Still Closed. Always Relevant.

Sure, we may not be around all that much these days. 

But that doesn't mean people aren't still watching us. 

Last Monday, we gave you a hint to the following day's story. 

Tuesday, we hit you with the news that the Memorial Park bridge was being removed/replaced. 

We told you to go say your goodbyes. 

Fast forward 2 days later to Thursday, and you could read about it in the local paper. 

Lucky for you, being one of our valued readers (or 1300+ facebook fans), you were given time to pay your final respects, thanks to us. 

For free. 

And now, the bridge has been fully removed, and all ways in to the park are closed. 

Actually, that last statement is not fully true. 

Fact is, the walking bridge near the playground is still fully functional. 

Unfortunately for everyone, the nearest parking spot would be in the Terrace. 

And we all know that the only parking spots up there are for handicap vehicles, or occupied by a folding chair. 

So good luck with that. 

Maybe the VND can do a story on that? 

How about it? 

We know you're reading this. 

Monumental Week?

Back in March, we told you about a group that was trying to have the ten commandments monument outside of Valley High removed. 

Refresh your memory HERE, and HERE. 

Well, they are back at it. 

At the end of August, they again requested the monument be removed. 

And this time they have the backing of some local parents. 

We aren't sure if the board will plan on fighting this to the end. 

As it could end up costing lots of money. 

If they end up losing this battle, they will owe their legal fees, and could likely owe the plaintiff's fees as well. 

That's some serious scratch. 

The same group, Freedom From Religion Foundation, also requested that Connellsville High remove a similar monument. 

Conellsville officials covered theirs last week, and say they plan to remove it. 

Even though over 150 people showed up against their decision. 

And vandals have removed the covering a few times since. 

In the midst of the heated political season, we now have religious stuff. 

We can feel the heat from here. 

It's About To Get Real

The residents of Virginia Drive are about to lose it. 

For months, they have been crying out for help with the people that speed through their street, as a short cut to get to Lower Burrell. 

Read our previous posts... 

HERE 

and 

HERE. 

And now, the fine people of that street are claiming that harassment is a new issue in this saga. 

People are blowing their horns, yelling obscenities and throwing trash. 

That ain't cool. 

So at the most recent meeting with the mayor, the Virginia Drivinites let their voice be heard again. 

Claiming the city has put them on the proverbial back-burner. 

Mayor Guzzo assured them that the study was nearly complete. 

We plan on keeping our eye out around there. 

Standing guard, Hell's Angels-Style... 

Nary A Drip

We spread a rumor a few months ago about the possible sale of the New Kensington Water Authority. 

 The MAWC (Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County) showed interest in purchasing it. 

Some folks even said there was an actual offer made. 

The fact that no figures have ever been made public, means one of two things. 

The city wasn't thrilled with the offer. 

or 

They are really good at keeping secrets. 

We fully believe that an offer was made. 

We really have no reason to believe this. 

We just do. 

Now, we aren't sure if it's even a good idea for the city to sell. 

That is way too much thinking for us on a Wednesday.

Hell, we aren't even sure if they're allowed to sell. 

As the city's lawyer claims there is a newer law that inhibits us from selling. 

While representation of the MAWC claims we could. 

Ugh, politics. 

- 

theNewk HOME 

 

Mystery Solved

We took a picture this past Saturday, as we drove past the Valley High track. 

We posted it yesterday for Random Picture Monday. 

Here it is... 

We had no idea what was going on down there. 

But it looked kinda fun. 

Turns out, it was a Relay For Life. 

They walked around the clock from Saturday until Sunday. 

They were attempting to raise just under a hundred thousand dollars. 

And we really hope they did. 

It is such a great cause. 

We would love a chance to be a part of this event next year. 

If anyone involved reads this, please send us an email. 

-

theNewk Home

Study Hall

We fondly remember study hall in high school. 

It was in the cafeteria, and there was very little, if any studying to be found. 

We are not planning on using this entire post to walk down memory lane. 

The study we are referring to is the study planned for Virginia Dr. 

You know, the street that many Burrell residents use as a shortcut. 

We talked about this a while back. 

RIGHT HERE 

The update to this story is New Ken council members have agreed to conduct a study of traffic along this street before they make any further decision. 

Now, this ain't no regular study. 

It's a double secret study. 

The reason it's a secret, is because they don't want the results effected by a boycott of that street during the study time. 

Now, the residents on that street are angry about that. 

As they want something done soon. 

Very soon. 

Before someone gets hurt. 

Much like the recent crash and loss of life at Carl Ave. this past week. 

Our hearts and sympathies go out to the families involved in that. 

We will keep you updated on any developments as we get them. 

theNewk Home 

Growing As A Community

We told you a little while back about a fine group of folks looking 

to make a positive difference in downtown New Kensington. 

Yeah, we did. 

Look it up. 

So anyways, we got an update email the other day, and it turns out 

this past Saturday was planting day on Fifth ave. 

Here is the Press release and a few really great pictures. 

We want you to not only enjoy the pictures and release, but let in the 

idea of people really making a difference around here. 

We couldn't be more proud that we were part of this movement. 

... 

 “The City of New Kensington, Westmoreland County Community College – New Kensington, local business owners  and community leaders  will be planting flowers and vegetables over the weekend on the initial phase of the New Kensington Community Garden. This cooperative project involves manually moving 20+ tons of topsoil into raised beds that will be utilized to raise heirloom vegetables in an urban environment. The vegetables grown and harvested from this educational/ revitalization project will be donated to local food banks. The garden is located on the 800 block of 5th Avenue in Downtown New Kensington on property owned by the City of New Kensington and the Redevelopment Authority of New Kensington.



All materials for this project were graciously donated by local businesses.



Topsoil (20 tons)– Steve Kubrick, Local Developer in New Kensington

Topsoil (3 tons) – Melwood Stone and Supply

Topsoil (3 tons) – Joseph Saeler, JoePaCo Enterprises

Flowers – Xuri Zhang, WCCC Horticulture Department

Vegetables – Dave Vargo, Owner of Arnold Feed & Kiski Feed and Garden Center

Mulch & Water Buffalo – City of New Kensington

Sign – WCCC Public Relations Department



Professional technical assistance is being volunteered by Penn State Master Gardener and WCCC Faculty member David Wohleber.



This project was conceptualized by Lindsay Woge and Joseph Morrison, owners of Fresh Heirlooms of 5th Avenue in New Kensington and initiated by Patrick Coulson, Coordinator of WCCC New Kensington.



Mayor Tom Guzzo, City of New Kensington, and Kim McAfoose, Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority  of New Kensington, have been instrumental in providing the leadership to successfully champion the project for the city.” 

Found

This is going to be short and sweet, as we have a lot going on
this last day or two.

Right, Lucy?

So anyways, we heard some good news yesterday.

We heard that the missing Penn State New Ken student has been
located.

We don't know all the details yet, but word is he checked into an
area hospital (under a different name).

He got recognized by a nurse, who alerted the authorities.



We will give you more info as it filters in, on this developing story.

Yeah, We're A-Listers Now

After our stint on the front page of the VND, we are now a
good bit more popular than we were a week ago.

If that is even possible?

So it comes as no surprise that we got invited to a taste-testing
of Ron Jeremy's new rum tonight @ Executive Cigars in Pgh.


It is hosted by our good friends at guymanningham.com.

These guys cover everything from rum to beer.

Maybe those things really aren't that far apart?

Truthfully, they cover all kinds of stuff.

If you like us, you will like them.

So check em out, eh?

Anywho, we are gonna try and make it out tonight for the taste testing.

If you don't have anything amazing going on, maybe you should join us?

Here are the deets:

We will be hosting a rum tasting at Executive Cigars (630 Suismon St. Pittsburgh, PA) Thursday, January 12th (8:30-10pm). Come and try Ron Jeremy's new line of rum at no charge! Cigars purchased during the event hours will be 15% off! Photos from the event will be in the review article of Ron de Jeremy - The Adult Rum.

You remember us talking about the Hedgehog's new rum, right?

Nearly a year ago.

Here is the LINK.



Join us tonight.

It should be a hoot.


-

Just in case you care.

As we wrote today's post, we were entranced by one of our favorite
women on this planet, Yvonne Strahovski.


Sorry if we drifted off at any point during it.

We just can't help ourselves.

Hubba hubba.

Once Again We Lead The Pack

A week ago, a reader of ours sent us an email and a link to
their video about the intersection at Taco Bell and BP.

To be honest, he sent the video a good while before last week,
but we had some end of the year things to post before 2012.

We posted it a week ago today.

The day after, we told you about a bad accident at that very intersection.

Then yesterday, we saw a piece on this on the 5 o'clock news on
channel 11.

Here are some top notch pictures we took from our couch...




At the end of the news story, they claimed more info will be available
in our local new paper on Tuesday.

Not only did we help break this story, we did it 7 days before
WPXI News, and the vnd.

This doesn't come as a surprise to us, as we've noticed many times
in the past that people scour our site for local news.

We aren't mad about it.

Hell, we are quite proud of it.


Now, it is very possible (or even likely), that the gentleman that sent
us the email also sent those news outlets the same email.

But the hits the video likely received the days following our post
may have had something to do with the others picking it up.

Whatevs.

We only watch the news to see Darieth Chisolm.

Hubba hubba.

We Hate Being Right

This past Tuesday, we shared a video about the intersection
at Taco Bell/BP.

It showed people running the light there, after it had well
turned red.

Then yesterday, we got a text saying someone got T-boned
at that very intersection.

It was around 4:30pm or so when it happened.

So it really made rush hour even worse.

We were heading that way near 5pm, but turned off before we had
to deal with what looked like terrible traffic.

But we tried to snap a picture.

Here is our attempt.

Not great.

But it'll do.


We seriously hope everyone involved is okay.

Best Of 2011 (Thursday) + Bonus

We covered one of the more memorable moments of
this past year...

And when you are done reading it.

Be sure to check out the important note at the bottom.

---
05/03/11
We Read It On The Twitter

I first heard of the death of Osama bin Laden as I
laid down to sleep on Sunday night around 11pm.

I noticed the twitter feeds were blowing up, even
more than usual.

People were talking about the president planning a late
evening speech, and the buzz was that of a possible big
announcement that we finally got to Osama.

Now, for most of that evening, I was watching the Phillies
take on the Mets in Philadelphia.

What I ended up missing was amazing...



Unreal stuff right there.

That would have been my preferred memory of this moment.

But I have Twitter.

So be it.

-

This morning I felt better than I had in a long time.

The drive to work is a blur.

My American Flag lapel pin shined like a new penny.

It was going to be a great day.

A day I would never forget.

And there aren't many of those types of days during a lifetime, and
I was looking forward to this one.

That was until I started reading about possible conspiracy
theories, and how people think they were being lied to.

This upset me greatly.

This is a time for our country to pull together and stand united.

But it felt more divided than usual.

I thought about going on a one man crusade to try and change the
minds of everyone that thought/felt differently than I did.

But that's not my job.

I actually feel as though I am going outside of my comfort zone, just
writing this much on the website that I contribute to.

So, before I do more harm than good, I will wrap this up.

I want to thank everyone involved in this successful mission.

I support our troops, and believe it when they say they got
their man.

The world is a better place today, and I am thankful to all involved.

USA! USA! USA!



Speaking of wrapping things up...

I think I'll buy some stock in Reynolds Wrap, as I can
just hear all the foil hats being made around me.





---



From The Mayor's Office:

Garbage pickup for Friday, December 30, 2011 and January 6, 2012 will be picked up as scheduled in the City of New Kensington. There will be NO DELAY this week due to the Christmas and New Years Holidays. There will be NO RECYCLING, however, on January 2, 2012 for those residents with Monday pickup.

Thank You, Thank You

Last weekend, we told you about a friend of ours doing a
guest bartending gig to raise funds for a couple different
charities.

We don't know if we had anything to do with it, but the turnout
was amazing.

People packed Stella's, and the drinks were flowing like
Little Pucketa Creek after a heavy rainfall.

DJ Frankie was dropping jams like Lone Starr.


A sincere thanks to everyone that made this event possible.

And all the drinker friends we have.

We couldn't have done it without you, and your issues.






Damn, we love that movie.

Clear Our Name

A while back, we talked about how New Kensington/Arnold school
district was red flagged for possible cheating on the 2009
state assessment test.

They were one of 90 schools in Pa.

Most people around this area just figured we were guilty,
because we are New Ken, and New Ken is where the riff-raff
lives.

We knew in our hearts that we aren't cheaters.

We are many things, but cheaters... we are not.

But now it looks as though our name will be cleared.

Finally.

The reason for the flagging, is that 9 registered students moved
out of the district and never took the test.

We assume something like that would make it
look like we told the not-so-bright kids to stay at home that day,
so our scores would be better.

We also had a low economic subgroup of 45 students, and only
39 took the test.

6 students moved, which explains that one as well.


We are happy to see our name clearing in the near future.

-

To those of you that passed judgment on the day the initial
allegations came out, we say to you...


Nah-na nah-na boo-boo, stick your head in doo-doo.

Many Thanks

This past Saturday, we participated in an event that is very
close to our hearts.

Walk Now For Autism Speaks

Our team of around 40 people joined about 12,000 other folks
for this great event at Heinz Field.

Not only would we like to thank all the members of our team, we
would like to thank all those that donated to the cause.

Here are some of the local businesses that either participated
or donated:

Dunkin' Donuts (Tarentum)
Stella's Restaurant (Parnassus)
The Blind Pig Saloon (New Kensington)
FBR (New Kensington)
Chelsea Bakes! (New Kensington)

It was a beautiful day, and an amazing event.

Thanks again to everyone, and we mean everyone involved!

Flame Off

We have it on good authority that the Pittsburgh Mills
Mystery Flame has been put out.

It was just yesterday that we explained to our 13 readers
what the heck that thing was.

Now, it's gone.

All we have are the glowing memories embedded deep
inside of our imaginative brains.

So to honor this fleeting light.

We would like to recognize some of our other
favorite flames.




The flame of a Zippo lighter.


JFK's Eternal Flame


Rock Band: The Flaming Lips


Calgary Flames Great: Joe Nieuwendyk


Porn Star: Penny Flame


And of course, the Olympic Flame.



And last, but not least...

Our Old High School Flame

We still own that tux.

Jealous?




In closing...

We will miss you, Pittsburgh Mills Mystery Flame.

You lit up our world, if only for the briefest of moments.

Best Lights In The City

Last New Years Eve, we wrote a piece about new street lights
coming to the downtown section of New Kensington.

Read about it HERE.

We were happy to hear this news.

It was the promise of a brighter day.

Er, brighter night.

Now, we kinda forgot about them, until we drove through town
the other night.

Now, before we show you the pictures we snapped with our phone,
we must warn you...

These are not David Cooper quality.

So please refrain from judging us.

Thank you.

It was snowing, and our wipers suck.

Cut us a break.

5 and 9

We kinda dig this one.

All kinds of lights in this one.



And just in case you forgot, here is a picture of the old lights.

Even More To Do

Yesterday, we told you about the New Kensington
Christmas Parade coming up this Saturday.

We, as we usually are, were out of touch with everything
that was going on.

So today, with complete humility, we will fill you in
on some other events we should have mentioned.

This Friday (tomorrow), there will be a ceremonial lighting
of the city's Christmas tree at Central City Plaza.
That's at 5pm.

They will then head down the block to the #1 fire hall on
Fourth Ave., where a holiday dinner will be served.
That's at 5:30pm to 8pm.

So, "big ups" to Mayor Guzzo and all the other volunteers
that plan on cooking this generous meal.

We wish them the best of luck.


(We're not sure it will look exactly like this. But if it does,
we're very mad we didn't go.)

A FORD FOCUS, PEOPLE!!!

A few weeks back, we told you about a fire in Arnold that
damaged a few homes.

It also damaged a FORD FOCUS, PEOPLE!!!

Read it HERE.

But some news has come forward that made us raise
an eyebrow.

It seems a 19 year old Arnold Firefighter is accused of starting
the blaze, then coming back to fight it.

If this is true, it's super sketchy.

We don't plan on saying his name, or showing his picture.

(As he might be a fan, and we can't afford to lose any.)

But we figured you'd all like this update.



Unfortunately, we have no updates on the
FORD FOCUS, PEOPLE!!!

Our fingers are crossed that it's in full working order.

As that would be the biggest tragedy of the entire story.

Have a great weekend.

We will.

Doing Our Part

A little while back, we promoted an event that is
very close to our hearts.

FBR New Kensington
Second Annual Miniature Golf Event!
(Benefiting Autism Research)

There were many sponsors and people who donated
prizes and whatnot.

We told the fine folks that organized the event, that we
would be happy to list the people here, so everyone
could see how awesome they are.

So, without further ado...

Platinum Level Sponsors

PNC Bank

Ross Auto Body



Gold Level Sponsors

Holy Smoke Tanning

Mar Mac Tire Company

Police Officers Of Allegheny Twp.

Sandi Gruber

J.M. Heating- Air Conditioning & Refrigeration

Mike, Lena, Hannah & Erika Cook

Leah & Butterscotch

Jacob & Julia Motosicky

Kaylyn & Keyshawn

Tina Desport

Thrifty Dry Cleaners -Springdale (Dutch Girl In L.B.)

FBR Robinson Staff



Silver Level Sponsors

Lily Junod

Trenton & Camdyn Lakatos

Justin Vozar

Danielle Williams



Community Sponsors that donated goods & such.....
We used their donations to raffle off gift baskets!

Glen’s Frozen Custard

400 Pittsburgh St, Springdale, PA 15144


Pizza Hut - Lower Burrell

Wendy's -Lower Burrell & New Kensington

Five Guys Famous Burgers & Fries- Pgh Mills

Eat n Park - New Ken

Giant Eagle - New Ken

McDonalds- Lower Burrell

River City Pizza- Lower Burrell (Allegheny Township)

Long John Silvers - New Kensington

Community Market - Lower Burrell

Pittsburgh Pirates

Fun Fest - Harmar

Planet Chi Salon- Lower Burrell
d compress spa- Lower Burrell

And of course thanks to thenewk.com
for their support!!

The Event was a success!
We raised $ 850 for Autism Research donated to
Wal Now for Autism 2010!!!!

We would personally like to thank each and every one
of the people and business and such, listed above.

If you would like to donate, please send an email to
thenewkblog@gmail.com,
and we will put you in contact with the organizers.

It's never too late.


Thanks again.