December 29, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
Mon Yough Area Chamber of Commerce this month made gifts totalling $3,500 to McKeesport-based Mon Yough Community Services.
Maury Burgwin, executive director of the chamber, said that the initiative of MYCS Director of Development Nancy Shelton "made the gifts possible."
Following Shelton's lead, Burgwin said, MYCS employees have volunteered their time throughout the year to work at chamber events, including a benefit auction.
"I can't tell you how proud we've been to partner with MYCS," he said.
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December 22, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Carnegie Library of McKeesport has slated programs for January. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. For more information about any program, call (412) 672-0625 or visit the library's website.
The library is located at 1507 Library Ave., off of Versailles Avenue.
Sit and Be Fit: "Sit and Be Fit" will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4 and 18 at the library. The program promotes exercises that can be done in the winter months. The exercises are low impact and gentle, a spokeswoman said.
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December 21, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News
The state attorney general today accused a McKeesport school-van operator of using drivers with criminal records and using vehicles that were not properly inspected or insured.
Martin W. Betchy, 35, and his company, Three Rivers Transit LLC, are charged with insurance fraud, theft by deception, criminal attempt to commit theft by deception, criminal use of a communication facility, deceptive or fraudulent business practices, endangering the welfare of children and unlawful use of a computer and other computer crimes.
In one case, the AG's office claims, one of Three Rivers Transit's drivers was taking four students to a school for special-needs children, but had never passed a driver's test or obtained a license.
Another driver worked for Three Rivers Transit for more than a year while her license was suspended for drunken-driving, the attorney general claims, and one of the vans used for school transports didn't have a first-aid kit or other required safety equipment.
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December 19, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
In the wake of the closure a year ago of the McKeesport Daily News, we've had several inquiries about advertising at Tube City Almanac and our sister site, McKeesport Obituaries.
We are still finding our way around; Tube City Community Media remains an all-volunteer organization, and we don't have anyone who is actively able to sell advertising. The advertising you do see on the sites is supplied by Google Adsense, and we net $2 or $3 per day from it --- not enough to pay anyone.
But since people are asking, and we do want to provide a service to the community, current rates will be as follows, until further notice:
- A static photo, image or logo, with up to a 50-word description, will be $25 per week on either site.
- A 30-second video advertisement, posted on either site for 30 days, will be $150.
- A 60-second video advertisement, posted on either site for 30 days, will be $250.
I hope that sounds fair. Our traffic has gone up about 300 percent since the loss of the paper. We're not looking to gouge anyone, but we'll never grow if we don't bring in some revenue.
We can do the video in-house, based on your script and photos, unless you have something already.
And we can take a check or money order made out to Tube City Community Media Inc., or a PayPal donation to tubecitytiger@gmail.com.
December 19, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Don't trash that Christmas tree after the holidays --- recycle it.
All nine Allegheny County parks, including Round Hill Park in Elizabeth Twp., White Oak Park, South Park and Boyce Park, will accept old Christmas trees for recycling, beginning Dec. 26 and continuing through Jan. 16.
A spokeswoman said the trees --- natural ones only, no artificial trees --- must be free of tinsel, ornaments, lights, stands and all other decorations before they're dropped off.
The trees are mulched and used as part of the landscaping at county parks, she said.
Local drop-off locations include the parking lot by the Poplar 1 Shelter at White Oak Park; the parking lot between Meadow & Alfalfa shelters at Round Hill Park; the parking lot near the wave pool at Boyce Park; and the parking lot at the wave pool at South Park.
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December 19, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A smartphone parking meter app developed by a Mon Valley-based company is bring its services to McKeesport.
City council this month approved a one-year agreement with Braddock-based Meter Feeder Inc. to provide payment services for McKeesport's parking meters.
Meter Feeder allows municipalities to tie their existing parking meters into a computer database that allows motorists to pay for parking using either coins or their smartphones. The app uses GPS location information to detect where cars are parked. It's already in use in Braddock, Dormont, Greensburg, Homestead, Sewickley and other Western Pennsylvania cities.
The company was co-founded by former McKeesport area resident Dan Lopretto and CMU graduate James Gibbs and has attracted positive stories from national media outlets such as TechCrunch and TechTimes.
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December 16, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the victim of a fire that swept through a Munhall senior citizen high rise on Friday morning.
Richard Miller, 61, was pronounced dead at the scene of the blaze at Parkview Towers on Caroline Drive.
The fire in the seven-story building, owned by a corporation affiliated with the United Methodist Church, was reported just before 5 a.m. and took two hours to bring under control.
More than 20 fire companies from as far away as Westmoreland County were called to the scene, which forced the evacuation of 80 people, some of them with serious disabilities, county officials said.
Seven residents of the building suffered minor injuries and were taken to local hospitals, said Matt Brown, chief of Allegheny County emergency services, and three Munhall police officers had to be treated for smoke inhalation after they helped evacuate the building.
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December 16, 2016 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A resident was found dead, and about 90 people were evacuated, following a fire at a senior-citizen high-rise apartment building in Munhall.
The fire at Parkview Tower on Caroline Street was reported just before 5 a.m., said Allegheny County Emergency Services Chief Matt Brown. Firefighters arrived five minutes after the initial 9-1-1 alarm and discovered the blaze on the seventh floor of the building was spreading to the roof.
A "mass casualty" incident was declared and additional emergency crews were summoned to help evacuate the elderly residents, many of whom have disabilities and use walkers and canes, Brown said.
Seven people were taken to area hospitals and one person was found dead at the scene. Brown said he could not release the person's name or where, exactly, they were found in the building.
The cause of the fire is unknown and remains under investigation, he said.
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December 15, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A second resident of Kane Regional Center in McKeesport has tested positive for the bacteria that causes Legionnaire's disease.
Dennis Biondo, executive director of the county's four* care homes for the elderly and disabled, said the infected resident has lived at Kane McKeesport since July.
"At this point, the source of the infection is unknown, but Kane McKeesport staff are working with the Health Department to actively identify any source and take appropriate remedial action," Biondo said Wednesday.
In November, county officials said that a resident of Kane McKeesport was taken to the hospital Oct. 24 and tested positve for Legionella, a water-borne bacteria that can cause a serious respiratory disease called Legionnaires' Disease.
Legionella bacteria breed in water and air conditioning systems. Most people exposed to the bacteria do not become ill, but people who are elderly or have compromised immune systems are at risk of serious infection.
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December 12, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
City and Allegheny County police and the Allegheny County Fire Marshal's Office are investigating a blaze early Monday morning that damaged five boats stored near the McKee's Point Marina.
At least three of the boats appear to be total losses, McKeesport fire Chief Jeff Tomovcsik said.
Just after 2:30 a.m., a caller to Allegheny County 9-1-1 reported hearing an "explosion" in the vicinity of Strawberry Alley and Sixth Avenue. The caller looked out the window and saw flames.
McKeesport firefighters responded and found several boats --- large cabin-cruiser type boats --- fully engulfed, Tomovcsik said.
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