Hempfield school board member gets probation for DUI, plans to continue serving

Hempfield Area School Board member Michael Alfery will serve one year on probation for a drunken driving arrest last fall.

Alfery, 51, was charged in October with two counts of DUI after a traffic stop, according to court records.

Police said Alfery sped away from a Sheetz parking lot in Hempfield, made a left turn without a signal and ran a stop sign before he was pulled over. Alfery smelled of alcohol, had glassy eyes and slurred speech when he told officers he had just left a local bar where he drank four beers, according to court records.

Court documents revealed that Alfery failed a field sobriety test and later was found to have a blood alcohol level of 0.171%, more than twice the limit a motorist is considered to be intoxicated under Pennsylvania law.

In court on Wednesday, Alfery was admitted to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time, nonviolent offenders that will allow his criminal record to be expunged after he completes probation. Admission to the jail diversionary program did not require Alfery to plead guilty to the charges.

In addition to probation, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Scott Mears ordered Alfery to complete drug and alcohol treatment if needed and to attend an alcohol highway safety school.

Alfery declined to comment as he left the courtroom.

Defense attorney Fran Murrman said Alfery intends to remain a member of the school board.

“He has no intent to resign,” Murrman said. “He will complete the program and have his record expunged.”

Alfery was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Hempfield school board in June 2019 and was elected to a full four-year term in November. According to the school district’s website, Alfery serves as a member of the school board’s drug awareness and policy committee.

Michael Brungo, solicitor for the Hempfield Area School District, said Alfery’s arrest and probation sentence does not disqualify him from serving as a board member.

“A DUI is not considered an infamous crime,” Brungo said.