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EA Board, Police Warn Parents About Vaping

March 17, 2024 |

By T.J. Martin | Posted in: East McKeesport News, North Versailles Twp. News, Wilmerding News

(Source: Pennsylvania Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs)

North Versailles Twp. police and the East Allegheny School Board are warning parents about the dangers children face from vaping.

At this month’s school board meeting, Acting Superintendent Joseph DiLucente told the board that he and Norm Locke, North Versailles assistant police chief, sent letters to parents earlier this month warning of the dangers children face from vaping.

The school district letter, signed by DiLucente, junior high school principal Mark Draskovich and senior high school principal Brian Ferek, notes, “We have noticed an unfortunate upward trend in drug use among our student population and youth in the Mon Valley as a whole.”

“I ask that you address the dangers of drug use, particularly unknown substances in vape devices, with your children. In speaking with Norm Locke, Assistant Chief of NVPD, and reviewing recent confiscations of vaping devices at the high school, this is our chief area of concern,” the letter continues.

 
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EA Board OK’s Tax Break for Volunteer Firefighters

March 17, 2024 |

By T.J. Martin | Posted in: East McKeesport News, North Versailles Twp. News, Wilmerding News

(File photo courtesy Fire Department of North Versailles via Facebook)

While not as much as originally proposed, some volunteer firefighters in the five fire departments serving the communities in the East Allegheny School District will receive a real estate tax credit of up to $300.

The East Allegheny School Board voted 5-1 at their monthly meeting earlier this week to approve the program, with Board President John Savinda opposed, Merle “Bud” Pusey and Shannon Basa-Sabol abstaining and Macey Kinard absent.

The proposal will give an annual $300 real estate tax credit to qualifying homeowners who are volunteer firefighters in the five fire departments — Crestas, the Fire Department of North Versailles, Wilmerding, West Wilmerding and United, which serves East McKeesport and Wall — within the district. The proposal places an annual cap of $7,000 on the program.

 
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NV Twp. Workers Thanked for Water Rescue

February 28, 2024 |

By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News

Three North Versailles Twp. employees participated in the rescue of an elderly woman who fell into Turtle Creek earlier this month and one was on hand at the township commissioners monthly meeting to receive their thanks. Afterwards, he thanked them for allowing him and his colleagues the opportunity to do so.

Merle “Bud” Pusey serves as a Code Enforcement Officer for North Versailles and is also the Assistant Fire Chief of the West Wilmerding Volunteer Fire Department.

On Feb. 15, Pusey said, he was in the code enforcement office in the township municipal building when a call went out shortly after 9 a.m. for first responders to assist a 75-year-old woman who had fallen into Turtle Creek near the 400 block of Airbrake Avenue in Wilmerding while she was taking a walk.

 
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E.A. May Alter Firefighter Tax Relief Plan

February 15, 2024 |

By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News

(File photo by NZDave via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic)

Volunteer fire department members who are homeowners in the East Allegheny School District will have to wait a while longer to find out how much, if anything, they’ll receive as a tax break from the district to thank them for their service.

Last month, the school board voted 6-1 to give volunteer firefighters in the district who meet certain criteria an annual property tax break of up to $3,000.

The proposal was designed to help fire departments within the district — Crestas, Fire Department of North Versailles, Wilmerding, West Wilmerding and United, which serves East McKeesport and Wall — retain their members and attract new ones.

Only School Board President John Savinda voted against the measure, saying, “we are $5 million in the hole.” After the meeting, Savinda said his vote was not against the firefighters, but due to his concern about the cost of the proposal.

 
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EA Board Proposes Tax Break for VFD Members

January 23, 2024 |

By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News

East Allegheny School Board is considering a measure to give a $3,000 annual property tax break to qualifying members of volunteer fire departments.

The measure, proposed by School Director Merle Pusey, is designed to help encourage residents of the district to join their local fire departments, which have struggled for years with declining numbers of volunteers.

At last week’s school board meeting, there was a standing room only crowd, and most of the members of the audience were there to see if the measure would pass.

The school district is served by five volunteer fire departments — Crestas, Fire Department of North Versailles, West Wilmerding, Wilmerding and United, which serves East McKeesport and Wall.

 
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Taxes Remain Same in NV Twp.

December 28, 2023 |

By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News

North Versailles Twp. property owners will see no real estate tax increase under the 2024 budget passed unanimously this month by the township commissioners.

The budget has revenues and expenditures of $8.14 million, a slight increase from the 2023 budget of $8.02 million.

Also passed unanimously was a 3 percent pay increase for the township manager, finance manager, code enforcement officer and two parks and recreation department employees.


T.J. Martin is a freelance writer from Trafford whose work has also appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Irwin Standard Observer.

 


Cane’s Able to Raise Big Crowd in NV Twp.

December 08, 2023 |

By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News

East Allegheny High School cheerleaders and members of the school’s athletic teams participated in the Raising Cane’s grand opening event. The chain made a $1,500 donation to the school district during Tuesday’s grand opening. (T.J. Martin photo for Tube City Almanac)


Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers opened its doors in North Versailles Twp. on Tuesday with a crowd that included more than a dozen cheerleaders from the local school district to which the restaurant chain gave a gift of $1,500.

Area leader Justin Pesicek said the donation earmarked for the school’s athletic department was in keeping with the restaurant chain’s philosophy of giving back and community involvement.

Dave Loya, athletic director of East Allegheny School District, said the district brought a total of 22 people to participate in the grand opening event, including the cheerleaders, some senior-class athletes and the school’s Wildcat-costumed mascot.

 
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NV Twp. Authority OK’s Sale of Sewer System

December 05, 2023 |

By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News

The North Versailles Twp. Sanitary Authority voted 5-0 to approve an asset purchase agreement with Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater Inc. after three of the company’s executives told the authority board members about their company and the purchase agreement as they did earlier in November when they met with the township commissioners.

Scott Shearer, managing director of PFM Financial Advisors LLC, said his company was hired by the township in June to help with the sale. He said under the agreement, Aqua will pay between $25 million and $30 million for the township sewer system, including the pipes and three pumping stations.

Aqua is owned by Essential Utilities Inc. of Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County, the parent company of Peoples’ Gas. The company operates in nine states with more than 3,100 employees and under the agreement, all of the sanitary authority’s employees will be offered employment with Aqua.

 
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Suspect in Officer’s Shooting Apologizes

November 25, 2023 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News

A man accused of shooting a North Versailles Twp. police officer early Friday morning apologized to detectives and his girlfriend before passing out from his own injuries, investigators said.

Ian Lamont Fields, 47, of Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood is being held at the Allegheny County Jail without bond pending a preliminary hearing Nov. 29 before Magisterial District Judge Kim Berkeley Clark.

Fields, who sustained two gunshot wounds to the leg in Friday’s incident, is accused of wounding a North Versailles officer following a domestic dispute in the 200 block of Arlington Avenue.

The wounded police officer was treated and released at a local hospital. His name has not been officially released.

In an affidavit of probable cause filed in Allegheny County night court, county detectives alleged that shots fired from Fields’ .40-caliber Glock pistol wounded the officer in the face and hand. Officers returned fire, according to the criminal complaint, striking Fields twice in the right leg.

 
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NV Twp. Officer Wounded By Suspect

November 24, 2023 |

By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News

BREAKING: This is a developing story and will be updated with new information.

A North Versailles Twp. police officer was wounded early Friday morning when a suspect shot at him, Allegheny County police said.

The incident happened just before 4 a.m. in the 200 block of Arlington Avenue.

An intense police search for the suspect involving multiple agencies was underway in the early hours of Friday morning. According to broadcast reports, the suspect was taken into custody at about 8:30 a.m. His name has not yet been released.

Allegheny County police said that township officers were called to a report of a domestic disturbance with shots fired at 3:39 a.m. Responding officers encountered a suspect in an alley behind a home and attempted to take him into custody, police said. The man refused and instead produced a handgun, firing at least one shot at the officers, Allegheny County police said.

One township police officer was injured.

Police said a township offier returned fire and the suspect fled the scene. The wounded officer was taken to a local hospital where he was reportedly in good condition, according to a county police spokesperson.

Witnesses reported that a handgun was recovered on Delaware Avenue, about one block from the shooting.

Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating. The suspect was described only as a Black male wearing dark clothing.

Anyone with information concerning the incident is asked to call the Allegheny County police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.

 

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