April 30, 2021 |
By Kristen Keleschenyi | Posted in: Announcements, North Versailles Twp. News
The North Versailles Twp. Clean-up Day will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 noon Saturday, May 1, a spokesperson said.
Volunteers should meet at the township building parking lot at 9 a.m. Supplies will be provided as well as a thank you luncheon. Dumpsters will be placed at Green Valley Fire Hall and Crestas Fire Hall for the event.
April 30, 2021 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
The McKeesport affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will meet 6 p.m. May 6 in the pavilion adjacent to the parking lot by the McKeesport Heritage Center in Renziehausen Park, a spokeswoman said.
Licensed therapist Tamara Hill will talk about childhood trauma and how it impacts adult life and development when it is unresolved, the spokeswoman said. Hill also will discuss the challenges of the mental health system and why certain aspects of that is traumatic for families abroad.
April 30, 2021 |
By Nichole Faina | Posted in: Duquesne News
On the second attempt, Duquesne City Council approved a proposal from police Chief Tom Dunlevy to hire two additional officers.
At the April meeting, council agreed to hire the officers after Dunlevy reported that the police department had clocked about 400 hours of overtime pay in the previous month.
Council in March rejected the request for additional personnel.
According to Dunlevy, the overtime included construction details, and federally funded reimbursable overtime for drug investigations. The 400 hours “doesn’t mean the totality of what we had on the streets, that’s the overall number,” he said.
April 30, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A planned “endless caster” will not be installed at Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, U.S. Steel said Friday, but the plant remains the corporation’s lowest-cost producer of flat-rolled steel. (David Kent photo via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons)
U.S. Steel’s three Mon Valley Works facilities remain competitive and highly profitable, the corporation told Wall Street analysts on Friday.
The decision not to add a so-called “endless caster” to the Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock and North Braddock is not a reflection on the facility’s future, said Kevin Lewis, vice president of investor relations for U.S. Steel.
“We’re highly confident in the existing facilities at the Mon Valley (Works),” he said. “We believe it will generate strong earnings and strong cash flow for the business.”
In fact, one of the blast furnaces at Edgar Thomson was shut down on Friday for 25 days of repairs and upgrades, Lewis said. “We remain committed to that facility going forward and we will continue to allocate capital toward it,” he said.
April 30, 2021 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
U.S. Steel has canceled plans to invest $1.5 billion in its three Mon Valley Works facilities, including Edgar Thomson Plant, shown here, saying that conditions have changed. (Mark Dixon photo via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons)
Local officials and the United Steelworkers union are blasting an announcement by U.S. Steel Corp. that it will cancel more than $1.5 billion worth of investment in its three Mon Valley Works facilities.
The corporation also will idle three out of nine coke oven batteries at the Clairton Plant.
The decisions were announced Friday morning during a call with investors and stock market analysts.
“To be very clear, this is not the end of Mon Valley Works,” said David Burritt, U.S. Steel president and chief executive officer. “This highly competitive mill will continue to serve strategic customers today and into the future.”
Mon Valley Works includes Clairton Plant, which produces coke and other chemical byproducts from coal; Edgar Thomson Plant, a basic steelmaking faciity in Braddock and North Braddock; and Irvin Plant, which produces coils of finished steel in West Mifflin.
April 29, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A McKeesport man is being held in the Allegheny County Jail in connection with a fire in Christy Park that police said was deliberately set.
Jesse Henderson, 23, is jailed in lieu of $25,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing May 10 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi. He was arrested Tuesday.
Police said McKeesport firefighters were dispatched to a home in the 2200 block of Walnut Street on the afternoon of April 19 for a reported structure fire.
April 29, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A Pittsburgh man was charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering other persons and reckless driving after McKeesport police allege that he deliberately caused a three-car wreck in the East End in an attempt to injure himself.
Carl E. Taylor, 30, of Lawrenceville faces a preliminary hearing May 10 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi. He is currently being held in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond.
City police said they were dispatched to the area under the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge during evening rush hour on April 20 for a report of a three-vehicle crash with injuries.
April 28, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
The death of a woman whose body was found just off Versailles Avenue early Sunday morning is not considered suspicious, investigators said.
The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said the body of Myra Huff, 36, of Duquesne was discovered just before 7 a.m. near the intersection of Versailles Avenue and Park Street. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Allegheny County police Lt. Venerando Costa said Huff’s death does not appear to have been a homicide and may have been an overdose. Investigators are awaiting a report from the medical examiner’s office, he said.
April 28, 2021 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Commentary-Editorial
A collage of newspaper clippings from both local and national publications traces Lou Washowich’s career from coach of the McKeesport Little Tigers to one of Allegheny County’s only two full-time mayors. (Tube City Almanac illustration)
The measure of a person’s life is often determined by his or her time and place. One’s values may transcend the ages ... the “what-ifs” of what might have happened had one been in a particular situation and place. The bottom line is really, how did someone respond when their name is called?
Lou Washowich — only his beloved bride of 58 years, Jean, was allowed to call him “Louis”! — impacted so many lives in his 81 years that I am confident each and every one of those individuals Lou met could relate their own special remembrance. Hopefully, this will conjure up some memories for them to enjoy.
Lou’s character was forged early in life, growing up poor in a tough industrial town without benefit of a standard nuclear family. He became rich, however, through his experiences and friendships with many days when he did not have a nickel in his pocket.
April 28, 2021 |
By Siana Emery | Posted in: Politics & Elections
(Submitted photo courtesy Steven Singer)
Steven Singer, challenger to the incumbent for the Democratic nomination in District 9 of Allegheny County Council, is determined to make the voice of the Mon Valley heard.
“The Mon Valley is kind of forgotten by the rest of the county. But this corner of the county — we’re here, and we deserve the same resources and amenities as the rest of the county. I want to stand up and make sure we’re heard,” Singer said. “The steel mills may have closed, but we’re still here.”
Singer is “Allegheny County born and bred,” having lived in White Oak his entire life. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Singer worked as a journalist at the McKeesport Daily News, as well as an educator in Baldwin and McKeesport, before settling at the Steel Valley School District as a middle school teacher.
“Mon Valley is my community,” said Singer. “I want to serve this community because this is my neighborhood. This is the place I grew up. My family lives here, I care about the people here.”
