Local News
UPDATE: Councilman tapped to be borough’s new mayor
SHARPSVILLE — It’s a time of transition in Sharpsville.
With Borough Manager Mike Wilson retiring next month, council last month named former Mayor Ken Robertson to fill his shoes. And on Wednesday, council tapped one of their own to replace Robertson.
Alex Kovach, 65, of 1136 W. Ridge Ave., was unanimously selected as the borough’s new mayor. Kovach immediately resigned the council seat he’s held for 22 years.
Council Vice President Robert Piccirilli said Kovach did a “wonderful job” as a council member and said he looked forward to working with him as mayor.
An outspoken member of the board, Kovach has gone toe-to-toe with his fellow councilmen on issues in the past. The mayor’s duties do not include a vote on issues.
“We finally silenced Alex,” President Tom Lally joked.
“My greatest asset is I’m a hard-headed hunky,” Kovach said after he was appointed.
Kovach, a General Motors retiree, said he decided to go for the mayor’s job to open up a seat on council for Chris Combine, who lost this year’s primary.
“I was looking at this young guy just voted out,” Kovach said, and recommended to the remaining council members that they appoint Combine to fill the council seat he’ll leave empty.
Outgoing council President Tom Lally said council will take letters of interest from people who want to be considered for the opening.
Kovach will have to be reappointed as mayor at the borough reorganization in January to keep the job. Then he’ll serve two years until the next municipal election. He said he plans to run for the job again if he’s “still alive.”
Residents Gary “Gus” Grandy and Robert Rice also expressed interest in the mayor’s job.
The meeting was full of good-byes and well wishes as longtime borough secretary Connie Raymer is retiring and it’s the end of Lally’s tenure.
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Court nixes ruling man is sexually violent predator
State Superior Court has denied a local judge’s request to issue a precedential opinion in a rape case.
Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge John C. Reed had ruled that Chad S. Thompson, 24, formerly of Stoneboro, is a sexually violent predator, but Superior Court said in a 2-1 decision July 8 that an expert’s testimony was insufficient to back that declaration.
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Stacey wants to continue fight over razed home
Raymond Stacey has requests pending in three courts as he presses his long-running attempt to prosecute the city of Hermitage and those he believes are responsible for illegally demolishing his parents’ house.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia, on April 29 quashed an appeal because Stacey did not file his argument brief and appendix of supporting documents.
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Burglars strike while residents sleep
Several Shenango Valley residents’ homes were broken into overnight Tuesday and Wednesday while they slept.
Two burglaries in Sharon involved people entering open windows.
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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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Court nixes ruling man is sexually violent predator
