October 19, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Conflict of Interest Warning: See note at the end of this story.)
While newly minted college freshman Jonathan Doonan attended orientation at Penn State Greater Allegheny, his mom, Michelle Doonan, went off on a tour of the nearby McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center.
He was discovering classes, academic programs, clubs and sports teams available at the local Penn State campus. She was discovering a piece of her family history.
By chance, Michelle Doonan met a woman --- Pat Begandy, a volunteer tour guide at the center --- whose husband had served with her own grandfather during World War II.
“I couldn’t believe it! It was a wonderful coincidence that I would happen to meet this woman at the center, and she knew of my grandfather,” Doonan said.
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October 14, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport officials are asking for state funding to reconstruct the heavily traveled intersection of state routes 48 and 148.
Meanwhile, the nearby neighborhood is about to have another new tenant: A new O'Reilly Auto Parts store is likely to be built at the former site of Chick's Grill.
City council in September approved a request to the Commonwealth Financing Authority's Multimodal Transportation Fund for a grant of $334,000 to improve the traffic flow and add signals to the intersection where Walnut Street meets Long Run Road.
"Anyone who travels those roads knows it's tough to get out of there," McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said. "This is a chance to redesign the entire intersection."
New signals and turning lanes also would speed the opening of a partially completed shopping center that's been under construction along the west side of Walnut Street for nearly a decade.
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October 11, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport will borrow $4.9 million to fix what the state auditor general called "a costly mistake" and to fully fund its pension plans.
The new debt will be incurred despite the fact that the city received $5 million from Pennsylvania-American Water Company as a pre-payment toward the sale of its sewerage authority.
Penn-American's pre-payment has been put into the bank, Mayor Mike Cherepko said, and he would like it to stay there. "We have to continue to operate as if we're broke, because we are," he said.
In June, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said that McKeesport took more than $729,000 in state funding that was earmarked toward aiding the city's pension plans, and spent it instead on general operating expenses.
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October 06, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A Pittsburgh attorney who state investigators say was part of a self-proclaimed "Super PAC" run by accused video poker czar Ronald "Porky" Melocchi now faces criminal charges of his own.
Louis F. Caputo, 39, of Peters Twp., Washington County, was arraigned today before Magisterial District Judge Tom Swan in West Deer Twp. on charges of illegal use of gambling devices, criminal solicitation of gambling devices and criminal conspiracy.
He remains free on his own recognizance pending a formal arraignment Nov. 28 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
State Attorney General Bruce R. Beemer said that according to a grand jury investigation, Caputo, a liquor license attorney, and state Rep. Marc Gergely of White Oak were part of what Melocchi called his "Super PAC," meaning political action committee.
Gergely, 46, was charged Feb. 25 with being associated of a corrupt organization, conspiracy to operate illegal gambling devices, criminal attempt to operate illegal gambling devices, dealing in the proceeds of illegal activities, and accepting illegal cash contributions to an election campaign.
Gergely is running for re-election. He is being challenged in the Nov. 8 general election by McKeesport city Councilwoman Fawn Walker-Montgomery, who won the Republican nomination as a write-in.
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September 27, 2016 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
* CORRECTION, NOT PERFECTION: See editor's note.
A probationary police officer who had worked for the City of McKeesport for only a few weeks was fired Tuesday after a photo she posted on social media -- which included a racial slur --- went viral.
The police officer, identified by other sources as Melissa Adamson, was terminated immediately, Mayor Michael Cherepko said.
On Tuesday, a Facebook user shared a photo from the Snapchat online service that apparently originated from Adamson's account. The photo showed Adamson in a Pitcairn police department uniform with the caption, "I'm the law today n---a." *
Adamson is white. The photo spread quickly via Facebook and was picked up by Pittsburgh television stations, as well as national media outlets.
"This post displays a degree of conduct and character that is far different from what I would expect from an officer in this city," Cherepko said Tuesday night. "It is absolutely unacceptable."
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September 15, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The new owner of a building next to McKeesport's Olympia Shopping Center said last night he's excited about redeveloping the former site of Jim Shorkey Ford.
"My father had a restaurant in McKeesport many years ago,” said Spiro Pappan, son of former restauranteur Lou Pappan, who founded Pappan's Family Restaurants, in a prepared statement. “When I told him about my project here, he was very excited. He plans to be here for the opening.”
A company led by Spiro Pappan purchased the former Jim Shorkey Ford on Walnut Street for $1.9 million and is renovating the building for Ollie's Bargain Outlet and two other new tenants. The Ollie's store, which will take up about 32,000-square-feet, will be the first in Allegheny County and is expected to open in March 2017.
Pappan's building, which once housed a Zayre Department Store and later an Ames, is on a separate parcel from the rest of the Olympia Shopping Center, which is technically located in Versailles Borough.
The rest of the center is operated by Pittsburgh's Union Real Estate and includes a Shop 'n Save, a Save-a-Lot, a state wine and spirits store, a dry cleaner, a PNC Bank branch, a Dollar Tree and other retailers.
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September 14, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A growing discount department store chain known for its quirky advertising and its deep selection of books is coming to McKeesport.
Work has begun on an Ollie's Bargain Outlet store in the former Jim Shorkey Ford dealership at Olympia Shopping Center on Walnut Street.
The store represents the first step into Allegheny County by the Harrisburg-based retail chain.
Jerry Altland, vice president of real estate for Harrisburg, Pa., based Ollie's, said the 32,000-square-foot McKeesport store is projected to open in March 2017. Remodeling has already begun.
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September 12, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Documentary filmmaker Sam Zolten has turned his camera lens on a variety of subjects over the past 40 years, many of them as part of the industrial filmmaking company he operates in Bala Cynwyd, outside Philadelphia.
One of his films --- 2002's "Just Call Me Kade," the story of a transgender boy in Tucson, Ariz., has been widely used as a teaching tool around the country.
Now, the McKeesport native and Temple University graduate is focusing on a much more personal subject --- the story of Jewish families, such as his own, who emigrated to McKeesport beginning in the 19th century.
"It's a labor of love," Zolten said.
Zolten has interviewed more than 140 people for his upcoming feature-length documentary, "Missing McKeesport," and has raised more than $17,000 through the crowdfunding website Kickstarter.
Zolten, who is working with associate editor James T. Rowland, has eight more days to reach the $18,000 goal necessary to complete the movie.
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September 12, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The company buying McKeesport's sewerage authority and its three wastewater treatment plants has put a value on the sale of $156 million.
In a joint press release, city officials and Pennsylvania American Water Company said the final price is subject to a complete appraisal of the system, which serves 22,000 customers in 12 municipalities.
Last week, the board of the Municipal Authority of the City of McKeesport joined McKeesport City Council in voting in favor of the sale of the authority's assets to Pennsylvania American.
The sale is subject to approval by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the state Department of Environmental Protection. Kathy L. Pape, president of Pennsylvania American, said the company expects to close on the sale in the second half of 2017, pending those approvals.
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September 07, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Correction added, 11:57 a.m. Sept. 8, 2016)
With no controversy, McKeesport City Council on Wednesday took the first step toward selling the city's sewerage authority to Pennsylvania-American Water Company.
By 6-0 vote, with Councilwoman LuEthel Nesbit abstaining, councilors authorized the Municipal Authority of the City of McKeesport to enter into a sales agreement with the water company. Nesbit is a member of the municipal authority's board. The authority board will meet on Thursday to consider the deal; Nesbit said Wednesday she will abstain from voting there, as well.
In a separate vote, council also accepted a $5 million advance payment from Penn-American. If for any reason the sale isn't consummated, the city will be required to repay the money, Cherepko said.
Although the final sale price of the sewerage authority isn't yet known, its outstanding debts --- including some $62.5 million spent recently to upgrade and expand the system --- top $90 million, city officials have said.
In a prepared statement, Kathy Pape, president of Penn-American, said Wednesday night that the company was "pleased" with city council's decision and was looking forward to the authority's vote on Thursday.
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