Jan 17, 2015 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:

Life in the fast lane

WAYNESBURG – Not just airplanes, but cars will once again fly down the Greene County Airport runway this summer.

Commissioners announced at their agenda meeting Wednesday that the popular drag races known as Flashlight Drags will return to the airport after a yearlong hiatus.

Last year, the state Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Aviation banned all non-aviation activities at municipal airports and that effectively banned the drag races.

PennDOT said it was only following Federal Aviation Administration rules, and it has taken Greene County officials more than a year to find a way around those rules.

Commissioners credited Sens. Arlen Specter and Bob Casey for pushing for an FAA review, which indicated Greene County could be exempted from the ban on non-aviation events.

The federal policy against non-aviation events was set to protect airport improvements that were financed through federal tax dollars. However, the county never received federal money to build the airport, so it has no federal lien, unlike many other small airports. As a result, Greene County doesn’t have to follow the FAA’s rules about how the airport should be used.

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DeWeese won’t

rule out re-election bid

WAYNESBURG – Gene Stilp of Taxpayers and Ratepayers United and Dennis Baylor of Pennsylvania Accountability were in Greene County Thursday morning to ask state Rep. Bill DeWeese not to seek re-election in the May 18 primary.

But DeWeese may have other plans.

Citing the case of former state Rep. Sean Ramaley, DeWeese said Thursday in response to Stilp’s call for him to find a new line of work, “Former Rep. (Sean) Ramaley retired and was subsequently acquitted of all counts. I certainly am going to think long and hard before I throw away 341/2 years of legislative seniority that the 50th District has benefited from.”

DeWeese said he “certainly realizes that I am momentarily visited by a challenging and difficult chapter in my career. That no one can deny.”

DeWeese is one of several current and former legislators and their staffers charged with using taxpayer money for campaign work in a scandal dubbed Bonusgate.

Addressing the length of time between the start of the investigation and his December indictment, DeWeese said Thursday, “After 35 months of aggressive cooperation with the attorney general and his team of prosecutors and agents, I was stunned that he decided to move forward in the direction that he did. However, my legislative record is strong and unyielding, and I certainly will not make an abrupt decision to leave the ring.”

Gas outage affects

Rogersville area

Tuesday was a cold day to be without heat, but some residents of the Rogersville area apparently found themselves in just that situation as the result of a disruption of natural gas service.

About 100 customers of Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania in the Rogersville area were without gas beginning about 9:30 a.m. as a result of a problem on a Columbia Gas Transmission Co. line, said Robert Boulware, director of communications for Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania.

Crews were able to repair the problem by about 11 a.m. They then began restoring service, a process that was about half way completed and still ongoing Tuesday evening.

As a result of the outage, the company was required to shut off service to each customer in the affected area either at the customer’s meter or at the curb, Boulware said.

Though crews did not have to enter residents’ homes to turn off the gas, they will have to go inside before they can turn the gas back on, Boulware said. Lines inside the home have to be bleeded of air before appliances can be re-lighted, he said.

Crews were going door-to door and would continue to work until all customers were restored, he said. Additional crews were brought in to help restore service.

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Reception honors

Company C troops

WAYNESBURG – Part of a local National Guard unit soon will make its way into a war zone, but on Thursday, a few soldiers enjoyed a much lighter atmosphere at a small reception at the Waynesburg Disabled American Veterans post.

About 75 members of Company C, 1st Battalion, 110th Infantry, Mechanized, will leave for training Saturday morning. Eventually the soldiers will be sent to Iraq.

“I’m a little nervous,” 1st Sgt. Robert Nelson said as fellow Guardsmen mingled over hors d’oeuvres and drinks.

Many of the soldiers, including Nelson, were overseas about a year ago, when the unit engaged in a peacekeeping mission to the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. But this time, the deployment feels different, the Waynesburg man said.

Iraq certainly is a more dangerous setting. As of Thursday, 1,370 U.S. servicemen have died in the Middle Eastern country since coalition forces invaded in March 2003.

Charlie Company has no formal sendoff ceremony planned, choosing instead to give soldiers the most time possible with their families. The reception at the DAV was private and put together by Post 123 and local merchants.

The Guard members are supposed to leave before daybreak Saturday and fly to Camp Shelby, Miss., where the soldiers will receive additional training.

Greene seeks out

county prisoners

WAYNESBURG – The Greene County commissioners hope to realize up to $180,000 a year by making cells at the county jail available to Allegheny County and other jurisdictions looking for space to house prisoners.

“If we can average 11 out-of-county prisoners a day at $45 per day, and we that is a realistic estimate, the county would receive $180,675,” board Chairman Kelse Mosley said.

The commissioners said the county is already making some beds available to Allegheny County and federal authorities, and recently received a check for more than $40,000 from Allegheny County.

To maximize the effort, they announced the appointment of former Sheriff Remo Bertugli as jail admission manager, a part-time position that will pay $250 per month.

Employees avert serious

fire at milling company

What could have been a major fire was averted by prompt action at the Waynesburg Milling Company, 387 South Washington Street.

The blaze broke out in a pile of burlap sacks in the company warehouse, adjoining the feed mill, shortly after 9 a.m.

A company officials said the sacks were piled on top of some hay, and were in flames when the blaze was spotted by an employee

Employees using fire extinguishers and buckets of water had the fire under control in a matter of minutes.