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:
Waynesburg seeks $20K
for streetscape
WAYNESBURG – Borough officials plan to redouble fundraising efforts for the impending streetscape project after they recently discovered a $20,000 shortfall.
The borough and the downtown revitalization organization, Waynesburg Prosperous and Beautiful, obtained about $1.6 million in federal grants to pay for the project, which will beautify several blocks of High and Washington streets.
Borough officials thought they could use that money to pay a bill for consulting services submitted by project designer Pennoni Associates of Philadelphia. However, the work was not advertised correctly, as required by the grant, so now the borough will have to come up with the money on its own.
Borough manager Bruce Wermlinger told council this week that Pennoni was responsible for ensuring the grant requirements were met, but they failed to do so.
Pennoni spokesman Peter Coote said his firm was not involved with the project when the grant application was prepared, and since the firm was hired relatively late in the process, the grant cannot cover those expenses.
Nevertheless, the engineering firm still needs to be paid for its work. Pennoni reduced its bill by $6,000, but that still leaves a $20,000 shortfall.
•
Waynesburg U. students
plan vigil for fire victims
WAYNESBURG – Waynesburg University students will hold “Fire for a Fire” to raise money for the two families who lost children in the tragic fire Jan. 11 in Waynesburg.
University students will gather in Johnson Commons on the campus at 8:30 p.m. Monday in remeberance of 11-year-old Noah James Havrilesko of Richhill Street, Waynesburg, and 13-year-old Ava Naomi Holbert of Mt. Morris.
The students, led by the residence life staff of Burns and Ray halls, will gather to collect monetary donations. While nonperishable food and clothing donations will be accepted, monetary donations and gift cards are preferred.
Pat Bristor, director of student services and associate dean of students at Waynesburg University, said university students have always been committed to reaching out to the community but this event has impacted many students, including Rachel Saeler, a sophomore nursing major from Butler.
“I heard the sirens early in the morning, but I had no idea what had occurred. As I drove my way around the closed roads that morning, I got a glimpse of the house and I was instantly devastated,” she said.
As the day progressed and more details surfaced, Saeler found herself in disbelief.
Road slides causing
financial concerns
WAYNESBURG – Some municipal officials are now wondering where they’ll get the money to repair slides that began appearing along township roads following last week’s heavy rain.
Though rain that fell last Wednesday and Thursday may not have resulted in many problems for residents in flood-prone areas, it did further saturate the soil causing hills to slide both above and below road surfaces.
One township hit hard, Morris Township, closed two roads, North Hill and McCollum, because of slides, township Supervisor Bob Keller said. The township also has a list of four or five other roads with slides on them “that could go any minute,” he said.
But because last week’s rains have so far not resulted in any emergency declarations that could include the hope of federal aid, some municipalities worry they may have to cover the costs of repairs themselves. That could more than strain some municipal budgets.
Morris Township, like most municipalities, doesn’t budget for slides that might happen during the year, Keller said.
The township has only about $10,000 in its budget for emergencies, he said, a far cry from the estimated $50,000 it will need to repair North Hill Road and $100,000 to repair McColllum Road.
•
Test shows no
arsenic in water
JEFFERSON – Tests completed within the last few weeks indicate no detectable level of arsenic in water produced by Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority.
The authority had the tests completed after a report issued last month by a national environmental group, the National Resource Defense Council, stated arsenic, a cancer-causing agent, is found in much of Greene County’s tap water.
Southwestern serves about 40 percent of the county’s households. Though the report did not say the authority has a problem with arsenic, the authority wanted to ensure its customers that its water is safe, authority manager Joe Simatic said.
The sample of treated water was taken Dec. 21 and analyzed by Microbac Laboratories Inc. of Warrendale. The company’s report states that arsenic was not detectable in the sample.
“They couldn’t find any trace of it,” Simatic said. He noted the lab’s instruments can measure levels as small as .005 milligrams per liter. Tests for arsenic completed by the authority in 2002 showed the same results, no detectable levels.
Southwestern regularly tests for more than 100 organic and inorganic materials, Simatic said. It is required to test for arsenic every nine years, but that is only because arsenic has never shown up in the tests, he said.
“Why should we have to spend $400 for the test when nothing has been found in tests in the past?” Simatic asked.
Contaminated fish
found in creek
WAYNESBURG – The Pennsylvania Fish Commission is advising fishermen not to eat fish caught in sections of the North Fork and Dunkard Fork of Wheeling Creek downstream from Duke Lake because of possible PCB contamination.
The advisory covers the 2 miles of the North Fork of the Dunkard Fork of Wheeling Creek downstream from the lake in Ryerson Station State Park and the 3.6 miles of the Dunkard Fork of Wheeling Creek downstream from the confluence of the Dunkard and North forks to the West Virginia line.
“It’s really a precautionary measure because the studies (on PCB contamination) are continuing,” said Jim Shaw, an environmental chemist with the Department of Environmental Resources.
We have evidence right now that the fish are contaminated,” he said.
WG school board accepts
$20,000 in RR settlement
West Greene School Board agreed to accept an offer of $20,000 in settlement of damages done to the high school septic system and athletic field during construction of the Waynesburg Southern Railroad.
Solicitor James Hook said the offer came from the railroad and the Myers Construction Co. The damage was done in 1967 when the athletic field was flooded while the contractor was in the process of relocating the bed of the adjoining creek.
The water damaged the leech beds of the septic system, which underlay the athletic field, but rather than replace them the school district installed a new package treatment plant.