September 20, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A Duquesne man died Tuesday morning after being struck by a tri-axle dump truck in Wilmerding, Allegheny County police said.
The medical examiner’s office said Jerome Prysock, 65, was pronounced dead at the scene just after 5 a.m.
The accident happened before sunrise. County police said Pitcairn police were dispatched to the area of the Tri-Boro Expressway just above Maple Avenue and that the driver of the truck, who was not identified, remained with the victim.
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September 19, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News, McKeesport and Region News
Family and friends of Quanisha Ball, 31, want her death to bring more awareness to the need for pedestrian safety. Ball’s mother, Courtney Thompkins, has distributed flyers near the intersection in DeKalb County, Ga., where her daughter died. (Photo left, courtesy Thompkins family; at right, Dan Whisenhunt photo for Decaturish)
A McKeesport woman has organized a walk on Wednesday (Sept. 20) to bring attention to her daughter’s death while crossing the street in Georgia.
More than 100 family members and friends will gather at 10 a.m. at the trailhead for the Great Allegheny Passage under the Boston Bridge in Elizabeth Twp. in memory of Quanisha Ball, 31, and then walk two miles.
That’s the distance, her mother alleges, that the driver who struck Ball continued on his way before returning to the accident scene outside of Atlanta.
The driver was never charged. Wednesday would have been Ball’s 32nd birthday, said her mother, Courtney Thompkins.
“It’s the first birthday since my baby isn’t here,” Thompkins said. “Quanisha was an amazing sister, daughter, a leader and we all admired her 31 years on this earth. And we miss her so much.”
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September 19, 2023 |
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service | Posted in: Politics & Elections, State & Region
Election Day is less than two months away, and for the process to go smoothly, Pennsylvania needs a lot more poll workers. Many of the 8.7 million registered voters in the state would be eligible to work at the polls for the November 7th municipal elections.
Lauren Cristella, League of Women Voters board member and president and CEO of the Committee of 70, a voter education group, said 40,000 Pennsylvanians are needed twice a year to ensure elections happen.
The state is also recruiting 17-year-olds to serve as poll workers, if they get permission from their school principal and a parent or guardian.
“Poll workers are our first, best defense against election fraud, anything that would cause disenfranchisement of voters,” Cristella said. “Fully-staffed, well-trained poll workers make voting easier for everyone. So, we took that as an important part of our mission, to make sure that these important roles are filled.”
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September 19, 2023 |
By Yousuf Ibrahim | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Penn State University Greater Allegheny celebrated its 75th anniversary on Saturday with a “Blue & White Watch Party.”
Visitors went to the campus in McKeesport to eat free food and watch the Penn State Nittany Lions play the Illinois Fighting Illini on television.
Only 30 feet from the cafeteria where the watch party was held, the PSUGA men’s soccer team faced off against the Christendom College Crusaders from Front Royal, Va.
“We really wanted to celebrate the campus’ 75th anniversary in a way that honored our connection to the community,” said Megan Nagel, interim chancellor and chief academic officer. “Our alumni, our current faculty, staff, employees — We just wanted to make sure we had an event where anybody knew they were welcome to attend for free, eat for free, bring their kids. And I think we've achieved that today.”
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September 17, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Julian Calabro of McKeesport gets help with a form from State Rep. Matt Gergely. (Tube City Almanac photo)
More than four dozen motorists signed up for free replacement license plates Saturday afternoon at McKeesport Area High School.
State Rep. Matt Gergely, who organized the event along with McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko, said many Pennsylvania motorists have complained in recent years that the paint is peeling from the license plates on their cars, making them unreadable.
Officials have been unable to identify what, exactly, caused certain plates to fail, he said, but it seems to relate to a change in the way the license tags were manufactured several years ago.
Although Pennsylvania will issue new license plates, free of charge, for anyone who has an illegible plate, Gergely said the process is inconvenient, in part because the form must be witnessed by a law-enforcement officer and notarized.
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September 17, 2023 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: Duquesne News, McKeesport and Region News
Community members recruited to be part of “The Village” recently greeted students as they arrived for the first day of school in Duquesne. (Submitted photo courtesy Allegheny Intermediate Unit)
Superintendents from the Clairton City, Duquesne City and McKeesport Area School Districts are spearheading efforts for greater communal support.
Through a newly formed program titled “The Village,” local school leaders are encouraging community members to help educate and mentor local children.
McKeesport Area Superintendent Tia Wanzo said she conceived of the idea in July. At the time, Wanzo was thinking about the African proverb, that it “takes a village to raise a child,” she said.
Wanzo reached out to Clairton City Superintendent Tamara Allen-Thomas and Duquesne City Superintendent Sue Mariani about gathering a group of villagers — business owners, clergy, school board members and retirees — to dedicate their time and wisdom to today’s youth.
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September 17, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News
A Monroeville woman died Saturday following a two-car crash on Route 30 in North Versailles Twp.
Darlene Fairfull, 78, was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital emergency room less than an hour after the accident, the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said.
In a prepared statement, the Allegheny County police homicide unit said a Buick Verano collided with a Subaru Imprezza in the 1400 block of Lincoln Highway, near the intersection with Broad Street.
The driver of the Subaru, later identified as Fairfull, was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said. The driver of the Buick, a woman whose name was not released, was treated at the scene, police said.
Accident reconstruction experts from the county police are investigating.
Route 30 was closed between Luehm Avenue and Broad Street for approximately three hours, North Versailles police announced on social media.
Anyone who may have witnessed the accident is asked to call the Allegheny County police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
September 16, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
All but 15 residents of McKeesport Towers have returned to their homes following a fire Sept. 8 that gutted a seventh-floor apartment and forced the evacation of the senior-citizen complex.
One resident remained hospitalized Friday in critical condition, authorities said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Allegheny County fire marshal’s office, a spokeswoman said.
Diane Raible, deputy director of McKeesport Housing Authority, which owns the complex, said repairs have been estimated at up to $2.5 million, and repairing the damaged units will likely take up to 18 months.
The fire broke out just after 2:30 p.m. in an apartment on the Coursin Street side of McKeesport Towers, a 12-story complex consisting of two buildings, joined at the center.
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September 13, 2023 |
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service | Posted in: State & Region
During a ceremony at a senior-citizen center in Philadelphia in August, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ceremonially signed legislation which expands the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program to nearly 175,000 more Pennsylvania seniors and doubles rebates for many of the 400,000 Pennsylvanians who already qualify. (Submitted photo courtesy office of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro)
Older Pennsylvanians will soon see some financial relief with their property taxes and rent.
Gov. Josh Shapiro recently signed House Bill 1100 into law, expanding the state’s existing property tax and rent rebate program.
Bill Johnston-Walsh, state director for AARP Pennsylvania, said the expansion of the program will significantly boost property tax rebates for older adults, alleviating the financial burden for homeowners and renters. He said the yearly maximum standard will increase from $650 to $1,000 for individuals.
It is the first expansion of the program in nearly 20 years, Johnston-Walsh said. “Both property taxes across the state, and rents, have been increasing year after year. And that’s why AARP Pennsylvania fought so hard to expand the property tax rebate program.”
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September 13, 2023 |
By Bonnijean Cooney Adams | Posted in: Entertainment
From left, Nyjair Wilkerson hones his skills as Squidward Q. Tentacles, with Michael Stanley and Dylan Stramaski, who play dual roles in the show. (Bonnijean Cooney Adams photo for Tube City Almanac)
If you go...
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“The SpongeBob Musical”
Where: McKeesport Little Theater, 1614 Coursin St., www.mckeesportlittletheater.com
When: Sept. 15-17 and Sept. 22-24. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday matinees at 2 p.m
Admission: $20 for adults, $12 for students. Tickets available through the MLT website or by calling the theater at (412) 673-1100
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The show that director Will Dixon calls “the hardest show I’ve ever done” is about a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea.
“The SpongeBob Musical” opens Friday at McKeesport Little Theater and runs for two weekends. Rehearsals started in June. Dixon said the musical’s intense choreography, music and dancing makes it an ambitious show for a small community theater.
The beloved children’s cartoon show — which held plenty of humor for parents as well — was adapted to a musical for all ages that opened on Broadway in 2017. That’s when Dixon and a few others who eventually became part of the MLT cast decided to take a road trip and headed to New York City to see it.
“I had not slept for 36 hours,” he said. “Still, I was on the edge of my seat. After that, I knew I wanted to direct it.”
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