Insurance will come in handy in a couple of the matters Port Allegany Police were asked to deal with last week. Vehicle ownership was the issue in another. A holding pen held but the doggone leash didn’t. Traffic was made to, um, line the tow in an orderly way. These items and more made it onto the police log in the week that began Monday, January 17 and ended Sunday, January 23.

At 2 p.m. last Monday Chief Dave Distrola responded to a disabled vehicle call on North Main Street and conducted traffic control until the tow service arrived.

At 3 p.m. he was asked to go to Fox’s Pizza, where it was said that a homeless person was asking for money. Distrola found that Brian Cornelius had returned to the borough and was allegedly panhandling. Cornelius was transported to the police department office and his counselor was contacted. Arrangements were made for Cornelius to stay at a hotel in Bradford, awaiting further assistance.

Officer Adam Dickerson received a criminal mischief complaint at 5:30 p.m. from Elizabeth Binder, who said she had found the driver side window of her car smashed while the car was parked on Broad Street.

 At 7:15 a.m. Wednesday Distrola was informed of a dog having been captured by post office personnel. The dog was placed in the animal holding pen at the police station. When the owner came to recover the pet, it escaped while the owner was trying to attach its leash.

At 10 p.m. Distrola was informed that Mike Rethmel had removed a vehicle from the ABC Motel where his girlfriend, Amber Smith, was staying after a domestic incident in Smethport. The missing auto was reported as an unauthorized use incident, but it was determined that Rethmel’s name was on the registration. The matter was referred to the Smethport Borough Police and Pennsylvania State Police.

Friday at 8:15 a.m. Chief Distrola was dispatched to a North Main Street residence to assist with a vehicle lock-out situation.

That afternoon at 5:25 p.m. Officer Tony Tanner was contacted by Coudersport-based PSP in connection with a missing female juvenile. Later Tanner discovered the juvenile with Caleb Benson. The juvenile was transported home by the state police.

That night at 10:15 Tanner helped a stuck motorist in East Mill Street. A car driven by Tonya Kilpatrick was stuck in the parking lot at Bridgeport Academy. Tanner helped her free the car.

Sunday at 9:15 a.m. Officer Kyle Day was dispatched to a reported hit-and-run at 70 Church Street. A vehicle owned by William Postlewait had been struck in the driver side door. Later it was determined that the damage had been caused when Caleb Benson had backed out of the residence the previous night, after having visited Postlewait. The friends were advised to exchange insurance information. No charges were filed.

At 1:30 p.m. Day was dispatched to 70 Katherine Street where it was reported that a motor vehicle crash had occurred. Melissa Kio of Chambersburg said that Mike Songer had backed into her car while it was parked on Benton Avenue. She said Songer planned to pay for the damage directly rather than via an insurance claim. Kio said she wanted to have an official record of the incident, hence her call to the police.