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:
‘Taking care of business’
8 seconds at a time
WAYNESBURG – Cowboys sat or paced silently Friday, their chaps and vests hanging on the gates, as they prepared for an eight-second athletic challenge unlike any other.
Bull riders from across the country met in the Greene County Fairgrounds Livestock Building Friday and Saturday to compete in Waynesburg’s Eighth Annual Southern Extreme Bull Riders’ Association bull riding competition. The event was produced by Buckin’ B Cattle Co., owned and operated by Matt DeJohn, a rodeo stock producer from Waynesburg.
Lost in thought, Blaine Whipp waited for his turn to ride. He leaned against the wall of the livestock building and rhythmically wrapped his wrist with white tape to avoid injury. The cowboy listened to the heavy metal band “Killswitch Engage” through his headphones.
Whipp, a 36-year-old bull rider from Myersville, Md., is no stranger to the rodeo scene. The veteran has been climbing on bucking bulls for 16 years.
“I listen to my headphones and get in my own little world before I ride,” Whipp said. “I think about taking care of business.”
Whipp described himself as a “pretty fair” rider. To the quiet cowboy, pretty fair means earning the title of International Professional Rodeo Association’s two-time world champion bull rider.
County hires planning
economic administrator
WAYNESBURG – Greene County Salary Board Thursday hired a planning and economic administrator, a position that Commissioner Pam Snyder has called “critically important to this county.”
Robbie Matesic of Daisytown, Washington County, was selected by the commissioners after an intensive search and review of more than 40 candidates.
Matesic, who is presently employed by a Pittsburgh consulting firm, will begin her new post sometime in early May. The position pays $63,000 a year.
“The county commissioners took the critical step in creating this position,” Matesic, 49, said. “Now, I intend to support them and serve the citizens of Greene County by blending my previous experience in business and government with initiatives that are under way in the county,” she said.
She said the commissioners have shown enthusiasm and determination in their aggressive approach to economic development and “that makes me feel confident that we can be successful and prosperous.”
Matesic, who holds a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from West Virginia University, has extensive experience in planning, funding, development and implementing projects for both public and private entities.
Waynesburg College
president resigns
WAYNESBURG – Dr. J. Thomas Mills announced his resignation as president of Waynesburg College following a tenure of six years.
In an announcement to members of the faculty and staff, Mills said he will be leaving Aug. 1 to accept a position as president of Cumberland College in Lebanon, Tenn., 30 miles east of Nashville.
Ewing B. Pollock, president of the college board of trustees, said a search committee will be appointed as soon as possible to seek a successor to Mills.
“It’s always a difficult job to find just the right man for the position, but I am hopeful we can get someone lined up before the start of classes next fall,” he said.
Old county home considered
as county museum
Use of the Greene Hills Farm (County Home) property on old Route 21 as a museum was proposed to the Greene County commissioners.
Representatives of the Greene County Historical Society said their organization had approved the plan at a meeting contingent upon the making of satisfactory arrangements with the county.
The society’s plan is to make necessary repairs and renovations to part of the building, and then transfer into it the museum they have operated for many years on South Morgan Street.
The Greene Hills Farm building has been vacant for almost four years, since completion of the new wings to the Curry memorial Home on the opposite side of the highway.