There are some places that politics just do not belong.

Not many such places exist in today's United States, and I can handle most of that. I can accept that health care decisions are being made by doctors and politicians who are (heavily) influenced by pharmaceutical companies. I can even live with the fact that what I eat and what I pay for it are controlled in large part by which government regulations or subsidies we're enforcing this month.

But there are some places that must remain sacred, untouched by politics in any form, or humanity as a whole is threatened.

Rita Collins Rita S. Collins, wife of the late Michael J. Collins, died Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011. Mrs. Collins was a member of Catholic War Veterans Ladies Auxiliary Post #1365.

Bellevue has been home, off and on, for the past 20 years for Kathy Coder, but since returning here in 2004, the community has become her passion.

"When we moved back, we bought a 100-year-old house. It was lots of work, and at the same time, I kept thinking I wanted to get involved with Bellevue. I knew nothing about local government, but I thought I'd like to bring some ideas here."

Coder went to a few council meetings, found herself replacing a council member who had resigned, and shortly after was elected council president.

In 1967, S. E. Hinton published "The Outsiders," a novel set in Tulsa, OK, where two classes of teens, the poor kids, known as the Greasers, and the Socs, a reference to the socially elite, constantly butt heads.

Drop back to Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and you find the Montagues and the Capulets, who eventually became the Sharks and the Jets in "West Side Story."

And today, every school has its jocks and its preps and its Goths, among others.

Northgate cheerleading boosters are sponsoring a hip hop dance clinic featuring Adrian Eaton -- Jungle Boogie. Adrian appeared on America's Best Dance Crew.

Bellevue Council will hold a special meeting this Saturday to decide how the borough will pay for a pool management company hired last month.

After committing to paying Swim America $85,000 to hire lifeguards and manage the operation of the Memorial Park swimming pool this summer, officials discovered that the money was not budgeted, and that they had been directed to a budget line item that reflected pool revenue rather than one authorizing the expenditure. That revenue goes into the borough's general fund and is spent throughout the budget.

Bellevue will turn to a professional pool management company to cover the Memorial Park swimming pool this summer.

Council's parks and recreation committee held an emergency meeting last Saturday when officials realized that they had not received viable applications for the pool manager's position. According to committee chair Lisa Blaney-Stewart, the borough received proposals from only one individual, but two companies.The committee recommended entering into a contract with one of the companies, Swim America, owned by a Bellevue resident.

Avonworth Elementary School used Read Across America Day on Tuesday to address national statistics that indicate young boys are less proficient in reading than are young girls, and also less likely to choose reading as a leisure activity. The school hosted nearly 100 male guest readers from the community -- including Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Chris Hoke, pictured above reading “The Boy Who Ate America” to students in teacher Dean Zuppe’s third grade class.

Catherine Dopp Catherine M. "June" Dopp of Brighton Heights died Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. Mrs. Dopp was a member of the Catholic Daughters of America for 60 years and a member of St. Cyril of Alexandria Christian Mothers.