Charges held against man for unfinished work



LACKAWANNOCK TOWNSHIP — A manager at Forrest Brooke Mobile Home Park in Lackawannock Township had charges of theft by deception held to court after allegedly being paid to do repairs he never completed.

Stephen Joel Sagenich Jr., 32, of 7266 W. Market St., Lot 34, had charges held by District Judge Lorinda L. Hinch, Mercer.

Sagenich claimed to have his own construction business and billed the mobile home park for $20,394 of work, police said.

Park owners, Continental Communities, told police that jobs Sagenich was paid for finishing had only been partly done or not done at all.

Those jobs included: placing skirting around a mobile home, disposing of debris on lots, painting, roofing, building a deck, laying flooring and carpet, hooking up plumbing and light fixtures, building steps, drywalling, replacing windows and repairing a cracked ceiling.

In one instance, work was finished by a present manager and maintenance workers.

Alleged burglar going to common pleas court



SHARON — A Sharpsville man charged with burglarizing a Sharon home last week is headed to court on the charge.

Ljubomir “Lou” Pantelic, 29, of 611 Pierce Ave., was charged with burglary and resisting arrest about 9 p.m. Thursday after he ran from a home in the 300 block of Spruce Avenue and was chased by police, police said.

District Judge James E. McMahon, Sharon, held the burglary charge to Mercer County Common Pleas Court at a preliminary hearing Tuesday and dismissed the charge of resisting arrest. The judge said there wasn’t evidence that chasing Pantelic created “substantial risk” for police, as is required by the law.

A man found Pantelic on the stairwell in his home and Pantelic ran from the home and jumped on a bicycle, police said. Police chased Pantelic and caught him in the 600 block of New Castle Avenue.

Police have said Pantelic is a suspect in a rash of burglaries in recent weeks, but there have been about half a dozen more since he was arrested.

Music teachers get new assignments



SHARON — Sharon City School District’s additional music teacher next year means school board members Monday moved some jobs around.

Last month the board hired Frank McCauley of Hubbard as high school choir and music teacher.

Former choir director Bobbie Buttermore will be teaching vocal music and theory in grades four through six at Case, C.M. Musser and West Hill elementaries, Superintendent John Sarandrea said.

Because of that, the school board Monday accepted Mrs. Buttermore’s resignation as music and vocal ensemble director and named McCauley to the jobs.

Band teacher Doug Butchy will continue at elementary and high school levels, Sarandrea said.

The 2008-09 budget provided for an additional specials teacher for the elementary levels, and Sarandrea said the board decided to hire another music teacher because studies show students introduced to music fare better academically, especially in math.

The board decided to invest the money in extra time for the subject because “We believe in music,” Sarandrea said.

Sarandrea noted that the district has a “long and proud” music program.

Sharon High gym getting new bleachers



SHARON — Sharon High School’s gymnasium is getting new bleachers.

School board members Monday awarded a contract to replace the retractable section of bleachers to Knight Athletics, Pittsburgh, for $110,000.

The bleachers, which hold about 1,000 people, are 38 years old and on their “last legs,” Superintendent John Sarandrea said.

Sarandrea said an inspection showed that they were a safety concern, though no one had been hurt on them.

The new ones will be handicap accessible and will be finished by November when basketball starts, Principal Len Rich said.

Sarandrea said administrators are excited about the new bleachers, which will also be an aesthetic improvement in the busy gymnasium that hosts events like wrestling and basketball tournaments every year.

Rich said they will be Tiger black and orange and spell the name of the district’s mascot when open and closed.

The money to replace the bleachers will be taken from the capital reserve fund.

Police unveil results of extra traffic enforcement



SHARON — Sharon police pulled over 72 cars in a recent Smooth Operator crackdown.

A state grant through PennDOT covers extra patrols to target aggressive drivers in the city. The most recent wave in Sharon was conducted from June 23 through July 6.

During that time, police issued two speeding tickets, two citations for careless or reckless driving, two citations for improper turning, 20 citations for violating traffic signals, six seatbelt violations, six citations for driving under suspension and 22 other citations.

Police also made one drug arrest, two warrant arrests and three other arrests as a result of the operation.

The next wave will be Sept. 7 to 21. The department is also participating in the Buckle-Up Pennsylvania program, with another wave targeting seatbelt usage from Aug. 4 to 17.

Sharon crossing guard contract extended



SHARON — Sharon City School Board Monday approved entering a two-year contract for crossing guard services with a Youngstown firm.

The board is continuing an agreement with Morris Security Specialists through June 30, 2010, after hiring the firm last year to handle crossing guards when the city stopped funding the program with the district.

The district will pay $34.51 per crossing worked per day under the agreement. There are 15 crossings in the city.

The contract is a 5 percent increase in cost.

Superintendent John Sarandrea said the district’s been “very pleased” with Morris’ services. Another nice thing was that any of the school’s crossing guards who wanted to keep working were taken on by the company.

Sharon school secretaries get new contract



SHARON — Sharon school board members Monday approved a five-year contract with confidential employees.

The contract is retroactive to July 1, 2007, and runs through June 30, 2012.

The pact covers five administrative secretaries and provides raises of 3 percent, Superintendent John Sarandrea said.

There are no major changes in the contract, Sarandrea said, but it does call for health care premium sharing. The employees will pay $10 or $20 per pay for single and family health care, the same as workers covered by the American Federation of School, County and Municipal Employees contract, he said.

The wage increase and retroactive pay were included in this year’s budget, board President Melvin Bandzak said.