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CASTLE SHANNON EMERGENCY SERVICES 
Castle Shannon Emergency Services continues to have a problem locating some addresses when called to respond for an incident or a medical emergency. Residents are required to post their house number in a specific pattern on the front of their home or business. Some house and building numbers have faded or have fallen off. This could be critical to answering an emergency. The borough has an ordinance covering house numbers as to their type, size and location on the home or business. It has not been enforced out of courtesy and with hope residents and businesses would comply. ~~~~ Please assist your emergency services by posting your house or business number on the front of your building. It is also an assistance to put your front porch light on when waiting for Police, Fire or Medical Services to arrive. 9-month bridge job set to start in March  Saturday, November 25, 2006 By Joe Grata, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The main artery for South Busway and South Hills Light Rail Transit riders will be severed for reconstruction next year: the high bridge crossing Route 51 next to the Liberty Tunnels. The Port Authority plans to close the 30-year-old span in March for a nine-month, estimated $20 million rehabilitation of the deck, embedded tracks and overhead wiring. Known at the Port Authority as the Saw Mill Run Bridge, it carries buses and trolleys to South Hills Junction and Downtown. It is used by 430 buses and nearly as many LRVs on an average weekday. People who account for tens of thousands of rides -- 26,000 a day on the T alone -- will be inconvenienced to different extents. All South Hills light-rail service will use the Overbrook line, meaning, for example, what would normally be inbound service from Mt. Lebanon, Dormont and Beechview will head outbound instead to Castle Shannon Junction. There, cars will be turned inbound on the Overbrook tracks. The T will work the opposite way for people headed out of town. Library service via Overbrook will not be affected. Buses removed from the exclusive right of way will operate via Allentown and the Wabash Tunnel, but authority officials said it's far too early for riders to be given details. Work will include the bus ramps to and from West Liberty Avenue, part of the rail system to the Dawn and Traymore stops, and a short stretch of the facility near the Palm Garden Stop that buses and LRVs share. Operations Manager Steve Banta said the authority decided to close the bridge "and get it over with" in one construction season, rather than maintaining one-way traffic through the work zone over two years, which adds to costs as well as prolongs the impact. The deck of the bridge has been deteriorating for some time and consists of a quiltwork of patches. Temporary repairs will no longer work, he said, and an overhaul is in order to extend the life of the important transit link. A preliminary phase of the overall rehabilitation recently was concluded. It involved $1.6 million worth of work through the narrow South Hills Junction maintenance yard. The work, which caused minimal disruption for most bus-trolley riders, was finished about two weeks ahead of schedule. The Saw Mill Run Bridge opened in December 1977 as part of the 4.3-mile South Busway, the buses-only road paralleling Route 51 and connecting to West Liberty Avenue near the Liberty Tunnels and routes 88 and 51 in Overbrook. The busway and trolleys share the bridge, South Hills Junction and the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel en route to and from Downtown. Credit Card Scam Person calling states they're from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA/Master card. They provide a fake Badge number stating your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern. This would be on your VISA/Master card, which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a Marketing company based in Arizona?" When you say "No", the caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to ( gives you your address), is that correct?" You say "yes". The caller continues - "I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. "I need to verify you are in possession of your card". You are then asked to read off the 7 numbers listed on the back of the card; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security numbers. After you provide the caller with these numbers, he'll say, "That is correct, Do you have any other questions?" After you Say No, the caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back if you do". DO NOT PROVIDE CALLERS WITH ANY CREDIT CARD INFORMATION Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification. The police are taking several of these reports daily! JURY DUTY SCAM In this con, someone calls pretending to be a court official who threateningly says a warrant has been issued for your arrest because you didn't show up for jury duty. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator and asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify information. Sometimes they even ask for credit card numbers. Give out any of this information and your identity has just been stolen. The scam has been reported so far in 11 states. This (scam) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they're with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud. By Chief Harold Lane If you buy various store gift cards such as Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Home Depot, Circuit City, and others from your local merchants, you may become a victim of theft. Criminals are now writing down the gift card numbers from the merchant's store, and then waiting a few days for the victim to purchase and activate the gift card. The criminal calls in days later to verify that the gift card is activated and has a remaining balance. Once the criminal learns of the gift card's balance and is aware that the card is activated, the criminal goes online utilizing the recordered numbers to shop. The criminal usually shops until the remaining balance is exhausted. As a precaution: You should consider purchasing your card from the merchant's customer service, where the gift cards are not viewable to the public. As the holiday season approaches, remember to keep purchases, purses, backpacks and other bags out of view by locking them in your trunk. Criminals often walk through shopping center parking lots looking for your newly purchased gifts. Also, be sure to keep the receipts separate from the purchased items. If your purchases have the receipts with them, criminals often return the items for cash or a gift card.  HTM DESIGNS |
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