April 30, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Bruce Roberts and Tom Bergan raise a flag commemorating the S.S. McKeesport, which was sunk by a German torpedo in 1943. Also shown are Adam Striffler Gulaski and Tom Maglicco. (Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
The sacrifices made by the men of the S.S. McKeesport --- and by other merchant mariners during wartime --- provide a better model for living than the negativity presented by current events, speakers at a memorial service said Monday.
"Their sacrifice was not in vain," said the Rev. Boniface Igba of Auberle, who delivered the invocation during the commemoration of the 76th anniversary of the ship's sinking during World War II. "They serve as an example for us, especially in this time of division and pain and unceasing violence in this great nation of ours."
First launched in 1919 and built in part with steel forged in McKeesport, the ship carried emergency relief supplies for the Red Cross in 1940 and then was pressed into service during World War II to supply allied forces.
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April 26, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A tax on natural gas from Pennsylvania's Marcellus shale isn't a Republican issue or a Democratic issue --- it's a fairness issue, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman said Friday.
During a luncheon at the Sunset Room in Elizabeth Twp., hosted by the Mon-Yough Area Chamber of Commerce, Fetterman, former mayor of Braddock, said even hard-core Republican states such as Oklahoma and Texas levy taxes on the extraction of natural gas.
Those states "aren't some socialist dream from some 'tax-and-spend lib,'" Fetterman joked.
After Texas, Pennsylvania is the nation's second-biggest producer of natural gas. Yet only Pennsylvania has no such tax, said Fetterman, who is backing a proposal from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to levy 4.5 percent on natural gas to fund infrastructure improvements statewide.
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April 26, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Taking audience questions during a panel discussion at the Sunset Room in Elizabeth Twp. on Friday were state Rep. Mike Puskaric, Allegheny County Councilman Bob Macey, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, state Sen. Jay Costa, state Sen. Jim Brewster and state Rep. Bill Kortz. (Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
U.S. Steel should spend more money on anti-pollution technology and less on "lawyering up," said officials at a Mon-Yough Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Friday.
They expressed their frustration after U.S. Steel on Thursday announced it will again appeal air pollution fines levied against the corporation.
An accident at the Clairton Plant on Dec. 24 knocked pollution equipment out of service for more than three months and put the entire Mon Valley under a health advisory.
"We would rather see (U.S. Steel) make investments not in legal actions --- 'lawyering up' --- but investing in engineers to clean it up," said Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County Executive.
A large contingent of clean-air and public health advocates also attended Friday's lunch, including Johnie Perryman, 75, of Clairton, who wore an air-filter mask for much of the event at the Sunset Room in Elizabeth Twp.
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April 25, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Paul Anselmo of New Century Careers. (Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
Producing a daily newspaper requires more than just gathering information --- researching, writing and editing. It also requires the skills to be able to manufacture and distribute the printed product.
So bringing New Century Careers' machinist training program to the former McKeesport Daily News Building on Lysle Boulevard makes sense in more ways than one, says Paul Anselmo, the organization's president.
"We're not looking to do very much remodeling," Anselmo says. "It's perfect just the way it is."
Based on Pittsburgh's South Side, New Century Careers has provided free manufacturing skills training since 1999. In June, the non-profit will expand its programs into McKeesport and the Latrobe area.
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April 22, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
UPMC McKeesport hospital physician Richard Bondi, M.D., with a cutout of his late father, Dr. Frank Bondi, at the hospital's 125th Anniversary celebration on Friday. (Richard Finch Jr. photo/special to Tube City Almanac)
On a rainy April 19, 1894, a large crowd --- estimated at 1,000 people, according to news reports of the time --- gathered at the McKeesport-Versailles Cemetery for the dedication of McKeesport Hospital.
Due to a light rain last Friday, the 125th anniversary celebration for what is now UPMC McKeesport hospital was moved from the courtyard to the Usman Ahmad, M.D., Memorial Conference Center in the Mansfield Building.
“Today is Good Friday, but it is also a great Friday here at the hospital,” said Mark O’Hern, president of UPMC McKeesport and UPMC East.
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April 20, 2019 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
Above: Deacon Brent Robertson and Jim Brown were manning the grill at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Downtown, on Friday. (Vickie Babyak photo, special to Tube City Almanac)
Lent marks the 40 days observed by Christians as a time of fasting, penance and prayer before Easter Sunday.
Traditionally, Catholics have given up eating red meat on Fridays during Lent as a form of sacrifice, and Catholic churches, volunteer fire departments and other organizations have held fish fries.
As a result, Lenten fish fries have always been a big deal in parts of the country with a large Roman Catholic population, including Western Pennsylvania.
But over the past 10 years, fish fries have become a major feature of Pittsburgh area culture, embracing not just Catholics, but Christians and non-Christians alike. Websites have sprung up to review and rank local fish fries, and some churches and civic organizations have added other ethnic foods to make their particular fish fries stand out.
With Easter Sunday upon us, Friday marked the last Lenten fish fries for 2019. Photographer Vickie Babyak stopped at some local fish fries in the Mon-Yough area to grab a few last scenes (and fish sandwiches).
All photos: Vickie Babyak for Tube City Almanac. To request a reprint, contact vbabyak@yahoo.com.
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April 11, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The American Civil Liberties Union is asking a federal judge to order the McKeesport Area School District to allow a Black Student Union to advertise its meetings and meet on school property outside of school hours.
Citing federal law and the district’s own policies --- as well as list of other student clubs that have been sanctioned by the school district --- the ACLU of Pennsylvania on Wednesday asked a federal judge to find the district in violation of both the First Amendment and the federal Equal Access Act, a 1984 law.
The filing, made on behalf of 11 students at the high school, names the district and Superintendent Mark Holtzman Jr., and asks the court to order McKeesport Area School District to provide the Black Student Union with “the same access to school facilities as other non-curricular student clubs.”
The case has been assigned to federal District Judge Marilyn J. Horan. No hearing has yet been scheduled.
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April 08, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko is trying to change the perceptions of his town, whether from outsiders who've never set foot in the city or locals who think it's dying.
The mayor is hoping that investment in long-neglected parts of the city --- including the Downtown area --- will help. In March, the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh presented the city with the results of a marketing study of the Penn-McKee Hotel.
Cherepko believes returning the long-shuttered, iconic hotel to commercial or retail use would “help change the perspective of the city,” he said.
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April 05, 2019 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A fire that destroyed a two-story brick duplex on Ridge Avenue in the city on Thursday afternoon is under investigation by the Allegheny County Fire Marshal's Office.
Emergency personnel said the fire was reported just after 12 noon in the vacant structure at 904 Ridge St.
McKeesport fire Chief Jeff Tomovcsik said that when firefighters arrived, smoke was visible and fire had spread to both the first and second floors, and a second alarm was struck.
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April 05, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport police Chief Adam Alfer, police Officers Sebastian Cencich, Nicholas Probola, Charles Thomas Jr. and Sheena Leszczynski, and McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko. (Tube City Almanac photo)
McKeesport City Council welcomed four new full-time police officers and congratulated two other first-responders on their recent promotions.
At Wednesday's meeting, police Chief Adam Alfer introduced police Officers Sebastian Cencich, Nicholas Probola, Charles Thomas Jr. and Sheena Leszczynski. All were hired 12 months ago as part-time McKeesport police officers and have recently been made full-time in the bureau, Alfer said.
In addition, Detective Sidney Summers of the narcotics squad has been promoted to sergeant, Mayor Michael Cherepko said.
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