April 28, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, McKeesport and Region News
Nine candidates for McKeesport Area School District’s school board will debate Tuesday night in the high school auditorium, a district spokeswoman announced.
The debate, at 7 p.m. April 29, is being organized by political science teacher Gerald McGrew and his honors political science class. The public is welcome to attend and the debate also will be streamed on the district’s YouTube channel, the spokeswoman said.
“The class has been working on preparing questions and candidate bios from the information received in class,” McGrew said in a release. “The debate will be run very professionally by the students most of whom are juniors, but we do have a couple of seniors in the class as well.”
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April 28, 2025 |
By Advertising | Posted in: Paid Advertisement
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April 25, 2025 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: State & Region
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and State Sen. Nick Pisciotanno greet Mary Esther Van Shura of AARP during an event last week at Penn State Greater Allegheny. Officials have kicked off a statewide tour to promote “age-friendly” communities for senior citizens. (Submitted photo)
Pennsylvania officials are traveling across the state to encourage communities to expand and improve services for senior citizens to make them more “age-friendly.”
Last week, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis joined Department of Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich and local elected officials at Penn State Greater Allegheny in McKeesport to kick off the first in the series of events designed to highlight programs to keep older adults in their homes and connected to their communities.
Pennsylvania is the fifth-oldest state in the nation by population. State officials said that one in four Pennsylvanians is over the age of 60, and that number is expected to rise to one in three by 2030.
“Older adults in Allegheny County and here in my hometown of McKeesport are the backbone of our communities,” Davis said in a release. “They are our family, friends and neighbors who have made great contributions in our lives that benefit all of us.
“The organizers of age-friendly communities here in southwest Pennsylvania are making a positive impact, and I applaud their work and dedication as we welcome new faces to the table to expand these initiatives,” he said.
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April 25, 2025 |
By Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
New museum manager Tim Kunes has moved from the classroom to the exhibit area at McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center. (Yousuf Ibrahim photo for Tube City Almanac)
Former social studies teacher Tim Kunes has left the classroom, but he hasn’t left education. In March, McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center hired Kunes as the new manager of its museum in Renziehausen Park.
According to board member Jennifer Vertullo, the center has been fully-board and volunteer-operated for several months, having been without staff since September 2024.
The center, which also provides genealogy and history resources for researchers, including a complete archive of the McKeesport Daily News on microfilm, is restaffing as it prepares for the grand opening of a newly constructed addition.
Kunes retired from education after 30 years of teaching in the McKeesport Area School District before applying to the open position. “I really did love teaching,” said the Geneva College graduate, “and I feel like I tried to make a lot of my classroom instruction dynamic and interactive.”
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April 23, 2025 |
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service | Posted in: State & Region
The state branch of the AARP is voicing concerns about plans by the Trump Administration to cut 7,000 jobs from the U.S. Social Security Administration.
The move is being spearheaded by the temporary office known as the “Department of Government Efficiency” as part of the White House’s efforts to trim what it calls “waste and fraud.”
According to AARP, more than one in five Pennsylvanians — or about 3 million residents — get monthly Social Security payments.
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April 23, 2025 |
By Bonnijean Cooney Adams | Posted in: Entertainment, McKeesport and Region News
The cast strikes a pose during rehearsals for one of the dance numbers in Serra Catholic High School’s production of “Peter Pan” musical. (Submitted photo courtesy Jesse Bush, Serra Catholic High School)
If you go...
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“Peter Pan”
Where: Serra Catholic High School, 200 Hershey Drive
When: 7 p.m. Friday (April 25), 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday (April 26), and 2 p.m. Sunday (April 27)
Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 for students (and anyone under 18). Tickets are good for one performance. Available from any cast member and at the door for each performance, or visit the school website.
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Tasked with selecting the annual spring musical at Serra Catholic, director Jesse Bush said he wanted to do something different to give the students a new experience.
“I try to pick a variety of styles of musicals. Last year was the ‘Addams Family,’ year before was ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ and I thought it was time to do something a little more lighthearted,” he said.
The result is “Peter Pan,” based on the 1954 Broadway version starring Mary Martin as the boy who won’t grow up, which opens Friday (April 25) at 7 p.m.
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April 17, 2025 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School Board unanimously approved a preliminary budget for the 2025-26 school year.
At Thursday’s meeting, school directors by 8-0 vote approved a budget of $86,579,617, which represents a 5 percent increase in expenses at McKeesport Area School District.
Property tax millage remains the same, at 20.96 mills. A homeowner whose house has an assessed value of $100,000 would pay $2,096 in school property taxes annually.
Among those expenses is a $50,000 line item for salaries for a “bus matron/monitors.”
The item, as School Director David Seropian explained, was inserted “per the request” of School Director Diane Elias. Elias’ request comes on the heels of comments made about student safety last month by Sidney Walker and Stephanie Pollock.
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April 17, 2025 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School Board is seeking applications from residents of the community to replace School Director Dan Goughnour, who has resigned.
Goughnor’s resignation was accepted by the board at last week’s meeting. He won the special election to the state General Assembly and was sworn into office on April 7.
During the April 10 meeting, school district Solicitor Gary Matta said the school board has 30 days to appoint a replacement for Goughnour.
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April 11, 2025 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
* Correction: Due to an editing error, this story was corrected after publication.
(City of McKeesport photo)
McKeesport Area school board members expressed surprise on Thursday that the district is being charged a permit fee for the use of athletic fields at Renziehausen Park.
At this week’s board meeting, School Director Jason Pavlecic reported the district “recently received a bill from the city charging us a few thousand dollars to rent the fields.”
The bill, according to Pavlecic, included a $500 cost to use Jimmy Long Field, a $500 cost to use Filotei Field and a $1,000 fee to use Helen Richey Field.
“And that is to increase next year,” Pavlecic said. “To my knowledge, as well as [MASD Athletic Director] Charley Kiss’ knowledge, this has never occurred previously.”
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April 10, 2025 |
By Stacy Alderman | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Fitness trainer Jessica McCauley demonstrates equipment at her new facility, Flash Fitness, located in the city’s 10th Ward. (Stacy Alderman photo for Tube City Almanac)
Since becoming a certified trainer in 2016, Jessica McCauley has worked at multiple gyms throughout the area. Along the way, she met clients who followed her from place to place, even if it was to a temporary gym in her garage.
Now, those dedicated customers, along with new ones, have the opportunity to see her in action as the owner of her own facility, Flash Fitness, at 524 West 5th Ave. in the city’s 10th Ward.
The facility will host its first public event on May 31st, a spring “VIP dance” where kids can bring their “VIP” to hang out, dance, and enjoy snacks and a photo booth. “There’s are always father-daughter dances,” McCauley says. “But this is an event where kids of any age, whether you’re 5 or 15, can bring a grandparent, aunt, sibling, or mentor to enjoy an evening of fun.”
Tickets are $25 per couple.
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