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UPDATE: Army specialist finds special car in Mercer County — from Iraq
GREENVILLE — John Wolford slipped into the ’96 Ford Mustang and turned the key, juicing the 4.3-liter engine. The small confines of his Greenville dealership showroom boosted the roar of the loudmouth exhaust.
“Sold,” said Army Spc. Dennis Johnston, barely audible over the muscle car din.
Those were the words Wolford had been waiting to hear.
Johnston went Wednesday to J.P. Wolford Sales with money in hand to buy the burgundy Mustang, but had never even seen the car in person before, let alone test-driven it.
In fact, the deal was made over the Internet — while Johnston was in Iraq.
Johnston, 22, of Dunbar, Pa., was wrapping up a nine-month stint in suburban Baghdad and wanted a ride for when he came home.
“You know, when you got that money and you want them wheels,” he said.
He checked out cars on Craig’s List and found the Mustang, and salesman Jeff Otto’s photographs and description of it.
Otto opened his e-mail box one day and found this message, “I want to buy ur 96 Mustang. Email me right away.”
Otto and Johnston sent e-mails back and forth, although the Internet service Johnston was using from the war zone was slow and unreliable. Some of his messages never got through, and he feared he had lost the car.
Wolford said he was amazed that someone half a world away would contact his business about a car.
“It was unbelievable,” he said. “Here’s this guy, way over there.”
Wolford wondered if the messages could be cranks — especially when a deposit Johnston was supposed to send never arrived — but he kept faith that they weren’t.
“We could have sold this car three or four times during this whole thing,” Wolford said. “But, we kept holding onto it because he’s in the service and he had his heart set on it.”
Johnston, an infantry veteran of fire fights, patrols, house raids and cache searches, battled fears that the car might not be all that it seemed on the Internet.
“I noticed it was coming from a dealership,” he said. “I could trust that.”
The Mustang has 107,000 miles on it, but you can’t tell that by looking at the body or the interior. The previous owner handled it with kid gloves, and added toys such as Hot Wheels rims and racing headers.
“It’s a sweet ride,” Otto said. Wolford added that he had nothing done to the car after he bought it.
“I’m not sure I want to drive it,” Johnston quipped, noting the condition. He said it will be a fair-weather car, and he already has lined up a place to store it for the winter, or an expected deployment to Afghanistan.
In honor of Johnston’s service, Wolford threw in a free six-month warranty, and handed him $200 for gas.
“Awesome,” Johnston responded. “Thank you. I’m glad I did my homework and I found it.”
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Commissioners formally move to raise sewer fees
Hermitage commissioners introduced an ordinance Wednesday to increase sanitary user fees.
Residents tapped into the Hermitage Municipal Authority lines now pay $95 a quarter. That rate will bump up to $105 a quarter on Jan. 1, under the proposed rate hike.
Two more hikes on Jan. 1, 2012, and Jan. 1, 2013, will result in the rates increasing 50 percent from the current fee. -
Water is on at Forrest Brooke
Water service has been restored at Forrest Brooke Manufactured Home Community after well problems left the 165-unit complex dry Tuesday.
A boil and conserve water advisory has been issued by the DEP and will remain in place until tests confirm the water is safe to drink, Forrest Brooke’s manager Pete Havens said.
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Storm damages trees, wires
Thunderstorms ripped through parts of Mercer and neighboring counties Wednesday night, downing trees and wires and keeping rescue workers on their toes.
A Mercer County 911 dispatcher shortly after 8 p.m. said they were busy with calls across the northern part of the county. He said there had been a few reports of trees falling on homes.
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City leaders open to talks
Sharon officials aren’t opposed to sitting down with their counterparts in Farrell to revisit the idea of combining the two struggling cities.
“It never costs a penny to talk and there’s no (idea) that’s not worth looking at,” Sharon councilman Ed Palanski said. “I think it would be foolish to oppose looking at the idea.”
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Murphy’s Law doesn’t faze regional planners
A complicated, two-day public meeting blitz in 32 counties ran headlong into Murphy’s Law in Mercer County on Tuesday.
The group Power of 32 are looking to re-write the regional map and create a grand, 15-year strategic economic plan for the 32 counties in four states that make up the Ohio River basin and greater Pittsburgh area.
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Forrest Brooke copes with water outage
Residents of Forrest Brooke Mobile Home Community in Jefferson and Lackawannock Townships woke up Tuesday morning to find they didn’t have any water.
Managers of the park could not be reached for comment, but residents said they were told they won’t get water service back for at least another month.
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City facing bleak financial reality
LaVon Saternow has been Farrell’s city manager since 1992. Shortly after she took the job, Sharon Steel, the city’s economic engine, officially closed down.
Since, the city has struggled to remain solvent and Mrs. Saternow said it is facing its worst financial crisis in her tenure.
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Near-complete addition to let man come home
Although the weather delayed the start of Penny and Paul Strechansky’s construction project by about three weeks, the end of the sawing, hammering and stapling is in sight.
“It should be done by the middle of next week,” Strechansky said of the 15-by-20 foot addition being built onto the back of his garage in Hermitage, which will be the new home of his grandson, David Johnson.
Johnson was critically injured in a car crash June 19, 2009, on what is now Interstate 376 in Lawrence County. The crash rendered Johnson, who just turned 21, blind and brain damaged. He is unable to care for himself.
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Man prison-bound for role in drug buy shooting
It may never be known for certain who fired the two fatal shots that killed a Sharon teen on Nov. 6 on Wallis Avenue during a botched drug deal, prosecutors have said.
But Christopher Swogger, 24, Sharon, was fingered by at least one other suspect as the one whose bullets killed John B. Hosey III, 18, of 422 Meek St. Swogger was sentenced Monday.
Swogger was sent to prison for 1 1/2 to 3 years for having a firearm without a license, ending his role in the criminal prosecutions of the drug deal turned shooting.
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Farrell, Sharon to revisit merger
Times are tough.
In Farrell Monday night, city council heard a grim financial report from City Manager LaVon Saternow.
“It’s not a pretty picture,” Mrs. Saternow said. “We could conceivably run out of cash by the end of the year. I don’t know how to put it more bluntly.”
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Commissioners formally move to raise sewer fees
