July 16, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
With a month to go until International Village, we're getting ready for our annual video broadcast of events, live from Renziehausen Park.
(Or, as one of our fans charmingly called it last year, "the geeks from the A.V. squad with the equipment they stole from the high school." Jealousy is such an ugly emotion, don't you think?)
Donations:
We would like to raise $750. Donations may be tax-deductible as allowed by law. All donors will be acknowledged on our website, in a sign on our booth at International Village, and during the broadcasts.
You can make a donation by mailing a check or money order to Tube City Community Media Inc., P.O. Box 94, McKeesport, PA 15134-0094, or just click this button:
Advertising:
If your business or organization would like to advertise during our International Village webcast, we need your information no later than Aug. 7! (Advertising does not qualify as a charitable contribution.)
Contact me at tubecitytiger@gmail.com or call me (412) 614-9659.
For $135, we will make a minimum of one 30-second announcement every hour during the broadcast for your group, business or organization, plus we will run an ad on Tube City Online for at least 30 days. We'll also promote your group, business or organization on Twitter and Facebook.
For $250, we will make a minimum of one 60-second announcement every hour to promote your group, business or organization, plus we will run an ad on Tube City Online for at least 60 days. We'll also promote your group, business or organization on Twitter and Facebook.
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July 15, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Mary of Nazareth Catholic School student Aleena Halaszynski was honored by McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko for upholding the value of "Love." Aleena, who just finished first grade, raised $1,300 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko and city council on Tuesday honored four people for upholding the "McKeesport Message" of "Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love."
Proclamations were presented to three of the four awardees during council's July meeting. Each of the awardees was nominated by the public and selected the McKeesport Message Committee, a subgroup of the Mayor's Select Committee on Crime and Violence.
Honored for this quarter were Walt Yager for upholding the value of "Respect," Tricia Hoover for upholding the value of "Dignity," Hasaan Allen for upholding the value of "Hope," and Aleena Halaszynski for upholding the value of "Love."
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July 13, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Related Story: School taxes may be paid at discount through Sept. 14
Many property owners in the McKeesport Area School District will be unhappy when their tax bills begin arriving next week.
School property taxes for the 2018-19 school year are increasing 2.11 mills this year, to 19.48 mills. The increase represents an addition $2.11 in taxes on each $1,000 of value of a property.
The increase, and the district's $67 million budget, were approved by an 8-1 vote at the district's June 27 meeting, with school director David Donato dissenting.
According to the real estate tracking website Zillow, the median home value in McKeesport is $55,300, while the median home value in White Oak is about twice as high, at $104,500. The taxes on a home valued at $55,300 will increase $116.68, while the taxes on a home valued at $104,500 will increase $220.50.
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July 13, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport City Council this week added another 172 vacant buildings to its demolition list. The houses will be torn down using a mix of local and federal funds. Click the map to explore the locations.
From approximately "coast to coast" --- including both Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Avenue --- 172 additional vacant houses and commercial buildings have been approved for demolition by McKeesport City Council.
At least 50 more are expected to be scheduled for demolition in the next round, McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko promised city council this week. Virtually every neighborhood in the city will be touched this year, he said.
"Nothing's perfect, but overall, I think we did a good job when you talk about preserving the neighborhoods on the outskirts of the city, as well as those on the main thoroughfares," Cherepko said.
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July 12, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Related Story: School taxes increasing for McKeesport Area property owners
School tax bills for McKeesport area residents may be paid at discount until Sept. 14, a spokeswoman said.
Tax bills are being mailed out today for property owners in the McKeesport Area School District, which includes the city, Dravosburg, South Versailles Twp. (Coulter), Versailles and White Oak, said Kristen Davis, spokeswoman.
A 2 percent discount applies to all taxes paid in full by Sept. 14. Anyone who has not received a tax bill or has paid their mortgage off this year should contact their local tax collector, Davis said.
School property taxes are increasing 2.11 mills this year, to 19.48 mills. The increase represents an addition $2.11 in taxes on each $1,000 of value of a property.
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July 12, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A South Hills man has been charged in connection with the death of a man whose body was found July 8 in North Versailles Twp.
Darrel E. Hardy Jr., 29, was charged Thursday by Allegheny County police with criminal homicide, carrying a firearm without a license and tampering with evidence.
Hardy was already in jail after police accused him of setting a car fire the same day that investigators believe the victim, Zack Moore, 28, was shot.
Through the course of the investigation, county police said, they determined that the vehicle Hardy is accused of burning was the same vehicle in which detectives allege that Hardy shot Moore.
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July 12, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The water authority serving McKeesport says it has no record of any complaints about fire hydrants in the Grandview section of the city.
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko and angry city residents disagree.
And they want the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County to run a new water line to a neighborhood that has been plagued by fires, including a blaze on June 16 that leveled one family's home, heavily damaged a neighbor's home, and caused severe damage to at least four nearby houses.
Residents and city firefighters say lack of sufficient water at nearby hydrants hampered efforts to battle that fire, and other blazes.
"I have not been able to sleep," Norma Kwiecinski, who lives near the site of the June fire, told city council on Tuesday. "I'm really scared in our neighborhood and I want to know what's going to be done about this."
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July 10, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Conflict-of-Interest Note: The writer of this article has a conflict of interest. See editor's note.
(Photo by Nyttend via Wikimedia Commons)
McKeesport will partner with a Pittsburgh-based preservation society to determine whether the city's landmark Penn-McKee Hotel can be saved and reused for other purposes.
At Wednesday's meeting, council by 7-0 vote approved an agreement with the Young Preservationists Association to conduct an environmental assessment of the long-vacant hotel as well as an architectural and feasibility study.
Matthew Craig, executive director of the YPA, said the study will consider historic reuse of the entire block of Fifth Avenue between Strawberry and Mulberry alleys, which includes a former Moose lodge and several pre-Civil War houses.
YPA intends to work closely with city officials and volunteers throughout the process, Craig told council.
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July 10, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The Wilmerding YMCA was expanded in 2006 at a cost of $750,000. The renovations, designed by Penner & Associates architects, added a two-story wellness center and family locker room and reconfigured the existing lobby and administrative area. (Photo copyright Penner & Associates.)
The YMCA in Wilmerding will close Aug. 31, a spokeswoman for the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh has announced.
The closure of the facility on Ice Plant Hill Road is related to the Greater Pittsburgh Y's reorganization in federal bankruptcy court. The bankruptcy proceedings began May 8.
More than 1,100 Y members will be affected, along with six full-time employees and 70 part-time employees.
The Wilmerding Y was the last remaining facility in the Mon-Yough area, absorbing memberships of people who had belonged to the McKeesport YMCA. Closing the facility will save the Greater Pittsburgh Y about $163,000 per year.
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July 09, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A man who was found dead Sunday morning alongside a highway in the Dixon Hollow area of North Versailles Twp. was likely shot inside a car, police said.
The victim was identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office as Zack Moore, 28, no address given. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Allegheny County police Lt. Andrew Schurman said township police and paramedics were dispatched to East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Boulevard just after 5:30 a.m. Sunday after a 9-1-1 caller reported that a man was lying on the road near Dixon Avenue.
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