NEW WILMINGTON Police crack down on partying

The new chief said his department has started school programs on drugs.
BY MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- The number of crime and alcohol-related arrests jumped dramatically last month as police increased their efforts to control late night partying by college students.
Residents from Beechwood Road told New Wilmington Borough Council at its meeting Monday that their early morning peace is being disturbed by drunken students walking home from parties at a nearby fraternity house.
Nancie Shillington and several other Beechwood Road residents asked if borough ordinances can be tightened to control the revelry and said they think college should be more closely monitoring such problems.
She said in the past few weeks, she and her neighbors have witnessed apparently drunk people that they believe are students staggering down the sidewalk, urinating on yards, destroying private property and burning others with cigarettes. The problems take place between midnight and 3 a.m., she said.
Police Chief Carmen Piccirillo said that the behavior is unacceptable and that officers have made a number of arrests in the area. He promised the department would continue its efforts. The April police report showed 21 criminal arrests compared with seven in March and four in April 2002. In addition, 20 drug and alcohol offenses were investigated, up from five in March and two in April 2002.
Other action
Also Monday, Piccirillo was officially named police chief on completion of his six-month probationary period.
He commended Patrolman Donald Bolinger, who helped a woman and her daughter escape from a roof in a recent fire on Vine Street while waiting for firefighters to arrive.
In other business, Councilwoman Susan Ligo reported that the borough swimming pool will open June 1.
Council also agreed to support the New Wilmington Municipal Authority's decision to obtain a $1.8 million 20-year loan for updating the borough water system. The work will include construction of a million-gallon storage tank and replacing water lines in several areas, including East Neshannock Avenue, Short Street and Beechwood Road. Authority Treasurer Richard Shaffer said the loan will come from the First National Bank of Slippery Rock, which submitted the best proposal of several submitted.
Council also agreed to take part in a mutual aid agreement with other AmpOhio electric providers to provide mutual assistance to other municipalities in case of a disaster. The agreement would bring workers and supplies from several other communities in case of a power outage caused by a disaster and could save the borough from having to hire a private contractor.