Editor:

Over the past months there has been a great deal of activity on the streets of Avalon Borough and while these activities are considered undesirable by most members of the community they are the focus of the Avalon Police Department.

These activities are mostly drug-related and there has been a great deal of news reported around it in The Citizen. Thankfully the news on the street is spreading quickly that the Avalon Police Department will not put up with drug-related activities on our streets or in the homes of those that have decided to take up residence here.

Two Avalon police officers were injured in a drug bust on Jan. 28 that ended with them in the hospital, along with the suspect they arrested.

Officers Walt Johnson and Sean Kirley, along with Chief Tom Kokoski, attempted to arrest Raymond Carter, 25, of Grant Avenue, Bellevue, after observing him in what was believed to be a drug transaction in the California Avenue business district.

Although Allegheny County is inundated with -- and perhaps defined by -- rivers and streams, there has never been an organized, cooperative effort to respond to emergencies on the area’s waterways.

Until now.

Fueled by memories of what happened during Hurricane Ivan and concerns over homeland security, the area’s first regional team has been formed to share resources and expertise to address any situation that may occur on water.

Demolition began this week on the Ohio Township Volunteer Fire Company’s social hall and fire station on Roosevelt Road. By next spring, the VFC hopes to have a new building in its place.

Chief Jeff Frazier said that the current building, built in the 1950s, had many problems, among them a lack of space for critical VFC functions, energy inefficiency, and aging boiler, and a social hall that was no longer being used.

An array of electronic devices has been recovered by Ohio Township Police as they arrested the three teenagers responsible for a series of vehicle break-ins in the Avonworth School District.

Three 17-year-olds -- two from the district and one from the North Hills -- were caught after an Emsworth resident saw two youths peering into a parked vehicle and alerted police. Chief Beaver Micklos said that the boys ran when police arrived, but officers were able to identify them, and they later confessed.

Avalon Police Chief Robert Howie, left, welcomes his successor, new chief Tom Kokoski, after Kokoski was sworn in by Mayor David Haslett at Wednesday’s Avalon Council meeting. Howie will retire May 25 after 17 years as chief, and a total of 23 years with the Avalon Police Department. Kokoski, who has been a police officer for 12 years and employed with Avalon for the past eight, was hired last month by Avalon Council. Council voted Wednesday to approve a 3.5 year contract with Kokoski, though Dec. 31, 2013.

Chief search A police officer who lives in Avalon told borough officials Tuesday not to look too far from home for a new police chief.

With current Chief Robert Howie set to retire this year, council hired a consultant to conduct a search and recommend candidates for his replacement.

A one-time donation to the Emsworth Volunteer Fire Company, approved by Emsworth Borough Council at its regular meeting on Wednesday, will help the borough’s firefighters keep up with national standards.

Tuesday’s National Night Out Against Crime celebration at Mt. Nebo Pointe in Ohio Township provided area residents the opportunity to learn about a variety of safety-related issues. Pictured here, Ohio Township Fire Chief Jeff Frazier (at far left) helps a number of future firefighters become familiar with the township’s aerial firetruck. The event, co-sponsored by Target and the Ohio Township Police Department, included a number of fun and educational activities for children and adults.

Despite a recommendation to the contrary by county health officials, the Kilbuck Township Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to release sewer easements on Newgate Road.

Board chairman Russ Hardiman and supervisor John Fader overruled objections by supervisor Susan Merkner and advice from the chief of the Allegheny County Health Department's public drinking water and waste management divisions in voting to adopt an ordinance that will eliminate a dozen easements the township obtained in 2002 in anticipation of installing sewers along Newgate.