October 24, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News
Witnesses said a car driven by a Wilkins Twp. man “had to be pushing 100” miles per hour before it collided with another car in North Versailles Twp., leading to a Duquesne woman’s death.
Aaron J. Butler, 21, is charged by Allegheny County police with homicide in connection with the April 7 death of 66-year-old Tammy Chonko. Butler is free on $25,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing Nov. 1 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
Charges were filed Oct. 17.
Detectives allege that Butler was speeding, driving erratically and high on marijuana when his car collided with Chonko’s car at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Crooked Run Road in North Versailles Twp.
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October 21, 2024 |
By Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The McKeesport Area School District has received 12 applications for the open position of superintendent, and is hoping to receive some more before the cut-off date on Oct. 31, officials said last week.
The hiring process began after the previous superintendent, Tia Wanzo, resigned amidst allegations of a failure to properly report a case of sexual contact between a 24-year-old security guard — Alexis Brown — and a 17-year-old student.
That case is separate from rumored allegations against an anonymous McKeesport Area teacher who was reportedly placed on administrative leave after being accused of sexual misconduct by a student. District officials have declined comment in that case.
At a sometimes contentious board meeting last week, McKeesport resident Bridgette Truss raised the issue of special education students. Two positions have been vacant since the beginning of the school year, she said, coordinator of special education and assistant coordinator of special education and accessibility.
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October 16, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
A White Oak man was arrested following a traffic stop after Allegheny County police alleged he was in possession of crack cocaine, marijuana and a digital scale used to weigh narcotics.
Lamont J. Price, 27, is being held in the Allegheny County Jail pending a preliminary hearing Oct. 21 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene F. Riazzi Jr.
According to a criminal complaint, county detectives were working a violence suppression detail in the area of Crawford Village in McKeesport on Oct. 9 when they observed a Ford Escape make a turn without signalling, and then go through a stop sign.
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October 16, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A city man is charged with narcotics possession and leaving the scene of an accident in connection with a one-car crash on Fifth Avenue.
Robert Demery, 61, faces a preliminary hearing Nov. 25 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene F. Riazzi Jr.
According to a criminal complaint, McKeesport police responded early on the morning of Oct. 7 to a report of a one-car crash near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and White Street. Officers arrived to find a Ford SUV had collided with a utility pole, but no driver present, the complaint states.
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October 16, 2024 |
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service | Posted in: State & Region
(Source: Ohio River Valley Institute/Upswing Research & Strategy)
Southwestern Pennsylvania is a major U.S. hotspot for natural gas production through fracking, but new polling reveals overwhelming public support for tighter industry oversight.
More than four out of 10 Pennsylvanians told pollsters they’d support an outright ban on fracking.
Sean O'Leary, senior researcher at the Ohio River Valley Institute, said the poll was conducted to assess voters’ attitudes toward the fracking industry. Multiple questions were asked about what could be done to minimize or reduce some of the impacts of fracking.
“And what we found was that, across the board, across a variety of different measures,” said O'Leary, “more than 90 percent of all Pennsylvanians supported increased efforts in those regards.”
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October 16, 2024 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Carla Lukehart and Andrew J.G. Schwartz of Environmental Planning & Design presented a report to McKeesport officials at the October council meeting. It recommends a series of phased improvements to make three key corridors safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. (Tube City Almanac photo)
A new report envisions a series of street and sidewalk improvements that would reshape three main corridors through the heart of McKeesport to improve access for bicyclists, pedestrians and bus riders.
The report — created by Environmental Planning & Design after more than two years of data collection and community input from city residents — stops short of recommending dedicated bike lanes, such as those in Pittsburgh and other major cities.
Instead, the report recommends the city plan to make investments in improved signage, safer drains and storm basins, and curb-cuts to make it easier for bicyclists, walkers and people in wheelchairs to connect to the Great Allegheny Passage, bus routes and shopping and recreation.
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October 14, 2024 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School Board is asking for the public to provide input as it searches for a new superintendent.
At last week’s agenda meeting, resident Louis Patil suggested that although the last two superintendents were graduates of McKeesport Area schools and longtime employees, the district’s next leader should not have any connection to the district.
“You’re looking for input about the new superintendent,” Patile said. “I honestly think the next superintendent should not have any connection to McKeesport from before. When businesses get in trouble, they don’t promote from within. They go out and find someone from outside who has no pre-conceived notions.”
District Solicitor Gary Matta said he welcomed those kinds of comments. “We are trying to get public input on expectations for a superintendent,” he said. “Then we can give it to the consultant” and talk to the people that truly want the job.
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October 11, 2024 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News
(Photos courtesy North Versailles Police Department via Facebook)
A Penn Hills man is being held in the Allegheny County Jail following the robbery of a convenience store in North Versailles Twp.
Anthony D. Leone, 44, is charged by North Versailles police in connection with an Oct. 3 holdup of the Speedway on Route 30, according to a criminal complaint. Police said Leone was identified in part by witnesses after township police posted surveillance photos on social media.
He faces a preliminary hearing Nov. 7 before Magisterial District Judge Roxanne Sakoian Eichler.
According to the complaint, a man armed with what appeared to be a handgun held up the store just after 9 p.m. Oct. 3 and fled in a dark gray Ford SUV.
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October 10, 2024 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News, McKeesport and Region News
Sue and Steve Braunfield, who donated musical instruments to Duquesne and McKeesport schools, posed with members of Rachel Shively’s music class in Duquesne. (Photo courtesy Jeremy Tepper, Allegheny Intermediate Unit)
Music is transformative. That’s one of the primary reasons why Western Pennsylvania natives Sue and Steve Braunfield returned to the Mon Valley last week to donate brand new musical instruments to students in need.
The retired First Energy employees visited both the McKeesport Area and Duquesne City school districts to deliver clarinets, saxophones and trumpets.
The gesture comes in memory of Sue’s brother, Frank Sprentz Jr. of McKeesport, a passionate drummer, singer, songwriter and band member — he played with Sudden Grace, Harmony, and Glenn Pavone & The Cyclones — who died Feb. 13 at age 73.
When Sprentz passed, the couple decided they wanted to cement his legacy in a way that would make him happy. And while the Braunfields now live in Painesville, Ohio, they hadn’t forgotten their roots.
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