Nov 10, 2012 4 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:

Central Greene incurs more debt for project

WAYNESBURG – Central Greene School Board floated its second set of bonds to pay for the Waynesburg Central High School renovation project Tuesday.

The district assumed nearly $10 million in debt last year to pay for part of the project and the board will incur an additional $11.8 million of debt to cover the rest of the project costs.

The new debt will increase the district’s annual debt service payments by about $294,000, after state reimbursement, starting in fiscal year 2008-09. Central Greene is already making payments of about $275,000 on the previous bond issue.

nWest Greene hires McMurray native as principal

ROGERSVILLE – West Greene will tap a Beaver Falls Middle School teacher to be its next high school principal.

The school board unanimously decided Thursday to hire Anthony Paull, an 8th grade science teacher, to be the head of the middle-senior high school. He will replace Alfred McGivern, who left the district in August along with his assistant principal, Alisa Steele.

The principal position at West Greene has been somewhat of a revolving door in recent years. Paull will be the fourth person to hold that job in the past four years. He will be paid an annual salary of $70,000.

Consolidation Coal set to close Dilworth Mine

WAYNESBURG – Consolidation Coal Co. has halted mining operations at its Dilworth Mine in Rices Landing and is now beginning to remove equipment from underground in preparation for the mine’s permanent closing.

The company announced in March that it would close the 28-year-old mine by the end of the year because of the depletion of the mine’s coal reserves.

Workers finished mining the final longwall panel at Dilworth about a week ago. “We’re now in the process of removing equipment and supplies from underground,” Sandy Tolliver, company spokeswoman said Monday.

nDeWeese confident he will retain House leadership position

Democrats were hoping to gain control of the state House for the first time since 1994 by pinning much of that optimism on Edward G. Rendell’s big victory in the governor’s race.

It didn’t happen. Not only did the Democrats fail to gain control, they lost seats. It has some lawmakers wondering if it’s time to change party leadership.

One of the proponents for change is Rep. Michael Diven, D-Beechview, who was elected in 2001 to represent the 22nd District. Earlier this year, when three legislative districts were redrawn into Republican-favored regions, Diven and others criticized Minority Leader H. William DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, and Minority Whip Mike Veon, D-Beaver, for not doing more to prevent the changes.

When asked Wednesday if he was worried about his position, DeWeese described Diven as melancholic and a morose malcontent who “continues to foster all kinds of perplexity.”

Three Carmichaels schools in disrepair

A study by an architectural firm has found the three elementary schools in the Carmichaels Area School District – the Central School, Nemacolin School and Crucible School – are in generally poor condition.

The study, done for the school board by Foreman and Bashford of Zelienople, assessed the condition of the district’s three elementary buildings, giving the board the information it would need when considering any renovation or new construction.

Court excludes steel directors from tragedy

The Greene County Court has ruled 15 directors of the U.S. Steel Corp. cannot be named co-defendants in a suit for damages brought by the survivors of 30 of the 37 men killed in the 1962 Robena mine explosion.

Judge Leo McKay, of the 35th judicial district, has been assigned by the state Supreme Court to preside over the cases.

The 20 plaintiffs have each brought suit in an effort to receive damages “in excess of $10,000 contending that the blast that killed 37 men resulted from negligence on the part of the corporation and its agents.