Duquesne and East McKeesport are among four municipalities newly designated at "Live Well Allegheny Communities."
The designation by the Allegheny County Health Department signifies that the municipalities are committed to helping residents get better access to exercise and healthy food options and limit unhealthy behaviors, such as smoking cigarettes.
In Duquesne, officials announced that they are partnering with the Steel Valley Trail Council to promote the city's connection to the Great Allegheny Passage hiking and biking trail, and to encourage residents to use the trail. In addition, the city is seeking funding to provide better pedestrian and bicycle access to the trail from the neighborhoods on the other side of Route 837.
In addition, Duquesne is partnering with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank to provide and encourage residents to purchase fresh food from farmers' markets, and is encouraging buildings and playgrounds to go smoke-free.
(Above: Photo of S.S. McKeesport while under construction courtesy of Steamship Historical Society of America. To purchase this photo, visit the Steamship Historical Society of America website.)
After 74 years, there is probably no one left alive of the 67 crewmen who were aboard the S.S. McKeesport when it sank in the North Atlantic on April 29, 1943.
The merchant marine vessel was part of a convoy of supply ships that was returning to the United States from Europe when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat.
But McKeesporters haven't forgotten their namesake ship. At 12 noon this Saturday, veterans and volunteers will gather at McKees Point Marina along the Youghiogheny River to remember the S.S. McKeesport.
"We're trying to keep its memory alive, not just for the merchant marines who served, but for all of our veterans," said Mary Ann Goldie, one of the organizers of the annual remembrance ceremony, which has been held each April 29 for nearly 20 years.
A 14-year-old was shot to death at a home on Ridge Street Tuesday afternoon, Allegheny County police said.
The teen-ager, a student at Founders' Hall Middle School, was identified by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office as William Chaffin. Chaffin was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, police said.
McKeesport police were dispatched to a home in the 1300 block, just off Versailles Avenue, at 2:35 p.m. when callers reported that a young man had been shot.
County police Sgt. Scott Scherer said in a statement that Chaffin was a visitor to the home where the shooting occurred, and a close friend of the occupants.
All of the parties involved in the incident have been identified, Scherer said, and no charges have yet been filed. However, Scherer said, all of the investigative information will be turned over to Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr., who will decide whether charges are warranted.
(Above: Jason DeFelice, U.S. Air Force senior master sergeant (retired), and McKeesport Mayor Mike Cherepko. Tube City Almanac photo.)
Four people were honored this month by McKeesport Mayor Mike Cherepko and the McKeesport Message Committee for upholding the values of respect, dignity, hope and love.
A subgroup of the mayor's Select Committee on Crime and Violence, the committee accepts nominations from the public and makes the selections four times per year.
Citations were presented at the April 5 city council meeting to U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. (retired) Jason DeFelice; Sharon Soles; Coach Gerald Grayson; and McKeesport Area High School senior Hannah Klingensmith.
Annunciation of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church will hold a Greek Food Festival from 12 noon to 8 p.m. May 13, featuring lamb shanks, gyros, pastitsio, spanakopita, chicken, grape leaves, rice pilaf, Greek pastries, loukoumades (honey balls) and more.
The church is located at 1128 Summit St., White Oak. For more information about the church, call (412) 673-1224 or visit the website.
(Above: Mary Rose Bendel, director of adult education and outreach at Carnegie Library of McKeesport, hands out gloves and trash bags to young volunteers on Saturday morning. Tube City Almanac photo.)
More than 150 people turned out Saturday morning at Earth Day-themed cleanup events throughout the city of McKeesport, while in neighboring communities such as Port Vue and Glassport, residents woke up early to get organized.
Tom Callahan of Port Vue was helping to man one of several large trash bins set up behind the Romine Avenue ballfields. "I do this every year," he said, adding that he was planning to be back at his post on Sunday morning as well. "It's a lot of garbage so far," Callahan said.
In the city, leaders of cleanup groups met at the Palisades on Water Street for breakfast and to plot strategy before meeting up with 15 groups of volunteers ranging from six people to more than 20 people throughout McKeesport.
One woman volunteered to clean the intersection of Walnut Street and Eden Park Boulevard by herself.
Mayor Mike Cherepko said the turnout was heartening.
"I would be lying if I said I was surprised, because here in the city of McKeesport, that's one thing that we're always blessed with is volunteers," he said. "No matter what it is --- no matter what the occasion --- this is just another example of people pulling together for the betterment of the city."
An eighth-grader from West Mifflin Area Middle School took first place in a county-wide contest to create a poster to celebrate Earth Day tomorrow.
Meanwhile, many communities --- including McKeesport, East McKeesport, Glassport, Jefferson Hills and Port Vue --- are preparing to mark the 47th annual Earth Day on Saturday with community-wide clean up events, while West Homestead will have a flower-planting event.
Lauren Jacobs' colorful poster, shown above, won the poster contest, sponsored by the Allegheny County Health Department. This year's theme was "brighter paths in preserving energy."
Jacobs' poster features suggestions such as using energy-efficient light bulbs, installing solar panels, and trying alternative and renewable energy sources.
UPDATED with identity of the second victim, cause of death of the first victim.
Two people are dead following a shooting early Thursday morning near the Crawford Village housing complex in the city.
The victims are Raffel Greene, 49, of Clairton, and Jessica Taylor, 32, of Finleyville, Washington County, according to the Allegheny County police and the medical examiner's office.
Neither victim is a resident of Crawford Village, a police spokesman said in a statement, and it's still unclear what they were doing in the area.
County police said McKeesport officers were dispatched just after midnight to Building 39 after callers to 9-1-1 reported hearing shots fired.
UPMC McKeesport and its sister hospitals will participate in a prescription drug "take-back" day on April 28.
A spokeswoman said the event is being organized in cooperation with the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in an effort to get unused prescription drugs --- particularly painkillers, which have the potential for abuse --- off the streets.
Drugs will be collected from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first floor of the Crawford Building at UPMC McKeesport's Aging Institute Resource Room, and in the main lobby of UPMC East hospital in Monroeville.
Additional collection locations include UPMC Presbyterian hospital and Magee-Womens Hospital in Oakland; UPMC Mercy hospital in the uptown section of Pittsburgh; UPMC Mercy South Side hospital; Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh in Lawrenceville; Hillman Cancer Center in Shadyside; and various locations at the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland.
