Aug 22, 2014 7 min read

A look at some of the headlines gracing the pages of the Observer-Reporter and Waynesburg Republican this week in Greene County history:

CVS Pharmacy proposed for Morrisville

WAYNESBURG – Franklin Township supervisors granted conditional approval Monday to plans by a Pittsburgh developer to construct a new CVS Pharmacy in Morrisville.

Armstrong Development Properties Inc. submitted plans for a store that would be built at the current site of the Save-A-Lot grocery store.

Mark McCall of Armstrong Development said Monday that it was still too early to comment on the project. CVS now has a store at Greene Plaza.

Plans presented to the supervisors show a 11,945-square-foot building to be constructed off Route 19 at the Route 19 and Route 21/19 intersection. A 68-space parking lot would be built in front of the store in about the location of the current grocery store.

The supervisors granted approval to the plans with more than a dozen conditions.

For final approval, the developer must receive approval of an erosion and sedimentation control plan and a storm-water management plan; receive a variance on parking space sizes; and receive approval from the state Department of Transportation on road entrances and any traffic signal or intersection expansions.

The costs of any expansion to the intersection of Route 21 and Route 21/19 or of any changes in the traffic signals must be financed by the developer.

The developer also must move a 24-inch storm drain; receive building plan approval under the Uniform Construction Code; provide paving and sign specifications; and receive a road entrance permit from the township for Morris Street and provide a landscaping plan.

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Water meeting turns contentious

RUFF CREEK – A proposed $8.7 million water line project in Washington and Amwell townships drew more than 150 people to an often contentious meeting Wednesday.

Some residents expressed frustration over poor or inadequate water from wells and springs and pleaded with municipal officials to not abandon the project to bring public water to about 250 homes on Routes 19 and 221.

Others said they were concerned about mandatory tap-in fees and monthly water bills that they would have to pay even if they are satisfied with the quality of water from their wells.

Southwestern Pennsylvania Water Authority will determine the fate of the project at its meeting at 4 p.m. Sept. 10. There, authority members will decide whether to accept or reject a $5 million state grant for the project.

“We’re not going to waste water authority’s resources on a project that’s not wanted,” said authority manager Joe Simatic.

The authority held off on accepting the money earlier this month when several Washington Township residents spoke against the project. However, at the meeting Wednesday, project supporters seemed to slightly outnumber those opposing various aspects of the plan.

The project will extend water lines for about 11 miles on Route 19, starting at Ruff Creek and continuing north into Amwell Township, and for five miles on Route 221 from Ruff Creek to the county line. Municipal and authority officials started researching the matter several years ago, after a petition circulated in the two townships indicated an in public water.

Robin Croftcheck of Amity said she desperately needs public water because the wells on her property are inadequate. So, like many residents of the area, she has to have water delivered to her home.

‘Deep’ commitment: Mine rescue teams hone skills in competition

CARMICHAELS – The football field Wednesday was girded with poles, ropes and the occasional sign indicating “roof fall” or “high methane.”

No, this was not an effort to frighten the Mikes’ home-field opponent. It was the 41st mine rescue contest held regularly as part of the Pennsylvania Bituminous Coal Show.

As the teams worked, fellow miners, their families and interested community members were on hand to witness just what goes into one of the most potentially dangerous and rewarding jobs a well-trained team of rescue workers can perform – entering an underground mine after a disaster to search for survivors.

“Once you’re in mine rescue, you’re always in mine rescue,” said Jerry Davis of Adah, Fayette County, who is now retired from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

A third-generation coal miner, Davis started at Robena Mine when he was 22 and worked through the heyday of the industry. He remembers that in 1973-74, there were 193 underground mines and 120,000 miners in Pennsylvania. Today there are 38 mines and about 5,000 miners.

The heyday of the industry also brought about important advances in safety equipment, such as the rescue capsule, in use since the early 1970s and featured prominently at the Quecreek mine disaster. Davis remembers it well.

“July 24, 2002. It was 72 hours later that they brought the miners up in the rescue capsule. In my career, I brought 39 bodies out. Rescuing those miners was the highlight of my career. I retired after that.”

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J-M board OKs resolution to cover vo-tech work

JEFFERSON – Jefferson-Morgan School Board approved a resolution Monday agreeing to cover its share of the debt on the Greene County Vocational-Technical School renovation project.

The $3.7 million project was earlier approved by all five county school boards. The project will be funded with a 15-year bond issue, under which Jefferson-Morgan agreed to cover its share of $407,740.

All five boards must now agree to incur their share of debt in order for the project to proceed, Craig Russell of Thorp Reed and Armstrong, bond counsel for the vo-tech, told the board.

Central Greene and Carmichaels Area boards approved the bond resolutions last week. West Greene and Southeastern Greene boards are expected to consider the resolutions at meetings Thursday.

The board received a schedule of annual debt payments for the 15-year issue that included interest rates ranging from 2.5 to 4.85 percent.

If the bonds were sold today, the rates would be at least a half a percent less than those included in the schedule. The “safe” rates were included in the debt schedule because the bonds won’t be sold until Sept. 15.

With the estimated rates, Jefferson-Morgan’s highest annual debt payment would not exceed $27,900. The amount each district has to pay is based on the district’s total assessed value.

The project will be the first major renovation of the vocational-technical school since the building was constructed in 1969.

It will include replacing the roof, removing asbestos, adding handicap accessible rest rooms and ramps, installing fire doors and expanding the cosmetology and culinary arts areas.

Employment rate better in county

WAYNESBURG – While Greene County’s unemployment rate remains among the highest in the state, a report from the Pennsylvania State Job Service shows there has been a marked improvement during the past year.

As of June, it indicates the county had an unemployment rate if 8.7 percent (1,100 people), which was exceeded only in Indiana, Cameron and Forest counties.

That rate, however, as 4.4 percentage points better than the 13.1 percent in June 1988, when 1,800 persons were listed as being jobless.

“Even though higher unemployment rates are mostly found in the western counties, employment is gradually increasing and the east/west gap is narrowing,” the report said.

The average statewide unemployment rate for June was given at 4.0 percent, well below the nationwide rate of 5.2 percent.

New phone service for Rogersville, Graysville

Sunday, Aug. 24, was “changeover day” for 725 South Penn Telephone Company subscribers serviced through the Rogersville and New Freeport exchanges.

Beginning at 8 a.m. that day, the company cut in new, modern switching equipment which has been installed in new exchange buildings in both communities.

The change, which is expected to greatly improve phone service to the areas, is part of the preparation for installation of direct distance dialing throughout the South Penn System.

New telephones have already been installed in most homes in the Rogersville exchange and on many homes in the New Freeport exchange, since they will have new phone numbers under the new system.