By MEL PERKINS

The Northgate Flames (5-0, 5-1) bounced back from their non-conference loss to Sto-Rox and recorded their second shutout of the season, blanking the Leechburg Blue Devils by the score of 20-0 last Friday.

Mack Quinn, with a team-high 22 tackles, led the Flames’ defense, but there was a whole host of defensive players who made their presence felt against the Blue Devils. And, Leechburg had no answer for the speedy Cody Walter, who racked up 260 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.

Bellevue Council will solicit proposals for professional services in two areas, with one of them likely to generate a lot more discussion in future months.

As expected, council voted unanimously at its regular meeting Tuesday to issue a Request For Proposals (RFP) for auditing services. The motion had been presented at the pre-council meeting the week before, and there was no discussion of the matter.

Council also, however, approved a motion that was not on the agenda and had not been discussed at the pre-council meeting, to issue an RFP for a solicitor.

Four Avonworth cross country runners earned medalist ranking last Saturday, competing against 13 teams at the Grove City Invitational.

In the girls' 5K varsity race, (3.1 miles), Beth Shenck, a junior, captured first place in a field of 92 girls from 13 teams, and Clair Daniela, a sophomore, placed 11th..

In the boys' varsity race, also a 5K, sophomore Andrew Domencic, placed 20th, and senior Paul Kluitenberg 22nd, among 83 boys from 10 teams.

A number of thefts were reported to Bellevue Police in recent weeks.

Tires were reported stolen from a vehicle on Washington Avenue on Sept. 12.

Items were reported stolen from a vehicle on Orchard Avenue on Sept. 13.

A wedding ring and a pair of diamond earrings were reported stolen from a Dawson Avenue home on Sept. 16.

Golf clubs were stolen from a car left unlocked at jefferson and South Euclid avenues on Sept. 16.

The manager of an Orchard Avenue apartment building reported the theft of amplifiers on Sept. 17.

By MEL PERKINS

The Northgate Flames traveled across the river last Friday, and found themselves embroiled in an old fashioned slugfest with the Sto-Rox Vikings. And, when the final bell had rung, Northgate had come up short, losing their first game of the season 35-31, in a fiercely-contested and hard-fought battle.

The Flames kicked off to the Vikings to start the game and Sto-Rox came out swinging, going 77 yards in five plays for a Vikings T.D. Sto-Rox was up 7-0, with only 1:32 elapsed from the clock.

Genevieve Opperman Genevieve R. "Jean" Kowalski Opperman, wife of the late James Q. Opperman, died Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012. She is survived by four daughters, Valerie A. Bottles, Marita L. Baginski and her husband Tom, Barbara J. DeTemple and her husband Donald and Terry A. Walsh and her husband Mike; 12 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her son, Timothy E. Opperman; and two brothers. There was no visitation. A funeral mass was held in Risen Lord Church on Saturday. Arrangements were made by O'Brien Funeral Home, North Side.

Mildred Staley

Brad Waters, director of fiscal management, updated the Avonworth School Board on the construction of the primary center at its work session on Monday.

Waters said that Paul Zippel, who was recently hired as the district's owners representative, has been visiting the site each day. Zippel will be providing the district with weekly progress reports, Waters said.

Waters told the board that work at the site has begun. A road to provide access to the construction site has been completed. The construction of a silt fence required by the state DEP is nearly done, Waters said.

If you’re trick-or-treating in Bellevue this Halloween and visit a home that has jack-o-lanterns the size of garbage cans, don’t assume that those decorations are store-bought and made of plastic.

If you’re at the McClain home on Sheridan Avenue, those pumpkins will be the real thing, and more than a little effort went into creating these seasonal displays.

The largest pumpkin from the home-grown crop weighs in at 270 lbs., with another still growing in the 150-200 lbs. range.

Julia Bamberger Julia Bamberger, 97, of Bellevue, wife of the late William Bamberger, died Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012. She is survived by four children, Richard Bamberger, William Bamberger, Connie Redman and Barbara Boyd and her husband Howard; 13 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her daughter-in-law, Kay Bamberger. Friends were received at the Lawrence T. Miller Funeral Home, Bellevue. A Mass of Christian Burial was held in the Church of the Assumption on Monday. Burial was in St. Boniface Cemetery.

By MEL PERKINS

The fifth-ranked Northgate Flames (4-0, 4-0) hosted the Wilkinsburg Tigers (0-4, 0-4) last Friday Night, and like a locomotive, picking up steam, the Flames rolled over the Tigers by the score of 53-16.

It was a beautiful night for football, with slight showers off and on, but not enough to stop the Northgate fans from coming out and witnessing Cody Walter's clinic on how to score touchdowns.

Walter rushed for 210 yards and four touchdowns, while throwing for three more to lead the undefeated Flames to their fourth straight win.

It was a week for missing persons in Avalon. An elderly California Avenue man was reported missing not once, but twice, and returned to his home. Also, police located a man reported missing from UPMC Presbyterian Hospital on Spruce Run Road, and he was returned to the hospital.

Automobiles were reported broken into on Florence Avenue on Sept. 14 and Spruce Run Road on Sept. 15. Money was taken from the vehicle on Florence, and a GPS system from the one on Spruce Run.