March 15, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The Allegheny County fire marshal is investigating the cause of a blaze Monday morning that displaced three people from their home in the Grandview section of the city.
McKeesport fire Capt. Jim Shields said firefighters were dispatched at 11:26 a.m. when a caller to 9-1-1 reported a house fire at 1801 Abraham St.
When crews arrived, flames were visible at the rear of the two-story, wood-frame house, and a second alarm was dispatched. No one was home at the time of the fire, Shields said.
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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 Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The City of McKeesport and the American Civil Liberties Union have reached an agreement that settles a lawsuit brought by four residents after the January council meeting was closed to the public.
Under a consent order approved Tuesday by Allegheny County Judge John T. McVay Jr., the city will provide “meaningful public access” including live-streaming audio or audio and video of proceedings; will permit the public to submit comments in writing as well as audio, video or both; and will permanently preserve those comments in the public record.
Although both sides said they were satisfied with the arrangement, each also accused the other of playing politics.
“Today’s settlement is a total win for government transparency and democracy,” said Reggie Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, which brought the lawsuit on behalf of city residents Fawn Walker-Montgomery, Courtney Thompkins, Tracey Jordan and Janina Riley.
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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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March 05, 2021 |
By Siana Emery | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Tiffany Wampler’s children are some of many in the McKeesport Area School District attending school virtually. Their father is considered high-risk for COVID-19, so attending school in person is not an option. However, they’re struggling with the district's online learning platform.
At February’s school board meeting, Wampler told directors about her eldest daughter, an eighth-grader at Founders Hall Middle School. Prior to virtual learning, she was an NHS student with consistently high grades. However, she has been struggling with the online program, and her grades have dropped significantly.
“I get letters from the school stating my children are possibly failing, which I don’t even understand because they sit in front of me from 8 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon,” Wampler told the school board. “This program is not working.”
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March 04, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
An Allegheny County judge on Wednesday directed McKeesport officials to find a way to allow the public to fully participate in city council meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a hearing held over video-conferencing, Judge Jack McVay Jr. ordered the city to postpone the council meeting scheduled for that evening, and present him with a plan to prevent future violations of the state’s Open Meetings Law.
“You can have a meeting as soon as you implement what was proposed,” McVay said.
On Tuesday, four residents, including former councilwoman Fawn Walker Montgomery, sought an emergency injunction against the city for its plans to close Wednesday’s meeting to the public, and filed a lawsuit accusing the city of violating the Open Meetings Law as well as the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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March 02, 2021 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
Kathleen Tomko Molinaro always hoped someone would break her high school record in swimming — and now, her wish has come to fruition.
“It’s been a long time, but I had always hoped someone would break my record,” Molinaro said. “I’m happy for Autumn.”
East Allegheny High School senior Autumn Christner broke Tomko’s record for the 100-meter breaststroke in a swim meet against North Catholic on Feb. 9.
Molinaro set the record for breaststroke at East Allegheny High School in 1982. In addition to swimming, she was the president of Student Council and the recipient of an American Legion award. She also swam for a year in college.
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March 02, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport officials will allow tomorrow’s city council meeting to be streamed live to the public.
The decision comes after four McKeesport residents sued the city and council for closing the Jan. 6 meeting. City officials had cited the need for COVID-19 safety, and announced plans to close this month’s meeting as well.
On Tuesday, V. Fawn Walker-Montgomery, Courtney Thompkins, Tracey Jordan and Janina Riley filed a lawsuit asking an Allegheny County judge to issue an emergency injunction requiring in-person or electronic access to this month’s meeting, set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the public safety building, 201 Lysle Blvd.
The lawsuit and request for an injunction was filed on their behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh law firm of Saul, Ewing, Arnstein & Lehr.
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March 01, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The Allegheny County fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of a blaze that damaged a Soles Street home on Saturday morning.
McKeesport deputy fire Chief Jeff List said city police were dispatched to the house in the 600 block just before 8:30 a.m. for what was originally reported as a “home invasion.”
When police officers arrived, they determined there was no crime in progress, but there was a fire on the second floor. One male resident was home when the fire broke out but escaped safely, List said.
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February 28, 2021 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Editor’s Note: During the final week of Black History Month 2021, Vickie Babyak is taking a look at some local community leaders and entrepreneurs.
Employees and children at A Developmental Journey Christian Childcare enjoy an after-school game of bingo. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
Anica Jones-Paige will celebrate a milestone soon: A Developmental Journey Christian Childcare, the group site she founded and owns, will mark its 21st year in business in June.
That means she’ll soon be serving a second generation of children and their families in McKeesport.
Jones-Paige started with family care, then moved into center care, and presently provides group site care. ADJ is at full enrollment with 12 children, and some of them have been with the center since they were infants.
In the past, Ms. Paige’s child care center included infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school age children. More recently, her facility is limited to school age children.
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