Facing the only council elections to be decided in the North Boroughs, voters in Emsworth and Ben Avon cast their votes on Tuesday.

In Emsworth, newcomer Kevin Yurkovich received the highest number of votes, 359. Joining him on council next year will be two appointed incumbents: Alex Nalevanko, who received 327 votes, and Brian Fashian, who got 289.

That left former borough official George Rossi the odd man out, with only 205 votes.

Both Yurkovich and Nalevanko were candidates on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.

By JIM RUMBLE

In a non-conference game that seemed destined for the loss column last Friday, the Avonworth Antelopes got their act together in the nick of time and pulled out an exciting win in overtime.

Facing the Beth Center Bulldogs, who were coming into the game at 6-0 and ranked No. 4 in Class A, the Antelopes overcame four turnovers, along with nine penalties to score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter that tied the game before pulling out a 20-19 win in overtime.

A newly-created position in Bellevue government soon will be vacant.

Assistant director of administrative services Katie Hale notified borough officials last Friday that she was resigning effective in late September.

Hale was brought to Bellevue just over a year ago to work as acting DAS while council searched for someone to replace former DAS Connie Flasher. She continued in an administrative capacity after the hiring of DAS Doug Sample, and the position of assistant DAS was made full-time in January.

Bellevue will again host a celebration at Memorial Park for residents on July 4th, despite the best efforts of council’s parks and recreation committee for the second year in a row.

Last year, the committee -- chaired by Lisa Blaney-Stewart and including council president Kathy Coder as a member -- ignored the event until the final days, at which time Coder signed an employee’s name for credit card purchases using the borough’s card so that Bellevue could offer its free menu of hotdogs and watermelon, along with entertainment.

A unanimous vote by Emsworth Council Wednesday evening put an end to a firestorm -- literally, in some residents’ opinions -- that erupted one week before when the Avonworth Community Park executive board approved a lease that would allow drilling beneath park property for natural gas, part of the lucrative Marcellus Shale reservoir.

Editor:

Our editor permitting, I would like to share with The Citizen readers a telephone conversation I had with Aaron Stubna regarding retraction of the section of the pro-liquor advertisement in The Citizen, Feb. 4, 2011, pertaining to Allegheny County. I reiterated this conversation to councilman Mark Helbling, Bellevue’s assistant administrative services director Katie Hale, and Allegheny County’s Allegheny Together department director, Lance Chimka.

Stephen Strasser, Avonworth's coordinator of student services, will be retiring in June. At its meeting on Monday, the Avonworth School Board voted to approve the hiring of his successor, Jessica Taylor, at a salary of $72,500.

Taylor will begin her work as the director of student services on July 1, 2011.

The Avalon Volunteer Fire Company has elected officers for 2011:

Chief, Bill Carney; assistant chief, Chuck Berie;

Captain 1, Jim Barzon; captain 2, Dan Cooper; captain 3, Bill Silay; captain 4, Joe Miller;

President, Dave Dixon; vice president, Jim Carroll; treasurer, Tad Parkhill; secretary, Pat Narcisi.

Named to the board of directors were: Dan Cooper, Fred Fisher, Dave Zivic, Ryan Payne, Jack Downey, Bill Fisher and Mike Hebor.

This marks Carney’s 28th year as chief.

Disagreements over procedure broke the tenuous calm that has marked recent Bellevue Council meetings, ending with council members walking out of Tuesday’s work session as others were chastised for their behavior.

A number of motions -- including a couple to adopt ordinances on their second readings -- were approved in 5-4 votes as issue of voting at work sessions once again became the subject of debate.

Tom Kokoski has been a police officer for 12 years, but barely a month on the job as chief of the Avalon Police Department and he’s finding himself going in new directions.

Like straight up.

Emsworth Mayor Dee Quinn welcomes new borough council member Alexander Nalevanko after he was sworn in during Wednesday’s council meeting. Nalevanko, his wife and three children reside on Courtney Street, and moved to Emsworth six years ago. He is a teacher with the North Hills School District.

Nalevanko was chosen from among three applicants for the seat left vacant by the resignation of Amy Adams. he was appointed in a 4-2 vote, with David Heflin and Dan Lenz supporting applicant Kevin Yurkovich.

The Pennsylvania Middle School Association has honored Avonworth Middle School principal Tom Ralston with the Administrator's Award, an honor that recognizes his achievements in promoting middle school education and encouraging professional development.

Now in his fifth year as an Avonworth principal, Ralston has earned high marks from his students, as well as from PMSA, with three eighth graders expressing their views.

"Mr. Ralston is the most amazing and understanding principal in the state," said Natalie Malloy.