2025: A look back on the year in the Mon Valley

The Mon Valley Independent takes a look back at the year’s most significant stories.

By STACY WOLFORD
Managing Editor
swolford@yourmvi.com

As 2025 winds to a close, we’re taking a moment to look back at an eventful year in the Mon Valley and what some of the biggest and most important stories of the year to impact the region were.

Trump takes office again

President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th U.S. president Jan. 20 after overcoming four criminal indictments and two assassination attempts in one of the most remarkable political comebacks in U.S. history.

Trump recited the oath of office at an intimate inauguration ceremony inside the Capitol rotunda, the same building a mob of his supporters stormed four years ago to try to stop the certification of Trump’s 2020 election loss. JD Vance was sworn in as vice president right before Trump.

Death of state Rep. Matt Gergely

State Rep. Matt Gergely, D-McKeesport, who passed away Jan. 19, was remembered as a family

The late state Rep. Matthew Gergely, D-McKeesport, is shown.

man and public servant. Gergely won a special election in 2023 for the 35th District. His death came just a couple months after he was elected to his first full term in the state House.

Gergely previously worked for the City of McKeesport as an administrator and chief revenue

officer. He also spent a couple years as the McKeesport Area School District business manager.

On March 25, Democrat Dan Goughnour won the special election to fill the seat.

U.S. Steel, Nippon finalize $14.9B deal

Japan’s Nippon Steel finalized its $14.9 billion takeover of U.S. Steel, the companies announced June 18, as they unveiled details about the deal, which amounts to a tightly monitored merger.

President Donald Trump talks to workers during a May 30 tour of U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works plant. AP

To win government approval, the companies also had to enter a national security agreement meant to mitigate worries about Nippon having control over an iconic domestic steelmaker.

Most notably, the pact calls for Nippon to invest $11 billion in the U.S. Steel facilities through 2028 and gives the U.S. president vast authority to veto major business decisions.

President Donald Trump, who was once a vocal opponent of selling U.S. Steel to a foreign company, rescued the merger in May by blessing a “partnership” between the American manufacturer and Nippon, first on social media and later during a rally at the Irvin Works steel processing plant in West Mifflin.

U.S. Steel explosion rocks Clairton plant, claims 2 lives

U.S. Steel pinned blame for the Aug. 11 deadly explosion at the Clairton Coke Works on a valve failure that led to coke oven gas igniting, according to the company’s preliminary findings.

Aerial footage shows the aftermath of an explosion Aug. 11 at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. WTAE

Two U.S. Steel employees, Timothy Quinn, 39, and Steven Menefee, 52, were killed; and 11 others were injured.

Significant portions of the facility were damaged, primarily the two batteries next to the explosion.

On Dec. 23, an independent, nonregulatory federal agency investigating a deadly explosion at the U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works plant issued two interim safety recommendations.

Final whistle blows at Charleroi plant

This year marked an end of an era and the close of a major chapter in Charleroi’s history as the Corelle Brands Inc. factory stopped producing glassware after 132 years.

After the last employees left the gate April 11, the last furnace was shut down and the remaining

Daniele Byrne, a scheduler who has worked at the Corelle plant in Charleroi for the last 35 years, reacts as she receives a hug Friday. Byrne is vice president of United Steelworkers Local 53G. Kristina Serafini / TribLive

presses were set to be dismantled. A ceremonial whistle — like the one that sounded for so many years at shift change — sounded one final time.

The plant closed because Anchor Hocking said it was moving its Pyrex glass production to its plants in Lancaster, Ohio. About 270 workers were out of a job because of the closing.

Employees and local officials stood in the cold Dec. 1 in Meadow Avenue Park to say goodbye to the plant as a time capsule filled with 132 years of glassmaking history was lowered into the ground, carrying pieces of a legacy only Charleroi’s glassworkers could build.

Lawsuits plague Fourth Street Foods

Legal issues continue to plague Fourth Street Foods and its previous owner and founder, David E. Barbe.

In November, Fourth Street laid off 252 employees as part of plans to close the company’s Washington County plants in Fallowfield Township and Speers.

It was the latest hit for Charleroi, where glassmaker Anchor Hocking announced the closing of its plant, throwing 300 people out of work, and the closure of a pasta factory, which employed another 100 people — Quality Pasta Co. in September 2024 and Anchor Hocking a month later.

In the latest chapter of the legal saga, Huntington National Bank and Atlantic Union Bank filed a six-count civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Western Pennsylvania on Dec. 19 against Barbe, claiming that he’d pumped up accounts receivables to inflate the company’s collateral to support the amount of revolving bank loans he drew.

Barbe has not been charged with criminal wrongdoing.

At least since 2022, Barbe was accused of exaggerating the value of his company’s assets to leverage $93 million in revolving bank loans, while diverting $41 million to himself, family members and affiliate companies, according to the lawsuit.

In reality, Fourth Street was bleeding red ink between 2018 and 2024, according to the lawsuit.

Fourth Street has other headaches as well. In October, Huntington Bank filed a federal lawsuit against Fourth Street, claiming the company had defaulted on $89 million in loans. Another federal lawsuit against Fourth Street, this one filed Dec. 10 by employees, claims the company failed to give workers the required 60 days notice before closing.

The employees’ lawsuit seeks class action status.

In 2020, Barbe invested nearly $2 million to refurbish about 50 empty houses, including many that were dilapidated. Fourth Street Barbecue Co. provided employment opportunities for a number of Haitians. Those workers who did not have transportation were taken by vans from staffing agencies that supplied the workers to the plants.

Fourth Street Foods signed an agreement Dec. 23 to sell its assets to Morski Brands in a $3 million deal that is expected to preserve the majority of jobs there.

ICE issues reach Valley

Following President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown efforts, members of Immigration and Customs Enforcement began to show up in communities across the nation where they were rarely seen before and the Mon Valley was no exception.

Earlier this year, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents came to a Charleroi grocery store that stocks a variety of food catering to the Haitian, Asian and African community in the area, and confronted two workers, questioning whether they were in the country legally and had the right to work. The store owner sent the requested documentation to the ICE office on Pittsburgh’s South Side, and the concerns over the workers’ immigrant status were resolved, the owner said.

After calls for local law enforcement cooperation, agencies around the country began entering into cooperation agreements with ICE.

Federal shutdown leads to food uncertainty

The federal government shutdown lasting over a month brought uncertainty to Mon Valley families relying on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds and strained community resources trying to keep up with the demand.

Trump signed the government funding package at the White House Nov. 12, formally ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

The bill was passed by the House and Senate this week, bringing an end to a stalemate that gripped Capitol Hill for 43 days. The final vote in the House was 222 to 209, with six Democrats and two Republicans crossing the aisle.

The legislation extends funding for most agencies until Jan. 30 and includes three fullyear funding bills for other parts of the government.

School funding issues

Issues with school funding, both positive and negative, seemed to come from all sides this year. From state and federal budget stalemates delaying funds to changes to cyber charter funding, local districts had to take steps to ensure they could keep the doors open and provide the education required of them.

Nonprofit seeks to restrict DA’s ability to seek death penalty

Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh told the state Supreme Court in August that prosecutors have broad discretion to seek the death penalty and urged the justices to reject a bid to limit his authority.

In July, the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation filed a petition with the court asking it to limit Walsh from seeking the death penalty, alleging that he had misused the threat of capital punishment to coerce plea agreements and earn political capital for being tough on crime.

In its petition, filed on behalf of two men accused of killing children, the center said that Walsh sought the death penalty in 11 out of 18 homicide cases since taking office in August 2021.

Walsh has denied the allegations made against him. In response, he filed a 100-page response urging the court to deny the petition, writing that neither of the defendants are entitled to the relief they seek.

Walsh’s court filing spent several pages detailing the underlying accusations against each defendant: Jordan Clarke of Peters Township, charged with criminal homicide for the death of his 2-month-old son, Sawyer, on May 23, 2022; and Joshua George of Smith Township, accused of shaking his 6-month-old son, Oliver, to death in December 2021.

Under the law in Pennsylvania, to obtain capital punishment, the prosecution must prove at least one aggravating factor.

Washington County Coroner Timothy Warco submitted an affidavit alleging that Walsh pressured him to assume jurisdiction of the Clarke case and submit a falsified death certificate to the state.

Penn State trustees vote to shut down 7 branches

Penn State’s New Kensington and Fayette campuses — as well as five other branch campuses statewide — will cease to exist in two years.

The university’s board of trustees voted, 25-8, on May 22 to close the New Kensington, Fayette, DuBois, Mont Alto, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre and York campuses. The Spring 2027 semester will be their last.

Penn State will continue to invest in its Beaver, Greater Allegheny (McKeesport), Hazleton, Schuylkill and Scranton campuses. They were among the campuses considered for closure when Penn State announced the pending move in February.

Penn State is facing significant challenges including declining enrollment, flat state funding and increasing operational costs, leading to the decision to consolidate, Bendapudi said.

Rite Aid closures leave more empty store fronts

As Rite Aid Corporation worked its way through a second bankruptcy filing in less than five years, the fallout is visible in communities across the Mon Valley.

As of Aug. 26, several Rite Aid locations in the area shut their doors or were preparing to — part of a sweeping plan that’s seen more than 70 stores closed or set to close throughout the Pittsburgh region.

Each shuttered store adds to the growing patchwork of vacant buildings left behind by the company’s restructuring effort.

While customers’ pharmacy files have largely been transferred — mostly to Giant Eagle locations — what’s left behind are prime commercial properties now sitting empty. Local leaders are scrambling to find new uses for them before blight takes hold.

The shuttered stores in Monongahela, Elizabeth Borough, Rostraver Township, Charleroi and Monessen, West Mifflin were all operated by Rite Aid of Pennsylvania LLC, a regional subsidiary of Rite Aid Corporation that manages stores and assets within the state.

Rite Aid was working to sell its 1,200 stores across the country. There were more than 300 Rite Aid locations in Pennsylvania.

Stores that aren’t sold will close, and it is estimated that 31,000 workers will lose their jobs.

Man rescued after trench collapse in Charleroi

First responders from across four counties worked tirelessly for hours Aug. 28 to save a man trapped deep underground after a trench collapsed in front of Davies Ford in Charleroi.

Charleroi police immediately shut down the area between 9th and Fallowfield and 8th and McKean as emergency crews rushed to the scene around 8:30 p.m.

First responders are shown working to free a man working for a private contractor to repair a clogged sewer line. Jenn Codeluppi / Mon Valley Independent

Authorities said the man was pinned beneath a small excavator after the trench gave way.

Around 1:30 a.m., after almost five hours of digging, the trapped worker, Vincenzo Lopez, walked out on his own before being taken to Allegheny General Hospital.

Lopez publicly thanked the rescuers weeks later during an Oct. 14 recognition ceremony at Pennsylvania Urban Search and Rescue Strike Team 1 headquarters in Carnegie, where he spoke for the first time about the night they saved him.

While the dramatic rescue overnight in Charleroi brought relief, questions surfaced about how a trench collapse on McKean Avenue was allowed to happen.

The trench was dug by a private contractor hired by Davies Ford to help repair a clogged sewer line. But according to Charleroi Borough Manager Joe Manning, the contractor never obtained the required sidewalk excavation permit. PennDOT also confirmed no Highway Occupancy Permit (HOP) was filed, despite the work taking place on Route 88, a stateowned road.

Federal investigators found significant safety failures.

OSHA’s report states Frontier Heating and Cooling allowed an employee to work in an approximately 16-footdeep trench without cave-in protection and failed to remove workers despite clear signs of danger.

The agency was issued two serious violations Sept. 30.

One earned a $3,972 penalty and the other carried no monetary fine.

Residents voice dismay over possible EF school closures

The construction drama continued throughout the year in the Elizabeth Forward School District.

The school district announced Nov. 25 it filed a lawsuit against its insurance provider, CM Regent Insurance Company, due to its “continued failure” to adequately address damages and fund the rebuilding of the high school following a 2023 fire at the high school.

That announcement came after a contentious meeting the previous week where the school board voted to approve the lowest bids for Phase 2 of high school renovations .

Phase 2 calls for a adding classrooms and corresponding additional grade capacity at the high school. There also will be athletic fields, which were added on as bid alternatives. There will also be consolidation of all the district’s current elementary schools into one school due to declining enrollment rates and increasing costs of maintaining schools.

The district’s possible consolidation would include additional construction to the high school and would add seventh and eighth graders in their own separate two-level wing behind the high school that wraps around the pool.

Kindergarten and first grade would attend the current Central Elementary and grades second through sixth would attend the current Elizabeth Forward Middle School. The other elementary schools, Greenock/Mt. Vernon and William Penn in Forward Township, would be put up for sale by the district.

The school board has yet to vote to close the elementary schools.

Tumultuous year for MASD

McKeesport Area School District officials announced in May that an internal audit uncovered missing funds within the district, prompting an investigation that led to two people being relieved of their duties, Superintendent Don MacFann confirmed.

MacFann stated that district administration officials discovered that nine deposits were not made during October, December, and January, totaling $8,226.

MacFann said the amounts were verified by the McKeesport Area School District Police and the City of McKeesport Police Department.

That investigation ended the school year at McKeesport, while the sudden resignation of Superintendent Tia Wanzo kicked off the beginning of 2025.

A month later, the chief of police at the McKeesport Area School District, Brenda Sawyer, was placed on administrative leave after allegedly stealing money from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Narcotics Division in Westmoreland County and the NAACP McKeesport branch.

Following that investigation, a McKeesport band booster volunteer was under investigation after allegations were made in relation to the booster funds.

Then, there was backlash over Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation ending its partnership with the school district.

Dick’s Sporting Goods casted the blame on the district for the termination of the partnership. The abrupt end to the partnership with the foundation, which donated more than $13 million since 2021 to support educational programs at Twin Rivers Elementary School, fund professional and student development, and create a community center, also came with backlash from local elected officials.

Residents said they want to see more transparency and accountability from school leadership.