Aug 3, 2013 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:

Armory project

at EverGreene proceeding

WAYNESBURG – The state Department of General Services is moving ahead with plans to construct a new Pennsylvania National Guard readiness center at the EverGreene Technology Park in Franklin Township.

DGS was expected to open bids for the new 38,000 square foot building Wednesday afternoon, DGS press secretary Ed Myslewicz said earlier that day.

The department plans to award a contract for the new building in the fall, with construction beginning possibly in October or November, Myslewicz said.

“Before a (contract) is awarded, (the proposals) will have to be checked to make sure all the I’s are dotted and the T’s are crossed,” he said. “They will not be official until we have a chance to review them.”

The new center will take about one year to complete, Myslewicz said.

The readiness center will replace the Capt. Robert C. Wiley Armory in Waynesburg, which was constructed in 1914 and, according to national guard officials, has outlived its usefulness. The armory serves as home to Company C, 1-110th Infantry.

The new center will be a one-story building with an assembly hall, administrative space, classrooms, locker rooms, a physical fitness room and kitchen space.

School bus drivers

threaten strike

The union representing school bus drivers employed by Laidlaw Inc. in the Jefferson-Morgan and Southeastern Greene school districts has threatened to strike if a new contract is not negotiated by the end of the month.

Vito Dragone Jr., secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 491, based in Uniontown, said the union and Laidlaw have been unable to reach an agreement despite eight negotiating sessions, including one Friday during which Laidlaw negotiators “walked out” of the meeting.

The existing five-year contract for the 200 Laidlaw drivers expires Aug. 31. The contract includes not only drivers in the Southeastern Greene and Jefferson-Morgan districts but also those in the Laurel Highlands and Albert Gallatin districts in Fayette County.

Dragone said the two sides still have differences on health care, wages and working conditions. Health care is the primary issue, with Laidlaw seeking caps on insurance coverage and a higher out-of-pocket expense for the workers, he said.

The union earlier had agreed to a newplan that included a higher deductible.

Underfunded pension plan

could lead to bankruptcy

WAYNESBURG – The legality of an underfunded county pension program should be determined as soon as possible since the county’s obligation under it continues to build, Controller John Stets told the Greene County Commissioners.

Meeting with the commissioners as a member of the county retirement board, Stets said that if the plan is determined to be legal, the amount the county owes into it will stand at approximately $1.9 million by the end of the year.

“If it is a legal plan, the county is clearly the insolvent and probably bankrupt,” Stets said, adding that the only salvation would probably be to negotiate a settlement with employees covered by the program.

A former board of county commissioners purchased the pension plan in 1976 from the Mutual Life Insurance Company of America, making it retroactive to July 1, 1975.

At that time, they agreed to pay $392,433 for 10 years of prior service dating back to July 1, 1965. Employees who retired after July 1, 1975, at the age of 65 or older, and with at least five years of service, were to be eligible for benefits.

45 years ago: Aug. 4-10, 1968

Waynesburg College’s new humanities building to be ready for fall term

The newest building on the Waynesburg College campus will be ready for use August 28, the first day of classes for the fall term.

Workmen are now putting the finishing touches on the $1,160,000 Humanities Building located east of the Northward Elementary School facing Monument Park.

The modern structure of red brick and Indiana limestone is narrow panes of glass are constructed in verticals. Long alternated with wider verticals of red brick. White limestone adds contrast as top and bottom borders.

A four-story building, it will be used by the Departments of English, Art, Music, Modern Foreign Languages and Social Science. Offices for faculty of these departments are also included.

Providing space for some 900 students it will contain 16 classrooms, four seminar rooms, a lecture theater, language laboratory, a band and choral practice room, several individual music practice rooms, a number of art studios and a faculty lounge.

Construction was begun in early 1967.