2 commissioners seek re-election
WAYNESBURG – Two incumbent Greene County commissioners, one Republican and one Democrat, announced Thursday they will seek their party nominations in the May primary.
Republican Archie Trader announced he will seek a third term and Democrat Chuck Morris, first appointed in 2010 and elected to a full term in 2011, will run for his second term.
“There are a few projects that I would like to see finished in this next term, such as bringing restaurants to the Greene County Airport property and getting more sewage and water lines in the county,” Trader said.
Establishing retail businesses and sit-down family restaurants at the airport property has been a key goal of Trader’s for several years, and that process is closer than ever to being completed.
“The airport now is making a profit,” Trader said. “Before, it was always taking taxpayer money from the general fund. Now, it’s able to stand alone, so we’ve turned it around from a loss to a profit.”
During his second term, Trader worked to reactivate the Redevelopment Authority, which has helped rehabilitate dilapidated properties across the county and return them to the tax rolls. On the education front, Trader is proud of the county’s joint scholarship with West Penn Power for Waynesburg University freshmen, assisting 44 Greene County students in five years.
In addition to continuing work on established projects, Trader hopes to develop short-term housing solutions for homeless veterans in the county and is working with area veterans’ organizations on preliminary steps.
Assisting and serving the people of Greene County are paramount to how Trader views his role as a commissioner.
“I enjoy the job,” he said. “I just enjoy trying to help people.”
In the community, Trader has been very active in a number of organizations that serve the needs of a wide range of county residents. He has been involved with Greene County United Way since its inception and served as chapter president twice. He is also a past president of the Rotary Club of Waynesburg.
A longtime farmer, Trader is involved with Penn State Cooperative Extension, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and Greene County Conservation District. He attends St. Ann Catholic Church in Waynesburg and is a fourth degree faithful navigator of St. Ann’s Knights of Columbus. He is past KOC Grand Knight and past district deputy. Trader also serves as an acolyte and Eucharistic minister in the church as well as a volunteer in the church’s soup kitchen.
Trader successfully completed business and management courses at Penn State University and the University of Arkansas and formerly owned Trader’s Plumbing and Heating, Inc., in Jefferson. He has more than 40 years of experience in the business community.
Residents of Prosperity, Trader and his wife of 53 years, Jeanette, have three children and three grandchildren.
Morris was appointed to the board by the Greene County court in August 2010 to complete the term of Dave Coder, who resigned to go to work for then-U.S. Rep. Mark Critz.
He was elected to a full term in 2011 and has served as chairman since late 2012.
Morris is a member of the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, where he serves on both the Policy and Executive Committee. In addition, he is a member of Courts and Corrections Committee of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, Children and Youth Advisory Board and Greene County Tourism Agency.
Prior to his position as commissioner, Morris was the Greene County district attorney from 1980-1988, and from March 2008 to August 2010, he was a member of the Greene County Planning Commission.
“Thanks to the efforts of our current board of commissioners, we are at the threshold of an exciting future for our county,” he said.
“The Industrial Development Agency has been reinvigorated with increased funding and support, the Economic Development Department has become more efficient and the Industrial Development Corp. has grown to the point that an additional business park is needed,” he said.
“We as a board have fostered a spirit of cooperation that previously had not existed,” Morris said. He also said the Redevelopment Authority has experienced a rebirth. “Increased funding and the hiring of a full-time director has it on the way to wonderful achievements,” he said.
Due to the Act 13 funds received by the county much needed repairs to the courthouse and the fairgrounds, including a new building, have been made. Recreational facilities such as playgrounds and a pool in Greensboro have been renovated, he said.
“Throughout this process, the county has been able to maintain county services without a tax increase,” he said.
Morris was raised in Cumberland Township, is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Duquesne University School of Law and since 1975 has practiced law, initially with Pollock, Pollock and Thomas and currently is a member of Pollock Morris, LLC.
He and his wife, Janice, are the parents of two children, Jenna and Trevor. They have lived in Franklin Township since 1991.