As the Midget League football game at Willie Stargell Field drew to a close Aug. 15, 20 gunshots rang out within hearing range. The shots were so close in fact, they injured three bystanders as they made their way around the corner from the game.

In response to the shootings, Pittsburgh Police Chief Nathan Harper addressed the nearby residents of Homewood at the very same field the next day. He came with a show of force of close to 30 officers and a threat to shutdown the Allegheny County Midget Football League unless someone in the community came forward with information regarding the perpetrators.

SWIFT JUSTICE—Chief Nate Harper addresses the community at Willie Stargell Field, Aug. 16.

“As you see with kids playing here, we can’t tolerate this kind of violence,” said Harper, motioning to children swimming in the park’s public swimming pool. “We don’t have the names of the perpetrators. If we don’t have the names by the end of the day we expect to cancel the football league. We plan on making arrests immediately. We’re tired of always reacting to the same kind of events.”

Following multiple complaints surrounding its contracting procedures regarding construction of the $22 million K. Leroy Irvis Science Center, including a lawsuit filed by non-union contractors, the Community College of Allegheny County has cancelled its bid deadline.

The Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Pa. filed a lawsuit charging the college with entering into a Project Labor Agreement that required 90 percent of the workforce to come from union shops.

BILL ROBINSON

Eileen Watt, former county councilwoman and president of the Associated Builders and Contractors Western Pennsylvania branch, said some of her members complained they would have to lay off their own employees to hire union members in order to work on the Irvis Center project. Watt said the ABC has scheduled a press conference on the contracting issues and the PLA for Aug. 18 at 4 p.m. in West Park across from the CCAC campus.

After threats by Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper to shutdown the Allegheny County Midget Football League in response to a Homewood shooting Aug. 15, leaders of the league and team coaches banded together to find a solution.

“I understand that justice has to be served, but the kids are not the problem. I understand the chief has to take a stand somewhere. I can see his viewpoint, but a lot of these people in these organizations volunteer 30 hours a week,” said Jose Regus, league president. “It’s not like this was the only incident. It’s just the only incident that was by the youth.”

FATHER FIGURES—From left: Coaches Monte Robinson and Ayodeji Young respond to the shooting that occurred during their team’s game.

By 8 p.m., following a meeting with the football league and anonymous information from members of the community, Harper decided to stand down.

Pittsburgh recently unveiled its program to combat violent crime so we asked Pittsburghers what they thought. Here’s what you said.

“It sounds great. If you can get folks to support it through education about the benefits, it can have a positive impact on the city. I am looking forward to the effects it has on the community. I am from the south and see similar issues at home.”
Jamie Goings
Validation engineer
Raleigh, N. C.

Jamie Goings, Rashida McElrath, David Burton