October 25, 2018 |
By Lynne Glover | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Introduced as a “speaker of truths, par excellence,” Angela Davis took the stage at Penn State Greater Allegheny in McKeesport to a standing ovation.
The nearly packed house on Oct. 19 at Wunderley Gymnasium --- more than 1,000 people --- was a diverse, inter-racial crowd, ranging from toddlers to college students taking notes in old-fashioned notebooks to senior citizens with gray ponytails and beards.
Davis, a prominent 74-year-old political activist and academic, became well-known in the 1960s as a radical feminist and member of the Black Panther Party and the Communist Party USA. She was the keynote speaker for Greater Allegheny’s third Crossing Bridges Summit.
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October 22, 2018 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
A missing child who was located after a search in May wrote a letter of apology to first responders from North Versailles Twp.
At the October meeting, township Commissioner Russell Saula read aloud from the letter sent to police and firefighters by Christopher Ramos, 8, who went missing for several hours in May, but was located safe in Wilmerding.
Ramos also sent police and firefighters cookies as a token of his gratitude, Saula said.
In other business, commissioners voted to accept a $25,000 grant for improvements to a restroom at West Wilmerding Park to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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October 21, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne city council members and city Manager Che Sayles recently attended the 46th annual Joint Conference of Townships, Boroughs and Authorities.
At council's Oct. 9 meeting, Councilwoman Fawn McDaniel reported that the event included sessions with themes such as "using 21st century technology to manage age old problems of local government," "ABC’s of communication" and "the changing role of the municipal solicitor."
The event was organized by the Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania Association of Township Commissioners.
In other business, council accepted the resignation of City Controller Jade Burleigh.
Mayor Nickole Nesby said recent health issues have prevented Burleigh from being able to fulfill the position.
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October 21, 2018 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
Build it, and people will come --- at least that's the hope of Sam Juliano, vice president of the North Versailles Twp. commissioners. He wants to see about 90 acres of undeveloped land in the township's Green Valley section turned into a multi-purpose park.
At their October meeting, commissioners voted to enter into an agreement with TARQUINCoRE, LLC of Pittsburgh, which represents the property's owners, to accept the donation of nearly 90 acres of land currently owned by a real estate trust.
Commissioners George Beswick and Daryl Mitchell were absent. The land is located off of Maryland Avenue.
According to Juliano, the issue has been under discussion for several months. ”Now it's back on the table,” he said. ”Our commissioners did an assessment of this generous offer and determined there is an interest in acquiring ownership of five parcels.”
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October 21, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Crime and Police News, Duquesne News
Calls to Duquesne police for assistance are up --- but so are arrests.
Duquesne police Chief Tom Dunlevy reported the increases during the Oct. 9 city council meeting.
Through the third quarter of 2018, Dunlevy said, calls for service are up 40 percent compared with the previous period in 2017, while arrests are up 21 percent. Traffic stops are up 56 percent and traffic citations are up 59 percent, but traffic accidents are down 26 percent, he said.
“I’m very proud of the accomplishments of the department so far this year,” said Dunlevy, who became the Duquesne police chief in January.
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October 20, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne City Council has appointed a new solicitor --- the city's fourth this year --- and says it will pursue an state ethics complaint against the city's treasurer.
At its Oct. 9 meeting, council appointed Myron Sainovich to replace John Rushford as the city's solicitor. Rushford was hired in April.
In addition, council voted to file a complaint with the Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission against city Treasurer David Bires for what Mayor Nickole Nesby said is a conflict of interest. Bires chairs the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Duquesne, which is currently being sued by the city.
“Council and I believe that his actions need to be investigated," Nesby said. "As chairman of the redevelopment authority, we believe there is a conflict of interest and he should resign from one of the positions.”
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October 18, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
(Photo courtesy McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center)
William Sample, one of the soldiers who carried President Lincoln from Ford's Theater on the night he was shot, will receive a new headstone on Saturday morning.
During a ceremony at 11 a.m. at McKeesport and Versailles Cemetery, members of McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center also will dedicate a new headstone at the grave of George Simmons, the city's first African-American policeman.
The ceremonies, which will begin near the old mausoleum, will kick off the heritage center's fourth-annual cemetery tour. Actors will portray 10 prominent McKeesport-area residents of the past who are buried at the cemetery.
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October 17, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
(UPMC photo)
Mark O'Hern has been named the new president of UPMC McKeesport and UPMC East hospitals, the health system announced.
He succeeds Mark Sevco, who has been promoted to chief operating officer of UPMC Pinnacle, based in Harrisburg.
O'Hern, of Murrysville, had served as vice president of operations for UPMC McKeesport and UPMC East since 2014, when the two hospitals were placed under the same management.
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October 17, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
An Avalon man faces a preliminary hearing Friday in connection with the death of a McKeesport woman in a traffic accident.
Robert L. Darrisaw Jr., 23, is being held in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bond, court records indicate.
Allegheny County police charged Darrisaw on Oct. 12. In a statement, county police Lt. Andrew Schurman said that Darrisaw has been identified as the driver of a car that broadsided another vehicle near the intersection of Lebanon Church Road and Buttermilk Hollow Road in West Mifflin just before 4 a.m. Sept. 23.
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October 15, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A McKeesport man is dead following a drive-by shooting Saturday morning that police believe happened near the Rankin Bridge.
Dijuan Bray, 24, died Sunday afternoon at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, Oakland, of wounds sustained in the incident, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office. His death has been ruled a homicide.
Allegheny County police said Bray was a passenger in a Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck, similar to the one pictured below, when someone shot at him and the driver.
In a prepared statement, county police Lt. Andrew Schurman said Bray and the driver arrived at the emergency room at UPMC McKeesport Hospital at 3:42 a.m. Saturday. Both were suffering gunshot wounds to the head, Schurman said.
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