple-alarm fire that was battled for hours by crews from across Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, including Pittsburgh International Airport.
The effects are still being felt — for the family that owns the destroyed business and hundreds of residents of Lower 10th Ward who may be without drinking water for a week.
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July 18, 2021 |
By Siana Emery | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area High School Stadium was a frenzy of activity on Thursday as family, friends and community members came out to celebrate their campers at the closing ceremonies of the Let’s S.H.I.N.E. Discovery Camp, sponsored by the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation.
The partnership with the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation allowed for the district to run a full-day summer camp for the first time. The summer camp ran from June 7 to July 15 and was free of cost to McKeesport Area School District students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
The culminating event of the afternoon was the distribution of new backpacks, stocked with fresh school supplies for the upcoming school year, to every camper present, and a special message from Swin Cash, a McKeesport native who is a former WNBA player.
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July 17, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Hoses snaked down Fifth Avenue near the McKees Point Marina on Saturday as crews from Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County flushed water lines on the opposite side of the Youghiogheny River in Lower 10th Ward. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Residents of McKeesport’s Lower 10th Ward should use their tap water for flushing toilets — and nothing else — until further notice.
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, which provides water to McKeesport, Port Vue, White Oak and part of North Versailles Twp., warned residents that firefighting chemicals used to put out a fire on Rebecca Street on Friday night may have been accidentally sucked into the water supply through a hydrant.
The water should not be used for cooking, brushing teeth, washing dishes, bathing or showering, or even washing clothes, said Matt Junker, authority spokesman.
Efforts to flush the water lines were paused Saturday night while crews replaced an older piece of water line that was restricting water flow, he said.
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July 17, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Residents of the city’s lower 10th Ward were told Saturday morning not to use their drinking water while water authority crews work to flush the system.
The mandatory order affects homes and businesses between West Fifth Avenue and the Monongahela River.
Matthew Junker, a spokesman for the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, said McKeesport officials are concerned that firefighting chemicals might have been accidentally sucked into a fire hydrant on Friday night as crews worked to extinguish a massive blaze on Rebecca Street.
Junker said water authority crews began purging the system on Saturday morning as a precaution.
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July 16, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and is subject to change.
A massive fire destroyed a car repair shop in the city’s 10th Ward on Friday evening, sending a pillar of black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles.
Despite the efforts of firefighters from departments throughout Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, within a few hours, little remained of McKeesport Auto Body Inc. besides the outer walls. Crews were still on the scene early Saturday morning.
The fire was reported at around 5:30 p.m. and quickly went to multiple alarms. It broke out shortly after a line of thunderstorms, bringing high winds, moved through the area.
According to emergency personnel, there were reports that power lines fell onto the building’s roof, igniting the blaze. A witness told KDKA-TV they heard a loud explosion and saw burning power lines on top of the building.
The Allegheny County fire marshal’s office was on the scene Friday night investigating the cause.
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July 16, 2021 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Bluebirds are among the species that are being affected by a mysterious illness that causes eye and nervous system damage. Experts are encouraging homeowners to cover or remove bird baths, feeders and houses to discourage flocks of sick birds from spreading the disease. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
A mysterious disease that’s been making songbirds sick in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia has now reached the Mon-Yough area.
Local residents have reported finding sick or dead birds near feeders, bird houses and birdbaths.
Experts say that nestling and fledgling songbirds — mainly blue jays, starlings, common grackles, robins and cardinals — have been found suffering from eye and neurological issues. In some cases, these birds have been found dead in large numbers, report Audubon Mid-Atlantic and other conservation agencies.
According to Travis Lau, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, affected birds are being tested for different toxins, parasites, bacterial diseases and viral infections — but test results are so far inconclusive.
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July 14, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Eight people — including six adults and two children — were displaced early Wednesday morning by a fire on Stewart Street that heavily damaged one home and caused additional damage to two neighboring houses.
The American Red Cross is helping the victims, who were not injured in the blaze, McKeesport fire Chief Jeff Tomovcsik said. Four dogs were safely rescued from one of the homes, he said.
The Allegheny County fire marshal’s office is investigating.
A spokesperson for the fire marshal said the cause and origin are still undetermined, and it’s too soon to tell if the blaze was accidental or deliberately set, but that the investigation is “not leaning in either direction at this early stage.”
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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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