McKeesport police are seeking the person or persons who shot two young men Tuesday night in the 1100 block of Washington Street.
The shooting happened not far from where residents were marking "National Night Out," a yearly event designed to improve cooperation between police and the community.
Police said in a prepared statement that officers were called at 7:30 p.m. for a report of "several shots fired" and two victims, ages 17 and 20, were found wounded. Neither is suffering life-threatening injuries.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at (412) 675-5015.
Listen: Jamie Holmes is our guest this week on "Two Rivers, 30 Minutes." The show airs Sundays at 8 a.m. on WEDO (810) and WZUM (1550) and at 3 p.m. on Internet radio station WMCK.FM. It's also available as a free podcast from our website.
In 2005, a 17-year-old who had just graduated from McKeesport Area High School started a charity with the help of her grandma's checkbook.
Last year, Jamie's Dream Team raised nearly $400,000 to provide help to children and families in serious need. More than 3,000 people have benefited from Jamie's Dream Team since its inception, Holmes says.
"We've grown fairly quickly," she says. Although the charity remains based in the McKeesport area, it now serves families anywhere in the United States. "Where the money is raised is where the money stays," Holmes says. "If we get a request from North Carolina, we try to raise the money there."
The charity is presently trying to raise $52,000 to send 10 families to Walt Disney World in Florida and to help raise funds will hold a fishing derby Aug. 12 at Twin Lakes Park just east of Greensburg. Contestants will be able to compete for cash prizes as well as gift cards, Holmes says.
The Mon Valley is at the forefront of a new industry that will be as transformative for the rest of the world as the steel industry was a century ago, state Sen. Jim Brewster said Thursday.
At a groundbreaking ceremony on the site of the former U.S. Steel National Works, Brewster called PurePenn's new medical cannabis production and research facility "a beacon of hope" for both the region and patients around Pennsylvania.
"Don't let the naysayers drag you down," Brewster told a crowd of more than 200 gathered in the RIDC Industrial Center of McKeesport, where PurePenn is purchasing five acres of property, with an option to purchase five more. "We can do almost anything in the Mon Valley --- you should believe that."
Afterwards, many in the crowd joined the hundreds of people who lined up outside the Palisades Ballroom to apply for one of the 25 jobs that PurePenn needs to fill.
Gabe Perlow, the company's chief executive officer, said operations will begin by Dec. 20.
I opened our mailbox recently to find a very pleasant surprise.
Along with a $324.00 bill to our Internet radio station, WMCK.FM, from one of the music licensing agencies, there were four donations from Finney Funeral Homes on behalf of families whose loved ones' obituaries recently appeared on our sister website, McKeesportObituaries.com.
This message is to thank Finney Funeral Homes and their staff and employees, includng owner and funeral director Scott M. Finney; licensed funeral directors Cynthia L. Finney and Edward C. Finney; and office manager Kathy DeMarco, for their continued support of our efforts to build a non-profit, community journalism website for the McKeesport area.
We do not ask funeral directors to pay to post obituaries --- it's done free of charge, as a public service to the community --- but donations from the Finneys are helping to sustain that service.
Fireworks will wrap up the first night of McKeesport's 58th International Village, Aug. 15, 16 and 17 in Renziehausen Park.
Mike "Mikey Dee" Dorich, entertainment coordinator for the festival, released the entertainment schedule this week.
Dancing will be provided in the Jakomas Blue-Top Pavilion each night from 5 to 9 p.m. Scheduled to appear are the Balkan variety band Harmonia (above) on Tuesday, the kolos and czardases of the Gipsy Stringz (below) on Wednesday, and polkas with Johnny Koenig on Thursday.
The ninth annual International Village for Kids will be held from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Lions Bandshell in Renziehausen Park, a spokeswoman said.
All children under age 6 should be supervised by an adult. Activities will include free food, games and crafts, music, exercises and a visit from a costumed character from the movie "Trolls" from 1 to 3 p.m.
In addition, inflatables will be open and McKeesport Police Department will be available to fingerprint children.
American Legion General Smedley D. Butler Post 701 in White Oak will hold oldies dances on Aug. 5 and 19 from 7 to 11 p.m., a spokesman said. Admission is $5.
The legion is located at 2813 Capital St. For more information, call (724) 984-6611.
UPMC Senior Services will do free blood pressure screenings at 9 a.m. Aug. 14 at the Carnegie Library of McKeesport, 1507 Library Ave., a spokeswoman said.
The blood pressure screenings are part of UPMC's Living at Home Program, which provides care for older adults and makes referrals for a range of services, including home delivered meals, grocery shopping, housekeeping and yard work.
The screenings will be done in the fiction room on the main floor of the library. For more information, call (412) 672-0625.
U.S. Steel will test emergency equipment at its Clairton Works on Tuesday, a spokeswoman said.
Meghan Cox, manager of corporate communications, said the plant will begin testing sirens, warning lights and other alarms at 9 a.m. and continuing until 1 p.m.
Local agencies, including Clairton police and fire departments and Allegheny County 9-1-1, have been notified of the tests, she said. The tests may be audible in Clairton as well as surrounding communities.
Cox said U.S. Steel tests emergency notification systems once per year "to protect the safety of our employees and the surrounding communities in the event of an actual emergency."
