In what's become a Halloween tradition at Tube City Online since 2006, more or less, we present the story of the blood-sucking monkeys who were raised in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania ... which is really scary territory, kids!
Then the monkeys got too big for West Mifflin, so they hopped on a freight train and went to Sewickley! And then ... well, Count Floyd will tell you the rest.
Just a little blast from the past courtesy of Pittsburgh's own Joe Flaherty and the Canadian sketch-comedy show SCTV. Remember, this film won the Western Pennsylvania Fright Award in 1978.
If you want to feel old, I'll remind you that this clip is from 35 years ago. And that is really scary.
The owner of a Dravosburg-based contracting company pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, Acting U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song said today.
Donald R. Taylor, 78, of Eighty-Four, Washington County, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer in Pittsburgh.
Taylor, the owner of Century Steel Erectors Co., testified in court that he conspired with Watson L. Maloy Jr., 77, of Union Twp., Washington County, to use Maloy’s company, W.M.C.C. Inc., as a "front" company to illegally obtain federally funded subcontracts on bridge projects being completed for the state Department of Transportation and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
W.M.C.C. qualified for certain government jobs because it was a minority-owned small business, federal prosecutors said. Century Steel Erectors was not.
The Evangelical Congregational Church, corner of Walnut and Olive streets, will hold a stuffed pork chop dinner this Saturday (Nov. 4) from 4 to 6 p.m., a spokesman said.
The dinner will cost $10 for adults and $6 for children age 11 and under.
Above: "A Letter to SASKIA" by Robert Qualters is one of the works on display in "Working Class Images" at the Bost Building through Dec. 16. Courtesy Rivers of Steel Historic Area.
Works by four local artists are featured in a new exhibition that examines life and culture in the Mon Valley.
"Working Class Images" debuted at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Bost Building, 623 E. 8th Ave., Homestead, a spokesperson said.
The exhibit --- inside a gallery at the Rivers of Steel Historic Area Visitors Center, near the Waterfront and the former site of U.S. Steel's Homestead Works --- spans four decades and includes paintings, mixed-media installations and photography.
The artists whose works are on display include McKeesport and Clairton native Robert Qualters; Carnegie Mellon University professor Charlee Brodsky; West Homestead-based muralist Jennifer Rempel; and poet and painter Peter Oresick, who died in 2016 from brain cancer.
"The exhibit addresses the struggle of workers to attain economic wellbeing and rights within the workplace, as well as expressions of their inner lives,” said Joel Sabadasz, Battle of Homestead Foundation board member and coordinator for this project. “Themes of work, community, struggle, dignity, faith, democracy, patriotism, play, friendship and love are timeless reflections of the region’s working-class life and culture.”
Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday through Dec. 16, except for Thanksgiving weekend, when the Bost Building will be closed. A $3 donation is requested for admission and includes access to other exhibits as well as the gallery.
Johnathan White, Penn State history lecturer, listens Friday as author and Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson answers an audience question at Wunderley Gymnasium in McKeesport. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Michael Eric Dyson is tired of people --- in the words of the James Brown song --- "talkin' loud and sayin' nothin."
The award-winning author of 20 books, ordained minister and Georgetown University sociology professor came to McKeesport on Friday night to encourage his audience at Penn State University Greater Allegheny to engage each other in debate on serious issues of race, equality, justice and politics --- but to make sure they have the facts first.
"We need to talk about this stuff that people would rather not talk about, but you have to be informed," Dyson said. "When you have that conversation, have the facts. Just because you 'feel' something, doesn't mean you have the facts."
Dyson's latest book, "Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America," is a searing indictment of apathy and complacency in an age when Nazis and white supremacists have come out of the shadows to march in American streets.
County and White Oak officials on Thursday cut the ribbon for a new wedding garden shelter in White Oak Park.
Located just off McClintock Road in the western half of the park, the $60,000 facility replaces an older flower trellis that was not accessible for people in wheelchairs, and which did not provide protection from bad weather.
All of the preparation work on the site --- including regrading the land, pouring the concrete and doing the landscaping --- was done in-house by county personnel, a spokesperson said. The shelter itself was installed by Jeffrey and Associates.
Dravosburg Community Archives will hold a spaghetti dinner from 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 7 at Amity Presbyterian Church, 400 Euclid Ave., a spokeswoman said.
All proceeds will benefit the borough's 115th anniversary celebration, to be held in 2018.
Tickets for ages 13 and over are $7 in advance and $8 at the door. Tickets for children ages 5 to 12 are $5, and children age 4 and under eat for free.
The meal includes spaghetti, meatballs, salad, bread, a beverage and dessert.
Tickets are on sale now at American Legion Post 380 in Dravosburg and at the Dravosburg Volunteer Fire Department No. 1, or call (412) 469-2710.
Take-out orders will be available and there also will be a 50/50 and a raffle on the day of the dinner.
A former McKeesport and Monongahela resident who was released from federal prison after seven years violated the terms of his parole by committing new crimes, federal prosecutors said.
Now, Santana Wygant, 40, faces another three years in prison, plus an additional five years of supervised release.
Wygant was sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer in Pittsburgh, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Soo C. Song.
Fischer imposed the maximum sentence allowed, Song said.
Local police departments as well as UPMC McKeesport hospital are participating in the 14th National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
The event is designed to remove unused prescription pills, capsules and patches from medicine cabinets, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
UPMC McKeesport hospital will collect unused drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday (Oct. 27) in the first-floor lounge of the Crawford Building.
These other Mon-Yough area sites will collect unused drugs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 28) in the following locations:
Allegheny County Police Department, Wilmerding Station, 315 Station St., Wilmerding
Clairton Police Department, at Rite-Aid Pharmacy, 623 St. Clair Ave., Clairton
East Pittsburgh Police Department, at Lanigan Funeral Home, 700 Linden Ave., East Pittsburgh
North Huntingdon Twp. Police Department, 11279 Center Hwy., North Huntingdon Twp.
Pleasant Hills Police Department, 410 E. Bruceton Road, Pleasant Hills
West Mifflin Police Department lobby, 1020 Lebanon Road, West Mifflin
Above: Blues guitarist and vocalist Melinda Colaizzi performs during the 13th annual Voices Carry benefit concert. The Oct. 3 event raised $158,358 for McKeesport-based Auberle. (Photo courtesy Auberle.)
This year's Voices Carry concert raised $158,358 for McKeesport-based Auberle, breaking previous records, the social-services agency for children and families has announced.
More than 500 people attended the Oct. 3 concert at Stage AE on Pittsburgh's North Side, including 47 dedicated volunteers, said Deb Hilton, marketing, communications and events manager.
The 13th annual Voices Carry featured vocal performances by Donnie Iris, Jeff Jimerson, Scott Blasey of the Clarks, Chris Higbee and Chris Jamison, a newcomer who made it to the semi-finals on NBC-TV's talent show "The Voice" and is now working at WBZZ-FM (100.7).
WDVE-FM (102.5) radio personality Randy Baumann served as emcee.
