Whether it was an attempted robbery or a drug deal gone wrong, one man at least faces weapons charges following an incident in Avalon on Jan. 25.

Police were called to Orchard and Cleveland avenues for a fight between two males that involved a gun. They arrived to find one man running down Alley C, while the other claimed to have been the victim of an attempted armed robbery.

By JIM RUMBLE

A section win was within reach when the Northgate girls’ basketball team hosted South Side Beaver on Thursday, Jan. 19. But after battling back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit, the Flames fell to defeat in the game’s final seconds 45-43.

Northgate, in search of their first section win, saw their record drop to 3-13 overall and 0-8 in section play.

The Flames scored the game's first points past the midpoint of the first quarter when Kira Neszpaul hit a jumper near the top of the circle for a 2-0 lead.

Pamela Ostop Pamela Anne (Jones) Ostop, age 46, of Pittsburgh, on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. Loving mother of Chelsea Ostop; beloved daughter of Jim and Millie Jones; sister of Aimee Bauman (Roger) and Joshua Jones (Melanie); aunt of Samantha, Jacob and Valerie Jones. Services and internment private. Arrange-ments by T.B. Devlin Funeral Home.

Pauline Kent Pauline Pence Kent, 94, of Emsworth, wife of the late Harold E. Kent, died Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012.

The use of a stolen gift card led area police to a Bellevue man, and the discovery of a lot more stolen goods.

The case began on Dec. 27, when two Ben Avon residents reported thefts from their vehicles. One owner reported that a gun had been stolen, along with several gift cards. Ohio Township Police were able to obtain video of the man who used the card at Giant Eagle, and worked with Avalon and Bellevue police to identify that man as Keith Dengler, 23, of Bellevue.

By JIM RUMBLE

Monday's rivalry game between the Avonworth and Northgate girls basketball teams was cause enough for some excitement when the two local teams got together for their first section meeting on the Flames’ home court. Any thoughts of an upset though by the Flames over the Lady ‘Lopes, however, vanished early on as Avonworth rolled past Northgate 62-13.

Avonworth coach Bob Schulz praised his team for their play, especially on the defensive end where they forced bad shots and created an abundance of turnovers.

Ben Avon is considering offering a tax abatement to anyone who would like to buy certain property on Park Avenue, with the stipulation that the existing structures would be torn down and that any rebuilding would be done according to the borough's code.

The property currently consists of five buildings containing 19 units. Nearly five years ago, Jeff Garbinski bought it with the idea of renovating the property into 19 affordable housing units. However, little has been done since that time and various problems have ensued.

Ohio Township Police have identified the man who robbed an Emsworth resident on Jan. 10 as the same man arrested Thursday morning for the rapes of two women in Ross Township.

Ohio Township Police Chief Beaver Micklos said that his officers planned to file charges Thursday against Arthur Henderson, 38, of Ross, for the Jan. 10 robbery of Paul Leung in the parking lot of the House of Lee restaurant in Emsworth. Leung was seriously injured and robbed of $4,000 - $5,000 after returning to his residence above the restaurant after gambling at the North Side casino.

The Avonworth School Board will vote next Monday on whether to apply for exceptions that will allow the board to to triple next year’s allowable millage increase.

Under state law, Avonworth is permitted to increase the property tax millage rate for 2012-13 by only .26 mills. Anything over that has to be approved by voters on a ballot referendum unless the district is granted exceptions to the referendum rule by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Twice in one week proved to be one time too many, as the second vehicle to hit a utility pole on North Balph Avenue in Bellevue cracked it into two pieces Sunday evening. The driver, however, didn’t stick around to see the damage.

Emergency personnel called to the scene of the accident said that the pole located in the 200 block of North Balph had been hit just days before. Sunday’s impact, however, proved too much for the pole, which broke apart. Residents in the area experienced a loss of electrical power while Duquesne Light crews worked to secure the lines involved.

By JIM RUMBLE

It was an exceptional week of basketball for the Avonworth girls’ team, which earned two very important wins in section play.

On Thursday, Jan. 5, the Lady ‘Lopes hosted section co-leader Quaker Valley and came from behind to knock off the Quakers in a thriller, 39-38.

The 'Lopes traveled to Sto Rox on Monday, Jan. 9, and took control in the second half on their way to a 44-34 win over the Vikings.

Helen Crooks Helen Reitz Crooks, 79, wife of the late William H. Crooks Sr., died Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011. Mrs. Crooks enjoyed cooking and making cookies. She was an avid reader, enjoyed bowling, bingo, trivia games and traveling.

For the second time in as many weeks, an attempt to oust Bellevue’s solicitor has failed.

A week after a motion to seek proposals from attorneys failed in a tie vote at the borough council’s reorganization meeting, a second motion made at the first regular council meeting on Tuesday met the same end.