< PreviousCAround Your Town Around Your Town The South Hills Brass Band gave an impromptu performance in McDonald on Sept. 26. The band set up and played from a wrap-around porch located on 4th Street. Their repertoire included a selection of band favorites, from New Orleans- inspired jazz to a medley of songs from Disney’s “Frozen.” Like many community groups, COVID-19 has proven to be a major disruption to the group, which is largely comprised of retirees. Band member Steve Lynch says that, back in April, all of their performances that they’d scheduled for the year were canceled. The band also shut down its practices for a time. In June, practices resumed but without one member who didn’t feel comfortable continuing to perform. So the band recruited Chuck Jacks, a professional musician and music educator, to play bass trombone. “We had one gig inside but that was in a huge venue,” says Lynch. “Then the we got the idea of playing these driveway concerts.” After the band played one such concert in North Strabane, word started getting around on social media. That led to four other performances and eventually to Doree Lange and Paul Cardy inviting the band to play in McDonald. Throughout the performance, a small group of people stood at the corners of a nearby intersection while some set up lawn chairs to enjoy what few have been able to enjoy these past six months: a live concert. “We’ve really enjoyed these driveway concerts,” says Lynch. “Those people come up to you afterward and it’s nice to hear how much they appreciate hearing live entertainment.” The band is looking for more opportunities to perform while the fall weather holds. Anyone interested can visit garymckeever. wixsite.com/southhillsbrass or call (412) 833-9329. South Hills Brass Band performs neighborhood concert STORY AND PHOTO BY DOUG HUGHEY The South Hills Brass Band performs a live concert, which has become something of a rarity these days, in McDonald on Sept. 26. 10 • Allegheny West Magazine • October/November 2020CAround Your Town Around Your Town When Sharon Abner heard that Jerrod Withrow had been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, it came as something of a shock. While the news would be devastating to hear about anyone, Withrow in particular didn’t strike Abner as a likely candidate. Abner knew Withrow from going to the gym Sweat Bar in North Fayette Township. Once the gym opened back up in June, she and Withrow worked out during the same time slot, and it was the intensity of Withrow’s workouts that stood out to Abner. “Jerrod is an absolute machine,” she says. “He works out like nobody you have ever seen work out in your life. So when he got sick it was just, like, a no-brainer to do something to help him and his family.” Abner, along with fellow members and trainers at the gym, began organizing a fundraiser when they heard the news. However, it wasn’t just seeing Jerrod take such a turn that motivated them. Rather, it was also the fact that both Jerrod and his wife, Lisa, who also attends the gym, are dedicated civil servants. While Lisa is a reservist at the 171st Air Refueling Wing in Moon Township, Jerrod is a police officer with the Mt. Lebanon Police Department. A member of the South Hills Council of Government SWAT Team, Jerrod was also among those who responded to the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in 2018. Members and trainers at the gym ended up organizing a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to benefit the Withrows. The event took place in late September at Helicon Brewery in Oakdale. During designated time slots throughout the day, volunteers served up over 1,000 dinners to people who either dined outside on Helicon’s lawn or took orders to go. They also auctioned off upwards of 100 gift baskets comprised largely of donations from North Fayette businesses. “It’s humbling,” Jerrod says about the gift baskets and the general show of support. “I don’t even know where [all of the baskets] came from.” Throughout the day, Jerrod says he saw a lot of people he knew but also a lot he didn’t. Some people, he says, told him that they’d simply seen the event on social media and decided to come out to support him. The 911th Airlift Wing color guard even showed up at noon to present the colors and play the national anthem. “They just have such a pull in the community that we didn’t expect,” says Abner. “They’re an awesome family so it’s no surprise.” Jerrod says he first received his diagnosis in August, after he began feeling severely ill while on a family vacation out west. After returning to Pittsburgh, he says doctors found masses on both his colon and liver. He’s now undergoing nearly four-hour chemotherapy sessions every two weeks. He also carries a portable chemotherapy pump. In the beginning, Jerrod says he began retaining fluid in his abdomen that had to be drained. He says in one session alone doctors drained 30 pounds of the fluid but that the buildup has been minimal since. He’s now able to move about and even do a light workout at the gym. “If I can get into that gym and just move, I feel much better,” he says. “I used to walk out of the gym, I’d have sweat dripping off me….Now I’m not sweating as much but I still move for an hour. Everything feels better when I can do something like that.” Maddie Martinez, a trainer at Sweat Bar, says that the fundraising effort started when someone at the gym suggested holding a Chinese auction. After someone else suggested a spaghetti dinner, things snowballed. Abner says all of the food for the event was donated by DeLallo Foods and that Molly Snatchko cooked for the event. She says many North Fayette businesses “came out of the woodwork” to donate items for baskets. Auction items even included two signed Penguins jerseys. The Withrows have been North Fayette residents for seven years. Their oldest son, James, attends the University of Buffalo, where he’s studying engineering. Their middle child, Brayden, is a freshman at West Allegheny High School while their youngest, Ben, is attending middle school at West Allegheny. Just three days before Jerrod’s diagnosis, the family closed on their current home in Walden Woods. Donations are continuing to be accepted to support the Withrow family. Funds can be sent electronically via Venmo to WithrowStrong or dropped off at Sweat Bar at 7780 Steubenville Pike. Donations can also be made through the Western Pennsylvania Police Benevolent Foundation. Community shows support for Withrow family STORY AND PHOTO BY DOUG HUGHEY Members and trainers at the gym Sweat Bar Fitness in North Fayette Township organized a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for Jerrod Withrow (pictured third from left) and his wife, Lisa (pictured next to him), on Sept. 26. The couple is pictured with Caitie Reppert, Sweat Bar owner Chad Shipley, Sharon Abner and trainer Maddie Martinez. Read and share stories from Allegheny West Magazine! Current and back issues can be read at AWMagazine.com. Copy the URL from individual pages and then share via email and on social media. 12 • Allegheny West Magazine • October/November 2020Fundraiser nets big return for first responders Hilldale Cemetery road repaired A road leading to a historic cemetery in McDonald has been repaired, thanks to efforts undertaken by the McDonald Area Redevelopment Association and Tom Mellor, who works for McDonald Borough’s maintenance department. The road, located at a bend off of Hudson Street in the borough, had been washed out by heavy rain. As a result, the cemetery had been inaccessible by car before it was repaired. To fix the road, Mellor installed a new pipe and then filled in the section that had been washed away by flooding. Alice Thomassy, who has been coordinating fundraising for the cemetery, says that Mellor completed the work on his own time and with his own equipment. She also says he charged a very modest sum. In August, Allegheny West Magazine ran a story about the cemetery, which has a somewhat opaque history. It is believed it was founded by members of the French Church in McDonald, as many of the people interred there are of French descent and were members of the church. For years, caretaking of the grounds has fallen to volunteers, some of whom fell into their roles purely by chance. The Allegheny West Magazine story focused on the efforts of Paul Amic and Larry Toulouse, both of whom are currently lending their time to care for the cemetery, as they both have family members interred there. Records indicate that the cemetery was known by a number of different names, including Hilldale, Hillsdale, Robb and French. To date, MARA has been able to raise $3,425 to repair the road and assist with future maintenance. Donations are continuing to be accepted by MARA, which is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. The organization has established a fund specifically for the cemetery. Anyone wishing to donate can mail a check with “cemetery” written in the subject line to: MARA, PO Box 152, McDonald, PA 15057. Tom Mellor assisted the McDonald Area Redevelopment Association with repairs to the road leading to Hilldale Cemetery. PHOTO SUBMITTED Jeff Scott raised over $4,000 for area first responders by selling corn he grew on his family’s farm. PHOTO SUBMITTED STORIES BY DOUG HUGHEY Usually by the time late summer rolls around, Jeff Scott has so much sweet corn that he hardly knows what to do with it all. Scott grows the corn on his family’s farm in North Fayette Township, but not for sale. Instead, what he doesn’t keep he tends to give away to friends, family, and just about anyone else who wants some. This past summer, however, Scott came up with the idea to use the corn for a fundraiser to show community support for local first responders. Scott put together some signage and set up a stand alongside the road running past his family’s farm. Volunteers helped pick the corn and hand out ears. Scott only asked for donations in return. He was hardly expecting the response it received. “It was pretty impressive the way the community reacted and supported it,” he says. “We had $50 and $100 bills stuffed in the jar.” After the effort got around on social media, they even got donations from as far away as Alabama via Paypal. In all, the fundraiser netted $4,176 over the course of two weekends. Scott donated the money to North Fayette Township. “It seemed like a fundraiser for first responders hit people’s interest,” he says. Scott says that part of the reason he held the fundraiser was because his nephew, John, is a member of the North Fayette VFD. October/November 2020 • www.awmagazine.com • 13% New in Town New in Town Business Legal, the law office that has operated in downtown Oakdale since 1996, recently changed ownership. Aaron Tomczak, Esq. of Moon Township has acquired the business from Lynn Emerson, Esq., who established it. Emerson plans to move to Florida, where she operates a second law office. “West Allegheny and Oakdale have been a great place to practice law, and to be part of the community,” says Emerson. “I know all of the business owners’ names, and they know mine. We all look out for one another, not just when there is a flood, but every day.” Emerson says she leaves feeling blessed to have practiced in the area. She says Tomczak, who has worked out of Business Legal’s Oakdale office for the past five years as Emerson’s of counsel, will do a great job carrying on her tradition. “Aaron is an excellent attorney,” says Emerson. “He’s capable, affable and down to earth, just like the clients we serve here in Oakdale.” Tomczak, a 1997 Montour graduate, holds a law degree and MBA from Duquesne University. He passed the bar exam in 2008 and worked at another firm for a year before opening his first office in Robinson Township in 2009. That same year, he became of counsel to Emerson and began working under her supervision while running his own practice. Many of his areas of focus overlap with Emerson’s, including estate administration, estate planning, business formation, planning and litigation. Tomczak currently lives in Moon Township with his wife, Amanda, and their two sons, Chet and Tanner. He says he enjoys golfing on the weekend and spending time with his boys. He says he also is looking forward to serving the Oakdale business community and area residents. Tomczak takes over the office at a difficult time, as many peoples’ lives and livelihoods are being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, he’s continuing to offer the same remote power of attorney services that Emerson began offering earlier this year. He says having a will, living will and power of attorney is important, particularly at this difficult time. “Something people should always be thinking about is power of attorney and living wills,” he says. “Everyone thinks of wills but unfortunately there are periods of incapacitation that people overlook. If you are incapacitated during that period someone has to get guardianship over you. If not, it’s someone standing in front of a judge and explaining why they should have power of attorney and the costs are dramatically higher.” In addition to estate planning and powers of attorney, Tomczak also specializes in business law areas such as formations, buying and selling agreements, incorporations, non-compete agreements, trademarks and equine law. Tomczak can be reached at (724) 693-0558 or by email at attorney@businesslegal.net. In order to protect the health and safety of his clients, he is making himself available to meet by appointment. Longtime Oakdale law office changes ownership Lynn Emerson, Esq. (above) has transferred her law business in downtown Oakdale to Aaron Tomczak, Esq. (left). PHOTO SUBMITTED CONTENT SUBMITTED Aaron Tomczak, Esq. PHOTO BY DOUG HUGHEY 14 • Allegheny West Magazine • October/November 2020October/November 2020 • www.awmagazine.com • 15CAround Your Town Around Your Town When Mark O’Donnell was named as the new police chief of North Fayette in 2013, Judge Anthony Saveikis spelled out to him rather succinctly what that meant. “He said, ‘You used to have one boss before and now you have 16,000,’” recalls O’Donnell. The new chief took that observation to heart. Over the next seven years, approached the job as such. He asked his police officers to treat township residents the way they would want their families to be treated. He also hired officers who he knew would treat community members well and who were genuinely good people. He even had a saying for the officers he brought on board. “He used to say, ‘We hire good people and train them to be police officers,’” recalls Donald J. Cokus Jr, who was promoted to detective the same year O’Donnell was named police chief. In July, Cokus was named North Fayette’s newest police chief after O’Donnell announced his retirement. After a total of 36 years with the department, O’Donnell says he’s looking forward to traveling with his wife and spending time with his two grown children. Cokus says he believes his predecessor, who was first hired in 1984 at the department as a dispatcher, was the longest tenured employee on the township’s books when he retired. During O’Donnell’s tenure with the department, North Fayette changed quite a bit. The former police chief recalls how, when he started, the township only had a couple of housing developments and 10 officers. Back then, the department also only ran one or two cars per shift. Now, the department has 30 employees and runs upwards of five-car shifts at any one time. Still, North Fayette has remained a special place, as Cokus discovered when he was hired as a dispatcher at the police department in 2001. Like a lot of recent police academy graduates, Cokus was working part-time and ended up splitting his time between North Fayette and departments in Baden Borough and Raccoon Township in Beaver County. When a full-time position opened at North Fayette in 2004, he jumped at the opportunity. Cokus, who grew up in Ambridge, says that at first he felt a bit torn about leaving Baden, but that he’s never regretted the decision. “I remember going back to tell my chief, Dan Colaizzi, ‘Chief, it’s a really special place out there,’” he recalls. “And it has never let me down from that point on.” One of Cokus’ first and most memorable impressions of the township came shortly after he was hired and the township held a fundraiser for an employee who had been diagnosed with cancer. That, and other displays of caring from the community, convinced Cokus that North Fayette was where he wanted to be. “This is not normal in other communities, what happens here,” he says. “It’s really a blessing.” In the years since, Cokus says O’Donnell has been an important mentor to him and other officers. He says he doubts he would be in the position he is today if not for his predecessor’s guidance. O’Donnell, on the other hand, calls his successor a hard worker and a good person who will do well. “He has a good foundation around him,” says O’Donnell. “He has a lot of like-minded officers and I know everyone will be eager to help him be successful.” O’Donnell says that, in addition to his officers, he’s also grateful to the township supervisors who supported him and his department during his tenure as chief. “The board of supervisors was amazing to me,” he says, “and the township manager. They allowed me to do my job. At the end of the day, that’s what sticks out to me.” One of those supervisors, Jim Morosetti, who is also the township’s police commissioner, says that O’Donnell moved the department in the right direction and that his positive attitude impacted officers. He says he sees Cokus continuing that legacy. Morosetti says supervisors had to make a difficult choice between some very fine candidates and that their decision wasn’t easy. Like O’Donnell, he says Cokus wants to prioritize training but to also seek out grants to help the department expand its footprint. Another aspect that made Cokus a good candidate was his previous work with the department’s drug task force, says Morosetti. “He was an excellent detective,” he says. “In fact, by promoting him, we had to ask ourselves if we were losing a good detective.” Cokus was promoted to that position in 2013, amidst the current opioid epidemic. During his tenure, he investigated a number of deadly overdoses that officers were able to tie to narcotics distributors. Working with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office, Cokus was able to identify nine offenders responsible for distributing heroin or fentanyl in fatal overdose cases. Five of those were charged with a more serious crime called drug delivery resulting in death. North Fayette was the first agency to charge an individual with the crime in Allegheny County through the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, says Cokus. He recalls how Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro even held a press conference to announce pending charges against that first defendant, and how O’Donnell hugged Shapiro. “I remember he said, ‘Sorry sir, that’s just what we do here,’” recalls Cokus. Chief O’Donnell retires, Cokus named to succeed STORY BY DOUG HUGHEY Mark O’Donnell (above, photo submitted) recently retired as North Fayette Township’s police chief and has since been succeeded by Don Cokus (at right, photo by Doug Hughey). 16 • Allegheny West Magazine • October/November 2020 The second such case Cokus investigated was the 2017 overdose death of a recent West Allegheny High School graduate with a bright future named Jonathan Levitt. “He was in his early 20s and a really really smart kid and a hockey player,” recalls Cokus. He says that, thanks to township supervisors’ support, he and the department were able to take the investigation into Beaver County. There, Cokus and Attorney General Supervisory Narcotics Agent Dan Opsatnick connected Levitt’s overdose to another overdose death in New Brighton. That led to the arrest, and conviction, of an individual who was distributing fentanyl from Beaver County. Cokus recalls how Shapiro held another press conference at the Beaver County Courthouse to announce that prosecution. This time when Shapiro saw O’Donnell, the attorney general was the one who went in for the hug. “When I first started [as detective], Mark told me, ‘This is very important to me. This epidemic is killing people. You know my number one goal is to treat people right…That doesn’t change now,’” recalls Cokus. Cokus says he’s thankful for the opportunity that he’s been given, but he says he’s also thankful to be part of a department that receives such a significant amount of support from the community. He says it’s not unusual for cards and other mementos to be floating around the department thanking officers. At a time when many police officers feel under attack, he says the department feels grateful to be serving a community such as North Fayette. October/November 2020 • www.awmagazine.com • 17CAround Your Town Around Your Town For the past five years, Sue Peindl of Findlay Township has been organizing a blanket drive for various area organizations, including senior centers and hospitals. The blankets she and a handful of area women create have comforted cancer patients and ailing veterans. Little caps they crochet even help keep newborns warm. Last year alone they delivered 350 blankets to those who could use them. The effort has been dubbed Crochet for a Cause and, typically, Peindl organizes blanket-making sessions each month at the Findlay Township Activity Center in Imperial. This year, however, Crochet for a Cause was shut down for a few months due to COVID-19. After getting back up and running in June, volunteers are now racing to assemble 400 blankets by early November, when Peindl plans to deliver them. She admits that’s a daunting task. In fact, it would be the most blankets the effort has ever put together in a year. When Peindl, who is the assistant parks coordinator for Findlay Township, set the goal, it was also before their sessions got cut down due to COVID. Luckily for her, there are some avid volunteers willing to lend a hand. Some come from as far away as Independence Township and Paris to help. Neighbors tend to bring neighbors and word has spread among friends. The township also puts the word out in their communications. Peindl’s fortunate that some of those volunteers, like Kathy Kutsenkow, just really like to crochet. “My family got sick of [receiving] blankets, every birthday, Christmas, everything,” she says. “So when I saw this I thought this was great.” Last year, Kutsenkow sewed 50 blankets for Crochet for a Cause, each with a different pattern. She says finding a new pattern to try out is what motivates her. On a Thursday night in September, Kutsenkow was one of about a dozen women who showed up to lend a hand. She was joined by a few women from the Lenox Place development just down the street and some other women who have been showing up for years. Laura Burns, who also works for Findlay Township, showed up to lend a hand as well. Over the years, she’s gotten her mother, Joyce Shafer, 72, involved. Now, Shafer sews squares for the cause each year. Another volunteer, Kathryn Brown, showed up that evening looking for a yoga class. When there wasn’t one, she decided to stick around and help. Peindl says she first started the effort when she was the adult program coordinator for the Western Allegheny Community Library. When she went to work for Findlay Township, she brought the idea with her. She says she initially asked for donations of six-inch squares that could be assembled into lap blankets. That first year they sewed blankets for Molinaro Manor in Oakdale and were able to make enough for every resident. “From there it just kind of snowballed,” she says. The following year they made blankets for the organization Linus Blankets. “We got such a nice response that we reached out to other organizations,” she says. When Peindl reached out to a volunteer at a chemotherapy ward, and learned that the hospital went through upwards of 200 caps each month, she and her volunteers decided to start making chemotherapy caps. “If I hear of a different organization that needs blankets I’ll expand,” she says. “I try to reach as many facilities as we can, just so everybody has a little something.” Last year, Peindl and another volunteer delivered blankets to The Willows, the Pittsburgh VA, Franciscan Manor, Heritage Valley Hospital, Tapestry Senior Living and St. Clair Hospital, just to name some. They also donated 44 blankets to Linus Blankets. Peindl says that much of their material comes from donations and that they’re always looking for yarn and fabric, particularly fleece and no-sew fleece kits. She says they’ll also gladly take gift cards to fabric stores such as JoAnn Fabric. In addition to her volunteers, she says the effort would not be possible each year if not for the Findlay Township supervisors. Without them, she says the effort wouldn’t be able to continue to lend comfort to so many people. Crochet for a Cause meets one or two Thursdays per month. Their next scheduled dates are Oct. 22 and Oct. 29. They meet from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Findlay Township Community Center in Imperial. For more information, to get involved or to make a donation, email speindl@findlaytwp.org or call (724) 695-0500 x 240. Findlay effort racing to again lend comfort to those who need it STORY AND PHOTOS BY DOUG HUGHEY FROM TOP: Volunteers at a recent Crochet for a Cause meeting included: Martha Hardenbrook; Anna Marie Niemann, Judy Bovalina and Linda Synowka; Kathryn Brown; and Kathy Kutsenkow and Marjorie McKenzie. Sue Peindl, who is the assistant parks coordinator for Findlay Township, holds up one of the hundreds of blankets that she and area volunteers are now assembling for an annual blanket drive she organizes. 18 • Allegheny West Magazine • October/November 2020Next >