March 29, 2017 |
By Mary Shelly | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A new superintendent of schools is expected to be named tonight at a special meeting of McKeesport Area School Board.
Superintendent Dr. Rula Skezas is retiring June 30, and the new superintendent is expected to take over the following day.
At the regular board meeting on March 22, parents expressed their hopes and concerns about Skezas' replacement.
"You need to make sure the new superintendent is aggressive in promoting achievement and proficiency," said resident Keith Murphy, who is concerned about low test scores in the district.
Murphy said certain strategies, such as setting the expectation bar at a higher level, need to be implemented in order for scores to increase.
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March 29, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
Please welcome our newest correspondent, Mary Shelly, who will be covering McKeesport Area School Board for Tube City Almanac.
Mary is a junior at McKeesport Area High School, and a member of the school newspaper the Red and Blue. A member of the National Speech and Debate Association, Mary last month qualified to attend the state tournament at Bloomsburg University.
She also works on the production staff for McKeesport Area High School’s broadcast news show “The Port Report." In addition to covering monthly School Board meetings, Mary will also cover small feature stories around the district.
March 27, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Traffic will be restricted on part of U.S. Route 30 near the Irwin exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike so that crews can construct a new storm sewer.
A district spokesperson for the state Department of Transportation said that work will begin, weather permitting, at 6 p.m. April 3 in the westbound lanes of Route 30 in front of North Huntingdon Square shopping plaza.
When the sewer and associated inlets are complete, the spokesperson said, the road will be repaved. All work will be done between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. and is expected to be complete by May 12.
Traffic will be unrestricted during non-working hours daily, according to PennDOT.
March 24, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
More than 40 volunteers will gather Saturday morning in Dead Man's Hollow to help plant seedlings that should improve the environment for resident and migratory birds.
The effort is being organized by the Allegheny Land Trust, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Volunteers should meet at 9 a.m. at the parking lot off Scene Ridge Road in Liberty Borough, said Keri Rouse, community coordinator for the land trust, which owns Dead Man's Hollow.
Dead Man's Hollow is a 450-acre nature preserve, created in 1994, that spans parts of Liberty and Lincoln as well as Elizabeth Twp. More than six miles of trails through the preserve connect it to the Great Allegheny Passage hiking and biking trail just north of Boston, Elizabeth Twp.
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March 22, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Map: Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission illustration via Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission
The long-delayed, controversial extension of the Mon-Fayette Expressway through West Mifflin, Dravosburg, Duquesne and Turtle Creek appears to be cancelled --- again.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced Wednesday afternoon that it will stop engineering and design activities on the planned 14-mile stretch between Route 51 and the Parkway East after the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission on Monday declined to endorse the project.
“The (Pennsylvania) Turnpike has a legislative mandate to develop the Mon-Fayette Expressway, but our role is not to serve as an advocate for the project,” said Mark Compton, chief executive officer of the Turnpike Commission, in a prepared statement.
“This is a regional project, and the decision as to whether it is of value to the region should be made by those who live there," he said. "If the region does not want to move forward with the expressway, we will certainly respect their decision.”
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March 21, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
A $30 million to $32 million rehabilitation of the Elizabeth Bridge is part of an estimated $220 million that state officials will invest in bridge improvement projects in Allegheny County in 2017.
The rehabilitation project on the 434 foot structure, built in 1948, is expected to begin in July of this year, district officials for the state Department of Transportation announced yesterday.
“We are pleased to begin major improvements to our roadway and bridge infrastructure in the greater Pittsburgh region,” said Dan Cessna, executive in charge of PennDOT District 11, adding that work also will continue on existing projects, such as Pittsburgh’s Liberty Bridge.
Formally known as the Regis R. Malady Bridge, the Elizabeth Bridge carries state Route 51 and connects Elizabeth and West Elizabeth boroughs. An estimated 26,000 vehicles use the bridge every day.
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March 21, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Friends and family of the late Terry Lee Trunzo will hold their third-annual tribute dance in his memory on May 20 at American Legion General Smedley D. Butler Post 701, 2813 Capital St., White Oak.
"Remembering Terry Lee" is sponsored by T.L. Sound Co.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and dancing begins at 7, with music provided by D.J. Joe Parknavy. Tickets are $10 from the T.L. Sound website, or $15 at the door. Food, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages will be on sale, a spokesman said, but no outside food or beverages are allowed.
Proceeds from the dance will benefit local veterans, the spokesman said.
For more information, call Post 701 at (412) 672-7994 or visit the T.L. Sound website.
March 21, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
(U.S. State Department photo)
All Mon-Yough area military veterans are invited to attend a free briefing to learn more about what benefits --- including health care, home loans and housing --- may be available to them and their families.
The Veterans' Benefit Briefing will be held at 7 p.m. March 30 at the Thompson Run Athletic Association, 4901 Ball Ave., West Mifflin, and is being hosted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 914 Intrepid and the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania.
All veterans are encouraged to bring their DD Form 214 discharge papers and learn about what benefits may be available for themselves and their family members.
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March 20, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Above: Pittsburgh-based PurePenn LLC has received conditional use approval from McKeesport City Council to erect a facility to grow and process medicinal cannabis on this five-acre site in the industrial park along the Monongahela River. The company is hoping to be awarded a license by state regulators. (Tube City Almanac photo)
. . .
A group of investors applying for a license to cultivate cannabis --- medicinal marijuana --- in McKeesport sees room to grow on the Monongahela River waterfront.
PurePenn LLC is applying today for one of only two licenses that Pennsylvania expects to award in southwestern Pennsylvania. A different group with ties to former Steelers great Franco Harris is applying for a license in nearby Braddock.
The competition is serious, said Gabe Perlow, chief executive officer of PurePenn, and many groups who are applying in the Pittsburgh area are doing so quietly to fly "under the radar."
PurePenn had hoped to do the same, he said, but needed to go public after their application for a conditional use permit required approval from McKeesport City Council. Council approved it unanimously at its March 1 meeting.
McKeesport officials have a good feeling about Perlow and the other PurePenn partners, Mayor Mike Cherepko said.
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March 17, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
The life and legacy of women pilots from World War II --- including McKeesport's own Helen Richey (above) --- is the topic of an upcoming program at McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center.
Presented in recognition of Women's History Month, the public program begins at 1 p.m. March 25. Admission to the program is $5 for non-members and free for members.
Novelist, screenwriter and WWII aficionado Denise Deems will be the featured speaker, a spokeswoman said.
Deems will discuss the history of female pilots and their impact during WWII, set the stage for the discriminatory policies they faced both before and after the war, and explain both Helen Richey’s life as well as the death of her friend Amelia Earhart.
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