CHARLEROI, Pa. (KDKA) — In an already-blighted community, one local business is doing everything to keep it from turning into another empty building.
Moke’s Martial Arts is off Fallowfield Avenue in Charleroi and has been open since 2018.
“You drive through Charleroi, you don’t see much anymore. We lost the Coyle Theater. We lost the stadium, and then you get to this point, and you see the Moke’s sign, and it’s just something so unique that, you know, we want to keep that sign where it is,” Brad Podroskey said, an instructor at Moke’s Martial Arts.
On Aug. 4, a car crashed into the power lines outside the building, knocking out the entire electrical system inside.
“He (the driver) went to make a turn into the alley behind our school, and he struck the pole, the electrical pole, and knocked it down, which resulted in all of our electrical systems being pulled out of our building and off of the side of the building,” fellow instructor Kerrie Morris said.
Morris said all the power needs replaced, including their air conditioning and heating units.
“I got a phone call at 3 a.m., and people started sending me pictures, and I thought, ‘It’s not too bad,'” building owner and Moke’s Martial Arts senior instructor Chuck Balieu said. “Then they gave me an estimate for over $20,000, and I thought, ‘Well, we’re not okay.'”
“All their training has come to a halt. Opportunities for tournaments are impacted. Just a huge part of their life, and their soul has just stopped because somebody was uninsured or underinsured,” Morris said.
Around 60 students train at Moke’s Martial Arts between 2 ½ to 62.
“Just the impact they have on the kids, and the teachings that they have down there, and just the love, it’s very much a family down there,” Melissa DeMarco said, a parent of one of the students at Moke’s Martial Arts.
DeMarco said the school teaches her son discipline, creates friendships, and gives back to the community.
“They’ve held different community events over the years and done free clothing drives. Before school starts, we all bring down what we don’t need anymore and offer free to the public, whoever wants to come and shop the free clothing drives,” DeMarco said.
The owner said martial arts changed his life, and is doing everything he can now to keep his school from closing for good.
“It gave me the discipline and focus to get through college, earn a master’s degree, and keep going on through my professional career. If I can help one student the way it’s helped me, that’s all I want,” Balieu said.
Moke’s Martial Arts is collecting donations in hopes of paying for repairs. For more information on how to help or where to donate, click here.
“This place has made my family a part of theirs, and to see it die would take a piece of me also,” Podroskey said.
