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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December 12, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
State officials have approved a $316,000 grant to redesign the intersection of Route 48 and Walnut Street to provide a traffic light and new turning lanes.
The White Oak-based developer of a shopping center called "Walnut Crossing" --- which has been under construction at that intersection for years --- will provide $135,000 in necessary matching funds, McKeesport officials said.
The grant, made through the Commonwealth Financing Authority's Multimodal Transportation Fund, was approved Thursday.
Mayor Michael Cherepko called the partnership a "shining example" of cooperation between the public and private sectors, and praised A.J. Tedesco, the city's community development director, for his work on the project.
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December 09, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
The East Winds Symphonic Band will present "Holiday Sounds," a free concert of Christmas and seasonal music, at 3 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 11) at St. Angela Merici Catholic Church, 1640 Fawcett Ave., White Oak.
The all-volunteer band is directed by Susan Sands, a spokesman said. The concert also will feature the Mon Yough Chorale under the direction of Benjamin Filippone.
Admission is free and a reception with light refreshments will be held immediately following the concert. Visit the website for more information.
December 07, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport City Council is preparing to do something it hasn't done in 25 years --- enact a property tax increase.
At a budget hearing Tuesday night, Mayor Mike Cherepko presented the city's proposed 2017 budget, including tax increases of 2 mills each on buildings and land.
That would take the city's property tax on buildings to 6.26 mills and on land to 18.5 mills.
The increase is expected to generate about $689,000 in additional revenue in 2017. "I don't want to do this," Cherepko said. "What politician wants to raise taxes? But the right choice is not always the popular choice."
The tax increase wasn't popular with the handful of residents who attended the hearing. Ken Thornton of Fawcett Plan questioned whether the administration and council have cut expenses as deeply as they could.
Cherepko said that approximately 90 percent of the city's expenses are fixed or subject to labor contracts.
"Then maybe you need to lay some people off," Thornton said. "That's what happens in the real world ... I think maybe some concessions need to be made. You can't have these unions run you out of business."
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December 05, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Winners in the 31st annual Festival of Trees, just concluded at Renziehausen Park, have been announced by co-chair Cheryl Myers Cotter.
Handmade Category
Adult
- #16 Hungarian Embroidery group
- #6 The Well Ministries
- #79 McK Business & Professional Women
Youth
- #28 South Allegheny Spanish IV & V Class
- #5 Cub Scout Pack 916
- #51 Carnegie Library of McKeesport
Children
- #83 Romine Group Shelter Home ( Auberle)
- #26 Founders' Hall Pre-K Counts
- #62 Francis McClure 5th Grade ACE
- Honorable Mentlon #85 McKeesport Mon Valley Girls Softball Association
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