Laurels & lances: Art, justice and Peyton Manning
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Laurel: To artistic expression. Public displays of creativity are nothing new. They were statues in ancient Greece and frescoes on the walls of medieval Europe. But art that doesn’t just decorate the community but represents it might be even more valuable.
On Sunday, a new mural will be dedicated in New Kensington. It isn’t just a colorful splash of paint spread across the side of a building at Ninth Street and Fourth Avenue. It is an illustration of the area’s building blocks and legacy.
New Kensington is built on metal, just like Pittsburgh. It even shares a similar nickname — the Aluminum City, rather than the Steel City. The mural reflects that, with a shining roll of aluminum that flows out into water, just like the river that runs along the city.
The mural is three stories tall, made up of 100 prepainted panels. Half were painted by Bernie Wilke and other artists. The others were painted by New Kensington residents, making it not just the community’s story, but its creation.
Lance: To justice delayed. It might seem like there is little as low as stealing from an elderly woman. What might be worse is taking five years to start serving the sentence.
On Tuesday, former Allegheny County Councilman Charles McCullough, 66, of Upper St. Clair, began serving his 2½-to-5-year prison sentence for five counts each of theft and misappropriation of funds.
McCullough was found guilty of stealing $50,000 from the estate of Shirley Jordan, using the money for political contributions and for a charity then led by his wife, Patricia McCullough, who is now a Commonwealth Court judge. The charges originally were filed in 2009. The case didn’t go to trial until 2015.
For five years, McCullough appealed and petitioned for modified sentence. He renewed his request for house arrest Tuesday, as well as asking for modifications because of a shoulder injury.
“I’m not making a deal with you,” said Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman. “We’ve been doing that for 13 years.”
Laurel: To a daring rescue. A battle between a tiny white dog and a big black bear is really not much of a fight. Unless a pastor gets involved.
The Rev. Tim Stradling didn’t just pray for his 9-year-old Maltese-silky terrier mix, named Peyton Manning. When he looked out in his Mt. Pleasant Township backyard and saw the dog in the bear’s mouth, the pastor of Armbrust Wesleyan Church made a lot of noise and tried to make himself seem bigger and more intimidating. It was enough to startle the bear into dropping the dog, who sadly suffered a fractured leg and puncture wounds.
It’s possible that the pastor, as he confronted the bear, had Psalm 23:4 in mind (“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil …”). Or he might have just acted with the protective instinct of a guardian, as any dog lover might.
Stradling admits that his reaction was “a mixture of being brave and being stupid.” Not our bailiwick, Pastor Stradling, but toss in 1 Corinthians 4:10 (“We are fools for Christ’s sake …”) and you’ve got the makings of Sunday’s sermon.