Mar 15, 2017 3 min read

McMURRAY – Canonsburg Mayor David Rhome reiterated his community’s gratitude to Peters Township for its police department’s support during and after an incident that claimed the life of a borough officer.

Rhome spoke at Monday’s Peters Township Council meeting, acknowledging the backup provided by Officer Matthew Collins in responding to a Nov. 10 incident in which a gunman fatally shot Scott Bashioum and injured James Saieva, another Canonsburg policeman.

“But the help from your community did not end that night,” Rhome told council, explaining nearby police chiefs, including Peters’ Douglas Grimes and Cecil Township’s Shawn Bukovinsky, “worked hand-in-hand to take over the scheduling of officers from their departments, along with many other departments in the area, to secure all shifts for Canonsburg while our officers were on bereavement.”

“They basically took care of making sure that Canonsburg’s safety and security was never jeopardized, and was done so with the utmost professionalism,” the mayor said. “So many new friendships and acquaintances were made during this time that probably would have never happened under normal circumstances, and these new friendships only strengthen our bonds as neighboring communities.”

He made this promise to Peters Township: “Should the need ever arise where we would need to back you up and come to your aid in any way, you can be sure that Canonsburg will be at your side every step of the way, as you were for us.”

In other business, council approved a new stop sign for Yorktown Road at its intersection with Concord Drive, following a request from a nearby resident.

“There is an existing stop sign on Yorktown,” township manager Paul Lauer told council. “The question was, should there be one in the opposite movement?”

The police department conducted an analysis of the situation and agreed that a second sign was merited for northbound traffic on Yorktown.

“This situation creates a traffic hazard for the motoring public due to the lack of a clear traffic control device (stop sign) for one direction or other,” Grimes wrote in a memo to Lauer, determining the new sign “will provide a clear and definitive resolution to the right-of-way issue. Nothing we analyzed suggests the need for a three-way stop sign at this intersection and, in fact, a three-way stop sign would likely prove detrimental during winter months.”

It was also noted the state Department of Transportation also sent a letter advising a construction project on Georgetown Road in Cecil Township, slightly northwest of Chartiers Creek, would cause a detour for about a week after the scheduled start in July.

The project will affect Valley Brook Road to the west of Route 19 in Peters. The posted detour routes traffic along West McMurray and Morganza roads.