February 13, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
(Photos courtesy Mon Valley Initiative. Please see editor's notes at the end of this story.)
Local, county and state officials are excited about $3.3 million in combined investment in Clairton to remove blighted buildings, prepare residents for jobs, develop new resources for young people and senior citizens, attract food stores and other commercial activities, and generally improve quality of life.
The investment includes contributions from two large Pittsburgh corporations, tax credits and direct grants from Allegheny County and private foundations.
At a press conference on Friday, Clairton Mayor Rich Lattanzi said the city and its residents "have worked very hard for over 30 years to rebuild our community."
The city's first step was emerging in 2015 from state oversight under the Act 47 program for distressed communities, he said. "Today's announcement is a second step and a giant advance in building a healthy, safe and vibrant Clairton," Lattanzi said.
According to a press release from Brentwood-based Economic Development South, a non-profit agency, $3.3 million will be invested in Clairton over the next six years through corporate donations, Pennsylvania tax credits, the Allegheny County Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund, or CITF, and direct real estate investment.
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February 10, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Letters to the Editor
Regarding yesterday's story about a monument to the "McKeesport 23," Joe Hoffman writes:
We have reached our goal of $6,430. The monument is now paid in full. We had 63 contributors. We are not requesting any additional funds.
We would like to extent an invitation to the community and the "McKeesport Nation" to attend the dedication at 12 noon Saturday, May 13, at McKeesport Senior High School auditorium. Ten families of the "23" will speak about their brothers. The auditorium has room for 1,200.
For more information, contact Joe Hoffman at wojudo@hotmail.com.
February 09, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport City Council had a light February agenda. But the topics discussed by council members and Mayor Michael Cherepko were anything but light.
At their Feb. 1 meeting, officials voiced their frustration with ongoing and well-publicized gun violence, and discussed strategies for combatting it.
"The thing that scares me is the randomness of it," Councilman Jim Barry said. "They seem to be shooting for no reason."
Shots being fired during daylight hours are especially "shocking and intimidating," he said.
"It's one of the reasons I ran for council," Councilman Tim Brown added. "We all, as a city, need to step out and step up and do the same thing -- we need to let these kids know we care about them."
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February 09, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Above: Joe Hoffman displays one of 500 T-shirts sold in honor of the 'McKeesport 23'
CORRECTION, NOT PERFECTION: The T-shirts are being sold at cost and are not being sold as a fundraiser, Hoffman told me this morning. I apologize for the error. Persons interested in a shirt may contact Joe Hoffman directly at wojudo@hotmail.com. -- Jason
. . .
Organizers are in the final stages of fundraising for a permanent, public memorial to 23 young McKeesport men who died in the armed forces during the Vietnam War.
Joe Hoffman, retired White Oak police chief, said more than $5,400 has been raised toward the estimated $6,430 necessary to complete and install the granite memorial in the courtyard of McKeesport Area High School.
If all goes well, Hoffman said, the memorial will be unveiled at 12 noon May 13. At least 10 of the 23 families are expected to attend, he said. The public is also welcome.
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February 07, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Two people are dead following a fire today in a White Oak apartment complex.
The names of the victims have not yet been released and the blaze is under investigation by the Allegheny County Fire Marshal's Office and Allegheny County police homicide officers.
Crews were dispatched at around 1 p.m. to the townhouse-style complex in the 2800 block of Lincoln Way, near the Westmoreland County line. County officials said in a prepared statement that upon arrival, police and firefighters were told that people may be trapped in the apartment that was on fire.
White Oak police attemped to enter the apartment through the front door, but were forced back because of "high heat and smoke," county officials said.
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February 06, 2017 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center will mark Black History Month with a program celebrating the life and work of longtime local physician Dr. Matthew R. Hadley.
Attorney James Baldwin will discuss Hadley during a program titled "Dr. Hadley: A Doctor for All Things and All People," at 2 p.m. Feb. 18 at the center, located at 1832 Arboretum Drive in Renziehausen Park.
Hadley, a White Oak resident and a longtime leader on the medical staff at McKeesport Hospital, was well-known in the Mon-Yough area for his dedication to his profession and to the patients he served, and was one of the few African-American doctors in the Pittsburgh area during a time when most medical schools were all but closed to non-white students.
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February 06, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
Wilkins Twp. police are warning area residents about another possible telephone-based marketing scam.
In a release over the weekend, police warned that some telemarketers are reportedly calling people and asking them "Can you hear me?" When the person being called responds "yes," the telemarketer records that as proof that the person they called has agreed to purchase a product or service, and then bills or charges the person.
The Better Business Bureau of Western Pennsylvania reports that they have also received reports of the scam dating back to October, in which the callers identified themselves as being from a home security agency, a cruise line or associated with Social Security.
(However, a writer for the non-profit Snopes.com website, which tracks misinformation and hoaxes that circulate on the Internet, was unable to confirm whether anyone has actually been scammed in this manner. Meaning that the hoax itself may be a hoax.)
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February 06, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, White Oak News
St. Angela Merici Church will hold a Mardi Gras "Paczki" polka dance featuring Henny and the Versa J's from 3 to 7 p.m. Feb. 19, a spokeswoman said.
Tickets to the dance in the church's Father Drap Hall are $15 each and include one paczki (a Polish doughnut-style pastry), beer, mixers and soda. Food also will be available for purchase, but guests can bring their own snacks or wine and spirits.
The church is located at 1640 Fawcett Ave., White Oak.
For more information or to purchase tickets, call the church office at (412) 672-9641 or visit the church website at stangelamericiparish.org and click the "Donations" tab.
February 06, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
The Yukon Croatian Club is holding a funnel cake social on Valentine’s Day. It is open to the public and will be held in the club social hall between 5:30 and 9 p.m. Varieties are funnel cake topped with the traditional powdered sugar ($5) or with cherries or strawberries ($6). Add a scoop of ice cream for $1.
Hard and soft ground beef tacos and wraps filled with veggies and either steak or chicken will also be available.
Meanwhile, this Saturday (Feb. 11) is the deadline to order freshly-made and cooked frozen pirohi from Sv. Nikola Brodar CFU Lodge 432.
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February 01, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A 28-year-old man died after being shot this morning inside a home in Versailles, Allegheny County police said.
An Elizabeth man has been charged in connection with the shooting and is currently awaiting extradition back to Pennsylvania from a small town just south of Columbus, Ohio.
Allegheny County police Lt. Andrew Schurman said Versailles police and an ambulance responded to a house in the 4600 block of Third Street at 3:47 a.m. today when a 9-1-1 caller reported that someone had been shot.
The Allegheny County medical examiner's office said Andrew McGee of McKeesport was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.
A charge of criminal homicide was filed this afternoon against John R. Sethman III. Schurman said police believe Sethman is responsible for the shooting and said he fled to Ohio after the incident.
No motive was disclosed by police, who said the investigation is continuing.
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