Veterans viaduct?
Veterans viaduct?
SHARON, Pa. -- Should the new Oakland Avenue Viaduct get a new name? It's a county bridge that is being rebuilt with $3.6 million in state and federal funds, and Councilman Lou Rotunno thinks the structure should get a new name. He proposed that the county call it the World War II Veterans Memorial Bridge. Fred Hoffman, council president, said the county is apparently taking a dim view of the change. He said at a council workshop Thursday that the county sent a letter to the city thanking officials for the suggestion but contending that county bridges don't get named. Hoffman said he doesn't believe that to be the case. The county bridge at Silver Street over the Shenango River in downtown Sharon has a name plaque on it, designating it as Veterans Memorial Bridge, he said. He suggested the city write back to the county noting that fact and again suggesting that the viaduct be named the World War II Veterans Memorial Bridge.
'My Fair Lady' on stage
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- A large-scale production of "My Fair Lady" is coming to Westminster College at 8 p.m. today in Orr Auditorium, as the second show in the 2001-02 Westminster College Celebrity Series.
The musical is fashioned closely after George Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion." In it, Professor Henry Higgins tries to teach a Covent Garden flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, how to speak like a lady and grow from a raucous, sniveling guttersnipe to a lady of grace and splendor. Seats are still available. For reservations, call the Celebrity Series Box Office, (724) 946-7354.
Town hall meeting
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- U.S. Rep. Phil English of Erie, R-21st, will have a town hall meeting from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Mercer County Area Agency on Aging's Senior Center in the Keiffer Building, 339 E. Jamestown Road. Any resident of the district may attend to discuss ideas and concerns.
Leaf pickup to begin
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A citywide leaf pickup program begins Monday and will continue through the fall. Leaves are to be bagged and left at the curb. Do not use the blue refuse bags for the leaves. Any other plastic or paper bags may be used, officials said.
Bust in the barking lot
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A New Wilmington man has been charged with taunting a police dog, New Castle Police K-9 Officer Chuck. Police said John H. Frey III, 40, of Mill Road has been charged with a felony. Frey was being released from police custody at about 2:58 a.m. Thursday after being arrested and arraigned on charges of driving under the influence. As officers were escorting him to the parking lot to meet a relative, Chuck started barking from a nearby police car. Frey walked over to the dog, threw his arms over his head and made a loud guttural sound, police said. The dog became so agitated that the police car started shaking violently as the dog barked and moved about inside. Frey was again arrested and charged with taunting a police animal, a felony of the third degree, police said.
Chase for stolen car
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Police said a Florida man driving a stolen car led them on a chase through several communities in two counties before he was stopped by spike strips on the road. Walter Henry Guffey, 18, of Sixth Street, Orlando, Fla., faces charges of receiving stolen property, theft, reckless driving, fleeing and eluding police, possessing a prohibited offensive weapon and driving without a license. Shenango Township Police attempted to pull Guffey to the side of Ellwood Road for a traffic violation at 12:42 a.m. today, but he failed to stop. Police said Guffey drove into New Castle and back into Shenango Township before the police pursuit ended in Zelienople, Butler County. Police said they later learned that the car Guffy was driving had been reported stolen.
Terroristic threats
HERMITAGE. Pa. -- Police arrested a 37-year-old New Castle man accused of threatening to blow up the J.C. Penney store in the Shenango Valley Mall. Police said the man was trying to return a pair of pants around 4 p.m. Thursday and got into a dispute with store personnel, threatening to retaliate against them and blow up the store with a bomb. He was still on the scene when police arrived and they charged him with disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and making terroristic threats. He was held in the Shenango Valley Lockup overnight and faced arraignment.