October 15, 2023 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Parishioners Ethel Balas and Karen Slobodian and priest-in-charge the Rev. Dr. Moni McIntyre are among those getting ready to celebrate the 150th anniversary of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. (T.J. Martin photo for Tube City Almanac)
Few things last for 150 years, so when something does, that longevity is often honored. One institution marking its 150th anniversary this year is St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in McKeesport and it will mark that milestone on Oct. 21, with an Open House from 1 to 4 p.m. at the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center.
The event will include refreshments and speeches from McKeesport native Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, whose godmother is a member of the church; state Sen. Jim Brewster (D-45th), a former McKeesport mayor and city councilman; and Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop Ketlen Solak.
The history center is located in Renziehausen Park along with McKeesport’s first school known as the “little red school house.” That school house hosted McKeesport’s first Episcopal service in 1869.
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October 13, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Eric Ewell, director of continuing education at Penn State’s Greater Allegheny Campus, welcomes visitors to the opening of the new Mon Valley LaunchBox on Fifth Avenue, Downtown. Also shown are business owner Shalay Williams, founder of Care Heart CPR, and state Rep. Matt Gergely. (Special to Tube City Almanac)
Even after a devastating explosion wrecked the building where Penn State University’s Mon Valley LaunchBox was located, the small-business incubator never stopped operating — and growing.
Since 2019, more than a dozen businesses have now gotten their start through the Mon Valley LaunchBox, and with the formal opening on Thursday of its new location Downtown, there’s more room to grow, said Eric Ewell, director of continuing education at Greater Allegheny Campus.
“We’ve never stopped,” Ewell said. “We had two networking events this year that we had 60 people registered for. We just didn't have the coworking space. But even then, we offered people who were paying members at the time space on campus.”
Ewell and Megan Nagel, Greater Allegheny interim chancellor, joined State Sen. Jim Brewster, State Rep. Matt Gergely, McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko and other community leaders to celebrate the LaunchBox’s new location in the former First Commonwealth Bank at 225 Fifth Ave.
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October 12, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A West Mifflin man was seriously injured Sunday morning after the car which he was driving left West Fifth Avenue in the city’s 10th Ward and landed upside down on the railroad tracks.
Joseph E. Gault, 47, had to be extricated from the car by firefighters and paramedics and was taken by ambulance to UPMC Mercy Hospital, Uptown, McKeesport police said.
According to a report, Gault’s car was traveling east toward Downtown when his car left the road at Rebecca Street, crashed through a metal railing and landed on the CSX Railroad tracks.
Minutes earlier, according to police, a Glassport officer had attempted to stop a silver Toyota sedan in that borough, but the driver, later identified by police as Gault, fled the scene.
Following a brief pursuit, the Glassport officer lost sight of the vehicle near the Mansfield Bridge, according to a report. Police discovered Gault’s wrecked car a short time later, according to a report.
The incident is under investigation, police said.
October 09, 2023 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
At Duquesne City Council’s September meeting, several residents addressed leaders about tight parking conditions on Richford Street. At the October meeting, Police Chief William Shaw reported that residents were still parking on both sides of the street.
Last month, residents seemingly targeted one resident who was reportedly causing parking issues. There were concerns that emergency and other municipal vehicles wouldn’t be able to traverse the area.
“We need to put an ordinance in place,” said Councilman Aaron Adams.
That lead council into a discussion on what legally needs to be ironed out to enforce a new “no parking” sign on a city street, and whether they need to be formally approved by council.
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October 09, 2023 |
By Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Parents and taxpayers called for a unified approach to challenges facing the McKeesport Area School District, including safety issues in the schools and a series of administrative problems.
At a forum held Saturday evening at White Oak Athletic Association, speakers addressed a series of concerns, but several returned to the theme of “unity” that was invoked at the beginning of the meeting by the Rev. Earlene Coleman, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church for the last 20 years.
“We have to (become) unified,” she said. “Everything will fall apart if we continue to stay divided.”
Most of the concerns that were raised centered around two main issues — late tax refunds owed to homeowners after property tax exclusions under the Homestead-Farmstead Act were miscalculated, and the state of safety inside school buildings.
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October 05, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
BREAKING: This is a developing story and is subject to change.
Teachers in the McKeesport Area School District have authorized their union’s leadership to call a strike if a contract settlement cannot be reached “in the near future.”
The announcement was made by union president Gerald McGrew Jr. following a membership meeting Thursday afternoon in Dravosburg. The vote was unanimous, McGrew said.
Members of the McKeesport Area Education Association have been working without a contract since Aug. 31. A tentative settlement on a five-year contract was reached over the summer, but was voted down by the school board, 8-0.
The union represents 266 teachers and classroom professionals in the district.
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October 04, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
This story was changed after its original publication. See the editor’s note at the end.
Correction: This story initially omitted Mark Holtzman as one of the candidates.
A group of concerned McKeesport Area residents will hold a town-hall style meeting on Saturday to discuss challenges facing the district and what they view as a lack of appropriate response from the school board.
The meeting, to be held at 5 p.m. at White Oak Athletic Association, 1798 Lower Heckman Road, is non-partisan, says one of the organizers, McKeesport resident Rosie Norgren, and is not supporting any political candidate or party.
“A group of us got together after the last board meeting,” she says. “We just know a lot of people in the community are upset about how things have been going — financial issues, issues within the schools — people aren’t feeling heard. We really want people to have an opportunity to be heard.”
The event is being held in the wake of a school board meeting last week at which one school director was accused of using profanity and a slur against a member of the audience during an argument.
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October 04, 2023 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
Mary Louis Bittner joked with Duquesne Solicitor Myron Sainovich that this is her “fourth” swing at serving as “interim city manager” for the city.
At its Oct. 3 meeting, city council voted 4-0 (with Councilman Tim Caldwell absent) to appoint Bittner to the post after accepting Samuel Sulkosky’s resignation.
She will remain on the job until Oct. 23, when Douglas Sample is re-hired back with the city.
Currently the borough manager for Crafton, Sample worked as Duquesne City Manager just a few years ago. In 2020, Sample “wore two hats” for Duquesne, serving as city manager and part-time public works director. City Councilwoman Elaine Washington said she led the effort to get Sample back and worked to secure his services.
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October 03, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements, McKeesport and Region News
The Boys & Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania will return to the city with a new facility called “The Club Teen Center” on Fifth Avenue, Downtown, a spokesman has announced.
A ribbon-cutting for the center — located at 1305 Fifth Ave., in a structure owned by UPMC McKeesport Hospital — is planned for 3 p.m. Wednesday.
BGCWPA officials also will outline the organization’s new priorities and approach to helping Kids in communities across western Pennsylvania, said David Tobiczyk, vice president of advancement, in an email announcement.
Elected officials, community leaders and representatives from UPMC are expected to attend.
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October 03, 2023 |
By Yousuf Lachhab Ibrahim | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
During the 2020 Living History Tour at McKeesport & Versailles Cemetery, Tony Belobrajdich portrayed LCpl. Thomas James “Jitters” Sweeney, a McKeesport native who was killed during the Vietnam War. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
If you go...
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9th Annual Living History Tour
Where: McKeesport & Versailles Cemetery
When: Saturday (Oct. 7) and Sunday (Oct. 8), tours every hour to 90 minutes. (Last tour group leaves at 3 p.m.)
Admission: $6 kids 12-under, $12 Heritage Center members, $15 non-members
Tickets: Visit the Heritage Center website
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Visitors will be able to learn about past residents of McKeesport and the Mon Valley (both notable and obscure) this weekend, when the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center holds its ninth-annual Living History Tour at the McKeesport and Versailles Cemetery.
Actors will take on the roles of these historic figures from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 7 and 8). An indoor performance will also be held on Oct. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Heritage Center, 1832 Arboretum Drive, Renziehausen Park.
Admission is $12 for Heritage Center members and $15 for non-members. Children 12 and under are admitted for $6.
Among the historic figures portrayed will be Carolyn Waters Young, the first black city council member in McKeesport’s history; Lida Sill Cannon, a Gilded Age socialite known as the Belle of the Monongahela Valley; and Robert Nelson Thomas, a Union soldier who died of illness after having fought in the Civil War. They will be played by Brandy Cogdell, Gina T. Rosso, and Joe Kosha respectively.
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