March 15, 2022 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Local homeowners who are facing foreclosure or other financial hardships because of the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for help.
The Pennsylvania Homeowner Assistance Fund will help homeowners whose annual household income is at or below 150 percent of the area median.
In the Mon-Yough area, Mon Valley Initiative is one of the agencies that will provide help through the program.
“PAHAF is designed to assist homeowners facing mortgage delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures and the loss of utilities or home energy services,” said Jonathan Weaver, housing counselor at MVI, which has offices in Charleroi and Homestead.
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March 15, 2022 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
(Tube City Online file photo)
Allegheny County will hold a virtual career fair on April 13 to fill a variety of vacant positions, including full- and part-time jobs and internships, a spokeswoman said.
Two sessions will be held, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. Job seekers can register beginning today, she said, and the event will be “mobile-friendly,” allowing participants to use their computer, tablet or phone.
No software is needed, only Internet access, county spokeswoman Amie Downs said.
“We saw during the pandemic just how important county services were to residents. Each and every day, county operations have an impact on someone’s life,” said County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “There are opportunities available in departments across the county with competitive pay and good benefits. These aren’t just jobs, but the start of a career.”
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March 13, 2022 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A rally will be held at 9 a.m. Monday in front of the Allegheny County Courthouse to support the family of 18-year-old Dontae McKenith.
Family members and Take Action Mon Valley are trying to draw attention to McKenith’s death on July 24, 2021, after police said he was shot by 16-year-old Phillip Payne on Soles Street in the city.
Payne was charged with criminal homicide and a firearm offense. But family members said they’ve heard that Payne may be allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a lighter sentence — possibly as little as three years in prison.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office has not confirmed whether Payne has been offered a plea bargain. A hearing in the case is scheduled Monday.
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March 11, 2022 |
By Bonnijean Cooney Adams | Posted in: Entertainment
A mixed cast of McKeesport Little Theater veterans and newcomers to that venue are in final rehearsals for the comedic mystery "Exit the Body." Missing from the photo is Cory Sigler. (Bonnijean Cooney Adams photo for Tube City Almanac)
When a successful mystery writer rents a cottage in New England for a change of scenery while seeking inspiration for her next novel, the result isn’t exactly what she anticipated.
That’s the situation Kacie Greenlief as novelist Crane Hammond finds herself in as she makes her McKeesport Little Theater debut in “Exit the Body.”
Written by Fred Carmichael, it premiered in 1961, which led to some decisions whether to update to 2022 for the MLT production.
Ultimately, the show that opens Friday (March 11) and continues March 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20, remains set in 1961, including using a rotary phone to dial “0” to reach the operator.
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March 08, 2022 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
City officials estimate that repairs to the Lysle Boulevard parking garage, closed since 1999, will cost about $900,000 more than previously believed. (Tube City Almanac file photo)
The rehabilitation of the Lysle Boulevard parking garage is temporarily on hold while McKeesport seeks additional funding for the project, city officials said.
City council has approved an application to the Commonwealth Financing Authority for $1 million to pay for masonry and concrete work, painting, drainage improvements and other repairs on the facility at the corner of Lysle and Locust streets.
The garage, built in 1959, has a capacity for more than 400 cars, but has been closed to the public since 1999, when pieces of its concrete decks began crumbling. The garage has been used for storage since then.
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March 08, 2022 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport City Council has awarded contracts totalling more than $1 million for an extensive street paving program this spring and summer.
At Wednesday’s meeting, council voted 6-0 to award two contracts to El Grande Industries of Donora, Washington County. El Grande was the lowest of three bids, city officials said. Council Vice President Lu Ethel Nesbit was absent.
Mayor Michael Cherepko said the paving project will complete repaving on Versailles Avenue — with the exception of the viaduct over Ravine Street — and also will include portions of Ohio, Pirl, Evans, Bailie, Jenny Lind, Grandview and Fawcett streets.
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March 08, 2022 |
By Emily Scott © Public News Service | Posted in: State & Region
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf greets Iryna Mazur, Honorary Consul of Ukraine in Philadelphia, during a press conference Monday in Harrisburg. (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania photo)
A Pennsylvania group that helps resettle refugees is asking federal officials to provide more support to people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Cathryn Miller-Wilson, executive director of HIAS Pennsylvania, said Ukrainian refugees already here are worried about their relatives still in the country.
“The family petitions require processing at a U.S. embassy, and the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine is closed,” said Miller-Wilson. “But, I mean, it will take a long time. The Ukrainian has to successfully flee and then get in touch with their relatives here. The paperwork has to be filed. It’s a very, very long process.”
Pennsylvania has the second-highest Ukrainian population of any U.S. state, with more than 122,000 citizens claiming Ukrainian heritage, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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March 08, 2022 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: White Oak News
A contractor on Wednesday will begin the process of clearing away a landslide that has closed Lincoln Way in White Oak since last week.
“We expect that work will continue into next week,” said Steve Cowan, district spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
PennDOT will meet back at the site this Friday to review the progress and evaluate the condition of the road, he said.
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March 08, 2022 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A White Oak man was killed and two other people were injured in a crash Wednesday on state Route 148 in East McKeesport.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office said that John D. Semenko, 59, died at a hospital about an hour after the wreck.
An Allegheny County police spokesperson said Semenko was the driver of a Ford SUV that collided with a Dodge mini-van just before 11 p.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Congress Street.
The Dodge’s driver, a 24-year-old man, and a passenger in the minivan, a 22-year-old woman, were taken to area hospitals in stable condition, police said. Their names were not released.
Allegheny County police homicide and collision detectives are investigating.
March 01, 2022 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area High School staff placed positive notes of encouragement in school hallways to boost students' morale. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
After two years, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause shortages of teachers, substitute teachers and bus drivers for school districts across the country — and McKeesport Area School District has been no exception.
So a group of teachers, counselors and staff decided to come together and brainstorm ideas on how to uplift everyone's morale at McKeesport Area High School. They looked for budget-friendly activities to start a wave of positive emotions.
The “positivity project” was born.
“Students have had to adapt to new ways in accessing their education and teachers have had to learn new ways in delivering that education," said Sherri Geyer, school counselor. “Mental health and morale get lost in the process.”
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