Looking back in Greene County
A look at some of the headlines gracing the pages of the Observer-Reporter and Waynesburg Republican this week in Greene County history:
Remembering Rock
CARMICHAELS – Carmichaels Area School Board was asked Thursday to retire the jersey number of standout football player Rock Doman, who died in a gas well drilling accident in December.
Doman’s parents, Bob and Patty Doman, addressed the board and spoke of their son’s many accomplishments on the football field. Doman, who died Dec. 3 at the age of 26, was an outstanding football player at Carmichaels Area.
He set a school record of 4,145 yards rushing from 1996 to 1999 and was one of only four players from Greene County to pass the 4,000-yard mark in the WPIAL.
Bob Doman said his family and Rock himself would be honored if the board would agree to retire Rock’s number “44.” He asked the board to vote on the matter that night, saying he believed board members knew in advance the request was going to be made.
Board President Ron Ferek said, however, the board would have to follow its procedure and the request would first be considered by the athletic committee.
Central Greene staffer has meningitis
A staff member at Margaret Bell Miller Middle School in Waynesburg has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis.
As a result, district officials caution parents to seek medical treatment for their child should he or she experience symptoms of the disease.
The staff member, whose named and position are not being released, became ill Friday evening and was later diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, said Dr. Jerome Bartley, Central Greene School District superintendent.
The district has been in contact with the state Department of Health and has been informed the strain the staff member contracted has a “lower level” of infection than more severe strains of the disease, Bartley said.
“No treatment is necessary unless a person experiences symptoms, which include fever, headache, stiff neck, rash or seizure,” he said. Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, discomfort looking at bright lights, confusion and sleepiness.
DIG IT
WAYNESBURG – Greene County was left cleaning up Monday after a weekend winter storm dumped almost 2 feet of snow, forcing schools and businesses to close and keeping many residents shut up in their homes for the day.
The snowfall, which started Saturday night and continued non-stop through Monday morning, left between 22 and 25 inches of snow on the ground in the Waynesburg area, said John Darnley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh.
“You were on the high end,” Darnley said, speaking of the amount of snow that fell in Greene County compared to that for the rest of Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Only areas of higher elevations east of the county, such as in the Laurel Highlands, reported greater snowfalls, he said. The snowfall in those areas ranged from 25 and 40 inches, Darnley said.
Though the heavy snowfall obviously put a lot of strain on state and municipal road crews, not to mention residents who had to shovel out to make it into work Monday morning, the county apparently weathered the storm fairly well.
However, one elderly Mather resident died Monday afternoon, apparently of a heart attack while shoveling snow, Greene County deputy coroner Mary Lewis said.
Costs to renovate vo-tech school to be re-evaluated
WAYNESBURG – Greene County Vocational-Technical School will be re-evaluating its proposed school renovation project to address local school districts’ concerns about costs.
“We’re going back to the architect and asking them to prepare an alternative list (of work) that would include doing just the roof and taking care of code violations,” said Richard Ohler, director of the school.
Questions regarding the scope of the project were raised by several districts that were concerned about how much they would have to pay for the project, Ohler said.
Their concerns are “completely understandable” considering the financial condition of most of the districts in the county, he said. “We’re just going to have to look at the project more carefully and re-evaluate our plans,” Ohler said.
The school’s joint operating committee, formed by representatives of each of the five county school districts, has been working with an architect during about the last six months to develop plans for the project.
The project, estimated to cost $8 million, would be the first major renovation of the school since the building was constructed in 1969.
First woman elected to chair Democratic panel in county
WAYNESBURG – Linda K. Rizor of New Freeport became the first woman to hold the position of Greene County Democratic chairman when she was elected to the position last Friday.
Members of the party’s county committee voted her in by a 62-17 margin over Barry Crumrine of Waynesburg, who was the only other candidate.
The office became vacant two weeks ago with the resignation of Richard Zollars of Waynesburg. Mrs. Rizor, who is the wife of county Commissioner James Rizor, will complete Zollars’ term, which runs until the next biennial election is held in May.
Public housing gets clearance
The Greene County Housing Authority has received authorization from the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to proceed with the purchase of property in West Waynesburg for the construction of 60 units of low-rent public housing.
The family-type housing units are to be built on five sites in West Waynesburg, one of which would be Fonnertown, a collection of shacks.
The other four sites have not been pinpointed.