July 17, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
A massive fire on Friday night left behind ruined equipment and cars at a 10th Ward auto repair shop. (Tube City Almanac photo)
From her living room on Rebecca Street in the city’s 10th Ward, Annette Slivka heard the noise and saw the sparks.
Her son, John Slivka III, who lives next door, was getting ready to order dinner when “all of a sudden, there was an explosion.” In the wake of a thunderstorm Friday evening, power lines had fallen onto the roof of McKeesport Auto Body Inc., next to Annette Slivka’s home.
The lines were sparking and snapping, John Slivka III said. Eventually, the building was set ablaze — yet firefighting efforts could not begin until the power was shut off, a process that the Slivkas and other sources said took more than 45 minutes.
The resulting fire sent a pillar of black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles, and was battled for hours by firefighters from throughout Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. A Dravosburg volunteer firefighter was treated for heat-related injuries, said Matt Brown, chief of Allegheny County Emergency Services.
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July 17, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Residents of the city’s lower 10th Ward were told Saturday morning not to use their drinking water while water authority crews work to flush the system.
The mandatory order affects homes and businesses between West Fifth Avenue and the Monongahela River.
Matthew Junker, a spokesman for the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, said McKeesport officials are concerned that firefighting chemicals might have been accidentally sucked into a fire hydrant on Friday night as crews worked to extinguish a massive blaze on Rebecca Street.
Junker said water authority crews began purging the system on Saturday morning as a precaution.
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July 16, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and is subject to change.
A massive fire destroyed a car repair shop in the city’s 10th Ward on Friday evening, sending a pillar of black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles.
Despite the efforts of firefighters from departments throughout Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, within a few hours, little remained of McKeesport Auto Body Inc. besides the outer walls. Crews were still on the scene early Saturday morning.
The fire was reported at around 5:30 p.m. and quickly went to multiple alarms. It broke out shortly after a line of thunderstorms, bringing high winds, moved through the area.
According to emergency personnel, there were reports that power lines fell onto the building’s roof, igniting the blaze. A witness told KDKA-TV they heard a loud explosion and saw burning power lines on top of the building.
The Allegheny County fire marshal’s office was on the scene Friday night investigating the cause.
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July 16, 2021 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Bluebirds are among the species that are being affected by a mysterious illness that causes eye and nervous system damage. Experts are encouraging homeowners to cover or remove bird baths, feeders and houses to discourage flocks of sick birds from spreading the disease. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
A mysterious disease that’s been making songbirds sick in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia has now reached the Mon-Yough area.
Local residents have reported finding sick or dead birds near feeders, bird houses and birdbaths.
Experts say that nestling and fledgling songbirds — mainly blue jays, starlings, common grackles, robins and cardinals — have been found suffering from eye and neurological issues. In some cases, these birds have been found dead in large numbers, report Audubon Mid-Atlantic and other conservation agencies.
According to Travis Lau, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, affected birds are being tested for different toxins, parasites, bacterial diseases and viral infections — but test results are so far inconclusive.
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July 16, 2021 |
By Bonnijean Cooney Adams | Posted in: Entertainment
"Dracula, a Musical" cast members gather on the McKeesport Little Theater stage during a rehearsal break. The show, which made its debut on the same stage in 1993, opens today. (Bonnijean Cooney Adams photo for Tube City Almanac)
If you go...
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“Dracula, A Musical”
Where: McKeesport Little Theater, 1614 Coursin St.
When: July 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, with Friday and Saturday shows at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $20 for adults and $12 for students with a valid ID or under 18. To make reservations, call the theater at (412) 673-1100 and leave your name, phone number, the date of the performance you wish to see, and how many tickets you need. There are no online reservations for this show. No one will call you back about your reservation unless there is a question or concern. After 5 p.m. for same-day viewing, you will need to purchase tickets at the box office.
More information: www.mckeesportlittletheater.com
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When the cast of “Dracula, a Musical” takes the stage at McKeesport Little Theater, it will mark only the third run for the show — all at MLT.
Roughly based on the 19th-century novel by Bram Stoker, it premiered on July 9, 1993, a collaborative effort among Carnegie native songwriter/lyricist Paul Michael Brown, his mother Rita Brown, who was the original executive producer, and family friend Al Snyder, who owns a Pittsburgh-based recording and production studio.
The well-received show was performed a second time in the late 1990s, and was to have been the MLT season finale in May 2020.
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July 14, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Eight people — including six adults and two children — were displaced early Wednesday morning by a fire on Stewart Street that heavily damaged one home and caused additional damage to two neighboring houses.
The American Red Cross is helping the victims, who were not injured in the blaze, McKeesport fire Chief Jeff Tomovcsik said. Four dogs were safely rescued from one of the homes, he said.
The Allegheny County fire marshal’s office is investigating.
A spokesperson for the fire marshal said the cause and origin are still undetermined, and it’s too soon to tell if the blaze was accidental or deliberately set, but that the investigation is “not leaning in either direction at this early stage.”
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July 13, 2021 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: White Oak News
Summer paving projects are continuing in White Oak borough, but not without some questions being raised.
At Monday’s workshop meeting, Councilman Ken Robb expressed concerns about how the ongoing road work is affecting residents.
“I’ve gotten a lot of complaints about the road work on Maple (Drive),” Robb said. “There’s been a lot of damage to people’s cars.”
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July 13, 2021 |
By Kristen Keleschenyi | Posted in: Announcements, Entertainment, North Versailles Twp. News
East Allegheny graduates Taylar Getsy (2020) and Chris Rayman (2021) return to the high school stage for a summer musical “A Pirate’s Tale” July 15-17. The musical was supposed to be the spring show in 2020, but was cancelled due to the pandemic. (Submitted photo)
If you go...
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“A Pirate’s Tale”
Where: Online and live shows, East Allegheny Junior-Senior High School, 1150 Jacks Run Road, North Versailles Twp. Patrons are asked to wear a mask while at the performance if they are not fully vaccinated. Seating will be every other row to provide some distancing for patrons.
When: July 15, 16 and 17 at 7:30 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on the 17th. Streaming is available July 15-17 and 22-24.
Tickets: https://easd.booktix.com/
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High school musicals aren’t usually performed in the summer months.
But this week, “A Pirate’s Tale” is about to set sail at East Allegheny Junior-Senior High School. The show was supposed to be performed during the spring of 2020, then was postponed to summer, but COVID-19 thwarted every attempt to get it out of port, says director Amanda Rosco.
“I knew this was kind of the last shot if we were ever going to get it up with that semi-original cast. It was going to be this summer, because (after) this summer we would have had two classes of alumni that were off and doing other things,” she says.
The cast is smaller than the original one planned for 2020, she says — not everyone was able to recommit — but with the help of one guest actor and three staff members they make the show work.
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July 12, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
International Village is less than a month away!
Yep! After the horrible, no-good, very-bad year of 2020, when International Village (and pretty much everything else) was canceled, the Pittsburgh area’s largest and best folk music and food festival is returning to McKeesport’s Renziehausen Park on Aug. 10, 11 and 12, 2021.
We are once again producing a live video webcast of International Village entertainment from the main stage.
We’ve retired our old video cameras and have four new HD digital video cameras this year — and because it’s been known to rain during International Village, they’re waterproof. We’ve also purchased a new digital mixer. Together, they should produce a much clearer picture than we’ve ever been able to offer before.
Unfortunately, together, they’ve also set us back more than $1,000.
So we need to raise some money ... again. We need donations, and we need advertisers, and we need them fast ...
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July 12, 2021 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, North Versailles Twp. News
Four local students are among 20 throughout the country receiving college scholarships from the U.S. Steel Foundation.
Company spokeswoman Amanda Malkowski said the students are sons and daughters of U.S. Steel employees from facilities throughout the region.
This year, the U. S. Steel Scholarship program offered twenty $10,000 awards — $2,500 per year renewable for up to four years — to current high school seniors, Malkowski said.
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