SHARON Residents to be honored for driving out drug house

Patrolman Mark A. Johnson will receive the Officer of the Year award.
SHARON, Pa. -- The Sharon Fraternal Order of Police will present a Citizen of the Year award to all of the residents in the 400 block of Wengler Avenue this year.
Two representatives of the residents, John "Ben" VanVerth and Richard "Rich" Polito, will attend tonight's annual FOP banquet at 6 at the Sharon Veterans of Foreign Wars Post to accept plaques on behalf of their neighbors.
Police identified the men as block leaders who spearheaded the effort to drive a drug house out of their neighborhood.
The men notified police of suspected drug activity at the house and went so far as to report license plate numbers of cars that visited there and even took photos of people frequenting the house, police said.
Residents came out of their homes to stand on the sidewalk and applaud when police finally gathered enough evidence to launch an early-morning drug raid at the home on July 30.
Two arrests were made, and those suspects are facing drug charges.
Other honorees
A second Citizen of the Year award was to be presented to David Stabile of Buhl Boulevard, a 25-year associate member of the FOP who organized the first FOP golf outing this year.
The outing will become an annual event.
Patrolman Mark A. Johnson will receive the Officer of the Year award.
Patrol supervisors nominate candidates for the honor based on work ethic, job knowledge, attitude, attendance, problem-solving skills and other factors, and then vote on their selections.
Johnson, who joined the force in May 1995, has received numerous commendations for his performance from the police chief, the mayor's office and the Mercer County district attorney.
Former Mayor Robert T. Price also will be recognized with an FOP Certificate of Appreciation for his 24 years of service to the city.