August 24, 2017 |
By Mary Shelly | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School District's new superintendent has begun a "comprehensive study" of the system.
At this month's school board meeting, Mark Holtzman Jr. told school directors that he and Tia Wanzo, assistant to the superintendent, are interviewing people in leadership roles, including labor union representatives, central office administrators and building principals.
"We're going to survey all of our teachers and support staff in our district, asking for feedback on some of the major departments, (and) how the schools operate,” said Holtzman, formerly the district's director of secondary education and teacher evaluation, who began his new role July 1.
This process is an effort to gather the core values of every school in the district. From the interviews and surveys, the board will be asked to “generate initiatives for the next five years,” Holtzman said.
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August 24, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News
More than 20 people from the Mon-Yough area have been arrested in connection with drug trafficking in Allegheny and Washington counties after a federal grand jury returned two indictments this week.
Three of the suspects named in the indictments remain at large. Eighteen of the people charged are from Clairton.
The indictments were unsealed Thursday.
In all, 27 people have been charged in connection with two separate, but related investigations into trafficking of cocaine, heroin and illegally obtained prescription narcotics, said Acting U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song in a prepared statement.
The investigations were conducted by the FBI, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County police and the Allegheny County sheriff's department, and funded by the federal Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program, Song said.
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August 23, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A McKeesport man has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of violating federal drug laws.
The one-count indictment, returned Tuesday in Pittsburgh, charges Michael Henry, 35, with conspiracy to distribute heroin and the prescription drug fentanyl, a narcotic pain reliever.
In a prepared statement, acting U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song said that the indictment is a product of a 12-month investigation into drug trafficking in Allegheny, Beaver and Butler counties conducted by the FBI's Greater Pittsburgh Safe Streets Task Force, which includes officers from the Allegheny County, Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg police departments, the Allegheny County sheriff's department and state agencies.
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August 23, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Lake Emilie in Renziehausen Park. Tube City Almanac file photo)
McKeesport officials went to Allegheny County's Regional Asset District this week to plead their case for additional funding for Renziehausen Park.
On Monday, city Administrator Tom Maglicco and Jen Vertullo, assistant to Mayor Mike Cherepko, requested from the RAD board approximately $724,000 toward operating expenses at the park, as well as $225,000 toward capital improvements to parking areas and repairs at the park's seven pavilions.
The operating expense request is a 3 percent increase over the current Allegheny County RAD allocation of $703,000. Maglicco said the city requested the increase to cover inflationary expenses.
"We try to stress to the RAD board that Renzie is a regional asset for all of the Mon Valley in Allegheny County," he said. "We want people to use our facilities and draw people into our city and our community."
Separately, the city has received $200,000 to expand Renzie into the so-called Palkovitz property on Eden Park Boulevard behind the Pennsylvania Coach Lines school bus garage.
The money, from the county's Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund, will be used to extend Renzie's fitness trail and to add a dog park, said A.J. Tedesco, McKeesport community development director.
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August 22, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Work will begin in 2019 on a $13 million, year-long rehabilitation of the Jerome Street Bridge.
Yasmeen Manyisha, a spokeswoman for state Department of Transportation District 11, said rehabilitation of the 761-foot-long, four-lane bridge will be paid for with a combination of state and federal funding.
PennDOT and Federal Highway Administration officials offered an overview of rehabilitation plans for the bridge last week during a public hearing at the Palisades Ballroom.
The Jerome Street Bridge serves as the main entry to Downtown McKeesport from the west and connects West Fifth Avenue with Lysle Boulevard. It crosses the Youghiogheny River, the CSX Railroad and River Road, as well as the McKees Point Marina and the Great Allegheny Passage hiking-biking trail.
At this time, detour plans call for one lane of eastbound traffic into Downtown to be maintained throughout construction, Manyisha said, but westbound traffic --- toward 10th Ward --- will be detoured. One sidewalk on the bridge will remain open at all times, she said.
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August 21, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Concerts and other forms of live entertainment may return someday to the Youghiogheny River waterfront after a long absence.
But first, the dilapidated pier and amphitheater in Gergely Park will need to be replaced. That work is expected to begin soon.
In June, McKeesport city council awarded a $173,200 contract to Lutterman Excavating of Westmoreland County to demolish and reconstruct the pier, which sits along Water Street near the Kane Regional Center at the end of Ninth Avenue. The pier, designed to accommodate fishing, and a neighboring amphitheater were constructed in the early 1980s.
The work is being planned by City Engineer James Garvin, said A.J. Tedesco, McKeesport community development director, and funding is being provided through federal Community Development Block Grant money awarded in 2016.
With money from 2017 community development funding, Tedesco said, the city is hoping to reconstruct the amphitheater as well. Concerts were held along the riverfront in the '80s and '90s, including shows by the River City Brass Band, nationally known artists such as Buddy Morrow, and even events that were part of the former Mellon Jazz Festival.
But the pier in Gergely Park has fallen into disuse and disrepair and is in "deplorable condition," Mayor Michael Cherepko told council recently. Besides wear and tear, serious damage was inflicted two years ago by an ice jam on the Youghiogheny River, he said.
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August 21, 2017 |
By Advertising | Posted in: Announcements, Duquesne News, White Oak News
We are still looking for writers to cover White Oak and the City of Duquesne. Writers are paid for assignments on a per-assignment basis.
The positions currently to be filled are:
- Duquesne City correspondent
- White Oak borough correspondent
Writers will be expected to, at minimum, attend the monthly council meetings in either Duquesne or White Oak and write a story for Tube City Almanac within 24 hours. Other topics may, from time to time, be assigned.
High school and college students seeking work experience are encouraged to apply! Tube City Community Media is willing to work with students who need credit toward class assignments.
Previous experience as a writer on a high school or college newspaper, or non-fiction blog, is helpful.
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August 18, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
- Arrest records published here were provided by the McKeesport Police Department.
- Not all arrest records are published.
- A report of an arrest does not mean the person identified has been convicted of a crime.
- All people arrested are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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August 18, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
If you're a Mon-Yough resident and you want to experience a total eclipse of the sun on Monday, you'd better get a good night's sleep on Sunday.
Based on Google Maps, the closest community to McKeesport that will see the sun fully blocked by the moon appears to be Niota, Tenn., just off Interstate 75 between Chattanooga and Knoxville. If you want to go, plan to hit the road by 5 a.m. Monday --- Niota is about 8 hours and 37 minutes away, and the maximum eclipse will hit the community of 723 people at approximately 2:32 p.m. Eastern daylight time.
(And if you are hitting the road, the Federal Highway Administration has a list of tips and travel warnings you should read first.)
In our area, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, the eclipse will begin to become visible at 1:10 p.m. McKeesport time and reach its maximum --- about 81 percent from our perspective --- at 2:35 p.m. The eclipse will end about 3:55.
Locally, the Carnegie Library of McKeesport will have an eclipse party on the lawn of the main library, 1507 Library Ave., on Monday afternoon, with light refreshments served and glasses provided. For more information, call (412) 672-0625.
West Mifflin's recreation department will host an eclipse party at the borough's main park just off Bettis Road and eclipse glasses will be provided.
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August 18, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
St. Stephen's Episcopal Church will host a flea market from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 19) to benefit a local animal shelter and the church's activities.
A spokeswoman said tables may be purchased by vendors for $10. The table fee will benefit the church. In addition, refreshments will be available.
The church is located at 220 Eighth Ave. at Market Street, Downtown McKeesport.
