Actors Bring City’s Colorful Characters to Life During History Tour

September 09, 2019 |

By Chris Baumann | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

* CORRECTIONS: This article was corrected after publication. - Editor

Paul Fields portrays McKeesport's first African-American police officer, George W. Simmons, during the 2016 Living History Tour. (Submitted photo courtesy McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center)

The more that Bob MacPherson learned about George H. Lysle, the more he realized he was the ideal person to portray the legendary McKeesport mayor.

“First of all, I’m Scotch-Irish, my background is the same as his,” MacPherson said. “But I also learned that my great-grandfather, George Victor Parkins*, was a contemporary of Mayor Lysle. They were here during the same time and its safe to say they had a lot of interaction. He and Lysle were probably very close.”

The McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center is hosting its fifth-annual Living History Tour from 12 to 4 p.m. Sept. 21 and 22 at McKeesport and Versailles Cemetery.

For those unable to attend the weekend performances, or who may not be able to walk on the tour, there will be an additional performance at the Heritage Center at 6 p.m. Sept. 26.

Council OK's Site Plan for Barge Loading Facility

September 09, 2019 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

(Illustration by Desmone Architects, courtesy River Materials Inc.)

A barge and railcar loading facility now under construction near the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge will transform the appearance of the RIDC Industrial Park, McKeesport officials said.

At Wednesday's meeting, McKeesport city council by 6-0 vote approved a request from River Materials Inc. of Forest Hills to combine four separate parcels of land into one parcel.

River Materials is planning to use about 18 to 19 acres of the former U.S. Steel National Works site for warehousing, processing and recycling, as well as truck, barge and railroad loading and unloading services for power plants and other industrial customers.

Cliff Wise, president and chief executive officer of River Materials, also owns General Trade Corp., Gulf Materials LLC, Gulf Trading and Transport LLC and Specialty Steel Products.

Downtown Businesses Ask for Help, City Officials Say It's On The Way

September 09, 2019 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

Owners of several landmark businesses in the 900 and 1000 blocks of Fifth Avenue in McKeesport are asking for the city's help to address what they called deteriorating conditions on the street. (Tube City Almanac photo)

McKeesport officials are working on a plan that would provide $450,000 per year for six years to remove blight and stabilize the Downtown business district.

But owners of several longtime Fifth Avenue businesses --- including the landmark Minerva Bakery --- said their patience is wearing thin.

"It's wonderful that we're able to create new businesses, but we need to take care of the oldest businesses," said Denise Letterman, whose father, Murray Siegel, 95, owns Tube City Novelty Co.

At Wednesday's city council meeting, Mayor Michael Cherepko said the city has applied to the state Department of Community & Economic Development to create a neighborhood partnership program, or NPP, to address a high rate of vacant and abandoned buildings along Lysle Boulevard and Fifth Avenue.

Penn State’s Partnership With City a Symbol of ‘Hope, Commitment’

September 05, 2019 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

Penn State Greater Allegheny Chancellor Jacqueline Edmondson, state Sen. Jim Brewster, Penn State University President Eric Barron and McKeesport Mayor Mike Cherepko during Wednesday's ribbon-cutting at the Mon Valley LaunchBox, located at the former YWCA on Ninth Avenue. (Submitted photo courtesy state Sen. Jim Brewster)

There was a ribbon-cutting Wednesday for Penn State's "Mon Valley LaunchBox," even though it's not really a physical place, said Aaron Whigham, manager of strategic initiatives for the university's Greater Allegheny Campus.

It's more of an idea, an initiative and a spirit of collaboration between the campus and the McKeesport area, he said Wednesday.

"We have made a concerted effort to actually become more intentional in our efforts in the community," said Whigham, who coordinates the Mon Valley LaunchBox along with Eric Ewell, Greater Allegheny's director of continuing education.

"This has been a collective effort," Whigham said. "We're not looking to be a savior, but we are looking to provide resources to make the area that we're in stronger."

During City Visit, Governor Discusses New Fees, Rules for Charter Schools

September 04, 2019 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf visited McKeesport on Wednesday to announce new rules for charter schools. (Pennsylvania Office of the Governor photo)

In a visit Wednesday to McKeesport, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf discussed his plan for the state Department of Education to impose new fees and rules for charter schools.

The "fee-for-service" model, he said, is an attempt to recoup costs on behalf of the state, while the new rules are designed to hold charter schools to the same right-to-know and ethical standards as public school districts.

In a speech at Twin Rivers Elementary School, Wolf said the Education Department also will take steps to establish higher performance standards for online-only, or "cyber," charter schools, which have been criticized for what critics claim are high costs and low standards of student achievement.

“While there are high-quality charter schools, some of them, especially some cyber-charter schools, are underperforming,” Wolf said Wednesday. “The state and school districts need more tools to hold charters accountable and increase educational quality.”

Teen Charged Following Dirt-Bike Chase, Crash

September 04, 2019 |

By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News

A 17-year-old city teen-ager was arrested after McKeesport police alleged he drove an unlicensed dirt bike at high speeds on the Great Allegheny Passage.

The youth, whose name was not released by police, was charged after he lost control of the dirt bike and collided with a patrol car near the corner of Market Street and 11th Avenue on the afternoon of Aug. 24.

Following treatment at UPMC McKeesport hospital for a leg injury, the suspect was transported to Shuman Juvenile Detention Center for processing, police said.

Alumni Association Names Six to MHS Hall of Fame

September 03, 2019 |

By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements

Six new inductees have been named to the McKeesport High School Hall of Fame and will be inducted during the Oct. 5 homecoming game.

Tickets may be purchased now via Eventbrite.

Scheduled for induction into the hall of fame are the late Glenn Rojohn (Class of 1941), Helen Donato Tozzi (1948), Dr. Rawlin A. "Pete" Fairbaugh (1950), Robert I. Fisher (1959), Joseph M. Ivcevich (1960) and H. Thomas Temple (1976), said Vicki Corwin of the Consortium for Public Education, on behalf of the MHS Alumni & Friends Association.

NV Twp. Commissioners OK Support Letter to Land Trust

September 03, 2019 |

By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News

North Versailles Twp. commissioners have lent their support to an effort to purchase the former Churchill Valley Country Club for use as green space.

At their August meeting, commissioners authorized township manager Patricia Logo to send a letter to Allegheny Land Trust backing the group's effort. The club closed more than 10 years ago. The land trust has proposed preserving the property in part to help curtail flooding in the area.

In other business, township commissioners:

Approved hiring Henry Rizzo as the Road Department Superintendent at a rate of $30 per hour, with no benefits, beginning Aug. 19 with a three-month probation period.

Nesbit: Not Too Soon To Think About Winter

September 03, 2019 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

Even with nearly three weeks of summer to go, LuEthel Nesbit of ACTION-Housing says local residents should be getting ready for winter now. Temperatures briefly hit 85 degrees in Downtown McKeesport last week, but more pleasant weather is in store this week for the Mon-Yough area. (Tube City Almanac photo)

Most Mon-Yough residents are probably still savoring the last tastes of summer and hoping for a few remaining barbecues or dips in the swimming pool.

But even though fall is still nearly three weeks away, Lu Ethel Nesbit of ACTION-Housing's weatherization program says now is the time for local residents to get ready for colder temperatures.

Nesbit, who also serves as a McKeesport city councilwoman, has been working in weatherization since 1983, originally with the Steel Valley OIC. She's currently the administrator of ACTION's McKeesport weatherization office, which serves much of the Mon Valley.

"We operate all year-round and we take applications year-round," Nesbit says. "We would prefer that they apply in the summer, so that they don’t have their doors open in the dead of winter, when they’re freezing."

W. Newton Center Welcomes Visitors Sept. 17

September 01, 2019 |

By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements

Scenes from an August painting class at the West Newton Center for Active Adults. (Courtesy West Newton Center via Facebook)

The West Newton Center for Active Adults, 103 E. Main St., will host a community open house from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 17, a spokesperson said.

A full day of events is planned to showcase the many programs that the non-profit organization --- also known as the West Newton Senior Center --- has to offer for the West Newton area.