May 29, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
Brandon Short, center, and his wife Mahreen, right, with their late daughter Karli, left, outside the library at Penn State Greater Allegheny in McKeesport. Brandon Short is a Penn State alumnus and a member of the university’s Board of Trustees. Karli Short was murdered in 2021. Her ex-boyfriend is awaiting trial on charges connected to her death. (Submitted photo courtesy Short family, all rights reserved)
Friends and family of Karli Short will hold a fundraiser June 7 to raise money for the scholarship fund in her name at Penn State Greater Allegheny in McKeesport — and for additional scholarships which will soon be extended to students at the University Park campus.
The third-annual Karli Short Better Tomorrow Scholarship Fund dinner will be held at the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown Pittsburgh. Tickets are available online and start at $225.
Short, 26, a personal care worker who also had a catering business, was found dead outside her Christy Park home on Sept. 13, 2021. She was approximately four months pregnant at the time.
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May 29, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News, Wilmerding News
Patton Street Bridge (Submitted photo courtesy Allegheny County)
The Allegheny County Department of Public Works will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. June 6 to discuss the upcoming replacement of the Patton Street Bridge in Wilmerding, a spokesperson said.
The hearing will be held online using the Microsoft Teams video conference app. Registration in advance is required by going to Allegheny County’s website. A link and phone number to attend the meeting will be emailed to those who register.
The Patton Street bridge links the north and south sides of Wilmerding over Turtle Creek and also provides a transportation link between North Versailles Twp. and Monroeville.
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May 23, 2024 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Letters to the Editor
Thomas Lorenchick of Versailles writes:
As per your recent article, (“MASD Board Questioned on School Policing,” May 10), I think that Ms. Walker-Montgomery raises some valid points in her analysis of the problems in McKeesport Area School District.
However, I would ask the question: Does this problem arise from nomenclature? I have seen the word “police” used on vehicles associated with institutions of higher education. They used to say “campus security.” Now, it seems this trend has trickled down to high schools.
The word “police,” in my opinion, should be reserved for municipalities, states and the military. And, yes, they are a necessary part of any civilized society, often laboring at a difficult job.
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May 23, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
More than 40 volunteers from Peoples Gas placed flags on the graves of 2,000 veterans in McKeesport & Versailles Cemetery last week. (Submitted photo courtesy Peoples Gas)
Volunteers from Peoples Gas fanned out through McKeesport & Versailles Cemetery on Friday to place 2,000 American flags on the graves of veterans.
Despite inclement weather, about 40 employees completed the task in less than two hours with help from Amvets members, said Nick Paradise, Peoples Gas spokesman.
“While many of the veteran graves are in designated sections, plenty were within family plots or otherwise isolated, so our team spread out amongst the 44,000 gravestones to do our best to mark and honor each veteran, as well as the Civil War and WWII memorials,” Paradise said.
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May 23, 2024 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: White Oak News
For weeks, residents of White Oak and surrounding communities had heard rumors about the future of their local Giant Eagle supermarket in Oak Park Mall.
When a reporter for Tube City Almanac originally contacted the store, employees declined to comment; however, a few days later, the family that has owned the supermarket since it opened in 1993 released a joint statement along with O’Hara Twp.-based Giant Eagle Inc.
“After more than 50 years in the supermarket industry, the Scozio family has decided to retire and transition the operations of its two Giant Eagle locations at 2001 Lincoln Way Oak Park in White Oak and at 2000 Penny Lane Drive in Penn Twp. to Giant Eagle, Inc.,” the statement said.
The move from independent ownership to corporate ownership was being completed this month.
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May 22, 2024 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
Craig Anlauf helps position the new Peace Pole in Renziehausen Park. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
Spreading a universal message of peace, members of the White Oak Rotary Club and McKeesport Lions Club gathered Thursday evening to install a Peace Pole at the entrance of the Stephen Barry Field in Renzie Park.
“It’s the first year the Rotary Club and Lions Club collaborated on a project,” said Dan Dougherty, governor-elect of Rotary District 7305.
Incoming Rotary Club president Craig Anlauf said, “We're stronger together and it's the beginning of a long relationship.” Both clubs have common goals in serving their communities, he said.
The Peace Pole Project was created in Japan during the 1980s and was inspired by the work of philosopher, poet and singer Masahisa Goi, who believed that a common worldwide prayer for peace could unite the world in harmony.
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May 22, 2024 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
(Source: Allegheny County Health Department)
The Allegheny County Health Department is requesting public comment on its 2025 Air Monitoring Network Plan, an annual report that provides a detailed description of how and where air pollution is monitored in Allegheny County.
Comments will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. on June 14. Comments may be submitted via e-mail to david.good@alleghenycounty.us.
The 2025 Air Monitoring Network Plan is a document required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It provides the specific location of each monitoring station, siting criteria, monitoring methods and objectives, frequency of sampling, pollutants measured at each station and aerial photographs showing their physical location.
The 2025 Air Monitoring Annual Network Plan was posted onto the ACHD Air Quality website on May 16. All correspondence must include first and last name and a complete mailing address. It can be downloaded as a PDF.
General information on the ACHD Air Quality Program’s public comment periods can be found online.
May 22, 2024 |
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service | Posted in: State & Region
(Source: Keystone Research Center)
Although polls show that Pennsylvanians are concerned about the economy, research indicates that the unemployment rate statewide is at a record-low number, and better even than the rate nationally.
In April, the state’s jobless rate stayed at 3.4 percent, an all-time low in Pennsylvania, better than the national rate of 3.9 percent.
Maisum Murtaza, research associate at the Keystone Research Center, said the positive trend has been ongoing for months, with the rate hovering between 3.2 and 3.4 percent over the past year.
He saod the job market is recovering from the COVID pandemic and workers are starting to gain a bit more power in the labor market.
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May 22, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News
Motorcycle crashes claimed the lives of two men in separate incidents Sunday in North Versailles Twp.
The first, just after 4 p.m., involved a minivan and a motorcycle on Fifth Avenue just north of the McKeesport city limits. The second happened on Route 30 just five hours later.
Allegheny County police are investigating both cases.
In the first incident, county police said a motorcycle driven by Benjamin Petkovsek, 23, of Monroeville collided with a minivan near the intersection of Fifth and Westinghouse avenues just after 4 p.m. Sunday.
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May 17, 2024 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Adam Reinherz photo)
In a move that officials said is designed to cut down on distractions and improve student safety, McKeesport Area School District is restricting student access to cell phones.
This week the school board approved purchase of approximately 2,200 Yondr pouches at a cost of $60,100. The pouches will be distributed to students at Founders’ Hall Middle School and McKeesport Area High School.
Popular in districts nationwide, the small neoprene sacks ensure students cannot employ various smart devices during the school day.
“These are going to be purchased by us. They are provided to each student. The students will be responsible for them on a daily basis. They stay on their person. It is strictly the students’ responsibility,” school board member Matthew Keller said.
Each student will be asked to put cell phones, smart watches, ear buds and similar devices into a personal Yondr patch when they enter school. The pouch then is magnetically sealed. Keller said the student can take the pouch with them during the day, but can only re-open it with an electronic unlocking device.
The goal is to “reduce distractions — any bullying or anything — during the school day,” he said.
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