March 19, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
Two city men have been charged in connection with a joint drug investigation by McKeesport police, county detectives and federal agencies.
Terrance L. Yarbrough, 28, and Obadiah L. Williams, 45, face formal arraignment in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on April 15. Both men waived their right to a preliminary hearing this month before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi.
McKeesport police said a joint task force including city officers, agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the Allegheny County district attorney’s office and the sheriff’s office raided a home in the 1900 block of Craig Street early on the morning of Aug. 4.
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March 19, 2021 |
By Ann Belser | Posted in: Liberty Borough News, McKeesport and Region News, North Versailles Twp. News, White Oak News
A Heritage Community Transportation bus pauses on Braddock Avenue in Braddock. The non-profit group connects residents of Mon Valley neighborhoods to main Port Authority bus routes and has provided 1.5 million rides. (Submitted photo courtesy Heritage Community Initiatives)
A year ago, when the state shut down all but essential services, a Braddock-based nonprofit found that one of its services could not stop and the others were more vital than ever.
Paula McWilliams, CEO of Heritage Community Initiatives, said the bus service her organization operates, Heritage Community Transportation, was needed to make sure that workers in eastern communities, including Braddock, Liberty, McKeesport, North Versailles Twp., Port Vue and White Oak, could get to their jobs at hospitals such as Forbes Regional, UPMC McKeesport and UPMC East.
The Heritage buses, which are 14-passenger vans, operate on three fixed routes. They had to be modified for transporting workers and senior citizens who needed to get groceries and to medical appointments while keeping passengers and drivers safe.
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March 16, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is investigating a complaint of child sex abuse against a one-time Mon-Yough area pastor and radio personality.
Bishop Dorsey McConnell announced this week that the accusation was made against Charles W. Appel Jr., who was vicar of the Church of the Good Samaritan in Liberty Borough in the 1970s and 1980s.
Appel died in 2019. He served four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
The alleged abuse happened at the church-run Sheldon Calvary Camp in Conneaut, Ohio, in the 1970s and early 1980s when the victim was a child attending events there, McConnell said.
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March 16, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Kane Karsteter-McKernan, administrative professional with UPMC Health Plan, and Michele Dudek, nurse coordinator for employee health at UPMC McKeesport, prepare to check in someone arriving for a COVID-19 vaccination. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Simeania Young of Braddock was in a good mood Tuesday morning after receiving her first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at UPMC McKeesport hospital.
Young, 49, said she spent last year urging her two grown children to be careful, and asking people not to visit. “I was scared to death,” she said yesterday, as she waited a mandatory 15 minutes to ensure there were no complications. “Some people are still not taking it seriously. Especially if they didn’t get sick, they didn’t think it was a big deal.”
Now that she’s on the road to vaccination? “I feel like I can plan a summer vacation this year,” Young said.
She was one of 400 people who were part of a mass vaccination event Tuesday at the Mansfield Building’s Ahmad Conference Center. They will have to return in 28 days for a second dose.
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March 16, 2021 |
By Kristen Keleschenyi | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
Nearly 80 East Allegheny School District teachers and support employees are on schedule to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Superintendent Alan Johnson told the school board this week.
A clinic was set up at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit offices at the Waterfront in Homestead, and distribution of the one dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine began on March 11, he said. The focus for the first round has been on vaccinating elementary school staff, Johnson said.
“Just to give you an idea of the demand for this, there were a total of 7,400 doses allocated to Allegheny County for educators and there were 18,000 requests for the vaccine,” he said. “So obviously demand exceeded supply.”
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March 16, 2021 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Restaurants, bars and other hospitality businesses in Allegheny County hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible for grants of up to $50,000 to help offset their losses.
The COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program began accepting applications on Monday at the county’s website.
“The hospitality industry is that sector of our economy which has probably been hardest hit by the pandemic,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “Thanks to the efforts by the state legislature to provide this funding, we will be able to provide financial grants to small businesses in the county with operations most impacted by COVID-19.”
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March 15, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
Financial assistance is now available to help Allegheny County residents struggling to pay rent or utilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Allegheny County Emergency Rental Assistance program has a total of $79.9 million to distribute to eligible county residents. Of that funding, $43 million came from Act 1 of 2021, which state Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law last month.
Applications can be submitted online through Allegheny County’s website at covidrentrelief.alleghenycounty.us, or at www.compass.state.pa.us.
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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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