Category: News || By Staff Reports

The Rev. William B. Meekins Jr. will be the featured speaker at the McKeesport Heritage Center's annual Black History Month program.

Meekins is the superintendent of the Greensburg District of the United Methodist Church's Western Pennsylvania Conference. A graduate of Gammon Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, he is currently pursuing a doctorate in ministry from Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky.

Superintendent since 2006, Meekins has also served as pastor of Garden City United Methodist Church in Monroeville and as a full-time staff chaplain for the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. He is a past chair of the Board of Ordained Ministry for the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference, and served in various capacities on other conference teams and ministries. Meekins has traveled extensively in his work and ministry, visiting 28 countries.

The program is slated for 2 p.m. Feb. 26 and admission is free.

McKeesport Heritage Center is located in Renziehausen Park at 1832 Arboretum Drive. Call (412) 678-1832 for more information.

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Scholarships Available for Local Students: Applications have gone out to area high schools for two scholarship programs administered by the Consortium for Public Education --- the Hope Scholarship and the Dr. Matthew R. Hadley Scholarship.

The Hope Scholarship is an award specifically for seniors in East Allegheny, Steel Valley, West Mifflin and Woodland Hills high schools who plan to continue their education at an accredited college, university or technical school. There are two $1,000 awards to be made this year, a spokeswoman says.

The Hope Scholarship was founded by Mimi Falbo and her brothers and sisters to honor their parents, Margaret and Frank Sattler. The first Hope Scholarships were awarded in 2006.

The Hadley scholarship is open to seniors in Clairton, East Allegheny, McKeesport Area, Steel Valley and South Allegheny high schools who plan to continue their education at a four-year college or university. The scholarship is given in memory of Dr. Matthew Hadley, a longtime McKeesport-area physician who served the community for decades through his private practice and his years on staff at McKeesport Hospital.

There may be a single Hadley award or multiple awards, depending on the quality of the essays. Awards usually are in the $750 range.

Deadline to apply for both awards is March 31. Students should contact their guidance counselors for application forms. Both applications also may be found on the consortium's website.

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Police Seek Suspect in Attempted Abduction: McKeesport police are looking for a suspect in an attempted child abduction Tuesday morning near George Washington School.

Police say the suspect was a light-skinned black male with a goatee who appeared to be 30 to 40 years old. He was driving a silver vehicle with a yellow roof and dirty chromed wheels. The children were not harmed.

According to police, two children ages seven and nine, were walking to school on Douglass Street at about 7:50 a.m. when the vehicle pulled alongside them. The driver asked the children if they would "go to the store" with him. When the children said no and walked away, the car followed them.

The children ran to school and told officials there, who reported the incident to police.

Anyone with information about the incident or the suspect should call police at (412) 675-5015 or 911.

(Editor's note: This story originally appeared on Tube City Online's Facebook page.)

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