June 25, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A Glassport man died Saturday evening when his motorcycle crashed in West Mifflin.
Frank Wehrer, 40, died of blunt-force trauma to the head sustained in the wreck, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office said. His death has been ruled an accident.
A spokeswoman for Allegheny County Police said the wreck occurred near the intersection of Duquesne and Center avenues just before 7 p.m. The accident is under investigation and police are still working to determine what caused Wehrer to lose control of the motorcycle.
Paramedics transported Wehrer to UPMC McKeesport hospital, where he was pronounced dead just after 7:30 p.m., officials said. He was not wearing a helmet, police said.
June 24, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Sam Zolten (third from left) greets visitors following a screening of his documentary "Missing McKeesport" on Sunday afternoon at the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center. (Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
Sam Zolten was worried that "maybe about 10 people" would attend a screening of his documentary, "Missing McKeesport," on Sunday afternoon at the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center.
In fact, about 100 people filled the seats of the center's Boycott Room and stood in the lobby to see the 90-minute film, comprised of interviews with local residents, past and present, telling stories of McKeesport's Jewish community --- and therefore, the city's history --- from the 1900s to the present.
"I didn't know what to expect," said Zolten, a McKeesport High School graduate who moved away in 1967 and now lives near Philadelphia. "I'm overwhelmed to see so many people I don't know, who aren't Jewish, but who can relate to the experience."
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June 24, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Tube City Community Media Inc. has filed an official request under the state's Right-to-Know law seeking records related to the condition of fire hydrants in McKeesport's Grandview and Hall Park neighborhoods.
The request, dated June 22, was sent to the city's water provider, Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County.
The Greensburg-based authority is a public entity but is managed by a private business, Resource Development & Management of Forest Hills, and serves 120,000 customers in five counties. It purchased McKeesport's water system in 1987.
A fire on June 16 on Cleveland Street in McKeesport destroyed one house, heavily damaged a neighboring house, and caused heat damage to four additional houses. Firefighters said that low water volume from nearby fire hydrants, which are supplied and maintained by the Westmoreland water authority, hampered their efforts to battle the blaze.
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June 22, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Residents of McKeesport's Grandview neighborhood should not be alarmed if they see fire trucks --- especially water tankers --- in the area on Saturday morning.
City firefighters and volunteers from other communities will be evaluating new procedures and routes for responding to fires in the neighborhood, McKeesport fire Chief Jeff Tomovcsik said.
Officials are trying to be proactive and plan ahead before an emergency, he said. Lack of water volume at hydrants is being blamed for the damage caused by an early morning fire June 16 on Cleveland Street that sent four people to the hospital, destroyed a family's home and damaged five others, one seriously.
McKeesport is also "actively looking" for a water tanker of its own for the fire department, for use in the Grandview neighborhood, Tomovcsik said.
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June 20, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
Shown in blue are "qualified opportunity zones" in the Mon-Yough area approved last week by the U.S. Treasury Department. The zones provide tax benefits for investors who have earned profits from stocks, bonds or real estate. (Map courtesy Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.)
McKeesport, Duquesne, Glassport and North Versailles Twp. may benefit from a new federal program designed to encourage investors to spend some of their profits on business development in impoverished communities.
Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department accepted a recommendation from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to designate 300 different census tracts across the state as "qualified opportunity zones."
The opportunity zone program, created in 2017 under Congress' sweeping year-end tax reform legislation, allows investors who have profited from "capital gains" --- the sale of stocks, bonds, real estate or other investments --- to postpone or eliminate some of their taxes on those profits if they invest in an "opportunity zone."
“I’m excited to see us move forward with this program,” state Rep. Austin Davis said. Nine census tracts in Davis' 35th Legislative District are included in the program.
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June 19, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne has done away with a requirement that police officers live within the city.
At last week's meeting, Mayor Nickole Nesby said Duquesne eliminated the rule so that the city can make an "honest effort" to make sure all races and both sexes are represented on the police force.
She publicly encouraged potential candidates to apply for openings in the police department.
Council approved police Chief Tom Dunlevy’s recommendation to offer a permanent position within the department to Lee Bartalicius. In other personnel moves, council accepted the retirement of longtime employee Jeanne Dowdle and voted to name Quincy Zitelli the city's acting code enforcement officer.
Council voted to terminate code enforcement officer Allan Chiesi. Nesby said the city would make no public comment about Chiesi's termination.
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June 19, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
A "cash bash," tennis tournament, 5K race and fun run, and a golf outing are the highlights of a four-day fundraiser in July for the McKeesport Hospital Foundation.
The 41st annual Dr. Frank R. Bondi Invitational begins with a "cash bash" at 6 p.m. July 27 at the Boston Spectrum in Elizabeth Twp. Tickets cost $20 and include admission, dinner and a number for cash drawings held every 15 minutes.
On July 28, a doubles round-robin tennis tournament will be held at The Racquet Club in Monroeville. Tickets for the tournament are $100 and include prizes, trophies, snacks and dinner. The tournament begins at 12:30 p.m.
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June 19, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Lack of water is being blamed for the spread of a fire that destroyed this home in the 2600 block of Cleveland Street on Saturday morning. The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County is promising upgrades to the distribution system in the next 12 months. (Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
The authority that provides water to McKeesport and neighboring communities plans $2.1 million in upgrades to the distribution system in Grandview and other parts of the city.
"The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has invested more than $3 million on our McKeesport system in the past 12 months to improve both water supply and quality," said Matthew Junker, authority spokesman, in a prepared statement. "Further investments of $2.1 million are planned in the next 12 months."
Lack of water volume in Grandview is being blamed for the spread of a fire that destroyed a house on Cleveland Street on Saturday morning, and damaged five others. The authority did not release details on exactly how the new investments will address that low water volume.
Water tankers were called from Lincoln Borough, Monroeville and as far away as Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland County, as McKeesport firefighters and volunteers from several neighboring communities worked to bring the blaze under control.
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June 18, 2018 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, Sports
(All photos: Vickie Babyak, special to Tube City Almanac)
Steamy temperatures and scorching pavement didn't faze entrants in the 2018 Greater Pittsburgh Soap Box Derby, held Sunday morning on Eden Park Boulevard in front of McKeesport Area High School.
The annual Father's Day tradition has been held for 36 consecutive years, but actually dates to the 1950s.
The top finishers in each category will be headed to the All-American Soap Box Derby World Championships, to be held in July in Akron, Ohio.
Photographer Vickie Babyak braved the heat to grab these images.
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June 18, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A sign urges passersby to help two families burned out of the home that once stood at 2615 Cleveland St. (Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
Little remains of a house in the 2600 block of Cleveland Street that burned on Saturday morning --- sending four members of the Sostaric and Murphy families to the hospital.
A lack of water from local hydrants hampered efforts by McKeesport firefighters to fight the blaze, which spread to a neighboring home a few feet away, and got hot enough to melt the siding from three houses on the opposite side of the street.
Neighbors said it isn't the first time that a lack of water has hampered firefighting efforts on the street. One neighbor, who asked that his name not be printed, pointed to a vacant lot directly across from the home that burned to the ground Saturday.
"That house over there burned a few years ago," the neighbor said. "That vacant lot a few doors up? That was two houses that burned. Every time, same problem --- no water."
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