Police to conduct sobriety checks

State police in Pittsburgh plan to conduct sobriety checkpoints this month in unspecified locations in Allegheny County.

Man gets probation for using stun gun on girl

BEAVER (AP) - A Western Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to probation for two years for using a stun gun on a 9-year-old girl.

Thirty-eight-year-old Jeffrey Young, of Brighton Township, was sentenced Thursday in Beaver County Court for his guilty plea to child endangerment.

Authorities say Young used the gun on his friend's daughter in October to get her to behave. He says it was a mistake.

The girl's mother, Michele Hopkins, of Bridgewater, has been ordered to take parenting classes. If she completes them, child endangerment and related charges will be dropped.

Authorities say Hopkins' 11-year-old daughter said her mother regularly threatened her and her 9-year-old sister with the gun so they'd do chores.

Woman sues sports bar for toilet break

ALLENTOWN (AP) - A New Jersey woman is suing a Pennsylvania sports bar and restaurant, saying she got stuck inside a toilet bowl for 20 minutes when the seat broke.

Kathleen Hewko of Delran Township says she was in the bathroom at Starters Pub in an Allentown suburb when the handicapped toilet seat she was sitting on cracked and dumped her into the bowl.

Hewko claims in the lawsuit filed in November in U.S. District Court in Allentown that she had hip surgery prior to the Nov. 19, 2006, incident and was re-injured when the seat broke.

Her Philadelphia attorney, John Cirrinicione, says Hewko is not obese - she weighs 130 to 140 pounds.

The suit names Starters and Kohler Co., which made the toilet seat.

Representatives from both companies said they couldn't comment.

Council grants request for group facility

City council on Thursday granted a conditional-use request by Comprehensive Community Services to operate a group residential facility for the mentally unstable at 705 Addison St.

The duplex will house a maximum of seven residents. Mayor Sonny Spossey said the group home will not be a long-term residence for its occupants. It will serve as a stopover while residents are assessed and directed to the appropriate services.

There is a possibility city police would use a portion of the facility for a substation and would provide an increased police presence in the city's west side.

Also, council approved allocating more than $600,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds. It allotted $250,000 for the central business district bond repayment; $100,000 for incentives for residents to improve their homes; $65,000 for renovations at the police station; and $50,000 for renovations on the baby pool at Washington Park.

In another matter, councilman Matt Staniszewski publicly apologized for and retracted statements he made to Spossey at an April 2007 meeting. Staniszewski had made allegations that Spossey was involved in improper dealings in a real estate transaction 15 years earlier. The allegations were proven to be inaccurate and unfounded, and the apology was part of the settlement of a lawsuit Spossey filed after that April meeting.

Council will hold a special meeting at noon on Dec. 18, when it will adopt the final 2009 budget.

Home