September 28, 2023 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Related story: School Board Meeting Marked By Heated Rhetoric
A McKeesport Area School Director apologized on social media following an angry exchange with a member of the public at the end of Tuesday night’s board meeting.
During the meeting, School Director Jim Brown had referred to the lengthy, tense proceedings as “a sh-t show.”
Following the meeting, as Brown was speaking to a reporter from Tube City Almanac, a resident accosted Brown and told him, “You’re the cause of the sh-t show, just by the way you conduct yourselves. Tone it down, tone it down, tone it down.”
Brown responded with profanity and an offensive word, telling the resident, “Hey, you better get away from me. What’s wrong with this dude?”
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September 28, 2023 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Related story: School Director, Resident Exchange Angry Words
A lengthy McKeesport Area School Board meeting on Tuesday was marked by contentious remarks and explosive rhetoric that was lamented by several participants.
The meeting was rescheduled from Sept. 20 after an accident that morning claimed the life of a student from Serra Catholic High School. Board members opened the meeting with a moment of silence for Samantha Kalkbrenner, 15, of Dravosburg, who died in that collision, which also injured three other students and two adults.
During the citizen’s comments portion of the meeting, several community members raised concerns about student safety and district accountability.
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September 26, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac file photo)
McKeesport officials are hoping that the replacement of the Versailles Avenue Viaduct can be expedited with help and funding from the state Department of Transportation.
Council this month authorized PennDOT to act on the city’s behalf to perform the necessary work begin the process of replacing the nearly 300-foot-long bridge, which was closed to all traffic in February 2022 after an inspection determined it was no longer safe.
City council also have asked PennDOT for $3 million in funding toward the project from the state’s Multimodal Transportation Fund.
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said the city is hopeful that funding from the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission and the federal government will help make up the remainder of the cost, estimated at approximately $10 million.
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September 26, 2023 |
By T.J. Martin | Posted in: White Oak News
White Oak Borough is making final preparations for this weekend’s Oktoberfest to celebrate the community’s 75th anniversary.
At this month’s council meeting, fun was on the agenda — in the short-term, with plans for this Friday’s event at the White Oak Athletic Association, and in the long term with a project designed to provide residents with new recreational opportunities.
Councilor Julie Opferman, who chairs the borough’s Parks and Recreation committee, said the Oktoberfest begins at 6 p.m. Sept. 29 at the WOAA, 1798 Lower Hickman Rd.
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September 26, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac file photo)
Renovating the Lysle Boulevard parking garage is another important step toward turning around the decline of the Downtown business district, McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said.
City council this month awarded a $2.3 million contract to Kucich Construction Co. of McKeesport for work that will include new safety lighting, electrical upgrades, elevators, concrete deck repairs and other improvements.
The work will be paid for through a state Department of Transportation multi-modal grant awarded to the city in 2018.
“I think it’s a key component to attracting businesses, not just to the Daily News Building, but to the People’s Building and the Executive Building as well,” Cherepko said. “Barring any major setbacks due to obtaining material, I would expect the work to last approximately a year.”
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September 25, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Editorial Cartoons
For the family and friends of Samantha Kalkbrenner and the Serra Catholic High School community, and everyone impacted by Wednesday’s tragedy.
And He will raise you up on eagle’s wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand
—hymn by the Rev. Michael Joncas
September 22, 2023 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Students, teachers and members of the McKeesport-area community hold candles during a prayer service Thursday night for Samantha Kalkbrenner. (Photo by Adam Reinherz for Tube City Almanac)
A Thursday evening prayer service in memory of Samantha Kalkbrenner brought hundreds to McKeesport’s Serra Catholic High School.
As hymns were sung and candles held, mourners recalled Kalkbrenner, a 15-year-old sophomore from Dravosburg who died tragically Sept. 20 following a crash between a car and a Serra school van at the intersection of Richland and Third avenues in Dravosburg. Kalkbrenner was a passenger in the van.
Five other people, including three other students, were injured in the collision.
A crowd of perhaps 400 people, including students, teachers, staff and members of the McKeesport community attended the vigil, held at the football stadium on the Haler Heights campus.
“Although she is no longer with us, her life will never be extinguished,” Serra Catholic Principal Robert Childs said. “When our lives are difficult and seem unbearable we will remember her smiling face and her kind words.”
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September 20, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
BREAKING: This is a developing story and will be updated. It is subject to change.
Updated with statements from Serra Catholic High School, Bishop David Zubik and State Sen. Jim Brewster.
A 15-year-old student from Serra Catholic High School died Wednesday morning following a crash in Dravosburg, emergency personnel said.
Samantha Lee Kalkbrenner of Dravosburg was pronounced dead at the scene just before 8 a.m., the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said. She was a passenger in a school van operated by Serra that collided with a car at the intersection of Richland and Third avenues, witnesses said.
Three other students and the drivers of the van and the car also were injured, officials said.
All school activities were cancelled Wednesday and remain cancelled through Sunday, the high school announced on Wednesday afternoon. Teachers will be available on the school’s Haler Heights campus on Thursday to counsel students who are grieving, a spokesperson said.
A prayer service on campus is being planned at 7 p.m. Thursday. All are welcome to attend, the school said.
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September 20, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
CORRECTION: This story was corrected after publication to remove a sentence speculating about the cause of the crash. We apologize for the error.
McKeesport police and state safety investigators are probing a crash Monday afternoon that injured two sanitation workers and two bystanders and damaged a half-dozen parked cars in the city’s Third Ward.
Rob Smith, president of Big’s Sanitation in Rostraver Twp., said a truck that was working a route in the area of Jenny Lind Street lost its brakes and rolled down the hill, collding with several cars in the parking lot of Ryco Inc. along 13th Avenue at Walnut Street.
The company collects residential trash in the city under contract.
The truck stopped just short of the Ryco building, Smith said.
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September 20, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A Duquesne man died Tuesday morning after being struck by a tri-axle dump truck in Wilmerding, Allegheny County police said.
The medical examiner’s office said Jerome Prysock, 65, was pronounced dead at the scene just after 5 a.m.
The accident happened before sunrise. County police said Pitcairn police were dispatched to the area of the Tri-Boro Expressway just above Maple Avenue and that the driver of the truck, who was not identified, remained with the victim.
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