Police Promote Bike Safety Tomorrow

by Jonathan Weaver

A local police agency will promote bike safety tomorrow through a free event.

The Ford City “Bike Day in the Park” will allow children and adults to register their bicycles, ride along the Armstrong Trail and have fun Saturday beginning at 10AM.

Ford City Police Officer Jake Ingram described the day’s planned activities.

“We’ll have kids bring their bikes down and the first thing we do is register their bikes in a database we have and a registration sticker on their bicycle, so if their bikes are ever lost or stolen and someone recovers one, we look that sticker up in our database and we can return the bikes,” Ingram said. “Then, we have lunch donated by Big Bear’s Pizza and Pepsi Co. and other businesses around town that donated food, and I have DJ Voodoo coming down who offered to donate his services for the day,” Ingram said.

Approximately six police officers will also offer a bicycle safety course after lunch before a ride down the Armstrong Trail.

Ingram said local businesses also pitched in to donate funds to help raffle off some new wheels.

“We were able to raise over $1,000 in cash donations to go towards bicycles and accessories to be donated and raffled to the children and probably a ballpark of $500-$600 in food donations and entertainment,” Ingram said. “It’s been a rough uphill battle, but I think it’s going to be a nice time – there’s sunshine at the end of the tunnel waiting for everybody.”

Ingram can be found riding around the borough on a police bicycle and hopes the event is offered for consecutive years.

“The idea came up at the beginning of summer time and I decided to put the hammer-down and make it happen. “I do bicycle patrol through the police department and I really enjoy it. I think it’s a great way to get a lot of community relations built up and build a little trust.

“We’ve done this in the past – it’s been a few years since we’ve done it – but we’re trying to restart a tradition,” Ingram said. “There are a lot of low-income kids in that community and they don’t get to go away for the summer – a lot get to go to Idlewild or Kennywood for the day, but a lot of them don’t have that,” Ingram said. “If we as a department can give the kids one day out of the summer that they had some fun, that’s what it’s about to me. And that’s why I decided we’re going to do this.”

Borough Secretary Lisa Bittner registered her bike two decades ago and will volunteer her time tomorrow to help with the registration process. However, she won’t be able to ride along the trail.

“My 15-year-old son was riding it with his friends and they broke the chain and did something else to the gears,” Bittner said. “I think it’s beyond what the police can fix.”

Ford City Police Sgt. John Atherton said approximately 1,000 bikes are registered within the borough, but said that number is an accumulation over time and needs changed.

“That needs updated periodically when people change their bikes when they grow, so utilization of these programs give people the opportunity to re-register their bikes in a central location and inspect them to make sure they are road-safe,” Atherton said.

Ford City Mayor Marc Mantini promoted the event at a recent meeting of borough council and will also be at the event periodically throughout the day.

Former Ford City Councilman Sentenced to Jail, House Arrest

Thomas Shaffer, shown in this 2009 photo, was sentenced yesterday to two months in incarceration and eight months of house arrest in addition to 100 hours of community service and paying a final payment of $10,000 back to Rep. Jeff Pyle’s campaign.

by Jonathan Weaver

A county judge has sentenced a Ford City man who stole from State Rep. Jeff Pyle’s campaign fund to terms of house arrest and incarceration.

Thomas Dean Shaffer, 52, of 309 O`Connor Street was sentenced to two months in the Armstrong County Jail and eight months of house arrest under electronic monitoring, in addition to restitution charges, Tuesday morning by Judge Kenneth Valasek.

Court records show $30,614.77 was stolen during Pyle’s 2010 campaign throughout 16 check payments. Shaffer has paid $27,000 of that total owed in restitution payments. Shaffer must also pay an additional $6,500 for court fees under the plea agreement.

“It comes obvious to me that there wasn’t just one moment – this was a course of conduct that happened over a period of time and didn’t happen in what could be argued as a weak moment,” Valasek said. “This was thought out.”

Still, Valasek took the amount already repaid toward Pyle into account before delivering the sentence, finding probation too weak because of the severity of the crime and total incarceration too strong because of the paid amount.

“Making victims whole is part of the duties of this court and I want to promote the practice of people paying back money before sentencing,” Valasek said.

Shaffer also can not have any contact with Pyle, either at his home or offices and must perform 100 hours of community service.

Following the sentencing, Pyle said he respected Judge Valasek’s decision.

“I’ll accept it, but it’s disappointing,” Pyle said. “I was more worried about clearing my name in the eyes of the State – which I did. I was a little taken aback by the lightness of the judge’s sentence, but I’ll respect it.”

Shaffer did not have any comments before his sentence. His attorney, Scott A. Bitar of Bitar & Bitar, LLC in New Kensington, did not return phone calls to his office to comment.

District Attorney Scott Andreassi said he thought the sentence was appropriate.

“It is an appropriate sentence and as of today, Tom Shaffer is a convicted felon,” Andreassi said.

Shaffer has applied for work release, but the status of which is unknown since it did not reach Valasek before his sentencing began at approximately 9:40AM Tuesday.

Before the sentence, Pyle said many personal and political hardships that resulted from Shaffer’s actions were untold.

“No where in here is mention of me having to tell my 14-and 12-year-old daughters that all they could say was ‘no comment’ for months,” Pyle said.

Pyle said he was required to get a $25,000 donation from a campaign supporter three days before his election.

“I just wish this thing was done and behind me,” Pyle testified.

Investigation into the payments began with a check bank officials denied because of insufficient funds.

Valasek said that Shaffer embarrassed many during his behavior, including Pyle, Ford City residents - because of being a former councilman and past-Ford City Borough Municipal Sewage Disposal Authority - and himself.

“You just plain-out embarrassed them down there,” Valasek said.

Shaffer was arrested in November and served two days in the Armstrong County Jail before a $50,000 bail was paid.