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:
Countywide housing study
on the table
WAYNESBURG – Greene County has a housing shortage, and figuring out what types of housing are needed is the first step in solving the issue, commissioners said Wednesday.
Commissioners will vote on a contract with Third Sector Development of Monroeville to prepare a housing needs assessment.
“People are having a hard time finding places to live in Greene County,” said Commissioner Pam Snyder. “Whether it’s rental units or retirement (facilities), there’s a need, and we’re trying to address it.”
Third Sector will be paid about $59,000 to study housing issues in all areas of the county. Community Action Southwest will contribute about $22,000 toward the cost, and commissioners plan to seek federal and state grants to pay for the rest.
The county started a housing task force about six months ago. The group, made up of representatives from local banks, utilities, school districts and other community leaders, asked that the assessment be performed.
Once Third Sector completes the assessment, county planners will use it to try to attract developers who are willing to build homes to satisfy the housing needs. Peterson said state financing in the form of grants, loans and tax credits may be available as an additional enticement.
County hospital plagued
by financial losses
WAYNESBURG – Though recognized for exceptional performance in quality of care and operational efficiencies, Greene County Memorial Hospital continues to face tough financial times.
The hospital lost more than $1 million in each of the last two fiscal years. During the first half of the current fiscal year, it already has marked up another $1 million loss.
Circumstances contributing to the hospital’s financial difficulties primarily result from it serving a high percentage of elderly and lower income patients, said Raoul Walsh, GCMH’s chief executive officer.
About 60 percent of the hospital’s patient days are covered by Medicare and 9 percent by Medicaid, Walsh said. Reimbursements paid by these programs too often fail to cover the hospital’s costs of providing services.
“In recent years there has been very little relief from the perspective of reimbursements,” Walsh said, noting that while reimbursement rates have increased 2 to 31/2 percent, actual costs have jumped 8 to 9 percent. Many private insurers, at the same time, have reduced their reimbursement rates, he said.
SE Greene developing
evacuation plan
MAPLETOWN – The Southeastern Greene School District us developing a new plan for evacuating the schools during emergencies.
The development of the plan comes as a result of the Feb. 6 incident during which a student entered Mapletown High School with a shotgun and fired two shots into hallway lockers.
Superintendent Alton Fell told the board administrators are preparing a new emergency plan and will present it to the board when it is near completion.
Non-grade pilot program
for North Ward School
Waynesburg’s North Ward School will operate next year as a non-graded school.
The Central Greene School Board approved the pilot program at a special meeting following a report by a committee of teachers and parents which has been studying the possibilities for the program for the past four months or so.
The innovation means that the four grades at the school will be eliminated. Boys and girls will still attend classes there for four years, but will move through the programs in terms of their own rates of learning.
Instead of being grouped according to grades and promoted from one grade to the next each year, they will be assigned to groups on their level of achievement in each subject, moving ahead to a mor advanced level as soon as they master work at one level.