Roxborough

McCain looks back on half-century of officiating Passing along some city high school football tidbits . . .   TOM MCCLAIN's 52-year officiating career will end Thursday morning when Northeast hosts Central for the schools' annual Thanksgiving tussle. He can't help but think, however, that a better way to go out might have presented itself 3 weeks ago, when he attended a youth game involving his grandson, Declan Martin-Connaughton, a member of the Upper Dublin Cardinals' 75-pounders.

Passing along some city high school football tidbits . . .  TOM MCCLAIN's 52-year officiating career will end Thursday morning when Northeast hosts Central for the schools' annual Thanksgiving tussle. He can't help but think, however, that a better way to go out might have presented itself 3 weeks ago, when he attended a youth game involving his grandson, Declan Martin-Connaughton, a member of the Upper Dublin Cardinals' 75-pounders. "At youth games, they only have two refs," McClain said.

In the 2008 football season, Franklin's Steve Garrett, wearing No. 88, lined up at tailback for a trick play and fired a fourth-down scoring pass to slotback Marquis White, normally the tailback. It was the first pass of his varsity career and gave the Electrons a 12-6 OT win over Roxborough. Why, you might ask, was Garrett given this opportunity? . . . Because, earlier that same day, he'd been spotted firing a Nerf ball in a gym class! "One of my fellow teachers told me, 'That kid has a really strong arm,' " said coach Ken Geiser.

A former Philadelphia police inspector who served time in prison for possessing child pornography has been arrested again, this time after allegedly trying to lure an 8-year-old Roxborough girl into his car, police said. Leo Haley, 72, a registered Megan's Law offender, was arrested Thursday morning on charges of unlawful restraint, luring a child, making terroristic threats, and harassment. The charges stem from an Oct. 17 incident on the 7000 block of Voight Road, about two miles from Haley's Lauriston Street home.

A former Philadelphia Police inspector who has a history of sex offenses involving children has been arrested in connection with trying to lure an 8-year-old girl from her yard in Roxborough last month, police said. Leo Haley, 72, retired from the department in 1996. In 2010, he was one of three people charged in a child pornography bust after authorities raided his Roxborough home and found hundreds of child-porn videos on his computer. He pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to six- to 23 months in prison, records show.

Junior Atta Ullah recorded his fourth hat trick of the season, netting four goals Wednesday in Furness' 9-0 romp over Roxborough in Public League boys' soccer. Desmond Smith and Miguel Macias added their first varsity goals, and Furness held visiting Roxborough without a single shot on goal. In other Public League action: Lincoln forward Meriklen Kercini bagged three goals and teammate Washington Kimber added a goal and three assists, as the Railsplitters rolled to an 8-0 win over Boys' Latin.

Junior Atta Ullah recorded his fourth hat trick of the season, netting four goals Wednesday in Furness' 9-0 romp over Roxborough in Public League boys' soccer. Desmond Smith and Miguel Macias added their first varsity goals, and Furness held visiting Roxborough without a single shot on goal. In other Public League action: Lincoln forward Meriklen Kercini bagged three goals and teammate Washington Kimber added a goal and three assists, as the Railsplitters rolled to an 8-0 win over Boys' Latin.

When the Giovannone brothers obtained a permit to demolish a Victorian house in Roxborough, it's unlikely they expected a phone campaign, hundreds of concerned citizens, and protests outside the Ridge Avene home. But a week after they posted demolition notices on the 1880's house, that's exactly what happened. The battle over the Bunting House began last week, after residents learned that Giovannone Construction Inc. had obtained a permit to demolish the stone mansion at Ridge and Roxborough Avenues.

The kid from Roxborough, then a freshman at Princeton, heard the words from his coach: "You think you have a sense of your limits. What is the edge of your limits?' " He decided to find out. When Glenn Ochal told his younger brother, Justin, what he was planning for himself one winter day on and around the Schuylkill, Justin responded, "Dude, are you insane?" Glenn's childhood nickname had been The Moose. His family entertained friends by having little Moose push people around the house in a chair.

What do you notice about the new "Welcome to" sign that was recently installed in a beautifully landscaped triangular plot where Osborn Street and Rochelle Avenue meet the busy curve of Ridge Avenue in Northwest Philadelphia?   The wording struck me: "Welcome to Wissahickon, Gateway to Roxborough. " It makes the little boot-shaped neighborhood of Wissahickon that rolls uphill from the Schuylkill to the eastern edge of Roxborough sound like a cheerleader for its much-larger neighborhood rival, doesn't it?