March 08, 2024 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne will host an Easter egg hunt and — for the first time in nearly two decades — hold a parade on community day.
Officials announced that People Residing in Duquesne Equally (PRIDE), Duquesne PartnerSHIP and the city are sponsoring an Easter egg hunt celebration on March 30 in Polish Hill Park.
Set up begins at 10 a.m. and the event begins at 12 noon, with festivities wrapping up at 2 p.m.
This summer, for the first time in 17 years, Duquesne will hold a parade on community day. The walking parade will begin at 10 a.m. Aug. 3 at the corner of Fourth Street and Grant Avenue, and proceed up to Polish Hill Park, said Mayor R. Scott Adams.
March 04, 2024 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
Built in the early 1960s to house the hospital’s School of Nursing, the Kelly Center at UPMC McKeesport is being demolished this month. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Demolition of the J. Clarence Kelly Center at UPMC McKeesport will free up space on the hospital campus for future reuse, a spokeswoman for the health system said.
The six-story building, constructed in 1963-64 as a dormitory and classroom building for the former McKeesport Hospital School of Nursing has been completely vacant since 2017 and was used only for meeting space prior to its closure, said Sarah Deist, senior manager of public relations for UPMC McKeesport, UPMC East and other hospitals.
The windows were removed last week. Deist said the demolition is expected to be complete by the end of summer.
No disruption to hospital operations is expected and while there will be temporary parking restrictions near the construction area, no long-term inconveniences are expected, Deist said.
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March 01, 2024 |
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service | Posted in: Politics & Elections
This photo from the Bucks County, Pa., elections division shows the new yellow secrecy ballot that will be supplied to all Pennsylvania voters for the April primary. (Bucks County, Pa., official photo)
With Pennsylvania’s primary election less than 60 days away, a nonpartisan group is stepping up the pace to educate people on voting by mail and by absentee ballot.
A redesigned mail-in ballot will debut statewide in April for more than 8 million registered voters.
The ballot materials are barcoded, so no individual voter can be identified, said Jessica Myers, who co-chairs the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania’s voter services. The new ballot also has graphics and updated instructions to help voters understand the mail-in process.
“The secrecy envelope has a yellow background with sort of a blue-gray colored watermark that says ‘Official Secrecy Ballot,’” Myers said. “There are some additional color coding and instructions on the outside of the envelope, including where the voters declaration is. It’s prefilled with a ‘2-0’ so that we have fewer people writing in their birthdates.”
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March 01, 2024 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport city electrician Tom Rosso and Nate Graboski of the public works department replace lighting and wiring in a ceiling at Jacob Woll Pavilion. The heavily used facility is receiving a makeover with the help of Allegheny Regional Asset Funds. (Tube City Almanac photo)
There are no events scheduled at Renziehausen Park’s main pavilion this spring — but it's not for a lack of interest.
The heavily used Jacob Woll Pavilion is closed for a makeover that will include new windows, flooring, lighting, ceiling fans, sidewalks and other improvements. Funding for the $373,300 project is being provided by the Allegheny Regional Asset District, which is supported by the county’s 1 percent sales tax.
Work is expected to be complete before the summer, said Tom Rosso, McKeesport city electrician, who is serving as project coordinator.
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February 28, 2024 |
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service | Posted in: State & Region
Pennsylvania environmental groups want to see a new rule implemented to improve the detection and repair of leaks from gas pipelines.
The Keystone State has over 94,000 miles of pipelines used to transport natural gas.
Rachel Meyer — Ohio River Valley field organizer with the group Moms Clean Air Force — said it’s important that the rule be finalized, to improve safety, and reduce climate-harming methane emissions.
She added that these pipelines can leak and pose a safety risk to nearby communities.
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February 28, 2024 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
Three North Versailles Twp. employees participated in the rescue of an elderly woman who fell into Turtle Creek earlier this month and one was on hand at the township commissioners monthly meeting to receive their thanks. Afterwards, he thanked them for allowing him and his colleagues the opportunity to do so.
Merle “Bud” Pusey serves as a Code Enforcement Officer for North Versailles and is also the Assistant Fire Chief of the West Wilmerding Volunteer Fire Department.
On Feb. 15, Pusey said, he was in the code enforcement office in the township municipal building when a call went out shortly after 9 a.m. for first responders to assist a 75-year-old woman who had fallen into Turtle Creek near the 400 block of Airbrake Avenue in Wilmerding while she was taking a walk.
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February 26, 2024 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
A large crowd of Duquesne residents came out Saturday for a fundraiser to support the fire department. (Tom Leturgey photo for Tube City Almanac)
Duquesne residents filled the Croatian Club on Saturday for a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to benefit the city’s Volunteer Fire Department.
On the sunny cold afternoon, trucks from the fire department lined Grant Street and volunteer fire fighters welcomed patrons to the club. Duquesne fire Chief Frank Cobb said that he was enthused with the response from the community.
“Last year we sold out with 250 dinners, and we have prepared 350 this year. We hope to sell out again,” he said, perched in the corner of the dining hall.
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February 26, 2024 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(McKeesport Area School District official photo)
McKeesport Area High School stadium is temporarily closed to the public after a fight last week and several acts of vandalism.
Weigle-Schaeffer Memorial Stadium is still available for official school activities but the walking track and grounds are off-limits for now, said Charley Kiss, district athletic director.
An announcement on the district’s Facebook page Sunday night caused concern for residents who were worried that some serious incident had taken place.
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February 21, 2024 |
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service | Posted in: State & Region
(Source: Lumina Foundation)
Pennsylvania lags slightly behind national figures for the number of working-age adults who have earned college degrees or other professional certifications after high school.
New data from the Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation tracks degree attainment, including professional training and university degrees. The foundation says that more than 54 percent of Americans have attained some kind of post-high school education. In Pennsylvania, the number is 53 percent.
The foundation’s research also said more can be done to close the equity gap, in the Keystone State and across the country. The report showed that although more than 50 percent of white Pennsylvanians have college degrees, the same is true of only 32 percent of Black residents and 30 percent of Hispanic residents.
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February 21, 2024 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: White Oak News
White Oak Mayor Ina Jean Marton (center) is flanked by the borough’s newest police officers, Gerry Athans (left) and Matt Cerasuolo, after administering the oath of office to the pair at White Oak Borough Council’s February monthly meeting. Both had previously been police officers in McKeesport.
Including the chief of police, White Oak now has 14 full-time police officers.
