June 22, 2021 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport’s affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will meet at 6 p.m. July 1 in the pavilion adjacent to the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center in Renziehausen Park, a spokeswoman said. The meeting is open to families and friends of loved ones living with mental illness.
NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. It offers understanding and support unique to those who are affected by these conditions. NAMI McKeesport occasionally invites mental health professionals to speak about treatment and resources.
For more information about the McKeesport meeting, call (412) 527-6600. For the NAMI Helpline, call (412) 366-3788 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
June 17, 2021 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Children wait to take a ride on the kiddie train at McKeesport’s Good Neighbor Day. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
Approximately 40 organizations participated in McKeesport Good Neighbor Day along Fifth Avenue between Market and Locust streets on Wednesday.
McKeesport residents and their neighbors from surrounding communities came together to enjoy the festivities. Events started at 10 a.m. and lasted until 4 p.m. Admission was free.
Agencies provided information about women’s health, family support systems, well-being of children, and local businesses promoted their products. Food vendors sold drinks, snacks and complete meals. Children enjoyed feeding farm animals at the petting zoo, took rides on a kiddie train, and jumped in a bouncing house.
The annual event, sponsored by the City of McKeesport, was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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June 14, 2021 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Paramedics from McKeesport Area Rescue Service joined city police and firefighters to talk to local students about public-safety careers. (Submitted photo)
McKeesport Area School District students participating in a day camp are getting a close-up look at career paths this week.
On Monday, first-responders from McKeesport police and fire departments and McKeesport Ambulance Rescue Service met with students to answer questions and show them how emergency equipment works.
The summer camp, funded by the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation, includes daily sessions focused on hands-on learning, athletics and enrichment. This week is “Career Week,” organizers said.
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June 14, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, North Versailles Twp. News, White Oak News
A fast-moving storm knocked down this tree in McKeesport’s Renziehausen Park on Monday afternoon. (Kristen Keleschenyi photo)
For the second day in a row, intense thunderstorms slammed parts of the Pittsburgh area on Monday, flooding streets, knocking down trees and turning out the lights for thousands of residents.
Duquesne Light Co. said more than 5,200 customers were without power Monday night, including about 1,000 in McKeesport, North Versailles Twp. and Port Vue. About 3,000 West Penn Power customers in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties also were without power, including in White Oak, Coulter and Elizabeth Twp., company officials said.
A fast-moving line of storms swept through the Mon-Yough area between 2 and 3 p.m., bringing dangerous lightning, high winds and pea-size hail.
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June 07, 2021 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, McKeesport and Region News
Carnegie Library of McKeesport will host a “pop-up” vaccination clinic from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 18 in the children’s room, a spokeswoman said.
All walk-ins will be accepted. The vaccine to be administered will be the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Masks will be required except for people with medical exemptions. The vaccine is free and is available to ages 16 and older.
For more information, call (412) 672-0624. The library is located at 1507 Library Ave.
June 04, 2021 |
By Bonnijean Cooney Adams | Posted in: Entertainment, McKeesport and Region News
Correction: This article was corrected after publication to fix a misspelled name. We apologize for the error. —JT
Senior members of the McKeesport Area High School Choir gather for their final spring concert on May 11. (Submitted photo)
Twenty-seven McKeesport Area High School seniors — some even participating in all three music ensembles — performed their final band, choir and orchestra concerts to culminate a challenging year during a pandemic.
The choir concert was May 11, while band and orchestra performed May 13.
Although practices, classes, and performances definitely were different than in the past for the students and their directors, some shared reflections of how they overcame the obstacles.
Three seniors receive awards annually for outstanding contributions, while a fourth is presented with a scholarship in honor of a long-time McKeesport Area High School music teacher and band director who passed away in 2017.
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June 03, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac photo)
McKeesport officials are warning motorists not to park on sidewalks.
At Wednesday’s meeting, City Councilman Jim Barry Jr. urged Mayor Michael Cherepko to take action against the practice.
“I’m getting some constituent complaints,” he said. “I notice it mostly on Walnut Street and Fifth Avenue, but it’s starting to move into (residential) neighborhoods as well.”
Barry described the problem as more than a nuisance. “It forces people to walk in the street, so it’s a safety issue, but it’s busting up the sidewalks and curbs,” he said. “We’ve got to start warning people.”
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June 02, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The former Frank Mikell barber shop on Walnut Street in the Third Ward — once a community gathering place — is targeted for demolition. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Another 24 vacant buildings — mostly in the city’s Walnut Street corridor — are scheduled for demolition in what McKeesport officials said is a focused effort to encourage new business development in the Second and Third wards.
At Wednesday’s meeting, city council awarded a $219,850 contract to Minniefield Demolition Services LLC of West Mifflin to tear down abandoned homes and commercial structures on Walnut, Jenny Lind, Locust and Whigham streets; Tube Works and Van Kirk alleys; and Olive, Seventh and Ninth avenues.
The latest contract is separate from a $294,000 state grant announced last week that will help pay for the demolition of seven commercial buildings in the Downtown area.
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May 28, 2021 |
By Siana Emery | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School District plans to increase its budget significantly for the 2021-2022, with the help of federal COVID-19 stimulus funding, but there will be no tax increase.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the school board approved the preliminary $81.1 million budget by a 6–1 vote. The spending plan represents an increase of almost 13 percent over 2020-2021.
The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act appropriated $13.2 billion for emergency relief for elementary and secondary schools.
District officials said the most significant expenditure changes largely focus on providing extra support for students, bolstering school safety and addressing learning losses caused by the pandemic. Expenditures include the addition of new educational and support faculty, camera system repairs and cyber school costs.
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May 28, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Family, friends and colleagues of Matthew Bauman, a McKeesport Area High School teacher who died in October 2020, gathered this week at McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center as an educational program was launched in his memory. (Tube City Almanac photo)
A new educational series about local history has been created in memory of a beloved McKeesport Area High School teacher who died in October 2020 of cancer.
Family, friends and colleagues of Matthew Bauman gathered Wednesday evening at McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center to share stories and discuss his legacy.
An 11th and 12th-grade history teacher, Bauman, 38, of Port Vue had served as vice president of the center’s board of directors before his untimely passing. But Bauman’s connection to the center, and McKeesport’s history, was much deeper than his title implied, said Marianne Macbeth, president of the center’s board.
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