March 25, 2021 |
By Siana Emery | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Johnathan White, assistant teaching professor at Greater Allegheny, moderated a panel discussion that also featured Kathi R. Elliot, chief executive officer at Gwen’s Girls; Dashawna J. Fussell-Ware, doctoral fellow, Steel Smiling; Raven Davis, supervisor, Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth & Families; and Dr. Stella Onuoha-Obilor, vice president for clinical quality, Highmark Health. (Photo courtesy Penn State)
At both the community and the national level, developing a deeper understanding of social, economic and political factors that create gaps in mental health care is imperative in caring for patients.
This was the overarching message of March 18’s Crossing Bridges Summit panel, which discussed the psychological perspectives on Black women’s health.
The panel, hosted by Penn State Greater Allegheny, featured a conversation between five Black female leaders in mental health and social work.
“People walk around saying ‘I’m fine’,” said Dashawna Fussell-Ware, a doctoral student and employee of Steel Smiling. “The reality is, if you are Black or of African descent, unfortunately that’s just not true. There’s so much going on in the world in terms of racism that you can’t help but feel that loss.”
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March 19, 2021 |
By Ann Belser | Posted in: Liberty Borough News, McKeesport and Region News, North Versailles Twp. News, White Oak News
A Heritage Community Transportation bus pauses on Braddock Avenue in Braddock. The non-profit group connects residents of Mon Valley neighborhoods to main Port Authority bus routes and has provided 1.5 million rides. (Submitted photo courtesy Heritage Community Initiatives)
A year ago, when the state shut down all but essential services, a Braddock-based nonprofit found that one of its services could not stop and the others were more vital than ever.
Paula McWilliams, CEO of Heritage Community Initiatives, said the bus service her organization operates, Heritage Community Transportation, was needed to make sure that workers in eastern communities, including Braddock, Liberty, McKeesport, North Versailles Twp., Port Vue and White Oak, could get to their jobs at hospitals such as Forbes Regional, UPMC McKeesport and UPMC East.
The Heritage buses, which are 14-passenger vans, operate on three fixed routes. They had to be modified for transporting workers and senior citizens who needed to get groceries and to medical appointments while keeping passengers and drivers safe.
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March 16, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is investigating a complaint of child sex abuse against a one-time Mon-Yough area pastor and radio personality.
Bishop Dorsey McConnell announced this week that the accusation was made against Charles W. Appel Jr., who was vicar of the Church of the Good Samaritan in Liberty Borough in the 1970s and 1980s.
Appel died in 2019. He served four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
The alleged abuse happened at the church-run Sheldon Calvary Camp in Conneaut, Ohio, in the 1970s and early 1980s when the victim was a child attending events there, McConnell said.
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March 16, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Kane Karsteter-McKernan, administrative professional with UPMC Health Plan, and Michele Dudek, nurse coordinator for employee health at UPMC McKeesport, prepare to check in someone arriving for a COVID-19 vaccination. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Simeania Young of Braddock was in a good mood Tuesday morning after receiving her first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at UPMC McKeesport hospital.
Young, 49, said she spent last year urging her two grown children to be careful, and asking people not to visit. “I was scared to death,” she said yesterday, as she waited a mandatory 15 minutes to ensure there were no complications. “Some people are still not taking it seriously. Especially if they didn’t get sick, they didn’t think it was a big deal.”
Now that she’s on the road to vaccination? “I feel like I can plan a summer vacation this year,” Young said.
She was one of 400 people who were part of a mass vaccination event Tuesday at the Mansfield Building’s Ahmad Conference Center. They will have to return in 28 days for a second dose.
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March 15, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The Allegheny County fire marshal is investigating the cause of a blaze Monday morning that displaced three people from their home in the Grandview section of the city.
McKeesport fire Capt. Jim Shields said firefighters were dispatched at 11:26 a.m. when a caller to 9-1-1 reported a house fire at 1801 Abraham St.
When crews arrived, flames were visible at the rear of the two-story, wood-frame house, and a second alarm was dispatched. No one was home at the time of the fire, Shields said.
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March 09, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The City of McKeesport and the American Civil Liberties Union have reached an agreement that settles a lawsuit brought by four residents after the January council meeting was closed to the public.
Under a consent order approved Tuesday by Allegheny County Judge John T. McVay Jr., the city will provide “meaningful public access” including live-streaming audio or audio and video of proceedings; will permit the public to submit comments in writing as well as audio, video or both; and will permanently preserve those comments in the public record.
Although both sides said they were satisfied with the arrangement, each also accused the other of playing politics.
“Today’s settlement is a total win for government transparency and democracy,” said Reggie Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, which brought the lawsuit on behalf of city residents Fawn Walker-Montgomery, Courtney Thompkins, Tracey Jordan and Janina Riley.
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March 05, 2021 |
By Siana Emery | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Tiffany Wampler’s children are some of many in the McKeesport Area School District attending school virtually. Their father is considered high-risk for COVID-19, so attending school in person is not an option. However, they’re struggling with the district's online learning platform.
At February’s school board meeting, Wampler told directors about her eldest daughter, an eighth-grader at Founders Hall Middle School. Prior to virtual learning, she was an NHS student with consistently high grades. However, she has been struggling with the online program, and her grades have dropped significantly.
“I get letters from the school stating my children are possibly failing, which I don’t even understand because they sit in front of me from 8 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon,” Wampler told the school board. “This program is not working.”
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March 04, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
An Allegheny County judge on Wednesday directed McKeesport officials to find a way to allow the public to fully participate in city council meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a hearing held over video-conferencing, Judge Jack McVay Jr. ordered the city to postpone the council meeting scheduled for that evening, and present him with a plan to prevent future violations of the state’s Open Meetings Law.
“You can have a meeting as soon as you implement what was proposed,” McVay said.
On Tuesday, four residents, including former councilwoman Fawn Walker Montgomery, sought an emergency injunction against the city for its plans to close Wednesday’s meeting to the public, and filed a lawsuit accusing the city of violating the Open Meetings Law as well as the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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March 02, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport officials will allow tomorrow’s city council meeting to be streamed live to the public.
The decision comes after four McKeesport residents sued the city and council for closing the Jan. 6 meeting. City officials had cited the need for COVID-19 safety, and announced plans to close this month’s meeting as well.
On Tuesday, V. Fawn Walker-Montgomery, Courtney Thompkins, Tracey Jordan and Janina Riley filed a lawsuit asking an Allegheny County judge to issue an emergency injunction requiring in-person or electronic access to this month’s meeting, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the public safety building, 201 Lysle Blvd.
The lawsuit and request for an injunction was filed on their behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh law firm of Saul, Ewing, Arnstein & Lehr.
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March 01, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The Allegheny County fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of a blaze that damaged a Soles Street home on Saturday morning.
McKeesport deputy fire Chief Jeff List said city police were dispatched to the house in the 600 block just before 8:30 a.m. for what was originally reported as a “home invasion.”
When police officers arrived, they determined there was no crime in progress, but there was a fire on the second floor. One male resident was home when the fire broke out but escaped safely, List said.
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