January 16, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Above: Pat Harris and Cheryl Myers Cotter receive a proclamation from McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko during January's city council meeting. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Five people were honored this month by McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko and city council for living the "McKeesport Message."
At this month's city council meeting, proclamations were presented to George Mushalko for living the value of "respect," to Carlinos Acie for "hope," and to Pat Harris and Cheryl Myers Cotter for "love."
Also honored, for the value of "dignity," was Melissa Staley, who could not be present.
The "Living the Message" awards are presented quarterly by a subgroup of Cherepko's Select Committee on Crime and Violence.
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January 14, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Duquesne News
A new shelter for families who need someplace to live in case of an emergency will address a longstanding need in the Mon Valley.
Opened last week in Duquesne by McKeesport-based Auberle, the shelter can accommodate up to 20 individuals at one time and will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“Affordable housing is already really difficult to obtain, and in the Mon Valley there are a lot of issues with people being able to maintain employment and find affordable housing, which leads to housing instability and crisis,” said Aisling McIntyre, Auberle's housing director, who is supervising the staff and opening of the facility.
“The goal of the program is to keep families safe, assist them with securing more permanent housing and link them to available resources,” McIntyre said.
Auberle is seeking donations of new items for people who stay in the Family Emergency Shelter including diapers, baby wipes, towels, washcloths, baby formula and more.
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January 14, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, Duquesne News
Few details have been released in connection with the shooting death Friday night of a Duquesne man.
The Allegheny County medical examiner's office has identified the victim as 24-year-old Shavell Davidson.
In a prepared statement, Allegheny County police Lt. Andrew Schurman said officers were dispatched to a home in the 100 block of South Seventh Street just after 7 p.m. Friday for a reported shooting.
When they arrived, they found Davidson suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, Schurman said.
The medical examiner's office said Davidson was pronounced dead at the scene inside a private residence.
Friends and family plan a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. Monday at the corner of Seventh Street and Kennedy Avenue, according to information posted on Facebook.
January 12, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Photos special to Tube City Almanac)
City officials are hopeful that the 300 block of Fifth Avenue will reopen early next week after demolition crews finish removing damaged bricks from the facade of the Executive Building.
The street was closed Jan. 5 after part of a decorative brick pillar on the Ringgold Street side of the building collapsed on the sidewalk. Similar cracks were spotted in the brick pillars on the Fifth Avenue facade as well, leading the city to close the street to through traffic.
Betters Company of Lincoln Borough is working to remove the damaged sections of the pillars from the five-story brick office building. The building has been vacant since late December, when the final tenants were forced to leave.
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January 12, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Photos special to Tube City Almanac)
Minor flooding closed several area roadways on Friday morning as the Mon-Yough area braced for another icy blast.
Melting snow, followed by steady rain, caused ponding in low-lying areas, including along Route 837 in Dravosburg.
The unseasonably warm temperatures on Thursday and Friday are expected to be followed by a blast of freezing rain, ice, sleet and snow, which could freeze flooded roadways and make them treacherous.
The National Weather Service in Moon Twp. said Friday that accumulating snow on top of freezing rain was likely to result in "extremely dangerous if not impossible driving conditions" in parts of the region tonight.
The forecast has led several organizations to cancel activities scheduled for Friday night and Saturday morning.
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January 10, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A West Mifflin man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for his role in what prosecutors have described as one of the largest mortgage fraud schemes in Western Pennsylvania.
James Nassida IV, 50, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose in federal court in Pittsburgh, said Scott W. Brady, U.S. Attorney, in a prepared statement.
Between 2002 and 2009, Nassida was president of Century III Home Equity in Baldwin. Prosecutors described it as one of the largest mortgage brokerages in the Pittsburgh area, and said it arranged "hundreds of millions of dollars" of home loans with more than a dozen banks.
But prosecutors accused the brokerage --- which advertised that it had "a loan for everyone," including people with "slow or no credit" --- of committing fraud to obtain many of those mortgages.
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January 10, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
The owner of a now-closed Versailles gun store was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for possession of illegal firearms, tampering with evidence and tampering with a witness.
Erik David Lowry, 38, of Versailles also faces a $30,000 fine and three years' probation, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said in a prepared statement.
The sentence was handed down in federal court in Pittsburgh by U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab.
Lowry, who owned Pittsburgh Tactical Firearms on Walnut Street, pleaded guilty to the charges in June 2017. He also pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to illegally selling firearms.
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January 09, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Carnegie Library of McKeesport has posted programs for January, including a talk by a local author, a new current affairs discussion group, and the latest installment for its "Reading Social" book club.
For more information about these programs or any event at the library, call (412) 672-0625 or visit www.mckeesportlibrary.org.
All events are at the main library, 1507 Library Ave., unless otherwise noted.
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January 09, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, White Oak News
(Submitted photo courtesy Mon Yough Chorale)
Mon Yough Chorale will hold an open house for prospective members from 7 to 9 p.m. Jan. 21 at Sampson's Mills Presbyterian Church, 1665 Lincoln Way, White Oak, a spokeswoman said.
Anyone who enjoys choral singing is invited to attend, including former and current high school and college choir or chorus members, church choir members who want to branch out in the type of music they sing, and former and current music teachers, she said.
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January 08, 2018 |
By Lynne Glover | Posted in: Politics & Elections
Residents of Clairton, Duquesne, Lincoln, McKeesport, Munhall, South Versailles Twp., Versailles, Whitaker, White Oak and parts of West Mifflin will go to the polls on Jan. 23 to select a replacement for former state Rep. Marc Gergely. Tube City Almanac is profiling both of the candidates.
To read about Fawn Walker-Montgomery, click here.
Twenty-eight-year-old Austin Davis says he’s always been interested in service. “I’ve always wanted to be helpful,” says Davis of his interest in politics.
At 16, he was chairman of the Mayor’s Youth Council in McKeesport. “There were not a lot of people that looked like me in terms of diversity,” says Davis, who is African American.
Then—and now—Davis says he would ask himself: “What’s the best way to give back? How can I make the community a better place?”
Davis says running for office was a natural step toward taking public service to the next level for the people he cares about.
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