Year full of excitement, disappointment, sadness

By THE EAGLE STAFF

December 31, 2011 Last Updated: January 02, 2012 03:59 PM Community

JEEP FESTIVAL — Tom Perry of Maynard, Mass. and passenger Rick Titus finish the rock crawl section of the Jeep Playground on the first day of the Bantam Jeep Fest at the Big Butler Fairgrounds in Prospect.

2011 had its share of highs and lows.

Here are snapshots of some of the more notable stories of the year.

Steelers lose big game Fans across Butler County celebrated the Pittsburgh Steelers' trip to Super Bowl XLV in a multitude of ways.The team was cheered by former Steelerette Jean Garrett of Butler, scores of fans watched the game at Zelienople's Strand Theater and thousands of others grasped onto Mars graduate Marshall Hutchinson's “Black and Gold,” a reimagining of Wiz Khalifa's “Black and Yellow,” as the team's anthem.But it was the Green Bay Packers who left Dallas with a 31-25 victory.

Butler County's population increased by almost 10,000 from 2000, according to the 2010 Census figures.The county's population went from 174,083 in 2000 to 183,862 in 2010, a 5.6 percent increase with most of that growth in Adams and Cranberry townships, accounting for 9,351 new residents in the decade.As for in-county losses in population, Butler lost 1,364 residents, while Zelienople lost 311 people during the decade.The Census also recorded population losses in Armstrong, Beaver, Clarion, Lawrence, Mercer and Venango counties.

Cranberry Township police Cpl. Dan Hahn fell more than 20 feet from a highway overpass Feb. 14 while running after a suspected drunken driver who had fled his vehicle.Hahn, a 21-year veteran officer, underwent back and neck surgery and surgery to repair a shattered elbow. He also had several other injuries.Hahn had been injured that night while trying to arrest Thomas Booth of Springfield Township, Mercer County. Booth died of his injuries the next day.Hahn is continuing his rehabilitation and hopes to return to the police force.

A pall fell over the Knoch High School community in early November when senior cheerleader Alexis Summers was killed in a one-car crash in Jefferson Township.State police said 17-year-old Alexis of Saxonburg, who was active in school and church activities, lost control of her car and slammed into a tree.The football team dedicated its WPIAL playoff run to Alexis. It lost in the title game in Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

Investigators in July found what are believed to be the charred remains of a wealthy couple at their Brady Township estate.Colin Abbott, 41, of New Jersey could face the death penalty if he is convicted of killing the couple: his father Kenneth Abbott, 65; and his stepmother, Celeste Abbott, 55.Prosecutors believe Colin Abbott killed the couple in June for financial reasons, then attempted to hide the crime by destroying their bodies and telling relatives the pair died in a car crash.Colin Abbott is in the Butler County Prison awaiting trial.

A Lyndora tattoo artist in September was convicted of murdering a customer.Kevin E. Campbell, 36, now is serving a life sentence for shooting 24-year-old Shawn Murphey.Murphey on Christmas Eve 2008, went to Campbell's shop to get a tattoo. But Campbell shot his client in the head and took his cash and drugs.The body was not discovered for weeks.

Former judge and district attorney John Brydon, 81, died May 28.Brydon was district attorney from 1964 to 1982 and then was a county judge until his retirement in 1996. He was a senior judge afterward. He was president judge when he retired.Brydon was recalled as a compassionate man of the law and a fun-spirited man of the people.

The Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, along with volunteers, staged the first Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival, Aug. 12 to 14, in Butler and at the Big Butler Fairgrounds.The three-day event kicked off by setting a Guinness World Record for Longest Jeep Parade, with 1,006 Jeeps traveling from the Butler County Community College in Butler Township to downtown Butler.From there, the Jeep enthusiasts' focus turned to the fairgrounds and Moraine State Park, where special off-road trails and a four-wheel drive hill made up of rocks and logs had been built.The festival will be repeated Aug. 10 to 12 this year.

A grease fire severely damaged the kitchen of the Kaufman House on Oct. 5, but the rest of the building was saved after a quick response from firefighters.Damage was estimated at $180,000 to $200,000.The owners estimated it would take three months to get the business open again, in part because of all the smoke damage throughout the restaurant.

The year 2011 meant a dry spell for many anglers in and around southwestern Butler County as two major fishing lakes were drained.Glade Run Lake off Overbrook Road in Middlesex Township was drained in early July, and Hereford Manor Lake in nearby Franklin Township, Beaver County, was drained in October.The lakes were on a list of 18 in the state designated as “high hazard” by the state's Fish and Boat Commission over safety of their dams.Eagle staff writers Kim Paskorz, Kelly Garrett, Ed Biller, Bob Schultz and Jim Smith contributed to this report.

DOUBLE HOMICIDE — Investigators sift through dirt at the home of Kenneth and Celeste Abbott in Brady Township. Police have charged Colin Abbott, 41, with the murder of his father and stepmother.

DRY LAKE — Siggy Pehel, president of the Friends of Glade Run Lake, stands at the dry lake bed. Glade Run was drained because of fears the dam could fail.

LOFTY PERCH — Hunter Lefever, 13, of Connoquenessing Township will likely remember the start of this year?s Butler Farm Show as a chicken took rest on his head in the poultry tent on opening day in August.

CHEESE HEADS PREVAIL — The Craig Smith family of Butler Township, transplants from Wisconsin, show their support for the Packers before the Super Bowl in which Green Bay defeated the Steelers. Family members are Beth, Craig, son Ryan and daughter Haley.

READY TO ROLL — 10-month-old Owen Bartley of Saxonburg did the Michelin Man proud at the Saxonburg Halloween Parade.

KAUFMAN HOUSE FIRE — The landmarkKaufman House restaurant in Zelienople was forcedto close for repairs after it was damaged by fire inOctober.

RUNNING AT THE RODEO — The annual North Washington Rodeo again provided plenty of attractions for fans. Here, competitorsin the 4-to 7-year-old stick horse race jockey for position.

CONGRESSMAN FROM BUTLER — U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3rd, talks in February at a town meeting at the Butler Township Municipal Building shortly after taking office.