Dec 21, 2013 5 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:

CAS to use $30,000

for meals program

Community Action Southwest received $30,000 from Equitable Resources Foundation for programming designed to meet the nutritional needs of Greene County senior citizens.

Sandra L. Gagorik, manager of Universal Service and Compliance, presented Carol Andrew, CAS Waynesburg Senior Center site supervisor, and Mary Bokat, CAS Center services manager, with the check.

“Inflation and rising costs have had a negative impact on volunteerism at agencies across the nation, and we are certainly feeling the effects right here in Greene County,” Andrew said.

To counteract the negative impact, Community Action Southwest will use the $30,000 from Equitable Resources Foundation to sustain their Meals-on-Wheels program by supporting costs of the program, including staff salaries, supplies, trainings, utilities and travel. A portion of the money also will be used for complimentary gas cards to support volunteers who not only prepare but also deliver the meals using their own vehicles and fuel.

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DeWeese supports

Marcellus Shale drilling

State Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Waynesburg, sees boundless opportunities for Southwestern Pennsylvania regarding the Marcellus Shale drilling for natural gas.

“It is of the highest imperative that the Commonwealth assist with and reasonably regulate the drilling process to benefit residents and businesses while protecting our state’s natural resources for future generations. Any governmental action which might drive drilling companies and their employees to neighboring states needs to be examined with great scrutiny,” DeWeese wrote in a letter to acting Secretary of Environmental Protection John Hanger.

DeWeese encouraged Hanger to rescind any blanket decree that afflicts both the scientifically sound operators and those of a lesser quality who might have inadequate or few pollution controls in place.

He also suggested that the legislature and DEP need to find a way to hire more staff to process drilling permits in an expedited process so the natural gas industry doesn’t gravitate outside of the borders of the Commonwealth.

Nostalgia the norm during

Santa’s pre-holiday visit

NED – Somewhere in the hills above New Freeport, someone has a hotline to Santa. For the last three years, on the Saturday before Christmas, Santa has found his way across the last high ridge between Garrison and West Virginia, out the winding road to a store in the middle of nowhere, USA.

No need for reindeer, or even a sleigh for Santa’s just-before-Christmas appearance, to hear whispered requests from wide-eyed 4-year-olds. Thanks to the help of Rex Soles and Buck Gilbert, there were two teams of big gentle horses awaiting his arrival last Saturday. Harnesses jingling, a neighborhood of kids and parents took turns riding with Santa as snowflakes swirled and every breath plumed white in the cold air.

This year, Santa brought some of the North Pole with him. But it didn’t deter the dozens of kids who bundled up for an afternoon of treats, sleigh rides and some sledding on the slope beside Ned General Store.

Inside the little store that has been dispatching dry goods, snacks and whatever else you might have forgotten to get the last time you went all the way to town for 80 years, Santa dusted the snow from his red suit and took a seat by the wood stove. Children began to climb on his knee to check their lists one more time.

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Budget passage averts

West Greene school closure

The state Legislature’s recent passage of a final budget might have eliminated the need for West Greene School District to close in January, as the board resolved to do earlier this month.

The school board previously decided to cancel all classes and school functions starting Jan. 5 unless the district received a state subsidy payment by that date.

West Greene officials, concerned with the lengthy state budget impasse, wanted to find a way to stretch the district’s money without taking out a loan. By closing schools in two-week increments next month, administrators figured that the district could reopen Feb. 1 and continue, using only local tax money, into March.

If the plan was implemented, students’ summer vacations would have been shortened, but because the school board nixed its earlier decision, the school calendar should revert to normal.

Drought watch remains

in effect in Greene Co.

WAYNESBURG – Greene County has been designated as one of 35 counties in Pennsylvania in which a drought watch will remain in effect following the lifting of a state drought warning.

Lt. Gov. Mark Singel announced discontinuance of the drought warning that had been in effect in 42 counties because of rainfall experienced during the past six weeks, but said that conditions were still such in 35 of them that a less serious drought watch is needed.

Greene County Agent William Brown said that latest reports show that the county has had 15 inches of rainfall this year, as compared with from 22 to 24 inches in adjoining counties.

Money approved

for Greene Co.

The State Department of Revenue has approved payment $39,976 to Greene County commissioners as the county’s share of a $10.4 million refund to counties throughout the state from liquid fuels tax collections for the six-month period ending Dec. 1.

Under the law the money is to be spent by the county commissioners within the corporate limits of the county for construction, improvement and maintenance of county roads and bridges.

The funds are allocated to townships and boroughs within the county at the discretion of the commissioners – not the Department of Revenue.