The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 13

Tiny Railroad Rum OutOfPowe The Pittsburgh Press Thj Pittsburgh Press, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 1973 Page 13 Fired Wilkinsburg Cop Nofr Taking It Lightly old No. 1201 was thz Tawney Creek HoJovs coaf "We're now getting most of the coal for i by barge from our Warwick Mine in Greene County," said Gilbert W. Moore, Cheswick su Things Just ain't the same these days in Tawney Creek Hollow. It used to be a bustling place.

But a hush first feli over the valley in June, 1970, when Harwick Mine closed. During Tawney Creek's World War II heyday, a million tons of coal a year were hacked out of Harwick's rich seams. The Cheswick Harmar-Railroad once billed as "the busiest little line in. Pennsylva nia" highballed Harwick bituminous down the hollow to Duquesne Light Colfax power station along the Allegheny River. The valley people talk a lot about the good old days.

Line Goes Info Mothballs Now even the is gone. It was mothballed last Dec. 21 put in "cold reserve." The main line extended from Colfax power station in Springdale Borough northward through Springdale Twp. to the Harwick Mine tipple. It was a two-mile run.

There also was a spur about two miles long. It extended west of Pillow Avenue in Springdale then into Harmar where it connected with Bessemer Lake Erie's main line. The connection with the made the an interstate carrier. So while the might have seemed lilli-putian in scope, it definitely was on the U.S. railroad map.

In Tawney Creek Hollow, Engineer Ed McCracken was a legendary figure the hero of every kid who lived along the tracks. At the throttle of old No. 1201, a steam locomotive that belched smoke like a fiery perintendent. The made Its last run four days before Christmas, 1972. It wasn't coal that was being hauled.

A diesel engine piloted by Joe Mareka hummed up the hollow from Colfax, then switched onto the spur. Shippers Spurred Mareka had to pick up a string of flat cars loaded with cooling pumps for nuclear re-actors which were being shipped out of Westinghouse Electric's plant on Low Grade Road. It wasn't even Duquesne Light business. But because of interstate carrier status, the utility company's rail crew was obliged to service shippers along the spur. Mareka fed the Westing-house Electric shipment to a pickup train and that brought down the curtain on the 71-year history of railroading.

In heyday, monster, McCracken caught many an eye in the old days as the made its daily runs. But today Harwick Mine is an underground dump for fiyash. Old No. 201 long since has been scrapped. McCracken retired' five months ago.

And the is out of service. Power Station Obsefete The like the old Harwick Mine is a subsidiary of Duquesne Light. Crce outlines upheld Judd's contention. Wessel said promotions must be made in strict accordance with rankings on written examinations. The judge said appointing officials can use discretionary powers only when picking newcomers to join the force.

Pleasant Hills appealed to Commonwealth Court and won its argument that councilmen are entitled to consider more Lockard figures his recent "trying experience" is an unfair slap at avoirdupois. The 295-pound former cop is appealing to the state Human Relations Commission for assistance in getting his job back. Cut From Force Lockard was cut from the Wilkinsburg police force Dec. W-one day before the expiration of his six-month probationary period because he was "too fat." He says the borough's handling of his case Is an abridgement of his constitutional rights. When he was sworn In as a rookie cop last June 20, he tipped the scales at 310 pounds.

"All the borough officials acted like they were glad to hand me a badge and have me on the force," Lockard said. Not Pushable "They must have figured the hoodlums wouldn't try to push me around." The Civil Service Commission and borough officials "--parently chose to ignore regulations stipulating canoiu. i for police department jobs be no more than 6 feet, 4 inches tall and weigh no more than 230 pounds. When Lockard, 25, of Lake-ton Road, Wilkinsburg, was interviewed, no one seemed to notice that he topped weight requirements by 80 pounds. "I had been told that requirements are sometimes waived," said Lockard.

"I was actually surprised when the borough picked me instead of others on the eligibility list. "When you weigh 310 pounds, you can't conceal that kind of heft. Anyhow, the examining physician had certified me as fit for police duty. Bought Gun "I bought my gun and thought nothing more about the matter." But a couple) of the unsuccessful candidates for the job objected. One of the loudest protesters was an applicant too short to meet the minimum height requirement.

When he threatened to file discrimination charges against the borough, officials started eyeing Lockard, like maybe he was Gargantua. Pleasant Hills Cop's Suit Aims At Promotion Tactic -Press Pnoio by Anthony Kammskl TERRY LOCKARD equal employment opportunity for 295 pounder?" The deathknell sounded for both the railroad and the mine when the utility company declared Colfax power station obsolete and announced plans to build the ultra-modern Cheswick plant. Cheswick, which went on line about a year ago, is right next door to the Colfax station. The latter no longer is in use. It's also on "cold reserve." Cheswick power station Is sleek and clean.

It's also super-efficient. country. than test scores when advancing officers. The issue Is of statewide significance because Pleasant Hills' procedure for filling the lieutenant's job is no different from promotion methods used by most governmental bodies. So officials and police officers throughout Pennsylvania are waiting to see how the Supreme Court rules on the question.

water service to those homes where sewage bills went unpaid for long periods of time. Two warning letters were mailed to those with delinquent accounts, Barth said. Serviced By County Crafton residents receive sewage service from the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (Alcosan). If the customer fails to pay his bill, the borough must pick up the tab. In most communities, officials slap liens on the properties of those who fail to pay.

"But when we lien a proper ty, the borough must wait until the owner decides to sell before a judgment can be made to collect the money," Barth said. "The outstanding accounts in Crafton became so great we had to take immediate action." South Fayette Groundbreaking Set Ground breaking for a new elementary school in South Fayette Twp. is slated for 2:15 p. m. March 1.

The school will be built on a tract adjacent to the district high school off old Oakdale Road. -1 Vt itn.w..iuai (Airy1? 'vr 1 i I ammm 'mKTm' ft lV4 li I i --K hi 0 hc jn liiii II" WW mm i Fmlf iHntl vlaai Back Sewage Cash Flows Into Crafton nauJnj workhorse. When the last lump of coal from Harwick stockpile was hauled by the crew in May, 1972, that left the train-men with nothing to do but make occasional visits to the Westinghouse Electric plant and the McCrady Sand and Gravel yards on switching assignments. Duquesne Light finally asked the federal goverment to cancel status as an interstate carrier. The spur west of Pillow Avenue was sold to which assumed responsibility for servicing customers along the spur as of Jan.

1. Mareka and two other crewmen were absorbed into the Cheswick power station manpower pool. So this will be the spring' when weeds take over along the right-of-way where old No. 1201 once thundered. The folks in the Harwick district at the north end of the line have only one consolation.

"The unused track provides a handy shortcut for those who walk to Cheswick," said an old-timer. J7W Photo by Donald J. Sttzr residents a good night's sleep." A Deitch Co. official said Western Avenue residents long have tolerated other types of problems without complaining. "Part of the residents' diffi culties are traceable to the close proximity of homes to the Penn-Central railroad tracks," said the official.

"Heavily loaded freight cars rumble along the line, causing noise and vibrations also." And busy Route 28 also Is nearby, said the a spokesman. His point Is that more than just a drop ball goes into the making of a "headachesville." Millvale Official Diller To Retire Harry Diller will retire on April 1 after 31 years as the borough secretary of Millvale. Diller, 65, will be replaced by Paul Ladish, 25, an account- ing graduate of Duquesne University. Ladish, a Millvale resident, worked as an accountant for General Nutrition Corp. of Pittsburgh.

He is presently undergoing a training program under Diller's tutelage. Shannon Names Police Chief James Campbell, a 23-year veteran of the Castle 7 Shannon police force, has been named new chief of the department, replacing Andrew H. Orr, who died recently. Campbell, previously a lieutenant, is now waiting to be sworn in by Mayor Carl Daube. He is the son of James S.

Campbell, the borough lax col- lector. "Pretty soon I got orders that I was to be down to 230 pounds before my probationary period was up," said Lockard. Accuracy Check As if to emphasize the point, the borough called in experts from Allegheny County's Bureau of Weights and Measures to check the accuracy of the scales at the municipal build-. tag. Lockard dieted like a man whose whole world had turned into lettuce leaves and cottage cheese, but after five months had lost only 15 pounds.

When the welgh-in rolled around, he tipped the scales at 295 pounds. Elsewhere, Miss Carmella Digangi of Fox Chapel Area school district and Miss Mary Perry of the Gateway School District hold key executive positions. Both are directors of elementary education. Two other women hold key positions, both connected with the business side of school affairs. Mrs.

Clara Burton Is the Penn Hills school district's business manager. Miss Dorothy Arnold serves in a similar capacity in the a 1 school district. The AIU directory lists 38 women in first-line positions. One reason for this small Hulti-ton drop ball: alleged whomper and shaker. Life's Hardly A Ball In Noisy Aspinwall Women Missing From Top Jobs In Suburban School Districts The State Supreme Court is being asked to review a Pleasant Hills test case that could put a crimp in the traditional way elected office holders promote policemen.

Patrolman Eric G. Judd, by-passed by Pleasant Hills council in 1970 for a lieutenancy even though he was No. 1 on the eligibility list, is seeking to upset a recent Commonwealth Court ruling sustaining council's action. Discretionary Promotion The legal battle started after councilmen exercised discretionary powers and promoted Patrolman William F. Houck to lieutenant.

Houck ranked third on the eligibility list following the Civil Service written examinations. Politicians traditionally have skipped around when scanning such lists to give weight to experience, length of service, personality and even political pull. But Judd Insists the law gives elected officials no such leeway when promoting an officer. Strict Interpretation "A year ago, Common Pleas Court Judge Arthur Wessel Franklin Park Rezones At 1-79 Franklin Park councilmen have approved a new zoning ordinance for the borough which includes a special commercial zone around the Wex-ford-Bayne Road Interchange of Interstate 79. The zoning law will allow commercial and light industrial developments within a half-mile of the interchange.

A similar zoning change in neighboring Marshall Twp. where half the interchange will be built has been held up by the township supervisors. vj i vW9 y- ift Crafton's campaign to get some of its residents to pay delinquent sewage bills is drawing to a successful conclusion. Of the 200 residents listed as delinquent last August, about 175 have straightened out their accounts with the borough. Rest Expected Soon The remaining 25 are expected to clear up their debts soon, said Councilman J.

E. Barth, who led the fight against the nonpayers. "We've collected almost $10,000 since we started crackdown," be a i d. 4The outstanding debt is now only about $1,700." Crafton threatened to cut off Fox Chapel Slates Sessions On Schools Fox Chapel Area school directors have slated three neighborhood parleys to give residents a chance to air problems and ask questions about the schools. The first close-to-home discus ion session is set for March 14 at the Blawnox Elementary School.

Subsequent meetings will be at Fairview Elementary School on April 11 and Sharpsburg Elementary School on May 16. Tpr.yf pr "The chief told me not to report for duty the next day or ever again," said Lockard, now working as a security guard for a private firm. he whole Wilkinsburg thing rankles me," he declared. Lockard said he also has been conferring with the U. S.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, mostly about his contentions that heavy-set folks are entitled to a shot at earning a decent livelihood. "Why should I be singled out for this kind of treatment?" he asked. Lockard added that "not even Santa Claus himself could hope to be a cop under circumstances like this." representation is that women apparently prefer to stick close to the classroom and take graduate courses in instruction rather than administration. In the past, women have regarded administrative tasks as a male prerogative and have set their advancement sights on specialty fields such as curriculum development, guidance or library science. "Two years ago when a principalship opened in our district," said Fox Chapel's Miss Digangi, "not one woman who applied had the proper credentials to qualify for the job." But Miss Digangi said more women are now gearing up for administrative careers.

The property remained In limbo until 1957 when the councilmen decided to incorporate it into Hays Street Extension and widen the roadway to 50 feet, Cohen claims. In 1966, however, the borough put the lot and two others up for public auction to recoup the taxes owed. Purchasz By Nejnbor The lot was purchased by Glen C. Dunlap, Veltri's neighbor, for $400. In a letter to Whitaker councilmen last October, Cohen charged the sale was "illegal and unlawful." So far, Whitaker officials have not responded to Cohen's charge.

"I'm looking into the matter," said Solicitor Thomas Rutter. "If the action was improper I'm sure Mr. Cohen and I can work out a solution," he said. Road Block To Home Feared In Whifaker Women educators apparently are wielding relatively little administrative power in Allegheny County's 46 suburban school districts. Although women far outnumber men in the teaching corps, only a few school marms have advanced to top management jobs.

Only Mrs. Margaret N. Wenkunas holds down the No. 1 post in a school district. She Is the interim superintendent of Clairton schools, a post she likely will vacate once the school board decides on a replacement for Dr.

John Soich, who resigned last summer. And there's not one distaff high school' principal in suburbia. The latest listings fail to show a single distaff breakthrough into top management in 38 of the suburban districts. Recent rosters prepared by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU), a headquarters agency for the districts, indicate that elementary schools are the only place where women enjoy any significant management prerogatives. There are 31 women elemen-tnry school principals in suburban districts.

That's out of 191 positions in that category. There is only one female Junior high school principal in all of suburbia, according to the AIU directory. Mrs, Angeline Schuster is in charge at the Deer Lakes Junior High School in Creighton. This school, which serves sev-' enth and eighth graders, has an enrollment of 612. The Deer Lakes School District, which is made up of West Deer, East Deer and Frazer townships, has two women in top management.

Miss Josephine Acciai is an elementary supervisor, one of the high ranking posts in the Deer Lakes chain of Headachesville That's how residents of Western Avenue in Aspinwall label their neighborhood. Their homes are within earshot of the thunderous whomps that occur each time Deitch a salvage firm located in neighboring O'Hara uses its multi-ton drop ball. The big metal ball mainly Is used to knock thick crusts of slag off iron ingots processed as scrap. The drop ball Is lifted via an electro-magnet and crane to a height of 30 feet, then released. It's not Just the noise that disturbs the nearby homeowners.

'My House Shakes' "It's like an earthquake every 50 seconds," said Sal Patitucci, one of Deitch distressed neighbors. "When the drop ball reaches Us target, my house shakes. The vibrations are unnerving." Patitucci and several of bis neighbors have been complaining for months to Aspinwall officials in an effort to have Deitch Co. cut down on use of the drop ball. Mayor Neil Euckley said he has written to the Allegheny County Health Department to request its help.

But a a 1 1 department spokesman noted that "the county has no regulations governing noise pollution," thus is unable to intervene. Stops At II Buckley said Deitch Co. has promised, however, not to operate the drop ball after 11 o'clock at night. That's a gesture aimed at "assuring Western Avenue 4 I- Carlo Veltri of Whitaker claims borough council has sold his "driveway" out from under him. Veltri says the borough sold a piece of property along Arkansas Avenue in 1966 which had been designated as a street.

Known as Hays Street Extension, the unimproved roadway linked Veltri's Neutral Alley home to Arkansas. And although Veltri has had free access through the site, he fears the road could be cut and his property land locked. Askzd To Vacate Deerf He has demanded that Whitaker officials vacate the deed and assure him that Hays Street Extension will be put back in the public domain. According to Veltri's attorney, Aaron Cohen, Whitaker took title to the 23-foot-wide lot in 1948 to settle a tax claim. rnmifi Press Photo By Howord R.

Movw "THINK SUN" Is the cry ot Baldwin Borough's Elm Leaf Park where work on the new municipal pool was halted temporarily during last week's winter weather. The Z-shaped pool, blanketed by snow, is part of a $648,000 park development program launched last June. Borough officials say the facility will be ready for use this summer. Tennis and badminton courts will be built adjacent to the bathhouse for which footers have been laid, left. A wading pool will be included in the layout.

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