June 23, 2022 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School District has extended the role of a consultant who has been working with students, parents and teachers to address problems such as absenteeism, and make sure everyone’s voices are heard.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the MASD school board voted to continue a collaboration with Erika Gold Kestenberg, a diversity, inclusion, equity and justice consultant.
Kestenberg, who holds a doctorate in education from the University of Pittsburgh, has been working in the district since December 2021, establishing stakeholder committees and holding student-centered listening sessions.
Funding for her position is being provided by federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds as well as the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation.
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June 23, 2022 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School Board has approved the district’s budget for the 2022-23 academic year.
The $79.8 million spending plan keeps property taxes at the current millage rate of 20.96 mills. In 2021-22, each mill generated approximately $1.2 million in revenue for the district, according to Allegheny County Treasurer John Weinstein.
At Wednesday’s meeting, School Directors Jim Brown, Dan Goughnour, Steve Kondrosky, Mindy Lundberg and LaToya Brown voted to approve the spending plan, while School Director Dave Donato, Diane Elias, Matt Holtzman and Joe Lopretto voted no.
Last month, district officials said they expected to end the 2021-22 academic year with an $11 million fund balance, or surplus.
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June 23, 2022 |
By Bonnijean Cooney Adams | Posted in: Entertainment
Some “Twelfth Night” cast members have more than one role. From left, assistant director Kinsley Beachler also portrays Feste and a priest, in a scene with Ella Mizera (Sebastian/Officer) and Madeline Sclichter (Olivia/Valentine). (Bonnijean Cooney Adams photo for Tube City Almanac)
If you go...
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William Shakespeare’s ”Twelfth Night,” presented by
Young Shakespeare Society of Pittsburgh
Where: McKeesport Little Theater, 1614 Coursin St.
When: Friday, June 24 and Saturday, June 25 at 7 p.m.; Sunday, June 26 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: General admission, $10, available through YSSP’s website at https://youthshakespearepgh.org
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One of William Shakespeare’s classic comedies soon will grace the stage at McKeesport Little Theater, with several twists to definitely provide audiences with a different perspective.
Back in The Bard’s day, Twelfth Night marked one last hurrah as the official end of the winter holidays on the twelfth night after Christmas.
Cast and crew of Young Shakespeare Society of Pittsburgh present their interpretation of “Twelfth Night” beginning Friday (June 24) and running through Sunday (June 26). There’s definitely some partying going on, but with contemporary clothing for costumes befitting teen and college-age revelers.
YSSP was co-founded in 2019 by Theo Fantozzi and Ella Mizera, to provide teens and young adults with performing, directing and designing experience in Shakespeare productions.
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June 22, 2022 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Scholarship winner Grace Walker (Submitted photo courtesy George and Fawn Montgomery)
A McKeesport Area High School graduate is one of 10 recipients of this year’s James R. Roebuck Scholarships from the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus.
Grace Walker, Class of 2022, will receive the $1,000 award during a virtual ceremony Thursday morning. The awards may be viewed online or via Facebook.
“Grace is a fantastic student but an even better person,” said Dale McCall, head principal at McKeesport Area High School. “She has a very bright future ahead of her, and North Carolina A&T is very lucky to have her.”
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June 22, 2022 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne City Council has approved pay hikes for starting police officers in an attempt to fill some vacancies in the force.
With a unanimous vote, the starting hourly wage for a new officer in the city will be $21.25, up from $19.10. As part of the measure, three current officers will see their hour wage increase to $22.75.
“We are down two or three officers,” said Mayor Scott Adams. The increases will cost the borough an additional $7,000. Adams said other options would have cost the borough as much as $60,000 “and we weren’t going to do that.”
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June 21, 2022 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A family of six was displaced Friday evening by a fire that may have begun in a window air-conditioning unit.
McKeesport deputy fire Chief Gene Esken Jr. said two men working at the nearby Zion Apostolic Assembly Church on Jenny Lind Street heard a loud noise outside just before 5 p.m.
When they went outside to investigate, they saw the air-conditioning unit on the house across the street ablaze.
The first units arrived to find flames showing in two second-story windows, Esken said. No one was home at the time of the blaze.
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June 20, 2022 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Duquesne News
A fire Saturday afternoon at a vacant house on Ferndale Avenue in Duquesne is suspicious in nature.
The Allegheny County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the blaze, which was reported just before 3 p.m. at a home near the corner of Ferndale and Fifth Street.
City fire Chief Frank Cobb said crews were dispatched at 2:48 p.m. and arrived to find smoke visible on all four sides of the house and fire showing through a first-floor window.
The home, a one-story brick ranch, was vacant and is currently listed for sale, he said. Property records indicate the house is owned by a limited-liability company in Houston, Texas.
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June 20, 2022 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
Farmer’s market checks will be available this week for eligible Allegheny County senior citizens who want to buy fresh local produce this summer.
The Allegheny County Department of Human Services announced that checks will be distributed on Thursday (June 23) by the Area Agency on Aging senior center network on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program helps eligible older adults to supplement their diets with locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables by providing a set of four checks for a total of $24.
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June 20, 2022 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Teams of runners from throughout the area will converge on the Mon Valley this fall during the Great Allegheny Passage Relay.
The two-day race is an overnight 150-mile relay run that begins at 10 a.m. Oct. 14 in Cumberland, Md., and ends at 4 p.m. Oct. 15 on Pittsburgh’s South Side. The trail is divided into different legs with each runner contributing at their own skill level.
This is the fifth year for the event, which began in 2018. The event was virtual-only in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan Perry, executive director of the Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy, said McKeesport and Duquesne will be critical exchange zones, where runners with fresh legs will take over for their tired team members.
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June 20, 2022 |
By Kristen Keleschenyi | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
The North Versailles Twp. Sanitary Authority is working on a project to repair sewer lines damaged by a landslide four years ago in the Crestas Terrace neighborhood.
Work is set to begin in July, officials said.
With approval from township commissioners, authority officials are in the process of refinancing a 2017 bond note that will help pay for the repairs.
Two lines must be repaired, including one that transports raw sewage away from a pump station in East Crestas as well as another sewer line that feeds the same pumping station.
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