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Pittsburgh Courier NEW
www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 115 No. 47 Two Sections
NOVEMBER 20-26, 2024
thenewpittsburghcourier Published Weekly $1.00
Silenced no more
Mayors form their own charitable fund to help their communities by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Mayors being locked out of borough buildings. Mayors being silenced. Mayors just flat out being "hated on." Head to the Mon Valley, whether it's North Braddock, Braddock, Rankin, or Swissvale, among others, and they'll tell you that yes, they're the mayor, but they don't have as much "clout" or "ability" to produce change as you may think. But one mayor, Cletus Lee of North Braddock, has come up with a way to make change. He is the founder of the Mayors' Charitable Fund, an official 501(c) (3) non-profit organization which will allow participating mayors to use grants and donations to the fund for the betterment of their municipalities.
"I got tired of saying that the mayors were in weak seats," Mayor Lee told the New Pittsburgh Courier. "Every time I try to do things for my community, I usually have to come out of pocket." Mayor Lee said if he wanted legislation to pass for some type of funding for, say, increased access to food or medicine for North Braddock residents, North Braddock Council would put him through the ringer. Sometimes it would get approved, but sometimes not. "We don't want to keep waiting for approval, we want to go after our own grants," Mayor Lee said. "It's empowering us as mayors. This is why I formed this, because it's going to give us equal weight." Similar to how other SEE MAYORS A4
A NUMBER OF MAYORS, SUCH AS NORTH BRADDOCK’S CLETUS LEE, CENTER, AND EAST PITTSBURGH’S MARKUS ADAMS (BACK ROW, SECOND FROM RIGHT) HAVE COME TOGETHER TO FORM THE MAYORS’ CHARITABLE FUND. (PHOTO BY CHIEF IKHANA-HAL-MAKINA)
George 'Toby' Gaines dies at 76 Longtime director of Gaines Funeral Home in Larimer by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that George W. "Toby" Gaines, the longtime director of the historic Gaines Funeral Home in Larimer, died on Nov. 12. He was 76. The cause of his death was not revealed. "Toby" Gaines' father, George W. Gaines, established the Gaines Funeral Home in 1919 in Homestead. It was moved to the Larimer area a few years later, at the site of the former Mt. Ararat Baptist Church. Following George W. Gaines' passing in 1953, his wife, Julia, took over the business, before "Toby" Gaines took over as director in 1980, with his mother as a partner.
In 2008, the historic Gaines Funeral Home property at 220 Auburn St. was shut down, and "Toby" Gaines joined forces with the House of Law Funeral Home Inc., on Frankstown Road in Penn Hills. "It was mutually beneficial for both of us," recalled Dwight M. Law, House of Law Funeral Director and Supervisor, in an exclusive interview with the Courier, Nov. 19. "The Gaines name was certainly one of the giants in the industry, and he brought with him not only a level of professionalism and compassion, he was a dear friend of mine as well. We're going to miss him and the City of PittsSEE GAINES A8
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GEORGE W. “TOBY” GAINES PASSED AWAY ON NOV. 12. HE WAS 76.
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