October 24, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News
Witnesses said a car driven by a Wilkins Twp. man “had to be pushing 100” miles per hour before it collided with another car in North Versailles Twp., leading to a Duquesne woman’s death.
Aaron J. Butler, 21, is charged by Allegheny County police with homicide in connection with the April 7 death of 66-year-old Tammy Chonko. Butler is free on $25,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing Nov. 1 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
Charges were filed Oct. 17.
Detectives allege that Butler was speeding, driving erratically and high on marijuana when his car collided with Chonko’s car at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Crooked Run Road in North Versailles Twp.
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October 11, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News
(Photos courtesy North Versailles Police Department via Facebook)
A Penn Hills man is being held in the Allegheny County Jail following the robbery of a convenience store in North Versailles Twp.
Anthony D. Leone, 44, is charged by North Versailles police in connection with an Oct. 3 holdup of the Speedway on Route 30, according to a criminal complaint. Police said Leone was identified in part by witnesses after township police posted surveillance photos on social media.
He faces a preliminary hearing Nov. 7 before Magisterial District Judge Roxanne Sakoian Eichler.
According to the complaint, a man armed with what appeared to be a handgun held up the store just after 9 p.m. Oct. 3 and fled in a dark gray Ford SUV.
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September 13, 2024 |
By Kristen Keleschenyi | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
Chris Cornelius practices his Rocky victory pose before their performance last Saturday at Penn-Trafford. (Photo courtesy Jillian Miller)
A new generation of fans is delivering up the beloved saga of the Rocky movies with their 2024 field show.
The East Allegheny High School Marching Band will perform this exciting soundtrack in front of a local crowd at their home competition this Saturday (Sept. 14) at Churchman Stadium in North Versailles.
EA Band Director Justin Rosco says, "This has been on my bucket list for a long time. I was a big Rocky fan when I was young. This has always been in the back of my mind."
There isn’t a lot in the vault to choose from in terms of arrangements or blueprints for a show of this type. Rosco says they borrowed some ideas from a Drum Corps International show from the early 2000s called “The Contender” but everything else has been a creative effort by staff to bring the story of a small-time boxer from Philly who gets knocked down in life, but with the help of his scrappy manager, always finds a way to get back up.
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September 12, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News
An 18-year-old from Wall Borough died Wednesday evening after a two-car collision on Route 30 in North Versailles Twp.
Emergency personnel said the wreck happened at around 5:30 p.m. near the Dunkin location and Dairy Queen at the corner of Lincoln Highway and Isaac Street.
Xander Wehrhan, also known as Xander Maxwell, was pronounced dead at the scene. Friends said he was a recent graduate of East Allegheny High School.
Allegheny County police said in a prepared release that a car driven by Maxwell was traveling east on Route 30 when it crossed the center line and collided head-on with a box truck.
The driver of the second vehicle, whose name was not release by police, remained on scene, police said. Allegheny County detectives are initiating the investigation.
Route 30 was closed for about two hours on Wednesday evening as emergency crews worked in the area.
Maxwell’s friends have created a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral expenses.
Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
September 09, 2024 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
Residents filled the North Versailles Township meeting room before the township commissioners’ latest meeting to voice their opposition to a proposed sale of the township’s sanitary authority to a for-profit company. (T.J. Martin photo for Tube City Almanac)
After two votes before two standing-room-only gatherings of residents, a proposal which would have seen the operations of the North Versailles Twp. Sanitary Authority taken over by a for-profit company has been officially rejected.
In December, the sanitary authority board voted 5-0 to move forward with an asset purchase agreement with Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater Inc. Aqua is owned by Essential Utilities Inc. of Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County, the parent company of People’s Gas. It operates in nine states and has more than 3,100 employees.
Under the agreement, Aqua would pay between $25 million and $30 million for the township sewer system, including the pipes and three pumping stations. To take effect, any agreement would need the approval of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and it was hoped an agreement could be closed by the end of 2024.
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August 01, 2024 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
A group of North Versailles Twp. residents is hoping to convince the township commissioners to reject a proposed purchase of the township sanitary authority by a for-profit company.
In December, the North Versailles Twp. Sanitary Authority voted 5-0 to approve an asset purchase agreement with Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater Inc. Aqua is owned by Essential Utilities Inc. of Bryn Mayr, Montgomery County, the parent company of People’s Gas. It operates in nine states and has more than 3,100 employees.
Under the agreement, Aqua would pay between $25 million and $30 million for the township sewer system, including the pipes and three pumping stations. To take effect, the agreement will need the approval of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
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July 31, 2024 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
Retired North Versailles Twp. police Chief James Matrazzo receives congratulations from Allegheny County Councilwoman Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis (left) and state Rep. Brandon Markosek (right). (T.J. Martin photos for Tube City Almanac)
North Versailles Twp. commissioners welcomed a pair of visitors to their July meeting to present citations to the township’s former police chief who retired recently after nearly three decades of service.
James Matrazzo joined the North Versailles Police Department in 1996 and became the township’s chief of police in 2015.
In honor of that service, Matrazzo was presented with a citation from the state House of Representatives by state Rep. Brandon Markosek (D-25th) and one from Allegheny County presented by Councilwoman Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis (D-District 8).
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July 16, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
A North Versailles Twp. man died Sunday evening following a fire at his home on Payne Street.
Mark Gowaty, 68, died at UPMC Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh about six hours after being rescued from the blaze by firefighters, the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said. Gowaty had suffered burns over most of his body, the medical examiner’s office said.
Crews were dispatched to the home just off Luehm Avenue after 1 p.m. and arrived to find the rear of the home fully engulfed in flame, with smoke coming from other parts of the structure, said fire Chief Vince DiCenzo III of the Fire Department of North Versailles.
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June 24, 2024 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
East Allegheny School Board has adopted a final 2024-25 school year budget which includes the first real estate tax increase in the district in more than a decade.
The increase, however, is slightly smaller than that in the preliminary budget approved last month and unlike that budget, the final budget doesn’t add to the district’s overall budget deficit of more than $5 million.
The final budget has $46.24 million in both revenues and expenditures, according to Director of Fiscal Services Toni Valicenti. The budget was approved 8-0 with board member Macey Kinard absent.
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May 30, 2024 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: East McKeesport News, North Versailles Twp. News, Wilmerding News
East Allegheny School District property owners could see their first property tax increase in more than a decade.
The school board has approved a preliminary 2024-25 budget containing a mileage tax increase of just over 1.05 mills. School board members Tisha Thomas and Merle Pusey voted against the preliminary budget and Robert Trout was absent.
The preliminary budget must be voted on at next month’s school board meeting.
Director of Fiscal Services Toni Valicenti said the state dictates a maximum millage increase that every district can impose and the proposed increase in East Allegheny is half of the maximum allowed by the state.
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