November 10, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
An Elizabeth man has been sentenced to three years’ probation and $1,425.95 in restitution after pleading guilty to vandalizing railroad signals in Port Vue and Braddock.
William C. Brown IV, 28, was sentenced Nov. 4 by U.S. District Court Judge Donetta Ambrose in Pittsburgh on federal charges of terroristic attacks and violence against a railroad and a mass transportation carrier.
Prosecutors noted that the affected tracks carry both CSX freight trains as well as Amtrak passenger trains, and said the vandalism could have had “catastrophic consequences.”
Court documents indicate that Brown and an alleged accomplice were railroad buffs who had known each other since childhood, and were fascinated by trains — and train derailments.
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November 09, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport City Council has approved an ordinance that will allow violators of zoning and planning rules to be cited in criminal court.
At the November meeting, council by 7-0 vote amended the city’s zoning and planning ordinance to allow someone convicted of violations to be sentenced to up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine upon conviction by a magistrate.
City Solicitor J. Jason Elash said McKeesport’s zoning ordinance previously allowed violators to be cited with a criminal offense, but the language was dropped during a comprehensive update done in 2017.
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November 08, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
Diane Holder, vice president of operations for Pennsylvania American Water Co., speaks during an event at Renziehausen Park on Thursday as PAWC government affairs representative Brent Robinson, state Sen. Jim Brewster and McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko look on. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Elected officials and the region’s largest water and sewer company urged residents to take advantage of a program that can provide discounts and emergency help with utility bills.
At an event at Renziehausen Park on Thursday, Pennsylvania American Water Co. celebrated the 30th anniversary of its low-income customer assistance program, H2O Help to Others.
“We never forget that at the end of every water pipe, there is a family depending on us,” said Diane Holder, PAWC vice president of operations for the western part of Pennsylvania. “For public health and sanitation, everyone needs access to safe tap water and waste water service.”
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November 08, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A McKeesport police officer and another motorist were injured when their cars collided at the intersection of Versailles and Union avenues on Monday morning.
City police Chief Adam Alfer said an officer, whose name has not yet been released, was responding to a structure fire on Olive Street when his squad car collided with a vehicle driven by a female motorist in her 40s or 50s.
The accident happened just after 10:30 a.m.
The crash remains under investigation and a report was not yet complete on Monday, Alfer said. The squad car did have its warning lights and siren activated at the time of the crash, he said.
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November 08, 2021 |
By Bonnijean Cooney Adams | Posted in: Entertainment
(Submitted photo courtesy McKeesport Little Theater)
If you go...
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Musical Theatre International’s “All Together Now! A Global Event Celebrating Local Theatre”
Where: McKeesport Little Theater
1614 Coursin St.
www.mckeesportlittletheater.com
When: Evening performances Friday, Nov. 12, and Saturday, Nov. 13. Doors open at 6 p.m. Dinner at 6:30, show at 8.
Matinees Saturday, Nov. 13 and Sunday, Nov. 14. Lunch at 12:30 p.m. and show at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $25 for show and meal. Reservations must be made online by Wednesday, Nov. 10. Do not call the theater to reserve.
Tickets purchased after 1 p.m. for matinees and after 7 p.m. for evening performances will be $15 for the show only. Those tickets can be purchased at the box office.
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A cabaret-like atmosphere will welcome guests to McKeesport Little Theater’s fundraising show, “All Together Now!” that runs for four performances on Friday, Nov. 12 through Sunday, Nov. 14.
With Edward Bostedo at the helm as director, the performances are part of Music Theatre International’s global event celebrating local theatre that weekend.
As is happening in theaters around the world, “All Together Now!” at MLT will feature songs from a variety of MTI’s extensive collection. They include “Newsies,” “Mama Mia!”, “Junie B. Jones, the Musical,” “James and the Giant Peach,” “Sister Act” and others.
“It’s a cabaret-style, very classy show,” Bostedo said. “There will be sheer curtains on the stage with lights, and dinner or lunch prior to the performances.”
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November 07, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News
County detectives used cell phone records to track the accused killer of Karli Short to her Christy Park neighborhood at the time police believe she was murdered, affidavits state.
Isaac C. Smith, 25, of McKeesport is being held without bond in the Allegheny County Jail pending a preliminary hearing Nov. 24 before Magisterial District Judge Kim Berkeley Clark.
Smith is charged by Allegheny County police with homicide and homicide of an unborn child in connection with the Sept. 13 death of Short, 26, who had worked at a personal care home and did catering on the side. Smith was arrested Friday in Pleasant Hills.
County police and family said that Smith was the father of Short’s unborn baby boy, who was due in February 2022. Detectives called the slaying “pre-planned.”
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November 07, 2021 |
By Siana Emery | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The McKeesport unit of the NAACP asked for an apology at McKeesport Area School Board’s October meeting, saying that Superintendent Mark Holtzman Jr. misconstrued the group’s support.
Brenda Sawyer, unit president, said that during a discussion at the Sept. 22 meeting, Holtzman implied that the NAACP backed the early renewal of Assistant Superintendent Tia Wanzo’s contract.
“We were unaware that (Wanzo’s) contract was being renewed with two years remaining,” Sawyer said. “Where is the transparency in that? Who knew that you and Dr. Wanzo would resign and be re-hired within 48 hours on the new contract, with years remaining on the current contract? The taxpayers had no idea.”
Members of the NAACP are individuals and district taxpayers and are capable of expressing their own opinions, Sawyer said.
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November 06, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A city man has been charged in connection with the death Sept. 13 of the mother of his unborn child.
Isaac Smith, 25, is being held in the Allegheny County Jail on homicide charges after being arrested in Pleasant Hills on Friday night on a warrant obtained by the Allegheny County district attorney’s office.
Bail and arraignment information were not immediately available on Saturday morning.
Smith is accused in the death of Karli Short, 26, of Christy Park, who was found dead of a gunshot wound at her home on 25th Avenue just after 10:30 that morning. Short was five months pregnant with her first child at the time, family members said.
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November 06, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
* Correction: This story was corrected after publication.
Allegheny County police are releasing few details in connection with a death Friday afternoon at a home on Grover Street in the city.
The victim, Stephen Rucinski, 41, of McKeesport was reportedly mauled by a dog, but county police had not confirmed that information as of Saturday morning.
McKeesport police and animal control officers searched the neighborhood on Friday evening for a black and brown pit bull, which was located about an hour after the incident. The extent of Rucinski’s injuries was not publicly released and it was not clear to whom the dog belonged.
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November 05, 2021 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Neighborhood groups will combine efforts for a Seventh Ward cleanup day on Saturday (Nov. 6), a spokesperson said.
The event begins at 10 a.m. at 1604 Evans Ave., near the McKeesport Ambulance Rescue Service station, and is sponsored by the McKeesport chapter of the NAACP, the Community Partnership for HIV Prevention and McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko.
Cherepko said the city will provide gloves and trash bags and volunteers will work their way through the neighborhood toward McKeesport Little Theater at Coursin and Bailie avenues. Lunch will be served at the end of the day.
For more information, call (412) 628-0919.
