March 24, 2021 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: White Oak News
People who came to White Oak’s council meeting this month to protest a controversial feral cat ordinance were sidelined.
Before the March 15 meeting, council instituted a rule restricting the public comment portion to White Oak residents only. None of the people in the audience were borough residents.
Council members said the rule was implemented to improve communication and focus during public meetings.
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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 11, 2021 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: White Oak News
A year after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Pennsylvania, White Oak is preparing to reopen its municipal building to the public with limited hours.
At Monday’s council workshop, Borough Manager John Palyo announced that the office is getting ready to welcome the public again in the spring.
“I know we’re all eager to return to some sense of normalcy,” Palyo said. “We’ll have limited hours at the borough building. The Norwin Aqua Club also wants to use Heritage Hill Pool for a nominal fee, as they have in the past.”
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March 09, 2021 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: White Oak News
Protestors lined Lincoln Way in front of the White Oak municipal building March 5 to draw attention to the borough’s feral cat ordinance. (Amanda Coats photo via Facebook)
After 20 years of rescuing dogs and cats, Amanda Coats’ passion for animals remains strong. Over the last 10 years, Coats has trapped, neutered and returned 1,000 cats in the Mon Valley.
As a trap, neuter, return volunteer, Coats, of Murrysville, works with community cats and their caretakers to keep the animals healthy, along with educating citizens and legislators on how to best care for homeless cats.
“Cats can be in suburbia, farms, on the streets … really anywhere humans are,” Coats said. “And they can have up to four litters a year. One colony can have anywhere from five to 50 cats.”
In December, White Oak council passed an ordinance making it unlawful to continue feeding feral cats if it causes a nuisance to neighbors, prompting a protest from 25 animal lovers outside the borough building on March 6.
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February 23, 2021 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: White Oak News
A large crowd attended Monday’s White Oak borough council meeting to raise concerns over an recently enacted feral cat ordinance.
More than two dozen people, some of whom had to stand for lack of chairs, attended to discuss the impact of the ordinance, enacted by council in December.
The ordinance requires cat owners to vaccinate their own anials against rabies, as well as to have their cats neutered or spayed and tipped. The ordinance also makes it unlawful to continue feeding or keeping feral cats if it causes a nuisance to neighbors.
Several people on Monday questioned whether the ordinance was legal or could withstand a court challenge.
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February 11, 2021 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: White Oak News
Improvements at White Oak Athletic Association are complete, pending the receipt of certain documents.
At Monday’s council work session, borough engineer Ken Hillman said White Oak’s next big project is tackling repairs to the municipal building on Lincoln Way.
“We’ve completed specification plans for the roof, electrical and HVAC systems at the borough building. Our street paving project has been sent out to bid, and those bids are due Feb. 23,” Hillman said.
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January 31, 2021 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: White Oak News
Cici is a pitbull mix awaiting adoption at White Oak Animal Safe Haven.
When Laura Massie joined the White Oak Animal Safe Haven 10 years ago, she knew her love for animals could make a positive difference in the community.
“I came in as a board member, volunteering, and just loving animals,” said Massie, who now serves as vice president of the non-profit’s board. “I’ve been vice president for three years, and a board member and volunteer for 10.”
Created on Sept. 21, 2003 by Ina Jean Marton, the shelter was born out of a desire to help animals as well as the wider community.
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January 26, 2021 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: Announcements, White Oak News
White Oak’s Heritage Hill Pool is expected to open this year.
The pool didn’t open in 2020, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that lifeguards could not be trained and necessary repairs could not be completed.
The city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County also did not open their pools last year.
Councilwoman Julie Opferman said last week that although pool season is still months away, it’s on council’s radar.
However, she said, Heritage Hill Pool will implement a new system of pricing and passes this year.
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January 25, 2021 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: White Oak News
White Oak Borough is planning to pave all or part of more than a dozen streets this summer as it tackles infrastructure improvements.
At last week’s meeting, Manager John Palyo presented a list of streets targeted for repaving, including Andrew Drive, Main Street, Maple Drive, Laurel Lane, Circle Drive, Midway Drive, Stepanik Road, Chesapeake Street, Longvue Drive, Glass Street, Terrace Drive and Sunset Drive.
The borough is also targeting four properties for demolition, including two properties on O’Neil Boulevard and one each on New Jersey Street and Capitol Street, Palyo said.
In other business, Councilman George Dillinger, who chairs the finance committee, encouraged other members of council to be mindful of the $7.2 million bond that the borough issued in 2019 for infrastructure projects.
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January 06, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, North Versailles Twp. News, White Oak News
A strong odor reported by residents of McKeesport, North Versailles Twp. and White Oak on Tuesday night was not a natural gas leak, a spokesman said.
Allegheny County emergency personnel said firefighters were dispatched to several locations along Route 48 just after 7 p.m. after 9-1-1 callers said they smelled natural gas.
But Barry Kukovich, spokesman for Peoples Gas, said there were no gas leaks or any service problems reported in Route 48 corridor on Tuesday night.
Natural gas is odorless, and the “gas smell” actually comes from a chemical called methyl mercaptan, which is designed to help customers detect a leak.
Kukovich said that it’s possible that a truck carrying mercaptan, or a similar chemical, passed through the area on Tuesday night, but the smell was not related to Peoples Gas.
