November 18, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
McKeesport Little Theater's production of "12 Angry Men" wraps up its three-week run this weekend with performances at 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Written in 1954 by Reginald Rose, the play was originally presented on the CBS television anthology series, "Westinghouse Studio One," and won three Emmy Awards. It was then adapted for the movies in 1957 by director Sidney Lumet, with a powerhouse cast including Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley Sr., Jack Warden and Jack Klugman.
Set in the early 1950s, the play takes place entirely inside the jury room at a courthouse. A 19-year-old man has just been put on trial for the murder of his father. The case seems to be open and shut until one juror begins pestering the 11 other jurors with questions.
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November 18, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
In one of McKeesport's surest signs that the holidays are just around the corner, McKeesport Model Railroad Club has begun its annual train show and open house.
Hours are 1 to 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 6:30 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 18, a spokesperson said. The club also will be open to visitors on Friday, Nov. 25 from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
A donation of $4 from adults and $2 from children ages 5 to 17 is requested. Boy and Girl Scouts in uniform and active members of the U.S. Armed Forces, with valid ID, are admitted free of charge.
The club is located at 2209 Walnut St. in the Christy Park section of the city. For more information, call (412) 664-LOCO or visit www.mckeesportmodelrr.com.
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November 17, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Lt. John Esker, commanding officer of the McKeesport Corps of the Salvation Army, will be the featured speaker on Sunday when the McKeesport Area Ministerium holds a community-wide Thanksgiving service.
The non-denominational, ecumenical service will be held at 4:30 p.m. at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, corner Walnut Street and Eighth Avenue. A light meal will be served following the service, a spokesperson said.
Everyone is welcome.
For more information, visit the ministerium's Facebook page or call (412) 672-8490.
November 17, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A traffic stop on Bowman Avenue in McKeesport left city police with more than two pounds of marijuana, and left a Wilkinsburg man facing charges.
Justin R. Gant, 31, is free on bond pending a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. Nov. 21 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene F. Riazzi Jr.
According to a police report, city police Sgt. Steve Kondrosky was on traffic duty on Bowman Avenue near the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge just after 1 a.m. Tuesday when a car went through the posted 25 mph zone at 40 mph.
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November 15, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
(File photo by John Barna for Tube City Almanac)
One of the largest Christmas parades in Western Pennsylvania gets underway at 11 a.m. Saturday (Nov. 19) on Fifth Avenue in Downtown McKeesport.
The 52nd annual "Salute to Santa" parade begins at the Palisades Ballroom, Fifth Avenue and Water Street, and ends at McKeesport City Hall at the corner of Fifth and Sinclair.
Master of ceremonies this year will be "Mikey Dee" Dorich, who serves a similar role at McKeesport's International Village, and weather permitting, live video of the parade will be streamed by Tube City Online's Internet radio station, WMCK.FM.
The grand marshal of this year's parade is Gerald "Puddin" Grayson, varsity boys' basketball coach and former girls' basketball coach at McKeesport Area High School. Grayson is a lifelong city resident who was a standout running back at McKeesport High and Boise State University in the 1960s.
"The Salute to Santa parade is a great kickoff to the holiday season for the entire Mon Valley," McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said. "For 52 years, McKeesport has welcomed spectators from across the region to be a part of our community as we kindle our Christmas spirit for the season ahead."
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November 14, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Port Authority of Allegheny County's board is expected to vote this week to demolish the dilapidated bus station on Lysle Boulevard.
It's the first step toward building a new transportation center in McKeesport, and possibly expanding the park-and-ride lot.
The directors of the region's largest transit authority will decide on Friday whether to award a $1.2 million contract to Terra Works Inc. to demolish the McKeesport Transportation Center, build a new restroom facility for bus operators, and repair and replace sidewalks and paving.
The price also includes work to be done at a park-and-ride facility in Ross Twp., north of Pittsburgh.
Port Authority's near-term plans do include construction of a new bus station in McKeesport, but the timetable is unclear, spokesman Adam Brandolph said. "We're definitely getting onto that path, but it's still early," he said.
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November 14, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
Here's an ad from 1952 for the original WMCK.
Just a few weeks ago, our new WMCK.FM, an Internet station serving the McKeesport area, marked its one-year anniversary. Doug Goffus, a member of the Tube City Community Media board of directors, signed on the station with his show, "Goffus Golden Oldies," a mix of rock and roll, pop, jazz, and country from the late 1940s through the 1970s.
He's still going strong and a new episode airs every Tuesday morning at 6 a.m., and repeats on Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons.
We recently marked our first anniversary as an Internet station serving the McKeesport area. Many people have asked if we have plans to create an over-the-air AM or FM radio station. We would love to! But there are no open frequencies.
In the meantime, McKeesport's 1360 --- formerly known as WMCK, WIXZ, WMNY and now WGBN --- has been off the air for almost a year. If it stays off the air until Dec. 8, 2016, the FCC will delete its license permanently.
McKeesport's 1360 is owned by East Liberty's Pentecostal Temple. We have written to the owners of 1360 three times asking if we can help --- but they have not written us back.
So we have no idea what their plans might be for the station. It would be a shame if the station stays "dark," as they say in the radio business, permanently.
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November 04, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Riverside Care Center in McKeesport at times was so understaffed, a "confidential witness" told investigators from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, that incontinent residents who needed to be changed were left to lie in their own waste for up to four hours.
When the witness --- a certified nursing assistant, or CNA, who worked at the facility from 2009 to 2012 --- complained to management, she told investigators, she was disciplined.
Those are among the allegations in a 115-page lawsuit filed Thursday in state Commonwealth Court against Pittsburgh-based Grane Healthcare Co. and 11 of its 12 affiliated nursing homes, which include Riverside in McKeesport and Woodhaven Care Center in Monroeville.
Attorney General Bruce Beemer on Friday said the nursing homes failed to provide basic needs --- including hot food --- to elderly and ill residents, made misleading claims in marketing materials, and billed customers for services that were never provided.
"These alleged misrepresentations not only deceived the residents of these facilities, but Grane’s business practices also degraded residents and increased the risk of negative health consequences," Beemer said. "We believe there is ample evidence that these facilities fell far short when it came to providing essential services."
The lawsuit alleges that Grane violated the state's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law and asks the court to assess penalties against Grane and the nursing homes, and for Grane and the homes to refund money paid to the nursing homes by the state for services which Beemer claims were never provided.
Grane's Pittsburgh office did not respond Friday afternoon to an email from Tube City Almanac seeking comment.
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November 03, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Allegheny County officials have restricted water use at Kane Regional Center in McKeesport after a resident tested positive for Legionella bacteria.
Letters have been sent to families of all residents and a new water purification system has been installed at the 360-bed facility, which cares for the elderly and for patients suffering serious debilitating illnesses.
County spokeswoman Amie Downs said Thursday that a resident of Kane McKeesport was taken to an area hospital on Oct. 24 and tested positive for Legionella, a water-borne bacteria that can cause a serious respiratory disease called Legionnaires' Disease.
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November 03, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
The father of a 17-month-old boy who died in Hi View Gardens on Tuesday night has now been charged in connection with the death.
Andre Price Jr., 23, of McKeesport was arrested by Allegheny County Police detectives on Thursday and charged with two felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Police previously charged his estranged girlfriend, Christian Clark, 21, with smothering to death their child, Andre Price III, and attempting to smother their 2-year-old daughter.
Andre Price Jr. is currently being held in Allegheny County Jail pending formal arraignment, said Allegheny County police Lt. Andrew Schurman. A preliminary hearing on the charges is scheduled for 1 p.m. Nov. 14 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi Jr. in McKeesport.
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