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:
Suit against power plant dismissed
A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by four environmental groups seeking to halt construction of a 525-megawatt, waste coal-fired power plant in Nemacolin.
Judge Maurice B. Cohill Jr., in an order issued Tuesday, dismissed the group’s suit, saying the court did not have jurisdiction to hear its claims.
The suit was filed in February by the Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Group Against Smog and Pollution and Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Wellington Development LLC, developer of the plant, has faced repeated legal challenges by environmental groups opposed to the project.
Stanley Sears of Wellington called the latest federal suit “the fourth in a row of frivolous filings.”
Environmental groups have been very public about their position regarding new coal-fired power plants, Sears said. “They’ve said they’ll stop every coal-fired plant in the United States, not by merit, but by tying them up in the courts,” he said.
Waynesburg council hears more complaints about unsightly buildings
WAYNESBURG – Waynesburg Borough council heard a familiar lament Monday as two residents complained of dilapidated buildings and the overall run-down condition of parts of the town.
Jeanie Glatts told council she soon would be moving to a small village in New York. The High Street woman said she had an opportunity to remain in Waynesburg, but she decided against it because of ongoing problems with noisy neighbors and nearby, broken-down structures.
Members of council countered that while run down buildings are eyesores they would like to eliminate, borough officials can only do so much. The borough tore down seven dilapidated buildings last year. And while that may not seem like a staggering amount, legal and financial issues often prevent more demolitions, according to borough manager Bruce Wermlinger.
Tearing down these buildings costs taxpayer money, but even if money wasn’t an issue, the borough would still need to respect the rights of the buildings’ owners, he said. Warnings, citations and court appeals need to transpire before the borough can begin demolition procedures.
“We are aware that there is a problem, and we’re open to suggestions on how to solve it,” Wermlinger said.
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W. Greene board considering closing Aleppo school
ROGERSVILLE – The doors to Aleppo Elementary School may close forever by July.
West Greene School Board resolved, by a 6-3 vote at a budget meeting Thursday, to consider closing the aging building as a cost-saving measure. If that happens, students there will continue their school work at either Graysville or Springhill-Freeport elementary schools.
The board is still far from a final decision though.
The decision Thursday allows the district to ask the state Department of Education to approve an abbreviated schedule for Aleppo Elementary’s potential closing. This process is necessary under state law before a district can close a building.
If the PDE allows the plan to proceed, the district will need to schedule a hearing to allow residents to voice their opinions on the subject. Board President Dan Smith said the hearing would probably take place before June 27, in time for a tentative closing date of July 15.
Two residents of the Aleppo area didn’t wait until the official public hearing to let the board know how they feel. Tammy Cross said the district may end up spending a fortune on transporting the former Aleppo students to their new schools.
25 years ago: May 12-18, 1988
Nursing home cost taxpayers less in 1987
WAYNESBURG – It cost Greene County $779,937 in taxpayers dollars to operate the Curry Memorial Home in 1987.
That is $220,000 less than it cost in 1986 – a downtrend that the commissioners are hoping will be accelerated during the current year. “If things go as expected, we could reduce the county’s cost to $500,000 by the end of this year,” said Commissioner Lloyd Rohanna, noting that the Curry Home is by far the biggest single operation in the county budget.
Frank Geramito, nursing home fiscal director, said the home is looking for an increase in medical assistance payments starting July 1, and that should improve the picture for the balance of the year.
“We have 298 people who work for the county and 138 of them work at the Curry Home,” Rohanna said.
Mather mine disaster occurred 40 years ago
Sunday, May 19, will mark the 40th anniversary of the worst disaster in Greene County history.
It was on that date in 1928 – shortly after 4 p.m. – that an awesome blast rocked the Mather mine, killing 195 miners. It widowed 94 women and left 498 children fatherless.
At that time, the Mather mine was relatively new. It had been opened in 1918 and was producing 4,000 tons of coal a day.
The disaster occurred while the day and night shifts were changing, and at a time when 210 of the 800 men then employed at the mine were underground.