August 18, 2022 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, North Versailles Twp. News
A Glassport man accused of causing a fatal car wreck in North Versailles Twp. in March was driving at speeds above 90 mph just before the crash, police said.
Allegheny County police allege that Shamar A. Roach, 24, also was legally intoxicated and driving under the influence of marijuana before the collision on March 2 that fatally injured John D. Semenko, 59, of White Oak.
Police said Roach was arrested Monday without incident after surrendering to officers. He is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bond pending an Aug. 26 hearing before Magisterial District Judge Kim Berkeley Clark.
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August 18, 2022 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
Before Duquesne City Manager Kelly Robertson left the municipality for a different job, she noted that helping to improve finances was one of her biggest accomplishments. According to city leaders, making finances more efficient is progressing.
While delivering the finance report at this week’s city council meeting, City Councilman Derek Artim noted that new budget forms are coming and spending policies will change.
He said that all receipts will be accounted for at the end of each month, and receipts, such as gasoline purchases for city automobiles, will have to include the vehicle used. “This will assure the validity of charges,” Artim said.
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August 18, 2022 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
Some Duquesne officials seemed surprised that the city’s clerical and public works departments had quickly accepted a four-year contract extension without so much as a fight.
The news was reported this week at the city council meeting by Acting City Manager George Newsome.
Councilwoman Elaine Washington asked “who approved” the proposal, and a somewhat surprised Mayor Scott Adams commented that with his “30 years in city government, I have never seen it approved the first time. Kudos to those involved.”
City Solicitor Myron Sainovich noted that while clerical and public works employees of Teamsters Local 205 accepted the proposal, it still must be ratified by a vote of council, which can reject the pact if it doesn’t work for Duquesne.
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August 18, 2022 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church of McKeesport-Duquesne will add new features to its annual “A Taste of Serbia” festival, along with perennial menu favorites.
The two-day event at the church, located at 901 Hartman St., is slated for Sept. 30 from 3 to 7 p.m. and Oct. 1 from 12 noon to 7 p.m., a spokeswoman said. In addition to pre-orders, walk-up orders will be taken while supplies last. A new courtyard festival tent provides protection for outdoor seating rain or shine. Also this year a Kafana bar will offer beer, wine, slivo, soda and water.
The church’s boneless slow-roasted sliced lamb sandwiches and award-winning 12-ounce haddock filet fish sandwiches again top the menu. Fish sandwiches and pierogies are available on Friday only, while lamb sandwiches may be ordered both days.
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August 17, 2022 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
More than two weeks after a natural gas explosion caused heavy damage to the former YWCA of McKeesport, tenants of the building are wondering when they can resume operations.
On Aug. 2, a blast that emergency officials believe was triggered by construction work shattered windows and broke the walls of the Common Ground Building on Ninth Avenue. Two workers who were excavating in preparation for a wheelchair ramp were seriously injured.
The cause and origin of the explosion remain under investigation by the Allegheny County fire marshal’s office, a spokeswoman said. The building was sold to the city in 2017 for $1 by its previous owner, the Center for Victims.
In addition to the Ninth Street Clinic, a free medical facility for people without health insurance, the building also was home to the Mon Valley LaunchBox, a business incubator operated by Penn State University’s Greater Allegheny campus.
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August 16, 2022 |
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service | Posted in: State & Region
School buses sit in a garage during the summer vacation. (File photo by Jason Morrison via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-2.0.)
After eight years, the Pennsylvania school-funding lawsuit is in the hands of a judge, creating a waiting game heading into the new school year.
Oral argument ended in July.
In 2014, six Pennsylvania school districts sued state legislative officials, state education officials and Gov. Tom Wolf, alleging that the state’s school funding system violates the clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution that promises to provide a “thorough and efficient” system of public education.
The Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, the NAACP-Pennsylvania State Conference and a group of public school parents are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
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August 16, 2022 |
By Amy George | Posted in: Duquesne News
After 20 turbulent years, Duquesne City School District leaders say they’re positioning the district for success.
“DCSD is a comeback story in the making,” district Superintendent Sue Mariani said. “Like a phoenix, (we are) rising from the ashes.”
After improvements carried out over three years, in fall 2021, seventh-graders, who were being bused to neighboring districts, returned to school in Duquesne — the first time that’s happened in Pennsylvania. Eighth graders will return on Aug. 29 for the fall 2022 semester.
To date, 50 students and counting have enrolled in eighth grade, adding to the 430 and counting enrolled in kindergarten through seventh grades. All students will have the option of attending class in person or through the Duquesne Virtual Academy.
The expansion of services was approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education in early 2022.
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August 16, 2022 |
By Elizabeth Laughlin | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
On a rainy day, customers wait outside Hi Eatery with umbrellas and paper bags.
“Sometimes people get here at 10 a.m.,” owner Keith Colecchi said, “which is before we open.”
Hi Eatery, a food truck, opened last year in July on a vacant lot along Walnut Street, Downtown. It has become a hit for McKeesport residents—and even beyond.
“I’ve had customers from the other side of the state,” Colecchi said. “You never know who is going to show up.”
After working almost 20 years for Duquesne Light, Colecchi decided that he wanted a change.
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August 08, 2022 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A Munhall man is being held in the Allegheny County Jail without bail in connection with a shooting Saturday morning on Hamilton Street in McKeesport.
County police allege the shooting happened after the suspect attempted to rob someone from whom he had arranged to buy marijuana.
Police said the victim is in critical condition after being flown to a Pittsburgh hospital by medical helicopter.
Davon Blue, 20, is charged by Allegheny County police with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm by a minor, recklessly endangering another person, obstructing administration of law and giving false information to law enforcement.
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August 05, 2022 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: State & Region
The companies behind the construction of a controversial natural gas pipeline that crosses through the Mon-Yough area have been convicted of criminal charges related to the project.
On Friday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced that Sunoco Pipeline LP and ETC Northeast Pipeline LLC have pleaded no contest to charges related to contamination of lakes, rivers, streams and groundwater during the construction of the Mariner East 2 pipeline.
The Mariner East 2 pipeline, which goes through 17 southern Pennsylvania counties, crosses Forward Twp. and passes near communities such as Sutersville, West Newton and Finleyville. It parallels an older gasoline pipeline built in the 1930s.
Homeowners who live in the pipeline’s path and want to have their water tested have until Aug. 19 to file a request.
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