A raid by city police and federal agents on a Willow Street home resulted in the seizure of crack cocaine and a firearm.
Justin Smith, 45, is free on bond pending a preliminary hearing Dec. 1 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene F. Riazzi Jr.
According to a criminal complaint, officers with the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Narcotic Enforcement Team obtained a search warrant for Smith’s home based on information developed in an ongoing investigation.
A city man faces drug charges and moving violations following a police chase in North Versailles Twp.
Da’Mon L. Dreher Jr., 21, of McKeesport is being held in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of bond pending a hearing Thursday before Magisterial District Judge Roxanne Sakoian Eichler.
Court records indicate that at the time of his arrest, Dreher was on probation for a previous conviction on a weapons offense.
According to a criminal complaint, a North Versailles officer was on routine patrol just before 11 a.m. Nov. 6 when his police car was nearly struck head-on by another vehicle on East Pittsburgh-McKeesport Boulevard near Westinghouse Avenue.
A former city police detective who pleaded guilty to defrauding his lodge out of more than $1 million has been sentenced to incarceration and ordered to pay restitution.
Joseph A. Osinski, 56, of Haler Heights was sentenced Monday to nine to 18 months incarceration, followed by three years of probation. He also was ordered to pay $967,160 in restitution to Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 91 in West Homestead.
The sentence was imposed by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Jill Rangos.
In addition, Osinski has been notified by McKeesport’s pension board attorney that he will not be eligible for his police pension, Mayor Michael Cherepko told Tube City Almanac.
Duquesne City Council is planning to hold the line on real estate taxes in 2026, but is considering increases in fees for water, trash collection and other services.
At this month’s council meeting, the city presented its first reading of the 2026 budget.
The budget holds the city’s blended real estate tax millage at 20 mills, which includes 17 mills for the general fund, 2 mills for debt and 1 mill for the volunteer fire department. One mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed property value.
At 20 mills, a house in Duquesne with a fair market value of $75,000 would pay $1,500 in city real estate tax.
St. John's Lutheran Church will be holding a Jewelry, Scarf and Bag Sale from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 6 at the church, located at 715 Lincoln Hwy. in North Versailles Twp.
The event will include a hot cocoa bar, bake sale, free Christmas craft, caroling and a visit from Buddy the Elf.
Then, St. John’s will hold a Holiday Showcase and Local Book Show from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 13.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas already, and West Newton organizations are scheduling holiday activities.
The West Newton Community Singers will hold their Christmas concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at First Baptist Church, corner of Sixth and Vine streets. Tickets are $8 in advance and can be purchased at Maria’s Alterations, Main Street. Tickets will be sold for $10 at the door, or $5 for students.
The West Newton First Church of God will hold its seventh-annual Christmas Cookie Walk from 10 a.m. to 12 noon Dec. 13 at 157 N. Second St. Visitors can fill a box with cookies and pay $10 per pound for them. The church also will sell chocolate-covered peanut butter balls for $9 per dozen. For more information, call (724) 872-7467.
Spring Street between Cornell and Jenny Lind streets was repaired as part of a sewer line replacement project. City officials would like to reopen the street. (Tube City Almanac photo)
City officials are working on a proposal to reopen Spring Street between Cornell and Jenny Lind streets — but there’s a hitch.
About a quarter-mile of the street was abandoned when Twin Rivers Elementary School was built in 2014 and the intersection at Cornell Street will need to be re-aligned.
City council last week authorized Mayor Michael Cherepko’s administration to pursue $400,000 in funding from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to complete the work.
Spring Street was closed for safety reasons in 2009 when the pavement began to fail and cave in. Before the closure, it was an important link between Walnut Street and the Seventh Ward neighborhood, including homes, schools, and Carnegie Library of McKeesport.
This house at 1500 Versailles Ave. is designed to serve as a “gateway” to the library district, says an ACTION-Housing official. (Submitted photo courtesy ACTION-Housing)
A local non-profit is looking for the right owner who wants to call a newly renovated home their own.
ACTION-Housing has rehabilitated a 1920s bungalow-style house on Versailles Avenue, one block from Carnegie Library of McKeesport. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is listed at $180,000, but buyer assistance is available.
“We wanted to invest in the cultural district of McKeesport,” said Joseph Costa, ACTION senior development associate. “So we looked at several homes, some of which were on demo lists, and some where people were just looking to downsize.”
ACTION purchased the home in 2022. The agency, based in Pittsburgh, provides a variety of home repair and weatherization services for low- and moderate-income homeowners and provides related support services to communities in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Despite freezing temperatures and gusty winds, McKeesport marked Veterans Day on Tuesday with a ceremony at Memorial Park on Lysle Boulevard.
After thanking God for the “nice crisp day,” the Rev. Christine Pope Portiss of True Vine Ministries recalled how her grandmother had put stars in the window for her five family members who were serving during World War II.
She also recalled how her high school boyfriend was killed while serving in Vietnam.
“This day means a lot to many of us, so if you have somebody who served, thank God for them, and thank them for their service,” said Portiss, who offered the opening prayer. About 75 people attended, fighting to stay warm amidst snow flurries and a steady gale that kept American flags flying stiffly and several times threatened to topple a memorial wreath.
Ed Shoucair, president and co-founder of The Collaborative, prepares to lead a group of about 30 residents on a walking tour Thursday afternoon in Downtown McKeesport. (Tube City Almanac photo)
A group of internationally known community planners has begun its third day of meeting with city residents and business owners as they begin the process of developing a strategy for reinventing McKeesport’s Downtown.
On Wednesday, the consultants — known as The Collaborative — met with local elected officials and a group of students at McKeesport Area High School.
They were impressed with the students’ “great and relevant ideas” and will be meeting with them on a regular basis as they develop a plan, said Ed Shoucair, president and co-founder of The Collaborative.
The process is expected to take about nine months, said Matthew Craig, executive director of the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh, which obtained the grant to hire The Collaborative on behalf of McKeesport.
