June 04, 2021 |
By Bonnijean Cooney Adams | Posted in: Entertainment, McKeesport and Region News
Correction: This article was corrected after publication to fix a misspelled name. We apologize for the error. —JT
Senior members of the McKeesport Area High School Choir gather for their final spring concert on May 11. (Submitted photo)
Twenty-seven McKeesport Area High School seniors — some even participating in all three music ensembles — performed their final band, choir and orchestra concerts to culminate a challenging year during a pandemic.
The choir concert was May 11, while band and orchestra performed May 13.
Although practices, classes, and performances definitely were different than in the past for the students and their directors, some shared reflections of how they overcame the obstacles.
Three seniors receive awards annually for outstanding contributions, while a fourth is presented with a scholarship in honor of a long-time McKeesport Area High School music teacher and band director who passed away in 2017.
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June 04, 2021 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Pastor Chuck Owston (Submitted photo via Facebook)
The “rockabilly reverend,” Pastor Chuck Owston, will give a concert at 5 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center, a spokesperson said.
Owston’s program, entitled “Highways & Railways,” will include a musical journey from the mountains of Appalachia to the Mississippi Delta “and beyond.”
A member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, Owston has been playing and singing American roots music for more than 60 years. In the 1960s he did on-location research in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, studying folk music from people who were passing down traditional music from generation to generation.
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June 04, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
Jaime DeCarlo and Camden Stover of DeCarlo's Fruit Market on the Glassport-Elizabeth Road had produce, honey and flowering plants available at the Renzie Market in 2017. (Tube City Almanac file photo)
The farmer’s market at Renziehausen Park resumes this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will continue through late August, a spokesperson said.
Located behind McKeesport Fire Station No. 2 at the corner of Eden Park Boulevard and Tulip Drive, scheduled vendors include DeCarlo’s Market, Jwicksbeads, Gifts of Paradise, 2 Guys & A Coffee Stand, Daryl’s Famous Rolls, Modest Lips, Sydney’s Scrunchies, Cheryl Yeager Gallery and more.
Fruit and vegetable vendors accept WIC and senior produce vouchers. For more information, visit Renzie Market on Facebook.
June 03, 2021 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: White Oak News
*Correction: This story was corrected after publication to fix a misspelled name. We apologize for the error. —JT
Vietnam-era veterans representing American Legion Post 701 ride in Monday’s Memorial Day parade on Lincoln Way in White Oak. (Sarah Turnbull photo for Tube City Almanac)
After taking a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, White Oak resumed its annual Memorial Day parade Monday.
The parade began at 12:30 p.m. on Guice Street and ended at the American Legion post on Capitol Street.
Hosted by American Legion General Smedley D. Butler Post 701, the parade included units representing veterans’ organizations, the White Oak police department, area volunteer firefighters, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops and the McKeesport Area High School Tiger Band.
For Laura Massie, executive director of the White Oak Animal Safe Haven, seeing the community come together is the best part of Memorial Day.
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June 03, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac photo)
McKeesport officials are warning motorists not to park on sidewalks.
At Wednesday’s meeting, City Councilman Jim Barry Jr. urged Mayor Michael Cherepko to take action against the practice.
“I’m getting some constituent complaints,” he said. “I notice it mostly on Walnut Street and Fifth Avenue, but it’s starting to move into (residential) neighborhoods as well.”
Barry described the problem as more than a nuisance. “It forces people to walk in the street, so it’s a safety issue, but it’s busting up the sidewalks and curbs,” he said. “We’ve got to start warning people.”
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June 02, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The former Frank Mikell barber shop on Walnut Street in the Third Ward — once a community gathering place — is targeted for demolition. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Another 24 vacant buildings — mostly in the city’s Walnut Street corridor — are scheduled for demolition in what McKeesport officials said is a focused effort to encourage new business development in the Second and Third wards.
At Wednesday’s meeting, city council awarded a $219,850 contract to Minniefield Demolition Services LLC of West Mifflin to tear down abandoned homes and commercial structures on Walnut, Jenny Lind, Locust and Whigham streets; Tube Works and Van Kirk alleys; and Olive, Seventh and Ninth avenues.
The latest contract is separate from a $294,000 state grant announced last week that will help pay for the demolition of seven commercial buildings in the Downtown area.
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May 28, 2021 |
By Kristen Keleschenyi | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
After more than a year of COVID-19 restrictions, North Versailles Twp. officials are preparing to re-open facilities to the public.
At May’s meeting, township commissioners said the municipal building and community center will begin welcoming residents inside again on June 1.
The announcement came after when an inquiry was made about starting up the weekly North Versailles Seniors Group bingo, with was held each Thursday at the community center before the beginning of the pandemic.
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May 28, 2021 |
By Siana Emery | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School District plans to increase its budget significantly for the 2021-2022, with the help of federal COVID-19 stimulus funding, but there will be no tax increase.
At Wednesday’s meeting, the school board approved the preliminary $81.1 million budget by a 6–1 vote. The spending plan represents an increase of almost 13 percent over 2020-2021.
The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act appropriated $13.2 billion for emergency relief for elementary and secondary schools.
District officials said the most significant expenditure changes largely focus on providing extra support for students, bolstering school safety and addressing learning losses caused by the pandemic. Expenditures include the addition of new educational and support faculty, camera system repairs and cyber school costs.
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May 28, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Family, friends and colleagues of Matthew Bauman, a McKeesport Area High School teacher who died in October 2020, gathered this week at McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center as an educational program was launched in his memory. (Tube City Almanac photo)
A new educational series about local history has been created in memory of a beloved McKeesport Area High School teacher who died in October 2020 of cancer.
Family, friends and colleagues of Matthew Bauman gathered Wednesday evening at McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center to share stories and discuss his legacy.
An 11th and 12th-grade history teacher, Bauman, 38, of Port Vue had served as vice president of the center’s board of directors before his untimely passing. But Bauman’s connection to the center, and McKeesport’s history, was much deeper than his title implied, said Marianne Macbeth, president of the center’s board.
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May 27, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements, McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
A color guard comprised of then-McKeesport Area High School Junior Air Force ROTC Cadet Dylan Vaniel and members of the McKeesport police and fire departments present the American and Pennsylvania flags during 2017 Memorial Day ceremonies. (Tube City Almanac file photo)
Local communities have slated Memorial Day observances, including ceremonies in McKeesport and Glassport, and a parade on Lincoln Way in White Oak.
Observed annually on the last Monday in May, Memorial Day is a federal holiday for honoring and mourning military personnel who died in the performance of their duties, and is distinct from Armed Forces Day — which is set aside to recognize active-duty personnel — and Veterans’ Day.
Memorial Day was originally known as “Decoration Day,” because it was used as a time to decorate troop graves. The holiday has been marked in the United States since the Civil War.
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