Looking Back
A look at some of the headlines gracing the pages of the Observer-Reporter and Waynesburg Republican this week in Greene County history:
Chelsea Clinton goes to bat for Hillary in local appearance
WAYNESBURG – Some of the excitement swirling around the presidential primary was brought home to Greene County during a campaign stop in Waynesburg Tuesday by the daughter of Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Chelsea Clinton spoke and fielded questions for more than an hour at Waynesburg University, the first stop on her two-day “Your Future, It’s Bright” bus tour.
Clinton, who actually arrived in a large recreational vehicle, was greeted by several hundred students, supporters of her mother and others who gathered outside in the Carl D. Johnson Commons.
The former first daughter spoke of her mother’s stance on issues including college affordability, health care, gas prices, education and the war in Iraq.
One of those who came early was Andrew Naymick of Uniontown, a 20-year-old Waynesburg University student who is leaning heavily toward Clinton.
“I like the fact she wants to get rid of No Child Left Behind,” Naymick said, speaking of the program requiring all students to pass standardized tests. Too much emphasis has been placed on testing, “not learning,” he said.
Overweight truck crushes bridge
A bridge on a dirt road in Morris Township collapsed Thursday when a dump truck, which far exceeded the span’s weight limit, attempted to cross, state police said.
Stephen Leroy Holbert, 30, of Dilliner, was driving a tri-axle commercial truck on Simpson Chapel Road near Swarts when the bridge gave way and the truck fell into the creek below. The collapse occurred at 4:15 p.m., police said.
Greene County owns the bridge, which will be closed indefinitely.
According to police, the 50-foot bridge was clearly marked with a weight limit of three tons. Holbert’s truck was loaded with gravel, and it weighed more than 35 tons. Kevin Gray, the county’s maintenance director, said the truck was headed to a gas well drilling site in the area.
“It was a really stupid route to take,” he said.
Holbert was not hurt in the crash.
Gray estimated that it will cost at least $700,000 to replace the bridge. The county will attempt to obtain money for the repairs through the trucking company’s insurance policy.
C. Greene hoping for FEMA help
WAYNESBURG – With overtime hours and numerous school cancellations and delays, winter was not kind to Central Greene School District, or any other area district for that matter.
School officials, however, are hoping the Federal Emergency Management Agency makes their winter woes a little easier to bear.
Business manager Walter Stout said Tuesday that Central Greene could be partially reimbursed for overtime pay, equipment use and snow removal costs incurred during the Presidents Day snowstorm a few months ago.
“Some of our (maintenance) guys were working 12- to 15-hour shifts on those days,” Stout said. “It would really help the district if we could get some of that money spent on overtime back.”
Classes were canceled through much of the week after the February snowstorm. Workers had to work long hours, clearing more than 20 inches of snow from the parking lots and sidewalks before administrators could even entertain the thought of opening the school buildings to children.
It’s dueling ramp fests after dispute over Mason-Dixon Park
MT. MORRIS – Ramps, a pungent delicacy native to the Greene County foothills, will bathe the Mt. Morris area with their biting odor today as two organizations hold rival festivals honoring the wild onion.
Both festivals bear the name of Mason-Dixon Park, which makes the situation even more confusing for ramp aficionados, hungry for a meal flavored with the obscure vegetable.
“A lot of people think of ramps as a springtime rinse for the body. It purifies the blood and refreshes you, much like sassafras tea,” said Betty Haas, an organizer of the ramp dinner at Mason-Dixon Historical Park.
The park, which is situated in Greene and Monongalia (W.Va.) counties, has hosted a ramp festival every spring for the past 13 years. Despite an upheaval in the organization that manages the affairs of the park, this year will be no different. A variety of dishes, all accented with ramps, will be served from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the red barn on Buckeye Road just across the state border in Core, W.Va.
However, organizers of that event will have to contend with a competing festival, located north on Buckeye Road in Greene County.
Disgruntled members of Mason-Dixon Historical Park Inc., the park’s former operating body, decided a few months ago to form another park on about 37 acres of privately owned land near the Greene County portion of the 266-acre park. That group will hold its ramp festival from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today.
“I don’t care if people go to the other festival. People need to make up their own minds … but I hope that they give us a chance, too,” said Bill Hewitt, who acted as president of Mason-Dixon Historical Park Inc. before the Monongalia County Commission terminated the independent organization’s lease last May. As a result of that action, a few members of the former board have threatened Monongalia County with a lawsuit, alleging breach of contract.
Carmichaels pool may be closed for the summer
The county-operated swimming pool at Wana B Park in Carmichaels has much more serious problems than had been realized, and as a result it is likely the pool will remain closed this summer.
“We will be receiving a complete report and cost estimates from the engineer sometime this week, but at this point it appears that it will cost from $60,000 to $75,000 to make needed repairs,” County Manager Stephen Love said.
Rose Rankin, coordinator of the county Department of Parks and Recreation, said that an examination by a swimming pool “trouble shooter” revealed that one corner of the concrete deck at the deep end of the pool has sunk, buckling the side walls of the stainless steel tank and breaking the welds.
Gene Soboleski new Jacket aide
Eugene S. Sobolewski, first assistant varsity football coach at Beaver Area High School for the pats two years, has been named assistant football coach at Waynesburg College.
In announcing the appointment, Athletic Director Clayton Ketterling said that the addition of Sobolewski to the staff “definitely bolstered our overall setup. I feel we were fortunate in acquiring his talents.”
Sobolewski has been head line coach at Beaver and has also been responsible for the defensive coordination. During his two years at Beaver, the team compiled 8-2-0 and 9-0-1 seasons and both years was rated the number one defensive team in the Midwestern Conference.